Happy New Year!

Yet another night I am up til wee hours in the morning. Or I should I say WE are up. Finally I have the "Honey" to address the 3 mile long "honey-do-list". Our Christmas was great. Max's Mom drove up from Podunk, KY to spend the weekend with us. Ok so maybe she's not from Podunk...but she's done been there long enough to talk like them. I made my very first ham. So I didn't make it per say, I wrapped it in foil and warmed it up in the oven. Not bad, not bad. We ended Christmas night with a roller and paint brush. With me and the mother in law cuttin' in, Max was left rollin' it out. What an experience. Now all we have left in that area are touch ups...that's what we get for painting in the dark, huh?

Sorry I have been so, um, not blogging daily...but once things get unpacked and situated I will be back to the daily blogging routine.

Happy New year to all and PLEASE don't drink in drive...better yet DON'T DRINK!!!

T'was 4 days before Christmas...

......and about 15,000 pounds of HHG's to unpack!

I bought a Christmas tree on Tuesday...of course that was before finding out my shipment arrived here locally. Prior to taking my brother to the airport, we went into Lowe's to get a tree because they were marked 50% off. I found a 7ft pre-lit...everyone knows this lazy Momma don't wanna deal with stringing lights on a tree...it may turn into a stringing sister and Mommy on a tree knowing this little boy. This Bargain Betty got 75% off because it was the last one and was missing the original box. I know, who keeps original boxes anyway? Um, er, uh...WE DO! Heck for as much as we move we might as well not unpack our crap. Tomorrow he'll come home "Honey, I talked to the detailer today and we got orders...to France" Huh? France? I didn't know there was a base in France?! I don't think there is...but they have an embassy. It just sounded good because it's an unlikely place to PCS to. By the way PCS basically means 'move' in normal peoples language. So back to my tree story. I put the tree together. It was real hard without directions. I had a base and 3 pieces...now that's my kind of tree. Didn't even need to Google the 'how to', it just fell into place. While I was bragging about my awesome tree deal on the phone my kids were up to something. I walked in the living room to find the only toys they had here to play with doubled as tree decor. Balls, cards, the whole Cars set that Uncle gave them for Christmas, baby doll clothes, tea set, flashlight, stuffed animals ans finger puppets filled the tree. I must say it almost put me in tears. They were so proud of themselves and I was even more proud to know that these 2 little Navy children improvised. WOW! This will be a story I will never forget.

On another note, we have our 'stuff'. I was in the Commissary on Wednesday pushing a cart with one hand, dragging a stroller with the left foot (because he fell asleep in the car) convincing Kalee she did not need 12 different bags of pretzels and answered the phone call asking if they could deliver our goods Friday the 21st (today). ABSOLUTELY! I should of asked if they would paint and hang curtains too. So I had the educational cartoon babysitting Kalee, and a marker entertaining Bear. I glanced up at him to discover he wanted a mustache...or the washable marker smelled one of the two. He had black all up in his nostrils. If that wasn't bad enough he has a slight runny nose and the evidence lasted most of the day. Most kids have clear, yellow or greenish snot...not mine. No, his was black!

Time to call the Hubby. He's making his way back from Rhode Island via car on the second most traveled day of the year...just in time to unpack. A 10 hour trip is turning into about 13 courtesy of the stupid George Washington bridge (yes the one that tripped me out because my girls were bouncing when we were at a complete stop) and the Jersey Turnpike. I believe Grandmother called them Jersey jerks, that is too appropriate.

Touching Tuesday!!!

Mom's Words of Wisdom!

We finally have cable...and I got to see Live with Regis and Kelly today. My all the shows have changed over the past 3 years. Americable-Japan has got nothing on Direct TV. I have nightly news, music, QVC, HSN, and I was listening to an I Love Lucy show while painting. Even though I have seen just about all the episodes I still laugh while watching it. ...and yes I was painting again. We get the carpet installed upstairs tomorrow and I wanted at least all the baseboards painted. Knowing my reputation with painting I might need supervision form here on out. Good thing I am expecting a SPECIAL GUEST on Friday. Who is she talking about? I read your mind didn't I? Well there is someone I am very close to that I have not seen since we moved to Japan. When I was pregnant with Bear Kalee and I came to the States to visit and he was supposed to pick me up...instead the recruiter picked him up early. Then I came last Spring to visit since I knew my Papa was not doing well. Nope, I didn't see him then either because he was too busy playing in the sandbox...or as Kalee said "shooting the bad guys and saving the world like Daddy". Nearly 3 years later I get to see my little brother. Mom warned me not to call him little since he's probably a toddler taller then me...bit he will always be my lil' Bubby. In fact these are the words of wisdom Mom gave me...funny enough Bub has none.

Only a few days until your brother arrives. Moms words of wisdom...1. Don't try beating him up like you did when he was a kid...he's a Marine now, and he can kill! 2. Don't spit in his food, he figured that one out and he always trades plates. 3. Keep bras off the bathroom floor. Being a Marine, he is sure to figure out another way to use them. 4. Don't call him your little brother, he is nearly 6 foot tall...no longer "little". 5. He is 22, drinks beer and you don't have to promise not to tell Mom. 6. Laugh like you did when you were kids when you were suppose to be sleeping and instead farting and laughing your butts off. 7. Your Mom EXPECTS TO SEE PHOTOS OF THE TWO OF YOU TOGETHER, otherwise she may have to smack you from here to South Coast Plaza...and thats a real place!As for my darling birthday girl...please give her a big hug and kiss for me. I will call prior to going to work and sing to her. Give both of them hugs and kisses for me...Love you!

Kalee's trying to show me her face booger...I better go analyze.

5, five, FIVE!!!

Our baby girl turned 5 today! She had a great morning phone call from Daddy that made her grin from ear to ear. Come dinner time I think it sunk in that he was not here to celebrate. It's hard for these kids because they are so close to him...and he's an awesome Daddy. So I asked what she wanted to do on her birthday. This lil' girl wanted to go to the "peanut steakhouse" that Californians know as "Roadhouse Grill" and Virginians know as "Texas Roadhouse" and those residing in Japan know as..."I can't wait to eat American food". I brought a friend (that we knew from when we lived here the first time) kids along. SO it was Me, Bear (2), Gage(4), Kalee(5), and Kailer(6). You should have been sitting next to my car at a light. They would have serenaded you with Jingle Bells about 12 times over. While eating the ice cream with fun toppings after dinner, Bear decided to use a yellow M&M as an earplug. Why? Why would he think of sticking it anywhere other then his mouth? After I plucked it from his ear I didn't 'lose' it quick enough...he insisted to eat it. Boy, ALL BOY! Her birthday last year is when he burned himself...good thing this year we didn't end up in ER over a yellow M&M.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! Mommy and Daddy love you very much.

Dog-Cicle

What the heck am I doing up this late? Oh, taking a break from playing referee and enjoying the peace and quiet...I forgot.

The kids did decent while I painted today. Bear walked up the stairs and only had paint on his arm hand and calf. Not too bad since his hair was untouched. But what was my son doing with a half eaten frozen corn dog in his hand? I asked him if he wanted me to warm it...he responded "da-sicle". Ok go finish eating you corn dog popsicle there son. If your happy, Mommas happy. For those first time Mom's reading, it was fully cooked....and when did cookie dough ever bother you?

I made it out to Greenbrier Mall today only getting lost once. I was so proud! Mostly because I didn't have to call my mom to Map-quest me directions home. We walked around and came across a Borders book store. I tell ya you'd think it was a toy store for how my kids were freaking out to go in. I can not deny Kalee books to this day. Toys yes, books no. I could easily make another car payment to the book store monthly. I wish I could get a credit card that transferred frequent flyer miles into book bucks. Humm, that's it! That's my invention! OR... *wheels are spinnin'* I can contact Scholastic and see when they are having the next clearance event....or get a job at the bookstore and use the employee discount. Any other suggestions? The library is nice for Kalee's books, but Bear is still learning how pages belong inside the book. Funny how I have only had problems with ones that do not belong to him. All his are in one piece. Stinker.

Time for these hands to turn in. Dang, I have been a Navy wife too long. I'm hoping to try a local church tomorrow and need to get some shut eye before I get the kids up. No worries about being exhausted...I'm a Mom, referee, cook, referee, laundress, painter, dishwasher, and did I mention a referee. I'll be awake.

Hairs Not Hair!

The long bath worked last night. He's light pink now instead of fuscha. I managed to whip through Lowe's so I can continue to paint Kalee's closet this weekend. Yay, paint. Hear...I mean read the enthusiasm? At least now I have an alarm clock so I can rock out. The older generation will appreciate that wording. ;)

Amongst my needed Starbucks fix...hey I have not had one since Max left...I decided to get the kids hairs cut. Yes hairs! Plural. They didn't get "a" hair cut, they got em' all cut. I did something I have never done. I took them to the local beauty school for the trim. Basic enough they shouldn't be able to screw it up, right? Ehhh?!?!?! Kalee's looks great! Her hairs are slightly layered at the bottom so it lays really cute...even when it's stringy. Bear's...let's just say he was a wiggler and she took too long. The gal ended up getting her teacher who used to work on kids all the time. By then Bear was frustrated that his suckers had hair all over it and kept spitting. He has beautiful hair like his Daddy. It's unbelievably silky soft....and you notice EVERY cut...exactly why Mom does not touch it with anything but her hand and a brush. His looks good but one side is noticeably longer then the other so I might take him back...either that or blame it on him being 2!

I managed to squeeze vacuuming my car in the day. It needs washed too but I realized I needed a hose for that task. Max would be impressed becasue I'm not a car washing/vacuuming kinda gal. It's been a month since we have had the car and still haven't addressed wiping the Phelan dust from the door sills. One more thing checked off the list.

Last night I was sooo happy. Why, you may ask? I got in touch with a cousin that I have not talked to in forever....well, over 3 years. She is expecting and I am so happy for them. Whats funny about it is she is one of very few family members that agree and don't laugh at our parenting style. Most of you know I'm a cloth diapering, wipe making, baby food making, extended breastfeeding, homeschooling, anti-childcare, eco-friendly cleaner, natural and organic believing, partial tree hugging...kind-a "Crunchy". We share several similar interests. Kinda neat if ya ask me. It would be awesome if we could pull the family back together for the Holidays kinda like it was before Grandmother passed away 5 years ago.

My next goal is to brainwash Kalee into thinking that vacuuming the house is fun. Think I can do it?

It's Too Quiet!

I was cleaning the window jams and frames singing along to Wizard of Oz and realized it was too quiet. It wasn't Kalee I was worried about, it was the Bear. As I walked into the kitchen to change out my water bucket I glanced up to find him wearing pink. Fuscha Pink! Wearing it all over his hands and face. As I wiped him down I discovered he was eating a stamp. For their birthday parties I put these cute stamps in the goodie bags. Why I did not throw them away when it was over and they weren't looking, I have no clue. Maybe I should wait a few days before I make a trip to Lowe's for more paint. I can only imagine the looks I will get bringing my boy wearing camo clothes and pink skin into public. Sheesh. If I had him first, he'd be an only.

...and to those that know how I managed to crash my laptop so bad it wouldn't even turn on...it works now that I charged it. Whoops, minor details huh?

Did you brush...

Me: Kalee did you forget to brush your teeth this morning? Cuz' your breath stinks.
K: Moooom, my breath stinks like Daddy's.
Me: Really?
K: Yeah and my farts stink like Daddy's too.

I dono what to say other then the kid takes after him....for sure! At least it's been some time since she had drug me to the toilet to show me how big it was...or how it piled out of the water. Knock on wood.

While waiting on a refill for my prescription at Rite-Aid we wandered through the toy isle. Did you know that drug stores carried toys? If you did then I'll blame that on being out of country for so long. If I got a penny for every sentence that started with "Mommy can I...." I'd have both vehicles paid off. Sheesh! Could it have something to do with their toys being in our household goods shipment that has yet to arrive? *Note to self- Next move pack out early so we can be without on the departing end and receive on the arriving end sooner so Mommy keeps her sanity. The estimated date of arrival on this end differs from what they told us on that end, not in our favor...I should have known. Almost 7 years of this stuff and I still wonder 'What was I thinking?' Well, I was thinking we would have our HHG's in time for Christmas. You know it would be nice to see Bear attempt to put the Christmas stocking on his foot...or do like he did last year and bounce my glass ornaments like they were rubber balls. Woah, good thing I remembered that. Now I can make a trip to Walmart and have Kalee help me pick out new unbreakable ornaments. I guess I could buy a little tree too huh? Ehhh! I have to get a tree larger then Bear so I dont find him walking through the house with it thrown over his shoulder. Or, I can still cross my fingers, and toes, and eyes...and continue to walk in circles. I can hope the cargo ship will grow a Nascar motor, can't I?

I know, I know..

Friends please forgive my absence. We FINALLY got Internet! I'm talking just got it a couple hours ago. If my mail in rebate for our new playpen (AKA: King size bed) didn't have to be postmarked today I would have been on within minutes....AHHHH...it's so good to be able to map quest directions. I get lost in Wal-Mart parking lot. See why I NEED map quest?!?! I have also learned Californians do not belong driving in this state. I expect to exit the freeway and at the light make a left or right. Not here....nope, you better know East vs. West....until your on the 64 East headed.......ummmm, WEST......get that!!!!!

I tell ya not having Internet for a month exactly took a toll on my mental health. I admit, I am addicted to blogging. For some people it's gambling, drugs, alcohol or even sex....couldn't be me. I mean it could be...if the Navy didn't send him away...EVER. OK, so a basic update: We moved, we lived in a hotel for a week not knowing what was going to happen next, unloaded our household goods into a storage because we had to turn the truck in, 2 days later reloaded them into a truck to move them in our garage on Bear's Birthday. Our baby is now 2!!!! And did ya catch that we have a house? Yay! Unfortunately Max had to leave that weekend to attend fork and knife school but will be home hours before Jesus' Birthday. So that means I am pretending to know how to paint. I wonder if the neighbors realize it's pink paint in my hair not a new hair color. It amazes me how Kalee can "help" me with her room and get very little on her fingers. Me? I open the can and have the whole gallon all over me. How is that possible? No I'm not using a sludge hammer. I'm using that dainty key that Lowe's kindly provided me when I purchased my first 9 gallons. Now 2 weeks into the project I figure I'll wait til I get help. Wiping the paint off Bear's hands 17 times in a 45 minute period convinced me. My friend suggested to give them each a paintbrush. What can it hurt right? That's why I'm still picking paint out of his hair. We need Max for this one, since he has no hair he'll be safe.

I'll save more reading for later. Trust me I have lots to say...type, whatever. ;)

I Can't Believe I...

My heart jumped into my throat last night. Mind you I have driven about 1,000 miles this past week but for some reason it was habit. I pulled out of the restaurant parking lot onto the wrong side of the road....ON MAIN STREET! How did I manage? If Max didn't freak me out and yell I'm afraid the headlights would be what gave it away.

We went to a Bass Pro Shop yesterday. I tried calling my Mom and Step-Mom to find out what tricks they used to get the testosterone out of the store. My Dad said that there was a restaurant there so it could be days. I'll have to note for future reference, saying "Starbucks is down the street" worked.

We are still in the state of confusion living out of a hotel. We should hear more about the house today. Hopefully it's good news so we dont have to hotel hop. Nothing seems to be falling in place like we spent the past 6 months planning for. Unfortunately the matter is not in our hands, it's in the other parties corner. The only good thing about this move so far is I have my family and everyone is healthy. Exhausted, but healthy....and we have FAITH!!!

VA alas!

We are in the good ol' US of A! We arrived in Kentucky last Saturday, slept, and went to Wal-Mart. WOW...those Kentuckians have their own language. I cant hardly understand them...eeks, only 5 days there and I'm speaking like them too...it's the only way to be understood. The buggies...I mean shopping carts, are larger then what I'm used to. You can fit 2 elephants walking side by side down every isle. Not that I tried, but that would be a great headline for CNN. I forgot how luxurious it was to shop without bumping into someone and saying "sumisan". Kalee wanted everything and Bear wanted to run. Now it's time to for the leash for that boy because the American culture is far different. As I was waiting for my flight out of Seattle I got a bit confused and responded to an agent "hi" (yes in Japanese) and felt stupid. Culture shock has not worn off yet. I am also shocked that I can READ the top toolbar line on the websites. I was kinda used to looking at that Kanji. I figured out how the man holding his hands up and watching TV means exit. Here e-x-i-t means exit. Funny how that works huh? Since we are on this sleep at 17:00 and rise at 01:00 schedule, Bear missed dinner regularly this past week. When he woke up, I nuked some leftover Goulash. First of all this "crunchy" hates microwaves. Too much research leans me one direction. Since I didn't want to wake up the whole house I opted for this method, ick. I get the heebie-jeebies thinking about it. I know I have mastered burning food on the stove but did you know I can burn food in the microwave too? Wow! Does that take Averi talent or what? Now if I can only get him on a better schedule. It's been nearly 3 years since I have driven stick and almost as long since I have driven on the right side of the road. I had a 600mile crash course and only used the windshield wipers as a turn signal about a dozen times. I met Max in Tennessee late Thursday and we stayed the night. By that time the kids were crashed out, so it was convenient to just get them in bed. When Kalee woke she said that the new house was too small, missing a kitchen and didn't have stairs. After laughing my butt off I told her that we were just there to sleep and shower and we still had 8 hours of driving to go. I felt so bad that I didn't have the heart to play on it like I could have.

Alas we arrived in Virginia last night. We are settled into a hotel and are trying to leap over the obstacles that have come our direction this past week. Moving is never easy and finding out tragic news while moving does not make it any easier....but we have faith!!!

Pino's Arrived!

Frequent readers,

These frequent travelers have finally made it to Virginia. We have a lot to take care of this next week. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as this past week has consisted of not just bumps in the road but mountains too. I'm also requesting prayers for Max's side of the family as their has been a death since our arrival here in the states.

When all is settled down I will get back to blogging. I have tons to share with you all! <3
Oh, and the kids have been great little travelers...but are still available to the highest bidder (please for your sanity have a park nearby).

U.S party of 4, U.S. Party of 4!

One wake-up left! About 5 hours to go and I'm blogging instead of sleeping. Go figure huh?!?!
Tomorrow is the BIG DAY. The day that will go on forever....be twice lived. We leave about 07:00 local time on Saturday (Friday night in the states), and arrive Saturday late night (East Coast time). Best of all it's a one way flight on a State bound plane!!!! Our last night here we went to the "O" club for dinner with 3 very special families. It was hard to hold the tears. Military has taught me that my family is not only blood, it's a family amongst itself. We have learned much...especially from these close families. We will miss you guys but we all know how it's a small Navy so never say Good-bye's....it's See-you-later.

Ima wipe my tears now so I can type a secret. NO! We are not expecting. I'll answer that one before the Mother-in-law asks. I know it's PCS time and that seems to be when it happens...but NO! We will be closing on a house in Virginia next week. YES! Did you know that amongst this moving drama we were working on buying? Can ya see why we have been up until 04:00 quite frequently? This means as we coast into Virginia the end of next week we will be signing papers. I have said it once and will say it again......I can not wait to paint! There will not be a white wall in the house after living in Military housing for the past 7 years.

Next Blog will be from stateside. Maybe if the kids are nice to me I can draft it in the air. Haha, that was funny in itself.

One Day and a Wake Up!

The other night Kalee and I had a girls night out. We took a break from the nearly empty house to say Sayonara to some of our Japanese friends Aya and Eimee. We met them when we lived in Negishi and Aya helped show us around Yokohama. Kalee and Eimee were only 2 at the time and watching them communicate was awesome. Kalee spoke to Eimee in English and Eimee would respond in Japanese. I decided it was time to take then somewhere they have not been in the Yokosuka area. We went to Peppered Lunch. I only wish I could mail the sauce they have on the counter...I'm too honest to pull a Grandmother...not to mention I'm in JAPAN!!!

Yesterday we checked out of housing. DONE! We have 1 day and a wake up left here. Now we are staying with our friend and it's working out great for the kiddies. By the time we leave she will probably go in circles looking for where Bear relocated her belongings. That will be about a years worth of entertainment in itself.

The kids had dental appointments this morning. Bear jumped right up in the chair and grabbed "Mr. Slurpee" the saliva sucker. After all the pig noises he made using that tool, you'd think the hospital was a pig sty. He made me a liar out of me when I explained how I had to straddle over him to get the toothbrush in the mouth. The complete opposite of Kalee. Kalee got the "circle tickle tool" with mint chocolate toothpaste to clean her teeth. As the Dentist saw her she asked if her water gun was still working. Missing 2 front teeth and all makes for a perfect squirting instrument in the bath tub. Bear gets the brunt end of that one. We sure are going to miss that Pediatric Dentist.

One more day and a wake up!!!

Yokohama

Yesterday was an exhausting day! Saturdays Tropical Storm passed leaving for a gorgeous Sunday. We decided upon rising that we would head up to China Town in Yokohama. You know what was strange about the day? We had Cindy with who took picture of the 4 of us together. YES! It was actually kinda nice. To the left is a picture from the top of Landmark Tower (shown to the right) with Mt. Fuji in the background during sunset. What a beautiful sight. By this point Max and I both had piercing headaches. I thought it may have been from altitude sickness (no, I'm not that ditsy). The elevator going up the tower was made by Mitsubishi and was the fastest in the world...or Japan. Since I'm not that fluent in Japanese, I didn't catch all of the speech from the elevator attendant...mostly because during the 40 second ride her eyes were shut with her forehead leaning against the wall. I'll just be safe and say - It was super fast and my ears were hurting. Since my friend has told me I have a strange fascination with Japanese toilets I'd thought it would be nice to include a few pictures...you might understand why. The right is a picture of a child's toilet in a train station...that by chance happens to be in the bottom of a mall called MM21. Why 21 you may ask? I don't know! Maybe because it has 21 stories? Honestly, there are so many escalators in that building I wouldn't doubt the 21 floor guess. The toilet is used facing forward or backward for children. It's similar to the traditional Japanese style toilet. Also, you will find a picture of a western style Japanese toilet. The arm looking thing on the right is not to brace yourself. No, it's to control the controllable in the restroom. You will find a 'super deodorizer' button for those embarrassing releases, a 'water sound' button to cover up the sound of the embarrassing releases, a 'spray' and 'buddiet' button with warm water and pressure control for use left to your imaginations...and, oh by the way the toilet seats are heated. See why I have and interesting fascination with them? Wouldn't you? By the way, while taking these pictures I could hear the Japanese ladies thinking "Americans think we were born with camera's in our hands". Yeah, so, I can hear people think....I'm talented like that!

Below are a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Moving Entertainment

Moving entertainment....heh, that was an oxymoron. You know, the games of hide 'n seek in the closets and under kitchen cabinets. Watching Mom leap every time a scream bursts because she just knows someone is going to get their fingers stuck. Entertainment while every piece of furniture is packed out and we sit on a cold hardwood floor, to watch the TV on a box. Playing "Who wants to help mom clean the sliding glass door track" game...or better yet, "How long will it take Mom to peel that apple with a knife" game....Thanks to Kalee I mastered that about 4 years ago. Well to take a break from all this, a friend brought over a tree hugging game of Monopoly, no really it was a 60's version of Monopoly. Rad huh? Oh wait that was 80's. What was the 'in' word for the 60's? Mom help! Was it narley...gnarly...? How ever you spell it. Or was that the 70's? I'm lost.

For the record if Max ever reads this....Cindy and I opened a can of kick but on him! Amazing, the game was truly entertaining

1 Week To Go

...Well if there are 8 days a week...

Today we all slept in...WOW! Something we have not done in....um, well, uh....I can't remember. Once 'Sleeping Beauty' woke up...man, that girl can sleep, we got cleaned up. Meanwhile, I herd "Mom, brother just pooped in my closet." ...and that's how the day begun. We walked down to the CNFJ (Commander Naval Forces Japan) Fire Station. They had an open house with lots of demonstrations. One in which was using the jaws of life to get an injured person out of a vehicle. I saw the fear in her eyes when they broke through the windows and folded the top part of the car back. After explaining when and why firefighters do that she calmed down. As the dummy was pulled out of the vehicle and layed on the stretcher she asked "Why did that person have holes in him?" I have a very observant child. Beware! Another demo included an aircraft that was on fire. Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture (hence the title of this blog)?

...And a Move to the US!

12 rolls of tape
11 kinds of boxes
10 bottles of water
9 hours loading
8 mouths eating (my family of 4, 3 packers and a FRIEND...to clarify!)
7 days of cleaning
6 weeks of planning
5 crates on the first day
4 days of clothes
3 Japanese packers
2 days of loading
AND a move to the United States!

It's done! We packed out our long term household goods. The Japanese packers were great. I was rather impressed at how efficient they were! Max and I always joked about timeliness here too. When we put a service request in for maintenance and they said 08:00 they pulled around the corner at 07:59 and rang the doorbell at exactly 08:00. Same with the movers! We still think they park around the corner and wait. The kids did great too. When we packed out to move here Kalee didn't do so well with the movers taking her toys and bed. I prepared them properly this time. "The box men that we have been talking about are here to help us move our belongings to our new home. They want to pack everything just right because they know it's special to us. So we have to help them and stay out of their way." Simple as that! Mrs. Cindy took Kalee for a ride to break things up for her. They cruised by the pier to say Sayonara to Mr. Chuck and Daddy's old ship while Bear napped in the 'Do not Enter. Express shipment items' room. Max even wrote it in Kanji....well actually he's not experienced in writing hieroglyphics so he worked his computer magic and printed it. Some 197 boxes later, our house is empty....and it echos....which wouldn't be so bad if my opera singer had laryngitis. How convenient the acoustics in this place are just...perfect for her. And it didn't take me long to figure out that when Bear disappeared, the kitchen cupboards had a familiar giggle. Now we have a TV on a box, air mattress, a pot, a pan, can opener, fine china made by Dixie, few toys and books...until our express shipment goes Wednesday of next week. 10 days left here!

On a side note: Many know we have HHG (household goods) in storage in San Diego. Escondido to be exact. Even though we have (as of 24 hours ago the area was evacuated) our most precious heirlooms stored there we realize many don't have a roof over their head. Please keep the displaced families in your thoughts and prayers. We lived in San Diego during the Cedar fires 4 years ago and I remember how devastating it was when I drove up the 163 to I-15.... freeways well traveled by Max and I. A reporter said this is worse then Hurricane Katrina....wow!

Hectic times

Max's Commissioning Ceremony was this past week. What a sight! Now only if family would understand what it means to go up the Enlisted ranks, and be one of few Navy wide to get selected for LDO (limited duty officer). Kalee got to put his shoulder boards on, and Bear got to place the cover him. What a sight, I tell ya. If the other computer wernt packed I'd post pictures....go figure huh!

Today Kalee said "Mom, I found the earring from when I was a kid!"....if this dosent make you laugh. When I was putting her to bed I was explaining the next few days. Tomorrow we are going to the Mikoshi Parade. Monday, Tokyo Disney Sea. Tuesday, we pack out....she said "Wait! Is that the day the box men are coming over to our house and making a thousand boxes?" She's right, it seems like a thousand when your unpacking by yourself. "Yup it is baby, and they will put them in big crates and then they go on boats to the States. We will get all our stuff when we get there"...or 3 months later....shhhh.

Duty calls. Hubby wants me to help him log serial numbers. Thing we do to prepare....

Heads up to my regulars, I may not be on for a few days.

Proud and Prepping

Daddy's so proud! So ya know we are kinda packing....obviously for a move. During this evolution, Kalee's massive custom made captains bed had to be taken apart into pieces for the movers next week. NEXT WEEK! 6 days from today! Max ran downstairs to grab something and Bear picked up where Daddy left off. He operated a power drill all by himself. Then as I was showering, I herd a woodpecker pecking in my hallway...until I realized he was drilling a hole in my wall. I think he's been hanging around his 3 year old friend that builds his Mom bird houses using his Bob the Builder tools too much.


Moving is stressful for children too. I realized this when prepping to move to Japan. Kalee was about 2 and started crying when her bed and toys walked out the door and onto the large wooden crates. Since this will be her 4th home (Bears 3rd) in her short life we have been working her up to yet another, new room. This time it's exciting. Even though she probably has little to no memory of living in the States, she at least remembers visiting there. I have explained to her how it's different there. Here we fear getting hit by a local bicycle rider....in the states we fear kidnappings. We have discussed many differences and what will be happening so she knows what to expect when the time comes. Another thing most don't realize is Max is headed to another ship. Back to back sea duty. Normally Sailors rotate ship/shore duty...but as you know, Max and "normal" don't belong in the same sentence. Once again we have to explain how Daddy will be working on another ship...a bigger one with a different mission. By the time this girl turns 6 she will have mastered Geography...courtesy of Dad's career. The globe serves for more then just a shelf ornament in this house...all things we have to discuss with a 5 year old that understands and a 2 year old that doesn't.

Bear's vocabulary is blossoming. He repeats every last word. I told him "put that back" he repeated "back-t", then I said "clean your face" he said "base". See the trend. Literally last word. Now I have to get him to say Maximiliano opposed to "ano".

Time to go. I'm talking about my kids too much...again.

Talkin' Crap!

Last night had my Ab's hurting from laughing so hard. We went to some friends house for Taco's. Due to scheduling of these large pieces of floating steel attached to piers here, we decided to get together with some anonymous friends one last time. I say anonymous because they just knew I was going to blog about the night's dinner, um, er, night's conversation. Conversation about crap. No really, crap. It talking about crap offends or disgusts you please read no further. (I know Navy wives are all over this one) Now would we discuss crap with anyone off the street? No. Well not normally. These anonymous friends have been long time friends and we talk about all kinds of weird stuff. At the dinner table. I mean, how many people admit to grabbing their spouse by hand and walking them to the bathroom to show how it has made a complete circle around the toilet. Or piled so high it's coming out of the water...or so hard it's a 3 flusher. Really gross crap huh? I'd say so. Classy group of people we are, I tell ya. Thats about the extent of crap talk from this Navy Wife!

Then tonight our kids crap...I mean crack, us up. Kalee says the funniest things like "that's not necessary guys". Doesn't sound funny reading it... just imagine a 4 year old trying to pronounce necessary while missing 2 front teeth. While Kalee vacuumed her popcorn mess, Bear had his hands on his hips supervising. WOW! I'm reading a book "Man in the Mirror" and it talks about how men learn. Bear is no exception...he is fitting right into the puzzle of learning from his Daddy. This reading a Mommy book is weird....I'm so used to "Once upon a time" stories. Maybe by the time Kalee is outta college I will have it finished. Just as I'm hoping by the time Bear gets married he will be weaned....at least from my boob. It's almost time we start seeing other people, you know.

**NOTE-
I AM the Crunchiest Lactivist you will ever know...and I do believe in child led weaning...but please realize he will not leave the front pew open at his wedding to stop the ceremony and lay down for his "nu-nu" fix. For the record Kalee choose to wean at 33 months.

Love/Hate

Do you have a love/hate relationship? I do. It's with this time of year. I love fall. Beautiful weather, lovely colors...and candy corn. Well the candy corn is the love/hate part. I love the way it tastes; I hate the way it looks on my hips. Get it now? I don't have an addiction like drinking or smoking....no, it's candy. Funny enough I'm not big on chocolate. My weaknesses are circus peanuts, candy corn, conversation hearts, all the weird ones. I can only imagine going to the doctor and them asking me "Ma'am, do you drink, use tobacco or eat candy?" while doing my vitals. Eeeks that'll be that day. As a result, I now refuse to buy them, lick them, smell them....or go down that isle in the commissary. I'm not exaggerating when I say I have probably gained about 5 lbs. in a month and I attribute it to the candy corn. What should I expect when I put a bag of it away every 2 days.

My friend came over for dinner tonight. I fixed Grandmas goulash recipe. One meal I have not screwed up yet. While eating she turned to me saying "...and here all this time I thought he was a gentleman". But for some reason I can not remember what the conversation was about. Hum, maybe she'll comment now that I posted the directions and remind me what we were discussing.

I am subbing for stroller class again tomorrow. Another hill is planned for them and lots of ab and leg work. YAY! Can you picture me doing jumping jacks in the aircraft in 22 days!

Strange Hubby?

Max told me he wanted to figure out a way to mount a laptop in the bathroom. Does anyone else find this....strange?



Then he opens the fridge to see what kind of leftovers are in there. Since we are at the 'clean the cupboards out' stage we have been eating sweet potatoes with spaghetti or chicken and beats. He pulled out left over sweet potatoes and opened it asking "are these still good". Let me say....I leave food in the fridge until I think about cleaning it out and taking the trash out at the same time. It's been in there for 5 days....so no it's probably not good. Can ya guess what he did? Returned it to the fridge! YES! Then I got to thinking'....about when I was living at home...before marriage. My brother and I would walk in the house to find Precious (the dog) threw up. AH! He and I would both bee line it elsewhere so Mom would clean it up...since after all she found it first. That house was built on top of an ant hill. I remember walking into the kitchen and finding the ant's marching in a line along the counter and up the wall. I took off to my room...and ran into my Bub who told me something along the lines of 'don't go down stairs unless you want to help Mom clean up those ants'. Then time passes by and I had my own place. I found ants traveling along the microwave cord...of all places. They came out of the light socket and managed a way to find the inside of the glass door on the microwave. My first instinct was to run away....but by the time I stepped out of the kitchen, it hit me. Whoa- I have to clean them up myself.....darn. How do I do that....I never hung around Mom long enough to see what she used. Funny how that happens.


On a side note, I HATE left overs but just recently started to eat them.....or find a way to alter them to eat in another meal....because wasting is costly.

Lost and Found

We were missing keys today. Max's set, at that. We searched high and low. Looked in obvious places like jacket pockets, pant pockets, shoes, dryer, toilet, toy boxes...no luck. Tonight I pulled things away from the walls to sweep. As I pulled Kalee's hope chest that is currently serving as a toy box out, I herd a jingle. Yay! Now what are the chances of finding lost keys in the same spot twice? A few months ago my keys hibernated back there for a few days. Funny enough I found my missing lipstick back there too.

Now that I found Bear's hiding spot...we pack out in 13 days. Too bad I didn't discover it say, a year ago.

Comments

Several have asked how to comment on my blog. Most are probably thinking "click on the comment button, Duh". Were you one of those? If so, you obviously reside in the states. Here, we are on a Japanese IP address, quite often the computers go nuts and show up in Kanji...which is what happens when my friends here in Japan land go to comment on my page. So here's how to do it if your one of those:

On the bottom on the post you choose to comment on click on comment
The right side will then have a large box leave your text there.
In the small box below that may have a wheelchair next to it, type the word verification code that was written above. (I included this step to alleviate me dealing with spammers).
There will be 3 circles in which you get to select one of...click the middle one.
In the top box directly below, put your Name
..and to publish your comment click the orange box on the left side.
DONE!
Now you just sit and wait for me to approve your comment....and maybe respond to it.

Currency and Gameplan

As a part of preparing for the upcoming event we decided to have Kalee bring all her piggy banks down stairs. Now I say all because she started with a pig for dollars and a Princess bank that my Mom got her at Disneyland for her Yen....and just recently some friends brought her and Bear each a coconut monkey bank back from Hawaii. See, even friends think my kids rock. Once all 4 banks were in the middle of the room we started dumpin' them. Max responded with "You know Kalee, I don't like sorting your money because I know where it came form." You see any NORMAL family would have a pile for each; quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies. Right? No! Not us. We have the above plus the Yen coins; 500, 100, 50, 10, 5 and 1 (FYI- the exchange rate is about 117.2 per American dollar). Should be 10 piles....acceptable given we do live in a foreign country and use 2 different kinds of currency on a daily basis. BUT...there was more. Since we have lived here, Max has visited more places then you have under ware in your drawer. With visiting different geographical areas comes MORE foreign currency. Yup! We have currency from Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, and Korea. Great! Now we can combine it with our collection form various European and South American countries. You know your a military family when you can recognise which country that coin came form at a glance. Kalee was in charge of the other pile. She liked it because not all coins were round. She took interest in the ones that were a 'shape' (from Australia)...and Bear took interest in one coin. It was a quarter from KY....no, not because his Grammi lives there....because it had a horse on it. That boy can spot a horse a mile away I tell ya. Now, I am pleased to say they are all separated into baggies so we can take them to the bank this week. I wonder how much they have in American dollars and Japanese Yen?

Today's task includes me doing a dry run of packing suitcases. Weird I know. I need to see what and how much of the kids clothes I can stuff in a carry on so I can determine what I need to mail to KY this week. Most of you are probably lost...so let me back up. See, the military sends us form point A to D to E because it's "cost effective" only to find out we should have been at point B all along. That being said, the tentative...and I repeat TENTATIVE plan, because everything is subject to change, is:

• Take a 2 hour bus ride to the place we have to catch a MAC flight from
• Endure the overseas flight with 2 kids in the finest of military aircraft...that may or may not have lighting and serve MRE's. (Yes, the same one I took last April)
• Land on US soil and stand in the long line to get through customs and immigration putting up with 2 whiny kids that just want to run around (because the US is not like Japan in allowing people with small children a head of the line).

This is where it gets interesting....

• Max departs to San Diego to get our HHG(household goods) and POV(car) and heads across country in a moving truck by himself.
• I get to wrestle our two lovely children back into their car seats and fly another 4 hours to Ohio because the first one isn't going to be long enough.
• OHIO? Yeah I see you noticed. remember earlier I talked about point A,B,C,D,E and F? Well Cincinnati, OH is like point F and a half. The finest Naval personnel could only get us to VA...which is great if we didn't have to stop in KY for our other POV. As a result I get to play hookie with the airlines and ditch them at the stop in OH. Which means I can't have any checked luggage...only carry-on's...and 2 kids/car seats.
• No I'm not left there to hitchhike...my Mother-in-Law (MIL) is going to pick us up...
• This time SHE can wrestle the kids into their car seat, and we drive about 160 miles down to KY to visit the family.

...for 4 days or so.

• As Max passes by I plan on meeting up with him and following him another 10 hours to VA...you guessed it....with the kids in the car seat.
• He should be with us for about a week then he takes off to RI for school. Misses both kids birthdays but arrives hours before Christmas Day. A little more leave and he gets to fly out to meet a very large piece of steel, floating somewhere in the deep dark waters here on Earth.

Somewhere in between all of this we close on a house.

..and that my friend is the jest of it. Are your eyes tired of listening? That just woke you now didn't it?

Rollin' the Dough

Sally goes round the sun, Sally goes round the moon, Sally goes round the chimney top every afternoon....
I'm still stuck at parachute play form yesterdays party. It was fun!...for those under 5. Actually even the adults went in the bouncer. Max was bouncing so much we almost had to chase the thing around the party room. I'm proud to say I DIDN'T BURN ANYTHING and I only forgot the sour cream and ice cream scoop at home. For me that's great! The cakes turned out so yummy and cute too. Bear kept trying to sneak a finger poke in when we were not looking...lil' ham. Another friend made some addicting salsa...I put half the bowl away myself. ...and I'm so sad the Rodriguez family (those lingering fart friends I talked about previously) will miss next years party. 5 consecutive Birthday's...that doesn't come by often in the military community.

Since we have about 4lbs of beans left from yesterday Max wanted tortillas to go with them. Real tortillas. Not the Manny brand from the Commissary. No. Home made tortillas. The only home made thing I know how to make are beautiful babies....I haven't mastered the tortillas yet. Well I got the ingredients down but not the rolling. I can roll the dough out, but for some reason they look like Japan... I turned and got them to look like Texas. How come I cant get them round? I was about to take a small bowl out and flip it upside down to use it like a cookie cutter. Cooke cutter, tortilla cutter, same difference. His grandma would be proud of how they tasted too...and I used Safflower oil instead of lard. I will say I got ab work in while rolling them. It takes some elbow grease to make those things and I even cheated and threw the dough in my Kitchen Aid. Sheesh, I hand it to Grandma. Now she has to teach me how to fight off the passer-bys that snatch one every time they walk in to see if I need help. No wonder she makes huge batches.

I also have to apologise to my readers. Most of the time I mean from instead of form. It drives me crazy. It really does. And because form is a word, spell check skips over it. Waht, I mean what is another one too. So if your an English Major and reading my blog, I'd be curious to hear waht you have to say. Haha.

Old-Pain-Fiesta

"I didn't realize how many old people are on here" Max said as he was surfing myspace.
"Really?"
"yeah I ran a search from 31-65 and there are tons of people"

Um, who's gonna be the one to inform him he's only 3 years away from that? Not me! When I was 12 I thought 18 was old.... when I was 18 I thought 24 was old...now, anything above 90 is old. That means my Nana is...not old yet. Funny enough Kalee was talking about "Old Papa" again today...and he was 'old'...but not really, he was only in his 70's. Confused yet? Good cuz I dono what I just said.

On another subject...my butt hurts! Max worked me out yesterday. Getcha mind outta the gutter (Mom). I wanted to hit the gym but didn't have time to. I asked the CFL (Command Fitness Leader) to give me exercises to make me look like a fit Mama. HE DID! Let me tell ya. I did 20 4count jumping jacks and went down to do cherry pickers and almost fell over. Now realizing I'm rather flexible....I could hardly touch my toes after an hour of his guidance...not normal! Good thing there were no MA's (police) in my room this morning. I would have been arrested for walking under the influence...of tight hamstrings and a pain in the butt!

Tomorrow is Kalee and Bear's Dora and Diego Birthday Fiesta. Our last celebration here since we only have 29 days left. Huh? Me counting? Well yeah! I can't wait to walk into a Wal-Mart! Or go out to eat and order in English because 'ketchup-pu' doesn't set well coming out of my mouth. I still laugh typing it. So I'm squared away today. I'm sitting here blogging instead of cooking my meat sauce for the Fiesta Stack ups we are serving tomorrow. I can't mess this one up...it's in the crock pot. I found a way to out smart my charcoal touch to food. I have to cut leaves (lettuce) and Bob's (Tomato's -from VeggieTales) and cry over some purple and green onions. See why I'm procrastinating....Good thing a friend is doing their cakes. I can't wait to see how they turn out.

And on that note I just herd "Moooommm, brothers peeing" and I said "Good, in the toilet?" she said "No on the sink!".....huh? I ran in there and he was more concerned with bathing his stuffed Elmo and Nemo then turning around and peeing in the toilet. Great! I have water and pee to clean up...and have to prepare to entertain a room full of toddlers tomorrow.

...and how come my husband is downloading "How to convert your car to tap water"? I can see it now..."Hey Bear, take this watering can and fill up the car." Ut-oh...I think my tree hugging way of thinking is rubbing off on him. He wants to build a go-cart and test the theory.

Babe, feel this

So.....

As Max was in the kitchen making some tea I walked in there and asked him a question about fitness. As usual I did a push up using the counter...cuz we all know at 25 I still can't do a real one.... and started flexing while moving my skin to show the bicep that was the size of a chickpea. Look harder, you'll find it. I know it's there I lug a 32 lb kid around. I wanted him to feel a certain muscle on my body....the part that I'm sitting on to be exact. He looked at where I was talking about and said "Babe, that's your bone". Huh? No, it cant be. I felt how it's hard back there. "Yeah that is part of your pelvic bone" he said. No it's not, I can feel it flex. Once he explained that I was moving my body and not flexing I came to the conclusion he was right. The Navy put him through that school too, so I'm sure he knows what he's talking about.

Come to think of it....sitting on this hard chair is hurting that thing I thought was a muscle. I'll keep working. One day I'll look like....like....like a chick with muscular gluts. And when I wave to you won't have to duck form my ever so jiggly triceps.

Compliment amongst drama

I got the best compliment....that was intended to be an insult this morning. Not getting too far into what happened...because unlike most, I vowed to leave the drama in High School...I told her what I thought about her. I'll admit, saying things like "I'm not ____(her child's name) please don't yell at me" wasn't very kind, but I think I got my point across. When she told me how 'all I do is talk about my kids and family' I burst into laughter! I looked at Max (who herd it on speaker phone...she didn't know over all that yelling) and said "GOOD! That means I'm doing my job!". Of course he had a huge smile too....my family man.


I invest sooo much into these babies. They are my and Max's life. I was soo excited she hung up on me (actually Max at that point) because I wanted to call my Mom and tell her about that compliment as quickly as possible. I believe there is a reason people are put into my life. I learned this one was to remind me of my focus and loyalty to my family. I know what I want to be and what I don't. I can only hope she learned from me... as I did learn something positive from her.

See 1, seen all

Oops! I wrote this yesterday and didn't post it.....

You see one, you've seen them all. What is in a Bizarre that is. Not a brazier, a Bizarre! Yeah this weekend was Yokosuka's semi-annual NEX Bizarre. Of the whole Fleet Rec parking garage there is only one vendor we actually like. We met her when I was pregnant with Bear and ever since we like to see whats she has that's new. We went to get a wooden kokeshi doll for each of the kids (I'll attach pic's when Max formats my flash card) and a Japanese tea set for Kalee. That's it! We got what we wanted and left. I don't even think kokeshi dolls are cute...but I wanted them for memories after we leave. Kalee picked out her birth month doll and I picked up a Sumo one for Bear (since he is a sumo that was born here after all). Like I said I don't even like them. Tons of people save up and go crazy at these things....I don't see why. Quite honestly I have never liked this style...and 3 years later still don't. Can you see me hanging something that was a funky color with hieroglyphics on my wall and would have to Google it to understand what it says? Um, No! Now if we were in Europe....wshew....it's on! Both Max and I are into that stuff.

Max got in last night after them taking that hunk of steel out for sea trials. Killed most of the lovely weekend. Funny how much drama happens of the pier while watching the ship moor and patiently waiting for liberty call. Really, it is. Need Entertainment? Put a couple of these psychotic Navy wives on the pier. Heck- to the right you'll find the butt kissers, up there are the mouth runners, out casters are smart because they aren't even here, and there.... if you tilt your head right you'll find the ones that can't seem to pull their heads out.

Daddy's Birthday Dinner

Taking our 22 month old out to eat is like trying to wrestle with a pig. Sheesh!

Yesterday was Max's birthday. He turned old. I made plans with our (lingering fart) friends to meet at Italian Gardens. By the way, they informed me we were the lingering farts. We got orders here first but they always moved before us....except this time...I think they are a week behind us! So, we had 4 adults and 4 kids...or better yet 4 adults, 2 opera singers that constantly debated who was right and 2 pigs that squealed while dumping water, dipping hands to find ice, and throwing the colored pencils at the wall. As we were ready to order some yummy brick oven pizzas the waitress signed no (in Japanese) and said pizza. HUH??? We went there for pizza. You cant tell us there is NO pizza. Evidently the oven broke and they couldn't fix it in time. If ya leave it to the Navy it wont be fixed until 2019 because it's not in the budget. Instead we settled for a ton of carbs. You should of seen our table. Dr Atkins would have had a heart attach looking at it. I know what your waiting for.....YES I did notify them I was upset they didn't tell us there was NO pizza as they seated us. I asked to speak to the manager....and how come the other 3 adults suck me on him? They pointed to me and said "her", "she wants to talk to you", "over there"...they just knew I'd get them a complimentary dessert....and I did!

Happy Birthday to my Husband! I don't think the man even knows my blog address...and if he does he probably reads the first line and the last, like he does with e-mails I send when he's underway. I figured out how to send something I want him to read...title it "Pic's of the Kids". I'm not too mean, I actually attach pics for him. Like me, he's a sucker for his babies!

Try these...

It time to go through the closets not only because of the season change, that has yet to occur here in Japan, but we are preparing for the pack out in 28 days... who's counting? Here is a conversation Kalee and I had.

Me: "Come try these pants on for me."
K: (she puts them om) See, I told you they fit Mommy.
M: "Hunny, those are supposed to be pants not capri's."
K: "Oh, (she pulls them down where the crotch is mid thigh and wraps a sweater around her waist) see they look like pants now."

OH MY GOSH!!!! Where does she come up with that stuff?

Me: "Babe, you got plenty of good use out of them last year (actually 2 years, these were the ones my in-laws sent her and fit her long skinny body perfect) so we are going to pass them on"
K: "OK, I'll keep them in this box and save them for my sister."
Me: "Um what sister? This is news to me. Do you have a sister I don't know about?"
K: "No silly, you know I want 2 brothers and 2 sisters....that makes 5 of us."
Me: "So how many more brothers do you need?
K: "just one"

Just what I need...5 kids that act like....um, like.....wait - Mom, wasn't it you that hoped my kids were half as bad as I was? Thanks! I was talking to a lady at the park yesterday and she told me about a Japanese proverb.....'If you have 3 then you know what your parents went through'. Maybe Max and I should re-evaluate our intentions. Nah, we'll just split the driveway in equal sections. (I linked to that post in case you didn't get it) And to make sure everyone is crystal clear...unlike some previous posts, there is no reading between the lines in this one - NO we are not expecting an addition.

As I type this Max and Kalee are talking about Kalee wanting a farm. Max said we live in a house with a pig, horse and a cow. Curious as to who's what, I had the guts to ask. Max said he was the pig, Bear was the horse, and I was the cow....THANKS!!!! Then I thought about how much milk I have produced in the past 5 years. Yeah, he's right...I can be the cow. Kalee said she was a Monkey (what I always call her)

....and on his farm he had a Monkey- E-I-E-I-O!

Lets get physical

Yeah-now that song is stuck in my head.

I'm amazed at how much Kalee desires to run with me. It's working! I want this family to have a physical lifestyle. We already established that "McDonalds isn't healthy", "smoke stinks and can cause cancer or kill you" and "alcohol can make you get in accidents". Funny how they pick certain sentences to remember. Even funnier when we run into someone who has McDonalds at the park and she informs them of her opinion. Next phrase will be along the lines of "exercising is good for your heart". So once again towards the end of my route I allowed her to jump out and travel along my side. She did so good! We went about a mile and even did pool hill together. At's my girl!!!

Bear also wants to get out and run. After about 10 feet into the jog he got easily distracted and started chasing a dog that was going the opposite direction. "Dog! Dog! Dog! Ah-Mah, Dog!" We quickly learned to restrict his run time to the gated playground by the seawall.

Dry-ouch!

I gotta brag because I'm so proud. Today was Bears first day without an accident! YES!!! He woke up with a dry diaper and immediately said potty. It's amazing how quickly I jump out of bed for that word but conveniently ignore the alarm clock. Dry underware all day. We even ran to the Commissary...not literally, we drove. Max is lazy and didn't want to run with me. Can't blame him, it's still 90* outside. I just had to make it out like it was his decision not to run. So we went to the Commissary - there that's better..and Bear was asleep. Mean I know. We were on a time schedule. I had to drive because..well, to make a long story short his wallet is missing. Max had to go because I don't buy steak. Have I told you about the time I tried to make a pot roast in the crock pot with fillet min young? I think that's how you spell it. I used to pronounce it 'flaming young' until I was pregnant with Kalee and read it on a menu. I had to drive and he had to buy. Drive-buy? Ha! As we walked in the Commissary he woke up and I asked him if he had to go potty. I'm pleased to announce after touching every square inch of the toilet seat, he went! He's too short to stand...and when he sits he has to scoot back on the seat so he doesn't pee straight out on me. Who would have thought training a boy would be so....interesting?

As I was bathing them Kalee was trying to sit down in the tub and Bear was working his way up. Head meet head. I swear it vibrated the hairs in my ears. Bear cried and Kalee responded "Ouch, my brain hurts".

Exit Stage Left

What an evening! We decided to go to out for dinner last night. Should have been nice right? NO! Not with my little tornado. It all started with doing his favorite thing in the booth. Bouncing. He's almost too large for the high chair so we can't strap him down ans laugh. Not that I would ever laugh at him. No, not me. So he was bouncing on the booth. Max tried occupying him with some of his root beer. Yeah that was smart. We don't give the kids fake juice (Hi-C, CapriSun, Sunny Delight, Gatorade, Kool aid) or coke so imagine what he did once he got the sugar. Yeah bad picture. He got a hold of my cup and did what he so regularly does with it. Sticks his hand in it to get ice. During this process the glass managed to jump from his hand completely missing his clothes and crash to 100 pieces on the floor. Uggh! Finally he was occupied by watching Dad the waitress clean it up. I shoveled the food as quick as I could. Then he walked over and tormented the piano player. OK he didn't torment her, he was flirting with her...same difference, she was distracted. By then we were ready to exit stage left.

I still say had my boy come first he would be and ONLY child!

Smart?

Last nights festivities had to of been interesting....Max came home today with no voice. Humm, too much cadence when they PT's. Yeah right! I'd hate to be the boot that would have him as a RDC. There are lots of happy people today. Pretty much the whole battle group pulled in. This base is congested to say the least. ICK! Fortunately it will give us the opportunity to get together with some of our friends before we part. There has been a couple that has followed us around like a nasty fart. We were neighbors in Coronado, Negishi and now here on main base Yokosuka. Our kids girls grew up together. Started with spitting up competitions, then biting, hair pulling, toy fighting, and now emotion playing. Wow much has happened in 5 years! This is also the family that has been to all 5 (next including next months party) of Kalee's Birthdays. Not even family can say that. We sure are gonna miss em'!

I made and appointment with EDIS (early development intervention services) to have Max screened. No, not big Max. Although I don't think it would be a bad idea to have him screened I think it might be a little to late. You know the saying "Can't to teach an old dog new tricks"? He runs the kids around the house, begs for dinner, and sits on me so I can hear his butt-talk just fine (No, I didn't teach him that one). Anyway, I just wanted my little guy evaluated speech wise. They did the whole sha-bang. She said he should have about a 50 word vocabulary and signs include a word. During the evaluation he only signed 9 words but spoke 77. I should write a days worth of words down...out of curiosity. The results for his development came out great across the board. She said it was really nice to see above average kids and Kalee was definitely at a 5 year old level....I had to inform her she wouldn't be 5 til December! YAY! Not that I didn't know my girl was a genius anyway...

In conversation she asked if Kalee was in school. Enthusiastically Kalee responded "I'm in Home School". I must say that was the very first time we received a major BZ (Bravo Zulu) for making that decision...and the screening took place at a DOD (Department Of Defence) school by a health care professional. Funny enough she was home schooled herself and used the same Christian based curriculum (A Beka) as we are.

The moral of today's post....I always knew my kids were not only the cutest kids on Earth but the smartest too! Would "Mom's always right" be appropriate?

She said I'm old!

How come "Mom, brother is throwing up" results in me running over to him with my hands cupped? I mean what was I thinking? Humm, I'm curious how much can my hands really hold? Or was it - If I catch this mornings scrambled egg then it wont crumble into the rug when I clean it up....and why is it that he finds the only 4x8 piece of rug down stairs to throw up on? Since he's obviously not feeling well, Kalee and I left him home to nap with Daddy while us girls went out to do some errands. You see, tonight is a very "special" for the Navy Chief's. He had to come home and rest up for the all nighter he gets to pull having "fun" with this years selectees since it's the only year he gets to do so. I remember being a Selectee's wife this time last year...never again thank goodness! So, Kalee and I had a few things to do, one in which is go to the post office. We walked out to the High School band marching towards the field. When I had to stop walking so someone could pass I noticed I was mark timing to the drum line. I'm serious! Almost a decade later! Then my daughter said "I want to wear a drum like that. Can I do that when I get old like you?" Great. Now I'm old too!

Max signed the moving papers today. About a month left before our big pack out...with lots of events between now and then. Never a dull moment in this house hold!

Now that the tornado is sleeping I better take advantage of this time with my little cleaning helper.

I can't take it anymore!

While teaching my PT TOTS class with the majority population almost 2 years old, Kalee walked up to my friend and I and said "Mom, I can't take it anymore". Bwahahaha! "Why? What's your issue" I asked. "I'm done!" she exclaimed. I though about it for a second...still don't have the slightest clue of where she could have picked that phrase up from.

Then the boy gets a orange out of the fridge. I had my hand out expecting to wash and cut it. Nope. He threw it on the ground and said "bounce". No son it's not a ball!

I better go. My to do list is growing almost as fast as that laundry weed. I can't take it anymore!

Cleaning is Fun

Laundry. It grows. I don't mind washing and folding...but I hate putting it away. Today I elected my son to help me sort. I went upstairs to make sure I got everything, since it's normal for stray weeds such as Bear's underware to appear out of nowhere. My helper climbed on top of the dryer and started throwing the clean clothes that I laid flat to dry in the washer that was filling up with water. He was sooo proud...and I was, washing clean clothes.

Toys. They reproduce more then the Brady Bunch. You know the toys that go up you butt when you sit on the couch. Or jump out at ya when you open the closet. Or magically appear under your foot and make you stand like a flamingo. Yeah those. My daughter was the official toy organizer today...but she didn't want to. No, what did she want to do? She wanted to vacuum and use my handy Tough and Tender wipes to clean (my eco friendly cleaning stuff that my boy can eat and it won't hurt him). Yeahhh! I did something right! For a while scrubbing the base boards was a punishment...now it's all about turning up the VBS (Vacation Bible School) music with a sponge in our hands. I know your thinkin' scrubbing base boards? We also did push-up's and wall squats when time-out didn't work. That was all before we figured out taking toys and privileges was most effective with her. I remember as a kid when my brother and I started cuttin' up...my Dad saying "I can find something that needs to be cleaned". He sure did too. One time it was the Driveway! No we didn't get to use a hose...that was too convenient...instead we got the good ol' fashioned iron scrub brush and a bucket. Yup from that one time on, all they had to do was threaten with "Let me move the car".

So now that I have them brainwashed that a pear is a dessert, fruit leathers are candy and cleaning is fun, I need to work on introducing them to the kitchen. They might teach me something.

Dinner and a Dinner

We went to some friends house for dinner. Scrumptious! They made some beef tenderloin that I was able to cut with a fork. I know, great etiquette huh? They don't care. The kiddos ate everything on their plates. This makes me wonder...if they eat everything when I don't cook and only eat 3 bites when I do...humm? But that doesn't make sense, because I don't season everything with charcoal. I just don't get it. I made dessert...Berry Pudding Pound Cake. Someone remind me why we can't eat sweets for dinner? After filling up they pulled out the "Bones" and we played chicken foot. Wow. I miss playing those back in the day after Church. Max has always had an issue with that game. When he was pulling long shifts underway, the guys in berthing would slam em' down while he was trying to sleep...can't blame him. Tonight was fun. Kalee played too and picked up rather quickly. I think she actually beat me...well OK everyone did. Bear sat on my lap to watch after his nap and take a wild guess....his diaper leaked. We have quickly learned if his pull up is on he pees in it...underware, he pees in the toilet. Can't go a blog without talking about pee.

Friday night was the Ombudsman Appreciation Dinner. WOW! We are appreciated. We left the kids. gasp. I know. The 3rd time in umm, almost 5 years. Funny enough our boy waved and said buh-bye to us. Between the security of having sister with him and being with some good friends he was fine. We ate about a 20 course meal and had like 45 pieces for one plate setting. Geez. I will say I learned something. Knowing the uniform of the event was Summer Whites, Max wore comparable civilian attire. YUP! I have always known my husband is...well, not a normal Sailor..but now I know he's rebellious too. It was actually rather amusing. He even poured lemonade in the water glass AFTER me telling him it was the wrong one. Could it be the mustang showing already? I will never expect my husband to be a chameleon and blend in. He has always been the sore thumb and can usually count on him to yell out some sort of smart comment. No he doesn't embarrass me. I got over that about 7 years ago. I'm not one of those tea party pinkie out type of gals. I'm happy with a upside down Carmel Macciatto light on the foam from a drive through Starbucks....just make sure it's a venti, the kids know a Starbucks when they see one.

*I only expect some of you to understand what's between the lines. ;)

Yum, Crabs.

Whew! Did about 6K and weights in class today. The girls are doing great. Not my girls, the ladies. My girls see land from the down under....for now at least. They will get a raise when they are decommissioned (dang, I have been around Navy too long). That will be when this boy is off to College, at this rate.

Anyway, I ate so much I could of turned into a crab. You are what you eat, right? The Galley was open to all hands in honor of Ombudsman Appreciation Month (yes I am a command ombudsman). Normally it's only open to Active Duty. They were the best $3.60 Alaskan crab legs I tell ya....no wonder that Galley gets so many awards. Max joined us too. I think it was the first time I have seen him actually leave work to eat lunch. Ate his serving...and then some more, and more. It amazes me how much Max and Kalee can put away. Must get it from Grammi (my mother in law).

Here are some park pictures from today. My climbers. Bear is working on his acrobat moves and my Monkey is right where she belongs.

Max finally made it home from work about 21:00. As we were going through some paperwork (I'll explain at a later time), he brought something to my attention. It sounded something like "Hey Babe, do you realize this credit score is higher then your SAT score?" Yeah OK, so what if I did have a 3 digit SAT score...how convenient I don't remember what it was exactly. I mean it has been....err, ummm, almost a decade?!?!

I want to be a Mommy

K: "Mommy, I want to me a Mom just like you"

Me: "Well babe, you can after you get married....in about 20 years."

K: "I don't want to wait 20 years, that's too long"

Me: "Then go play Mommy with your baby"

K: "And my brother can be the Daddy?"

We will explain that one later. I told her he can play Daddy to a different baby. All he does is bring me the babe and insists I feed it. Humm, I guess he does learn from Daddy. ;)

I canceled Stroll N' Sculpt today due to a down pour. Had I of opened the door, we would have drowned. There was way more water filling the space in front of me then air. Make up is tomorrow and I can't wait. I need to at least get 5K in for the day...gosh I love my B.O.B!

Do you realize we pack-out in about a month?

Smart and Beautiful

Impressed! While getting started on parachute play at my PT TOT'S class Bear grabbed himself and said "pot-ty". I told the other Moms to continue with the song while I swooped him up. As I ran down the flight of stairs to the closest restroom I praised him for telling me. I get him in the restroom and pulled his pull-up off to find it DRY! I was sooooo excited! He sat on the toilet and went pot-ty. I had one of those 'Mom butterfly in the tummy' moments and told him how proud I was. As we went back upstairs, I had to announce it to all the other Mommies and they all clapped for him. He's got the hang of it. He found the yellow brick road, just didn't realize how long it was. Too bad that was the one of the only times he went in the toilet today....

Did you know Kalee was smart and beautiful? If not she will tell you. She always reminds me that reading and watching educational cartoons (the only ones allowed in this house) makes her smart. Daddy takes the credit for her knowing she's beautiful. He tells her daily. She's got his genes....and they both speak their minds. I was almost in tears when I tucked her in bed last night and she told me I was the best Mommy in the whole world and she likes me teaching her new things. Lets hear it all at once-"awwwwww". I know. My kids are the greatest!

Either I keep feeling the Earth move below me (not uncommon where I live) or I'm really tired. Time for me to go count sheep, everyone else has already.

It Finally Hit Me!

I went to the Commissary for some odds 'n ends and it finally hit me. While looking at the milk and eggs I noticed the expiration date was a date after we fly out of this country! Yes we leave in November....and yes that was the right expiration date. I jumped with joy! The lady next to me must have thought I was excited that they actually had the organic milk in stock. Yeah we react with excitement for things people in the US take for granted. Rather rare to have what you want in stock. I should have pointed to the expiration date and told her we were leaving before then. That would have at least justified my psychoness (Is that even a word?).

*Here we don't get gallons of milk, we get ultra pasteurized 1/2 gallons that have a shelf like of 30 months. OK maybe not 30 months but it's safe to say a few months. It's gross, sometimes it even contains a snot like texture to add to the flavor too. With eggs at least we have a better chance of finding good ones then watery, stinky, bloody ones...so at least that's good.

Too the pee story lovers-
Bear figured out that if he sits on the toiled backwards he can bang on the toilet lid and flush while he pees. Is this normal?

Never a Dull Moment

My son pointed to the ceiling "Ball, ball, BALL....Ah-Mah (momma in his language) BALL". I had to respond with "No son, that is the light bulb. It's not a toy." A little later I have Lightening McQueen chasing a beautiful bird. Yup, she is running around yelling "bock, bock" and he's grunting "eeerrrrrrrrrr (pant,pant) eeeeerrrrrrrrr" with his hand between his butt and under ware. And how come walking in mid conversation hearing Max say to Kalee "What if the ocean dried up" made me do a 180? Good thing I'm homeschooling her. Who thinks of that stuff? I know, I married the man. *Sigh* All in a day.


Wow, my brain hurts. Moving is one thing. Doing 4 moves in 10.5 months (now working on move #7) of our marriage....we've mastered it friends. Welcome to the season of chaos. With this lifestyle, things are always subject to change. Heck, it wouldn't throw me for a loop if they told us 2 days before we fly out we were moving to Guam instead. I'm game! I know I'll get criticized by those military families that lived in CONUS (continental United States) all their life, but I have to say it.......... y'all have no clue about moving until you have done at least one tour in a foreign country! ...and did a partial DITY (do it yourself) to and from overseas. To you non-military folks....I'm wordless. OK I may be excited for a change. Can't wait 'til I can see faces instead of the tops of heads when walking down the street. We might just be able to go somewhere without a local looking at my kids saying "kawaii" (cute). I mean, should I respond? I know I have two of the cutest kids on Earth (yes Mom, I do respond respectfully with a bow and a domo arigato guzimas). From Japan to USA, yeah we will probably encounter some culture shock since it's been so long. I have seen these same walls for a year and a half already. Yup it's about that time.

Time for these hands to turn into my rack. (Oops, forgot 'others' read this. I'll translate... it's my bedtime!)