Just another day

Yes, today was just another day. Grace had school this morning. They were talking about farm animals. How sad is this: they were supposed to bring a "farm toy" to share and, aside from stuffed animals, we couldn't think of one to take! She ended up taking a pig mask that she made yesterday at church, when they discussed the prodigal son! Oh well, there was only one other kid that brought anything!

After taking Grace to school, Davis and I went to a chapel here on post. I had a PWOC board meeting; next year, I'll be the inreach chairperson. I am excited about it. A lot of what I'll do is just try to foster relationships between the members of PWOC. I have some ideas and so does our incoming president.

There for a little while, Davis had been very clingy when I tried to leave him anywhere. These days, he just goes to whoever is there! It's funny to watch those changes in your kid. When the clinginess is happening, you don't think it will ever end. Then one day, you realize they aren't clinging to you anymore and you can't remember when it stopped. I am thankful, though!

Davis is trying harder and harder to talk. He can't say words clearly, but he mimics the amount of syllables. When I say "Da-vis," he'll say something like "Da-ya." It's too cute when you can tell that they are trying to say things you are. Today, he tried to say Daddy for Jasen. It was sweet.

We were able to webcam with Jasen today. He was tired and the kids were nuts. But he seemed to be doing okay. After hearing how deadly things were in Iraq this weekend, I was almost afraid to hear from him, but there were only some injuries, no deaths.

STRESS!!!!

You know, honestly, I don't feel that stressed, but I have had two ladies in the past week ask me if I am doing okay because they think I look really stressed out. I know I am stressed, but I don't feel affected by it, but I guess my face shows it. I am just having trouble relaxing, especially when the kids are around. It's generally when I am away from them that I feel like I can slow down. I need to learn to slow down WITH them. Any ideas?? We are just so scheduled most of the time....

Tonight, we were at the Armed Services YMCA, the kids playing and I was working on Grace's "Daddy" quilt. Talk about stress! I despise sewing and quilting is like precision sewing to the max! Anyway, it's stressing me out but I will probably be done in a couple of more weeks. I think I'll take a break before I start on Davis'!

We were able to talk to Jasen today. They are under a lot of stress over there right now and could really use your prayers for peace. But Jasen sounded okay. I don't know if I told you or not, but he's letting his hair grow back! I think last time, it might have been more of a camaraderie thing for 1/6. And I think he doesn't want Grace to think he looks funny!

Our field trips with Grace's school have been fun the past two days. The trip to the Nature Center was fun, but cold. I had three boys in the backseat and they were so funny! We have three pairs of kid sunglasses in the car: one green pair, two pink pair. Well, they passed the glasses around every few minutes so no one would have to wear the pink ones the whole time.

Before I forget, Grace's boy-friend at school is Zeph. First off, I hate how attached they are to each other. Let's make that clear from the start! Anyway, she got into the car the other day and said that she just LOVED Zeph's middle name: Anaiah. Well, Zeph's full name, I am sure is Zephaniah, but Grace believes (and won't listen to me, of course!) that his name is Zeph Anaiah.

Today, we went to Abilene to watch "Where the Wild Things Are." Not the best play I've seen in awhile, but it was short and Grace liked it. That's all that matters, right?

Davis' face is almost spot free! Yippee! He has another follow-up with the dermatologist tomorrow and we'll keep that appointment since Dr. Soto put Davis on an antibiotic last week. And these special clinic visits are hard to come by, so we better keep it!

Same ole

Yes, our days seem very much the same everyday. First, news from Jasen. Well, there really is no news. We were able to webcam with him for over an hour on Saturday. It was really good for me because we were able to talk for at least 20 minutes before the kids became involved. When Grace and Davis come into the picture, Jasen and I aren't able to really talk. So I was glad to have him to myself for at least a few minutes!

Jasen seems to be doing well. He doesn't tell us much about what is going on there. He's more interested in what we are doing back here. So when we talk, the kids and I do most of the talking. Sometimes, we'll finish talking and I'll realize he's said only a few words. Then I remind myself that he prefers it that way! He has moved into his own room, but it's really drab and stinks, so he's going to be sprucing the place up. I get cracked up that Jasen is going to paint his room in Iraq when he never wants to paint any of the rooms in our house! Oh well, if it gives him something to do, then I say go for it!

Davis' spots are almost completely gone on his face. Hallelujah! He did have a really fine rash all over his torso earlier this week, but it appears to be gone now. I keep reminding myself that his immune system is learning to fight off all of this stuff, but it's hard when he's got all of these maladies. I know that in a year or two, he'll rarely be sick, but it's hard, especially when Jasen is gone.

Grace and I have a busy couple of days tomorrow and Thursday. Tomorrow, I'll be chaperoning and chauffeuring a trip to the Milford Nature Center. Everyone I have told about it says it is a fabulous place, so I am excited about going. I'll have three little boys in my car. Grace will ride with Mrs. Peggy. Poor Grace told me last week that, although she wanted me to go on her field trips, she didn't like it that she never got to ride in anyone else's car. When I asked Mrs. Peggy to let Grace ride with someone else, Peggy told me that Grace had already informed her teacher that she really didn't want to ride with me all the time. Too funny!

Thursday, we'll travel to Abilene to watch a production of "Where the Wild Things Are." Every year, the community theater in Abilene puts on a show from a children's book and it's usually the four year olds last hurrah as Mrs. Peggy's "big" kids. I can't believe Grace's preschool years are coming to an end. It seems like only yesterday she was dying to go to school. Now, she's getting ready to go to real school. She can't really be that old!

Tonight, we had an FRG meeting. Let's see, we have over 70 spouses and we had less than 10 show up. And yet, you know that if you don't have the darn things, people will be screaming. Oh well. We had it at the bowling alley, so we were able to meet for about 30 minutes, then we ate cheap bowling alley food and bowled a game. I got a sitter for Davis and took Grace with me. She's such a big girl sometimes. She makes me very proud.

I'm watching one of my all-time favorite movies "Steel Magnolias" right now. It's a hard one to watch when you've been keeping your emotions in check. I better log off; the funeral scene is getting ready to come on.... I feel a good cry coming on.

Gorgeous days

Man, we have had two gorgeous days in a row! We have needed the sunshine so very much. I think the down feeling most of the wives were having last week was a combination of the extension announcement and the weather. Anyway, yesterday was perfect, today was too windy, but warm and sunny, so we were able to get outside. We are really missing our neighbors, the Kazors who have gone to Arkansas for the rest of the week. I'm not much of a playmate for Grace.

We had a fun time today planting flowers. We planted petunias out in front, under our tree. I got some geraniums for large pots in the front and back. I created a new flower bed out back, right up next to the house. No grass would grow there and I am sick of the kids digging there. So I am going to plant some creeping Phlox there. That's a new plant for me, but it's a perennial so it will be there for awhile!

Things around our house have really changed since Jasen left. I've rearranged almost all of the pictures on the walls, put up curtains on the back window in our living room (yes it's taken over 18 months!!), bought new bedding for our room, purchased a new washer. when Jasen isn't around, I get busy, I guess. We had to have a new washer because our old one wouldn't spin on the spin and rinse cycles. The water was being sucked out, but it wasn't spinning the clothes. now, I could go in there and trigger it on every cycle, but I had to do it twice every cycle. We'd already had the transmission replaced (under warranty by just a month) and our repairman (the Junction City mayor) said that we might as well get a new one, because he could try to fix the problem but there was no guarantee he could fix the problem and we'd probably spend in his labor fees about half the cost of a new washer. So I just bit the bullet and bought a new one.

Don't worry, Jasen knows about all of these changes!!

The kids are doing well. Davis had new spots today, but less than he'd been having. We still have that appointment with the dermatologist tomorrow morning (bright and early, at 8:30), so we'll go ahead to that. Davis also had a low grade fever again today. UGH! Better just go to the doctor.

Grace is doing just fine. Because I had an eye doctor's appointment today, Davis went to the sitter's house. So after Grace got out of school, we joined some of her school pals at South Park and had a picnic. It was windy, but we had a good time. And Grace had a good time planting the flowers today. You don't realize how those kinds of things (planting flowers, eating together outside, making a cake) really make an impression on kids.

Ordinary Day

We had an ordinary day here in Kansas. Grace had school where they learned about wild animals. They have a field trip next week to the nature center at Milford Lake, so they were looking at some animal pelts. Grace said they "tried on" animal skins. I am seriously hoping not!! She has two field trips next week; the one to the nature center, the other to see a production of "Where the Wild Things Are" in Abilene. I am going on both of them with her. I know we'll have a good time.

We webcamed (is that even a word?) with Jasen for just a few minutes today. He had some good news: he'll get his own room in the next few days. He's quite excited about that. I think the only thing worse than Jasen and his 1st SGT having the same hours is when they have different hours. Then someone is always rustling around when someone else is trying to sleep. Anyway, he's glad he'll have some privacy.

His brigade lost another soldier today. Again, I am so thankful he is not required to go anywhere.

Davis' spots seemed a little better today, but he had fever tonight when I laid him down for bed. It was low-grade so I am choosing not to worry about it. We've had a busy day and spent some time outside, so he might just have gotten overheated. We still have the follow-up with the dermatologist on Friday morning, so if the spots aren't completely gone, we're going to the doctor.

Davis has been mimicking our sounds a lot lately. He loves to try whistling. He also makes a barking sound when he sees a dog. Our little boy is growing up! He's so much fun.

A little good news...

I got a couple of pieces of good news today. First off, my grandma had her hip replacement today. Everything went really well. In fact, I talked to her just a few hours after she was out of surgery. She said she was having very little pain and felt pretty good. The surgeon told my mom that my grandmother's hip joint had deterioriated so much that it nearly perforated her pelvis. Now, I don't know exactly what that means, but I do know it means she had been in a lot of pain and that this replacement couldn't have waited much longer.

Now that she's out of surgery, we'll see how she does. If she needs help or if I can't stand not to be there, there's talk of me taking the kids to Stephenville and I'll go to Lubbock to be with her. Mom can't take too much time off of work, but she could keep my kids for me, which is why I haven't gone to Lubbock by now. So it sounds like a good trade.

The other good news is that my baby sister, Angie, has been accepted to do a summer internship in Washington D.C. Isn't that exciting?? She'll work in Rep. Joe Barton's office; he's a Republican from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. A lot of this stems from Angie's winning that national documentary contest through C-SPAN. We are so proud of her!!

I talked to Jasen today for just a few minutes. They are on another communication blackout because of more casualties. The last time Jasen deployed, his battalion lost six soldiers the whole year. At this rate, three battalions in Jasen's brigade are on pace to break that number in less than three months. That is very scary. It makes me more thankful than ever that Jasen does not have to be outside of the FOB.

Davis still has face spots and possibly a very fine rash on the rest of his body. We'll see if it's still there in the morning. If it is, we'll see about going back to the doctor. Grace is doing fine. We went on a picnic after school with her buddies to a local park then this afternoon, we played outside with the neighbor girls. So it's been a good day around here.

Quick update

I only have a minute so this will be quick...

We went to the doctor today to see about Davis' spots. The kids' doctor saw Davis first. Dr. Meng's a pediatrician and always very thorough and just a great, caring doctor. He said he wasn't really sure what it was. He thought it was probably a viral thing or possibly a strange case of chicken pox. Evidently, after kids have been vaccinated against chicken pox, they could still break out in it (knew that) but if that happens, the break out is usually a-typical of a normal chicken pox outbreak. (didn't know that)

Anyway, we were his last patients of the day, right before lunch, and he said "I tell you what, let's go see if the dermatologist is available to have a look." He personally walked us down to the dermatology clinic to see if she would take a look. She was already at lunch (he even went to the lunchroom to see if he could find her!) so they gave us an appointment for 1:30. So the kids and I went to the lunch room, ate lunch, then went to see the room where Davis was delivered, which is now a waiting room for preventive medicine! Very odd...

When we finally saw the dermatologist, she agreed with Dr. Meng that it could be one of the two things he mentioned. She gave us a steroid cream to use and if they are still appearing by next Friday, we'll go back to see the dermatologist.

Dealing with it

I am sure most of you heard yesterday that all Army deployments, including the ones that are already in process, have been lengthened to 15 months. That does affect Jasen and his unit. We weren't shocked, but it doesn't matter how much you prepare for a longer deployment in your mind. When you find out it's going to happen, it's like cold water down your back.

I am going to get on my soapbox for a minute; I am extremely angry about the leak that occurred yesterday before any of the soldiers or their families were told. It is inexcusable to me that ANYONE would know about the lengthening of deployments before the soldiers do. And do you know who told Jasen? I did. Because the news broke yesterday afternoon in the U.S., Jasen was already in bed in Iraq. Therefore, he got the news from me this morning, when he read my emails to our FRG members. I do not know why the media or anyone in the American public would think they have the right to that information before the people who are truly affected get it. And it makes me ill to know that someone who works inside the Pentagon, with soldiers everyday, would call a reporter to tell them. I hope Secretary Gates finds the leaky person and makes an example of him or her.

Okay, down from the soapbox. As you can tell, I have a little anger over the situation. Instead of directing it anywhere else, I direct it at the leak!

We were able to webcam with Jasen for a short time today, but it wasn't great. Davis cried almost the whole time, Grace was less than cooperative, my voice is almost gone, and Jasen was a little down. He said most of the soldiers were feeling a bit jaded today. What a shocker. I just don't know how they can continue at this pace. They are working seven days a week, with little or no time off, and they just found out that, guess what? they'll be able to do it for another 90 days. You can imagine the disappointment they all must be feeling.

When I think 15 months or 90 extra days or a few extra months, it doesn't seem so bad. Then I consider all the things that will be missed; Jasen will likely miss Grace's whole year in kindergarten. He'll probably miss two of her birthdays. We'll more than likely miss seeing Jasen promote (again) to major. Those are things that make this really stink.

I hope you all know that, as you read this, I am staying positive up here. But I know you all love me and mine and can bear to hear my pains over this. I'm busy listening to wives here and I don't have a lot of places I can talk around here. Again, trying to stay positive in public and for the kids.

Please just pray for Jasen. Pray for his state of mind and his leadership of his company. Pray that he'll be able to impart hope, courage, and strength to his fellow soldiers. Pray, above all things, that they will see the peace that only God can give in Jasen. Pray for all of those things for me, too.

Davis developed more spots today so we are off to the doctor tomorrow. Grace had a spot next to her mouth this evening, but I think it's from her licking her lips. I sound awful; my voice is almost gone, due to the cold I've been fighting off.

Oh, they are forecasting up to four inches of snow here this weekend. I AM TIRED OF WINTER! just in case you were wondering.....

Really, I am not doing as bad as I sound! :)

It was bound to happen...

What do you get when you combine one four year old, one three year old, one half bottle of baby wash, one-fourth bottle of baby lotion, one-fourth bottle of baby shampoo, a few squirts of toothpaste, one bathroom, a few bowls from a play kitchen, lots of water, and about 20 minutes of unsupervised play? A HUGE MESS!!

Yesterday, I was getting dinner ready and figured out I was going to have way more dinner than was needed for me and the two kids. So I called our neighbor, Katie, whose husband, Anthony is away on temporary duty in Alabama, and asked if she and her two kids would like to come for dinner. She accepted, so they came for dinner. After one long, loud dinner, during which Grace talked the WHOLE time, the girls went upstairs to play while we cleaned up and watched the boys toddle/crawl around.

After a few minutes of quiet, we yelled upstairs to the girls, who were in the bathroom "going potty." We told them to finish up and play in Grace's room. A few more minutes passed and it was time for the Kazors to go home. When we called the girls down, surprise, surprise, they were both in the bathroom again. There was Grace's first problem. As they came out, Grace assured me that they were going potty again. There would be the second problem. Ashleigh came down without her socks so she was sent back up to get the socks. When she brought them down, they were wet. The moms involved finally got a brain and headed upstairs to see what was up.

The drain plug was pulled on the sink and the sink was full of water, soap and toothpaste. There was baby wash and water on the floor, water and lotion and/or toothpaste in the bowls from Grace's kitchen. Of course, I was infuriated. So, Grace had disobeyed me, lied to me, and created a huge mess in the bathroom. UGH!!!! After the Kazors left, Grace and I went to the "If/Then" chart to see what her punishments would be. Boy, she hit the jackpot as far as punishments go; she had a mix of corporal punishment, loss of privileges, AND time out. Wow!

So I sent Grace to her room to sit on her bed while I got Davis ready for bed. When I turned on the water we had no hot water. Isn't that just the way it goes??? So I had to call in an emergency work order. I put Davis to bed without a bath, then went to deal with Grace. About that time, the maintenance men showed up. So Grace got to spend more time in her room on her bed. About the time the workers were finishing, our friend, Jack, came by to retrieve Jackson's silky which was left here last week. He got to listen to me vent and question whether I was a good parent or not. Poor Jack; as the dad of two babies, I think he was a little dumbfounded! But he just reinforced that I had to uphold the rules.

After they all left, I went upstairs to deal with Grace. When I sat down to talk to her, her bed was all wet. The water was not confined to the bathroom! It was all over her floor, the bed, her pillows, etc. I was so mad, I had a mommy time out in order not to make the corporal part of Grace's punishment worse than it already was going to be!! After a few minutes of cool down, Grace received her punishment. We talked before and after and she asked me to forgive her. That's always a huge blessing, when she wants to apologize before I tell her she should.

Davis developed more spots today. I called the nurse advice line and they said to go get some hydrocortisone cream to try for two days. Then, if they don't go away, I need to bring him in. But they won't do anything else for Davis until we've tried the cream for a couple of days. Oh, and they told me that he needed to be kept away from other kids. OOPS! He's been to the Armed Services YMCA for Mother's Day Out once, been there again for another time when I did the quilting class, once in the church nursery, then today, he was in the nursery at PWOC. I hope we haven't started some kind outbreak!!!!!

Not much...

Easter celebrating going on here at Fort Riley for the Graham family. Davis woke up with fever (low grade) this morning and so did Grace, so we stayed home from church. Like I said, it feels awful not to go on Easter! Grace didn't feel bad, she just had the fever and a stuffy/runny nose. Davis didn't have any new spots, but had the fever. Oh well. I am hoping Grace is well enough to go to school tomorrow, and we'll see how Davis is when he wakes up and I'll decide then if he needs to go to the doctor. I've been poring over all my medical books to see if I can diagnose what he has. I hate this part of parenting; knowing they are sick but not sure if they are sick enough to see a doctor. I am just glad that, beginning tomorrow, I have the option of going for a doctor's appointment, as opposed to spending hours in the ER.

Enough of that. The Easter bunny did visit Grace and Davis today, in just a little more subdued manner. I always feel Jasen's absence on the holidays because he's the one that really makes it fun for the kids. But I did my best today. The kids woke up to filled Easter baskets. Grace finally received the Floam she's been dying for since before Christmas. Santa forgot about it back then but the Easter bunny came through today! Then, after nap, the bunny had hidden the eggs Grace had colored on Friday.

One quick sweet thing about Grace. When she was out hunting eggs, Davis was upstairs taking his nap. Grace told me to get Davis' basket because she wanted to get some eggs for him, too. She's so thoughtful about him. Big sister loves her little brother and that is a tremendous blessing for their momma right now!!!

Easter Greetings!

Things here are moving along. I realized that Jasen's been gone almost two months. It's funny how your brain processes things. When I consider Jasen has been gone that long, at first, I think "Great, ten more months." Then there is another part of me that thinks "I can't believe it's already been two months! It hasn't been so bad!" It's that whole glass half full or half empty fight, I think.

We've been able to webcam with Jasen twice this week. We are going to be on a schedule about when we do it; that's helpful to me because it means I don't feel pressured to webcam everyday. Sometimes, it's not easy to do, with the kids and everything. Anyway, we've enjoyed some good talks with him. I'd just ask you all to pray for him and his unit. They lost more soldiers in the brigade this past week. Christian holy days are always the times they are hardest hit.

Grace is anxious about the Easter Bunny tomorrow! We skipped our church's Easter egg hunt today because it was so cold and Davis has more spots on his face. Last night, a friend of ours from church who happens to be the head nurse at one of the primary care clinics on Fort Riley, looked at Davis' spots. He said they are probably caused by a virus that will have to run it's course. He told me that unless Davis spikes a fever (over 103) or they spread all over his body, there isn't anything the ER could do for us. Davis doesn't seem too bothered, so I guess we'll just wait and see. If they aren't gone by Monday, we'll try to get in to the see the doctor.

Grace complained about a tummy ache today and she's got a stuffy nose. Davis has a spotted face and I have a sore throat. I don't know if we'll even make it to church tomorrow!!!!! How sad is that? We're there every other time the door is open but might not make it on Easter!

Saying Goodbye

The kids and I said goodbye tonight to our friends, Jack and Julie, and their kids, Jackson and Ryann. It's funny to think about how much has happened in short two and a half years since we met them in Bamberg: three kids have been born, two deployments, two transatlantic moves. Sometimes, in this army life, you share so much in such a short time. We are going to miss them. They are off for the civilian world; they'll be living in Dallas, which is good because we know we can always see them.

Can you imagine they are forecasting snow for tomorrow? Believe me, I am not happy about it.

The kids are doing well. Grace is still a huge help and blessing to me. After the Roberts left tonight, I went and gave Davis a bath and Grace picked up all the toys downstairs for me. It's just a huge blessing to me to be able to ask her to do something that would be the third or fourth chore I needed to get to after getting the kids down for bed. She has her Easter party at school tomorrow and is so excited about it. Grace gets excited about everything!

Davis is still Davis. Man, he has a temper. And those last two teeth are still coming in. I feel like I say that every other blog, but some days, I can tell that they are really bothering him. Anyway, I am ready to be finished with teeth.

We got something special in the mail today: Jasen ordered lockets for Grace and me, so we can put pictures of him in them. Last deployment, I had one friend whose husband sent her gifts all the time. I got one package from Jasen the whole time he was gone and was quite hurt about that. Jasen vowed to do better this time. Thank you, Shawn Kyle!!!

Davis' hands

Did you know an ant bite could get infected? Well, neither did I, but that's what the doctor says happened with the blisters on Davis' hands. I knew it was something related to the ant bites Davis received in Texas, since the blisters were popping up in the exact spots the bites had been. Davis' pediatrician said some kind of infection got into those little bites, something that was just on his skin. Because the blisters are already clearing up, the doctor said we would let them go away on their own, which they appear to be doing.

We had a gorgeous day out today. Highs in the 80s. The wind was terrible, but that is a given anymore. We went for a walk then played out back in the trees just over the ridge behind our house. It's perfect back there for playing. Grace and the two neighbor girls play in the trees and dirt, and us moms can sit in the shade with a breeze. It's fabulous.

Davis has been showing our neighbors his little temper. If I take something away from him, he screams and says "MOMMA!!!" Katie and Tara, the other mothers that sit out with us, thought it was precious that Davis said "Mama." Of course, when he screams it in anger, I don't see it as such a positive. He's talking more and more, trying to say words. He loves to point to the ceiling, whether a light or fan and try to say it. He's still singing if I ask him to. And today, I was whistling in the car and he puckered up his lips and blew. It was so precious.

Grace is such the tomboy. She loves to climb trees and dig in the dirt. And yet, when we come inside, she's playing wedding. I think she's the perfect combination of girly girl and tomboy. Last night, she decided she needed her nails painted so we had to do that before bed. We're having some "Alpha female" problems; the immediate next-door neighbor girl (Marisa) is very much the first born girl, like Grace, and thinks things should be her way, just like Grace does. So I am trying to work with Grace on that.

We were able to webcam and talk with Jasen today. It's always nice when we are able to see and hear him. He looked good. He doesn't look like my Jasen; that no hair thing is hard for me. I guess it's hard to imagine that my vain man would be without hair!!!