Future Carolina Cheerleader

Wow!!!

It has been 2 months since I have posted. Things have been going pretty smooth around here. School has ended. So I am stuck with the kids all day. I have decided to keep them on a school schedule for awhile. We wake up at 6:30 and start working. By noon they are exhausted and ready for a break. So we eat lunch and pack up and head to the pool. We spend a few hours at the pool and by the time we get home they are wiped out. We have two pools in our community and they have become a huge blessing. Mia loves the pool. She plays in the water and has a great time. The boys are rough with each other and they get that energy out. I can actually relax for once.
I have finished Court Reporting school and I am very excited about it. I went to a Voice writing school. What that means is that I don't work on the steno machine like most people are familiar with. I use a mask and I repeat everything that is being said. This is going to be a great tool when Justin gets home because I have spent the last 6 months practicing how to repeat what people say. I will now be able to tell him what he said and he will have no way to deny it!!!!

Grahams Little Accident

The first day of the goose egg. You can't really tell how big it actually was. It looked like a golf ball was placed under his eyebrow. It was very impressive. He earned himself some ice cream for this one.



Graham had a little accident at school the other day. I guess in gym class he was standing still and his buddy was running and ran right into him. His eye swelled so big it scared me, and nothing really phases me anymore. It is getting blacker and blacker every day. He is a great sport about it all. He even told me thank you for taking care of him. He is a great boy!!!! He of course is the talk of the hood. Well he was until another little boy broke his arm today. I think these boys spend way too much time around their mamas listening to all the gossip.

Rough Week

With all the violence in Baghdad, especially in the "Green Zone" where Justin is, it has been a pretty tough week. It is hard to talk to Justin for more than a few minutes because he always seems to be busy. It is really hard on the boys when they only get to speak to him for a minute or two a week. There is so much they want to tell him, just not enough time. They have been good about emailing him. They each have an account and check many times a day for mail from daddy. Graham has really been concerned about Justin's safety. He starts to cry and wants to know what we will do if daddy doesn't come home. It is hard for me not to break down when he asks this. I try to let him know that daddy is safe and he needs to worry about 7-year old stuff, but I know these thoughts haunt him. Logan and Brayden choose to keep themselves so busy they don't think about dad too much. They have their moments when they are thinking about him and break down. Kyle is having a rough time because he knows that there is real danger in wars. He also just misses having his dad to talk to. He is opening up to me more but I honestly don't know what to say to him when he wants to talk about girls. Mia just says "My daddy left me!" She is not sure what to think. As for me, I try not to read the news or have it on the t.v. I try to stay as up beat as possible for the kids. I know they are having a hard time with all of the changes they have had this last year. My family was such a great support for them when dad was gone the first time. When we were feeling overwhelmed my brother would tell to bring the kids to him. He would rearrange his work schedule or take a day or two off. He would tell me to take a break and he would take care of the kids. I didn't have to worry about them and they loved being with their family. Of course he would let them do things that I never would..ie..ride motorcycles, jump off rocks into the river, but he always made sure they were safe. Most of all, he spent time with them. He let them know that he loved them and they could spend as much time with him as they wanted. I think that Kyle is really struggling now, missing his family. We are counting down the time now. Justin will be home in July. Not nearly soon enough. We are very thankful for the friends and family who take the time to let us know they are thinking about us. It means the world to the kids to know that there are people out there that love them and think about them. It means a lot to me and Justin as well. I think that Justin can focus on what he's doing over there knowing we have people here who check in on us and care if were okay. So thank you to everyone who has sent an email, or called or sent a card. Those little gestures really help make us feel better.

Tornado Photos

Thankfully this is not our house. The front of this house ended up going through a car 3 houses up the street. Our street looked like a war zone. There was debris everywhere. Everyone did a great job of helping each other out to get the mess cleaned up. The kids went right out after it hit and cleaned the trash out of the street and yards.


Mia after the storm. She had a great time splashing through the puddles of water.

Some Pictures

Graham at his first basesball game of the season. It was very cold and windy.


Mia is dressed and ready to help us clean up the storm damage. If you look close you can see the shoes she chose to work in.


Kyle trying to pose. He is a very cute kid even though he runs his mouth too much.


Mia looking cute.

Spring 2008

We have a very fascinating year so far. Justin has left and has been in Baghdad since January. We have had a very hard time with this deployment. The boys just don't seem to be adjusting well. I think the big difference between the last deployment and this one is family. We were so lucky to have been around my family for extra support. Being around family they didn't have to worry about what was going on with dad. They could just be kids. This time we have made some incredible friends that have helped us tremendously. Our neighbor made the count down to Graham's birthday fun for him. She asked him with excitement everyday how many more days. On his big day they made sure he felt like the most important boy in the world. He had a wonderful day despite the fact his daddy was gone and he was not near his family.
We have had our share of trials as well. Logan broke his hand. Mia had the flu and was down for 10 days. She had the stomach flu for 3 days and finally her ear drum ruptured. We had a tornado strike our neighborhood. Luckily we only sustained minor damage. Our friends once again stepped in to help us out. It was pretty traumatic for Graham. He was prepared to spend a month in the bathroom. He had his guitar, birthday presents, a bowling pin, blankets and a pillow all in our small powder room ready to wait out anything.
We feel so fortunate to have moved into such a wonderful community. On any given weekend the boys are dispersed around the neighborhood. We have really relied on our friends and neighbors to help pass the time. Julie, next door, has threatened to secretly install a nanny cam in our home just to make sure the boys don't push me over the edge. She will stop by and do a head count, make sure she sees 5 little heads. It is not easy being a single parent without support from family. There are days when I get into bed and I am amazed that all the kids are accounted for and are still breathing.

Conversations with a 6 year old

Graham and I have been have some very important conversations lately. He seems to have a pretty good idea of what's going on around him.
The other night our conversation went like this:

Graham: I know why people go to heaven when they die.
Me: Oh really, why?
Graham: Because they don't have any gravity any more!

I hurt my back lifting Mia the other day and Graham had it all figured out why I was in pain:

Graham: Mom, I know why your back hurts.
Me: Why Grammy?
Graham: Because your almost a woman now!

Today our conversation went like this:
Graham: Mommy, how come when dad was a kid he was big and now he is so tiny?
How does he expect me to answer that one?

We had this conversation last year after his first baseball practice. I was almost alsleep, it was almost 10:00 p.m. and I felt someone was watching me.

Me: Grammy, what's going on?
Graham: Mommy, does your laundry get done quick? As he is holding his new uniform.
Me: What do you mean? I guess it gets done pretty quick.
Graham; Oh gooooood!...Mine never gets done quickly and I need this washed.
I'm guessing he thinks a laundry fairy comes in and does all my stuff and leaves his.

Halloween

The kids had a great time on Halloween. Mia was quick to put aside her fears and take candy. She is terrified of any type of mask. Of course the boys terrorized her the week leading up to Halloween. Kyle left with his friends and spent the evening hanging out. Logan and his friends went trick or treating. Brayden and Graham ditched Justin and went with their friends. So Justin was stuck pushing Princess Mia around in her stroller.

My favorite picture of our Orlando trip

Mia had such a rough time while we were at Disney. She had hives and was miserable. She didn't care for the characters or the rides. We decided to spend a day at Sea world. She came alive there. She loved the rides and couldn't get enough of them. Graham, well he did Space Mountain, so why wouldn't he do this silly little lobster ride. He was terrified. You have to click on the picture to enlarge it so you can really see what they thought of this ride.

Mia and the Princesses

Mia was less than excited to visit with Rella, Belle and Aurora. In fact she screamed and tried to run away. Mia loves anything with a picture of Rella on it so we thought she would be thrilled to see Rella in person. Oh how we were wrong. These are some of the better pictures of her. After all the trauma associated with seeing these girls in real life, she was totally excited when we entered a gift shop and found some lip gloss with Rella on it.

Graham and Buzz

I think the highlight of Graham's trip to Disney was seeing his all time favorite character Buzz. Although he won't admit to still liking Buzz, he could hardly contain his excitement when he met him. His favorite thing to do was ride the Buzz ride. His brothers we very happy to wait in line to see Buzz. They all know how much Graham loves Buzz.

Quick stop at Daytona Beach

On our way to Disney World we made a quick stop at Daytona Beach. This was the first time Mia had ever been to the beach. She loved the water and the sand. We were only there a short time but she thought it was great. She rubbed her feet in the sand and she had a great time. I thought she would be afraid of the waves coming at her but she just laughed and made sure her feet touched the water.

Mia's new sleeping habits

I had taken her to the Ear Dr. for a check-up and on our way out they gave her a sticker. She was wearing a dress and she put the sticker on her leg. When I put her down for her nap I forgot about the sticker because it was concealed by the dress. I went up to check on her about 20 mins after I put her down and this is what I found...

Logan Football

You can click on the photos to make them bigger. The first photo was taken at Logans first game. The second photos was taken for the chicks!!

First day of school photos

Misc Info

The boys are in school and I love it. Mia has a great time during the day without them. Yesterday she tried to swallow her hair clip during nap. I heard her screaming and run up and found her sitting in bed choking. Then she tried to climb the stairs with her blanket,fell backwards and hit her head. When I woke her up this morning she had thrown her blankets on the floor and taken her earrings out and tossed them on the floor also. You would think that she was trying to make up for her brothers not being around so much.
Tonight Logan has a scrimmage game. He is very excited. He informed his coach that he met Bill Romonawski while he was in the hospital and he taught him how to tackle. He tried to teach the coach the Romo way but his coach told him that he needs to do it the coaches way. He was very impressed with Logan's energy.
I will post some pictures of the first day and of Logan in football gear soon. Tonight we have open house, football and Kyle has to be at his school for something. I don't know how to be in 3 places at once.

School is Starting

I have never waited so long for school to start. I remember as a child I was happy when school started but I always felt like I could use an extra few weeks of summer. As of today the boys only have 4 more sleeps until school starts. I am counting down the days til my freedom begins. This summer has been especially stressful for our family. Moving across the country and having dad leave 3 weeks later really knocked the boys out of wack. I know that they are just as excited to start school as I am. All 4 of them will be gone all day!!!! Mia will start a preschool program Monday and Friday mornings. So at least 2 mornings a week I will be completley free. She cried when we went to visit the preschool. She wanted to stay and play. So told me bye,mama and walked away. She was so sad when she realized that we were there only for orientation not to stay. I guess she is ready to have some time away from mom.
If on the first day of school I have tears in my eyes it is not from saddness. It is pure joy that I will actually be able to go to the grocery store and not have to hear "can I have this" and I will be able to take a shower and not be interrupted. The thing I am most looking forward too I think is actually drinking my coffee while it is hot. I have heard that people do that.

Riding a Bike with your Eyes Closed

In case everyone didn't know, it is not a good idea to ride your bike with your eyes closed. Just ask Graham. He was following Brayden and he closed his eyes, they opened back up after he had hit the corner of a mailbox. A few minutes and a lot of blood later he was brought home. I took him in and our great Dr put 2 stitches in his forhead. I told Graham if he had been wearing his helmet like he is supposed to he would be just fine right now. Now he thinks he is entitled to whatever he wants. He went to bed dreaming of having icecream for breakfast.

Future NFL Linebacker???

Does this face look like a pro linebacker??? Logan is so excited to be a linebacker on his football team. I guess the black eye helped make him look tough. If you ask Kyle what happened to Logan's eye his story is he accidently gave him an elbow to the eye. Logan's side of the story is that Kyle gave him a fist on purpose. Who do you believe??? The eye was very black 2 weeks ago.