Up a Creek...

Let's play a game... a version of "I Spy."

Help me find a *paddle*.





See where I'm standing?  Remember that spot.  I spy... a chain link fence.  I spy... a lawn.  I spy, brown wood lattice "railing."  I spy Mrs. Sommerville!  Does anyone see a paddle?  No?  Let's check the next picture.

I spy... the chain link fence again.  And the yard.  Hmmm.... still no paddle.  

Next photo.

Wait a minute... no lawn, no fence, NO PADDLE.  Those are emergency vehicles!  I wonder why they're parked in front of the house...

Let's check the backyard again.... there MUST be a paddle back there:

********~Whoa~**********

No, that *can't* be the back yard from the first photo.... can it?

Uh... brown wood lattice "railing"...  check.  Lawn?  Chain link fence?

As it turns out, we don't have a paddle.  Nor a canoe, kayak, ark, or skiff.

We went from concrete, yard, and chain link fence to flood in fifteen minutes' time.

F-I-F-T-E-E-N minutes.

*****

We're safe.  Dear Husband is on his way home.  Our Army Family responded to our call (so many in under a half hour of the "event"), and helped us salvage what we could into the wee hours after the flood.  So many have come back for the past two days to help us move things, launder clothes.  A good Samaritan saved Dear Husband's truck during the flood itself (it was parked in the rear driveway, which is right next to our backyard, on the same ground level).  Friends, wives, soldiers, saved our wedding quilt, saved my wedding gown, saved so many of our keepsakes.  

Good thing I prepped my classroom early, huh?

*****

I will be "offline" regarding the blog for probably the next two weeks, packing, cleaning, drying, documenting, getting the family re-settled, and giving thanks that we only have small losses over which to complain, and not huge losses to mourn.

Peace and safety to you all.

*****

A passerby took this photo and just sent it to me- this is the view from the road, into our driveway and back yard.  Dear Husband's truck HAD been parked in front of the shed during the flood itself.  This photo shows the water RECEDING (you can see the chain link fence again).

Yep, it was a doozie.

No, that is NOT our beachball.

Summer Porch Garden

Dear Daughter and the Pre-Schooler wanted to plant some seeds and make things grow this summer.  As we're still renting and therefore can't dig up a garden plot in the back yard, a porch garden seemed to be the best solution.  The kids filled our floral pots up with rich soil, picked out some seeds from the store, and planted away.  We've had lettuce for most of the summer, but now the fun stuff is ready:  carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and some basil for pesto magic!

Have any of you grown classroom gardens before?  Indoors, outdoor?

The Army Wives' Deployment Truth, Plain and Simple

New military spouses (I'm really addressing wives here), someday, probably sooner than you hope, you're going to have to deal with the ins and outs of a deployment.  Scary stuff, morbidity, and t.v. schlock aside, know this:  you get to deal with everything while your husband is gone.  

Everything.

E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.

Mortgage/rent.  Insurance.  Crank calls.  Allergies.  Flooding.  Fires.  Bills.  Drama-filled neighbors/friends/fellow spouses... injuries, flat tires, sports practice, home appliance failures, work, teen angst...  tornadoes, growth spurts, car accidents, pet injuries, check ups, phone solicitors, cancellations, midnight vomit fests, power outages, record snowfalls, snakes and mice.  Parent-teacher conferences, birthday parties, grocery shopping and vehicle maintenance, you get to do it all.

As supportive as your FRG might be, you're still going to have to handle these things without anyone holding your hand, and without sobbing your eyes out on social networking sites or over the phone to your already worried and stressed out soldier.

You're not just stronger and more capable than you know, you're stronger and more capable than you want to be, and that's the real kicker, isn't it?  

Ask for help when you need it, but give it the ol' college try on your own first.  Help others, but don't coddle anyone, and don't insist on being babied yourself.  You're a soldier too now, so suck it up and do a good job.  It might not always be fun, and it certainly won't be easy, but you and your spouse signed up for this, and now you get to deliver.  

Have a good cry when the kids are asleep (blame it on a chick-flick if you like), set your boundaries, make your schedule, and let others know you're going to stick to them.  You're not going to make everyone happy, though some of them might accuse you of slacking- some might even gossip or try to lay a guilt trip on you.  The "coping skills" that they've chosen not only for themselves but insist upon inflicting upon others don't have to be yours.

Don't cave.  Do right by your children, do right by your spouse, do right by yourself.  If you must lean on someone occasionally, choose someone reliable, discreet, calm, with a great sense of humor.  Don't compete, don't parade, don't gloat, don't whine.

Endure.  Make good decisions.  Love your husband.  Respect yourself and others.  

You'll get through this.

*****

... and another personal suggestion?

Get a good mouser:

(Dear Daughter caught the uninvited visitor in the plasticware after Anni-Cat was done playing with the little furball.  Just another day down in our own family's deployment adventure!)

You *KNOW* You're a Military Family...

... when the members of the medical team tending to your child's (first, I'm sure) stitches are all dressed in camouflage:




That's the doctor, sewing the boy up, with a nurse at his shoulder while another nurse, not pictured, types up the procedure notes.

A few weeks ago, four stitches were required to close the chin gash our boy received thanks to gravity and some playground equipment.  No tears, no hysterics, no drama, possibly because everyone attending him was dressed just like Daddy!

He was so proud of his "whiskers:"

The boy was officially welcomed into the "Chin Scar" Club by his doctor, who got his scar from crashing into a piano bench as a young boy, nurse #1, who obtained his scar from combat training (he was kicked), and nurse #2 who received his scar falling down steps leading up to a slide on a playground.  A rite of passage apparently.

He has healed nicely, with only a crooked pink line remaining.  The story the nurses coached him to use?

"I was wrestling a bear..."

*****
Don't forget to enter my giveaway (below) before next Friday!

"How Do You Do it All?"

                          
               (Wonder Woman "doodle" by Beck Kramer)


It's a question friends, family, colleagues, and fellow Army wives ask me, and my response is always the same:

I don't.

As busy as I stay, I don't get everything done that needs to be done.  I don't begin, try or explore everything I want, and yes, there are occasions when I come home, order pizza online and crawl into jammies, staying awake only long enough to eat with my children, bathe the pre-schooler, and kiss Dear Daughter goodnight before I head to bed to get as much sleep as I can.

It's been six months since Dear Husband left, and with him gone, I am the sole parent to a four year old and fifteen year old.  I teach full time, and this year my class includes five ADHD students, one non-English speaker, and one student with spina bifida.    Several of my students' fathers are also serving overseas this year, which means that busy and emotional stress is a palpable undercurrent for not only teacher, but students and their families as well.  We share hugs, look for ways to generate extra laughter, and I make sure to remind myself of my students' intentions before I react to their mischief, mistakes and moodiness.


Chocolate helps.  Regularly shaking our sillies out and dancing certainly lifts the spirits.  Coffee warms me up and gives me a boost.  Working in my craft nook playing with paper while the kids cuddle under blankies watching movies on the futon in front of my craft table has made snow days both fun and relaxing.  Participating in OWOH and the Heart to Heart Swap provided me the chance to make new crafty friends and refuel my creative inspiration.  Making sure I use every moment I spend at work being as productive and efficient as possible frees up my afternoons, evenings and weekends for my children.  My attitude and belief about my responsibilities and opportunities during Dear Husband's extended absence keep me from becoming a wife that wallows in loneliness, numbing her fear and stress with inappropriate behaviors and exploits.

My attempt at discipline and balance didn't impress Mother Nature however. At a recent doctor's visit, my blood pressure was abnormally high.  High enough that two nurses and my doctor asked if something was wrong.  I've cut back on the caffeine (shudder), made sure to drink more water, and have had our school nurse check my blood pressure daily.  It's gotten better, but when each Monday morning rolls around, I feel *it* in my chest, the pressure, the expectations, the responsibilities, the chores, the job, and the need to get it right.

Unreasonable?

Tomorrow is Monday.

Lesson plans are done.  My coffeepot will brew one teaspoon of regular coffee with two teaspoons of decaf.  I'll wear comfortable clothes and shoes.  I'll drink lots of water, enjoy laughter with my aide, creative constructions with my Super Stars, wrestle with the pre-schooler, help Dear Daughter with her homework...

... and let a pizza place make dinner.

******
"Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity."  Joseph Addison

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."  Winston Churchill

"Happiness is an attitude.  We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong.  The amount of work is the same."  Francesca Reigler

"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."  Hugh Downs

*****

Fireworks Fun

Last 4th of July, we had just arrived to our home here in the Heartland and were too exhausted to buy and set off fireworks of our own. Our neighbor was happy to let us sit and watch his pyrotechnic skills (or lack thereof, poor guy!) and that was the kids' first experience with fireworks up close and personal.



THIS 4th of July, Daddy and Dear Daughter caught a fireworks stand as it was closing up for the year and spent twenty dollars on one hundred dollars' worth of noisemakers and flammability. Daddy was in charge of the production, and two other neighbors up the road also had fireworks fun going off the same time we did, making for quite the show- we cheered one another back and forth as each neighbor competed for the biggest BOOM!



Rightfully cautious, our preschooler kept his Bumblebee Transformer toy in hand as he handled his first sparkler.



Dear Daughter and I danced in the yard with the last of the sparklers at ten p.m., but we all needed showers before bed as the wind had blown all of the smoke and smell of the street's fireworks into our yard.

Fun, fun FUN!

Patriotic for the Remainder of Our Stay

The bunnies, eggs, and butterflies are put away, not to be seen again until next spring, back in Kansas. I get a bit of a break now, April, May, and June, as I won't switch the decor again- in fact, the movers will pack it up at the end of June, leaving me a few weeks in July to explore our new home, new floorplan, and new decor ideas. "Patriotic" is the theme for the next few months, and will probably be the theme once we unpack before school starts, unless I'm ready for autumn, at which point the fall leaves and pumpkins will appear long before October!

Being a military family, red, white and blue, stars and stripes work for us no matter what:













I love this garland!



***********************************************************

My husband and I have been watching John Adams on HBO. The mini-series is wonderful (though not appropriate for young children), as is its broadcast timing while our country's politics continue to make history in front of our eyes: