Madness

Hey guys! Man, it has been awhile since my last post so I thought I would jump on here and update you all!

Well, the holidays proved to be a crazy one at casa Wiesen. We started December with K's Birthday as you all know, followed by a visit from my father in law. Shortly after he left, we had a visit from my grandparents who are snowbirds here in AZ. They stayed for Christmas and left yesterday morning. Last night we spent another fun filled evening at Chuck E. Cheese for T's birthday. And now we plan to head to CA for the weekend to my Aunt and Uncle's house to ring in the New Year! After we return home I will be able to return to my regular scheduled programming which I look forward to more than  you know.

Dad is still going strong in Japan. He was able to skype us on Christmas morning but the feed was terrible. I felt really bad that he was unable to clearly see the kids as they opened their gifts. I know it was really hard on him. I tried to just think of it as another day. I went through the motions and put on my happy face but it just didn't feel right. We have been very lucky that he hasn't missed many Christmas' so I guess I shouldn't complain!

The paper plates proved to be one of my best companions when my grandparents were here. You can't imagine how many dishes six people can produce in the course of seven days. Or maybe you can. Anyways, I am still looking into stock info for the Dixie company, so if anyone has their contact info please leave it in the comment section below.

We had another huge milestone during all of the festivities. T lost his first tooth at his Bday party last night. That dang tooth had been hanging on for weeks. I tried everything I could think of in my arsenal of bribery to get him to pull it out sooner but it happened in true T fashion. On his own time. With minimal intervention. He woke up this morning very excited about his three bucks the Tooth Fairy left for him. And today we are headed out to do some shopping and get rid of the money that has been burning a hole in the kids' pockets since Christmas.

I hope all of you had an amazing Holiday and appreciated being with your loved ones. I know the Wiesen's look forward to going home next year. Back to the madness and running around, three Christmas', HBR's in my sister in laws basement and the kids running around with all of their cousins. You know, all the comforts of HOME! 

Anyways, I will post again soon! Pray for my sanity if you get a chance. And have a safe and Happy New Year! -E

Update

My father in law was in town for a few days so I was too busy to post, but I thought I would do a quick one to update everyone! We have had a busy week. The kids finished out their last week of school before winter break. It was full of multiple trips back and forth from the school to bring treats for parties, forgotten homework, or candy for white elephant gifts. My girlfriend and I made an amazing fruit tree, complete with a pineapple star, for T's Kindergarten class! We got a ton of oooo's and ahhhhh's as we proudly marched our masterpiece down the hall! I think we were both pretty darn proud! It was sort of a rebuttal treat. Let me explain.... Over Halloween, a mom in T's class decided to make the most amazing thing. She took oranges, hollowed them out, carved each with a Jack-O-Lantern face, filled them with grapes and replaced the lid. She did this for 32 kids! When T brought it home, my jaw dropped. At first I was in awe because I couldn't figure out how she did it. Second, I was a little perturbed that I hadn't thought of it. So, our fruit tree was kind of my response to that. Not that the other parent cares, I just really hate being out crafted.

Moving on. We were expecting my grandparents on Monday afternoon but they both came down with a terrible cold and haven't made it here yet. My father in law had to leave this morning at four a.m. so we had to say our goodbyes last night. I cried. I have been really emotional the past couple of weeks. I don't let it show very often but it slips out, to my dismay, every now and then.

The kids are getting more and more anxious for Christmas. Every time we get a package they beg to open it early. I usually give in. I am a sucker for giving/opening presents early. I am currently angry at my Mom because she refuses to open the package I sent her until Christmas Eve. I tried to convince her for half an hour yesterday that it was more practical for her to just open it now. But she wouldn't listen.

Dad is doing well and we get to talk to him everyday. He moved rooms last week and the internet connection in his new room is horrible so talking has been interesting. It sounds like the parents from Charlie Brown..."Wa wa waaa waaa". I hope we can get it resolved soon! He will be joining a couple of friends, who are now stationed on the same base, for Christmas. I am so glad he will have somewhere to go and won't be alone in a room! We will miss him so much this holiday but at least I know he isn't alone.

Well, I hope you all have a great Christmas, or whatever holiday you may be celebrating. I will update again soon! Hopefully with pictures! -E

She strikes again!

I write this from my cell in the insane asylum... My daughter, after doing several successful loads of dishes since our last mishap, decided she'd change it up again. Instead of liquid detergent this time, she chose the rinsing agent. Surprisingly, rinsing agent foams up as much as liquid detergent. So here I am. Scoop, rinse, repeat. -E

Paper Plates

*Disclaimer: If I were rich, I would be the most granola munching, smart car driving, organic food eating, eco friendly mom out there. But I am not. So, let's get on with it.

First, let me start by saying I HATE doing the dishes. My daughter is luckily at the age where she can do the dishes. Now by "do" the dishes, I mean get them mostly clean as long as you don't mind an occasional spoon with dried peanut butter on it. But, that is just fine with me. I would rather wash the random peanut butter spoon than have to always do the onslaught of dishes that a family of five can generate!

My saving grace? Paper plates. Wonderful, disposable paper plates. You can eat off them, color on them, cut holes in them for masks. They make great pallets for paint, hot glue guns, beads and on and on and on. They are cheap! I even splurge and buy the ones where you only need ONE to eat a meal with out it folding in half! They can be turned into frisbees, snow shoes, and hubcaps for the car... Okay, maybe I am getting a little carried away but you get the point! If it makes life a little easier than I am all for it! One less minute spent washing plates is one more minute I can spend with my kids! So, go buy some. After dinner you will thank me! -E

Weekend!

Well, we made it through our first full week of Dad being gone! Only twenty three more to go! I have decided to count down weeks rather than days, because it sounds better counting down from 23 rather than 180 (days). The end of the week means that the weekend is upon us. Probably my least favorite time during deployments. My goal this weekend is to keep things as busy as possible. Tomorrow we will be heading to the library to attend a Christmas craft workshop, which should keep the kids busy for a couple of hours! Sunday will be interesting! It is "K"'s fourth birthday! He has decided he wants to go to the movies, and then we are having some friends over for cake and pizza! He is really excited but I feel bad that Dad has to miss it! We have been so lucky in the fact that he hasn't missed but one of the kids Birthday's in the last nine years. I don't think enough time has gone by yet that "K" will really be that affected by it, but it still stinks. 

Christmas is approaching fast and I am so thankful that we have family coming into town. My Father In Law will be visiting next Friday. The kids and I are really excited. It will be nice to see a familiar face, and it is always fun when Papa comes! Shortly after he arrives my grandparents will be heading into town as well! They will be staying through Christmas which is a huge relief for me because that will allow me to purchase any last minute gifts and stocking stuffers without having to break out my ninja skills. It is a little scary to think that your kids' joy of the holiday season rests solely in your hands. Frightening in fact. But, I feel like it will be a great Christmas regardless! I will post again after this weekend and let you know how the festivities went! Until then.... -E

Pamphlet!

The kids are eating dinner so I thought this might be a good time to write! 

Today I was driving to pick the kids up from school and as I was waiting in the line of cars to pick them up I noticed something. It was a booklet on the floor board of my van about deployment. I decided to pick it up and skim through it. I read over the part about preparing for the deployment (emotionally) and how it is totally normal to withdraw from your spouse a little (which is totally what I did). It is our minds way of protecting itself from the inevitable hurt you will feel! I was a little relieved to know I was normal (HA!). But what hit me like a ton of bricks was the section on dealing with the first few weeks! It talked about how it is okay to be sad, hurt, mad, overwhelmed and la dee dah and I thought to myself : "wait a minute, I don't feel any of these things!" I feel quite the opposite. Since Dad has left I have felt pretty damn good! A little cocky in fact. And although I know these feelings probably wont last, I am going to cling to them. How often are we faced we hardship and we stare down the barrel and say "Come and get me, I am ready"? Not very often. So, am I less of a loving wife because I am not at home sobbing? NO! Is my home any less than extremely altered when he is gone? NO! It means that I am a strong woman who is perfectly capable of taking care of three kids, a dog, a cat, a house, two cars, endless bills and whatever else life decides to throw at me! I hope my fellow wives who are feeling the heat can find some encouragement in my words! WE GOT THIS LADIES! And when shit hits the fan (which it will), we have each other!

On a side note, if I start blubbering like a baby tomorrow, remind me to re-read this! Please. :) Have a great night all! -E

Skype

We got skype up and running today! The kids were amazed! Dad gave us a tour of his room and got to chat with each kid for awhile. Dad is trying to acclimate to the time difference, which is sixteen hours ahead of us! I think it will take us both awhile to get used to it! I can tell you all now that he is in Japan! Awesome right? Even though it is for work, I know he is going to have an amazing time! I know I can't wait to live vicariously through him! Not to mention the fact that he will be required to bring me home a giant mink blanket that I have had my heart set on since his first deployment to Iraq seven years ago! YAY!

Well, the kids are eating dinner and I better go and eat some too! I was lazy tonight, pizza and green beans with almonds. Have a great night!! -E

Walking and walking.

So, today is day two and we are trucking right along. Last night we went on a nice walk in the cool air to look at Christmas lights and burn off some energy for both the kids and the dog! Let me tell you something people, cool crisp air does wonders for little people! 

After bed time we got a call from Dad saying that he made it safely to their first destination which made me sleep a whole lot better!

This morning we had to run some errands so I told the kids that if they were good we could go bowling! Dollar bowling day on base is awesome! We were the only people there, which the kids thought was pretty cool! We played two games and I totally smoked em'.....lol I am way to competitive for my own good. I told the kids that whoever won got to skip nap, so there was no way I was letting them win~ Lucky for me my kids aren't sore losers so there were no hurt feelings ;)

I have been trying to keep them as busy as possible, not allowing too much down time because that is when things seem to get wacky. Walking has been something I tend to cling to when Dad is deployed. I walk multiple times a day and at random times a day and it is proving to already have an instant calming affect on us all. This time is so nice too, because we have no strollers! Everyone can stretch their legs and go for a pretty long walk without needing to stop much or tire out! With the neighborhood being so big we can take different routes and have a change of scenery, as well as during the day we can walk along the citrus orchards that line the fields across from our subdivision. To anyone who hasn't smelled fresh citrus growing on a warm day, YOU ARE MISSING OUT! Imagine the smell of the ripest orange mixed with Hawaii. (<-------amazing description right?) It is out of this world. And the wild life is nothing to be ignored. For this small town girl who pretty much never left Bonney Lake WA until I was 21 I am in awe of pretty much everything. I hear myself point things out to the kids while on a walk and am stunned at how much I sound like my Grandma! "Look at those flowers, they are gorgeous!" If there is one thing I am truly grateful for is that my kids are getting to experience so many new and wonderful things. I think it will really impact the kind of people they become having seen so many cultures and new places. I have learned from my experiences that you take a little bit of the places you go and the people you meet with you when you move on, and I hope that my kids come to know how much of a blessing that is when they are older. We are lucky. Period. And although the military takes Dad to far away places and we have to be apart sometimes, it has also given us a life that will be full of wonderful stories and rich life lessons.

Alright, before I get too emotional, I am going to sign off for now. Next entry we will hopefully have good news that the Dad arrived at their final destination safely and I can tell you all where he will be calling home for the next few months!

(Insert witty sign off here) -E

D Day

So today marks day one of our six month journey. My kids and I said goodbye to Dad this afternoon and I think it went pretty well! "J", my ten year old, had the hardest time which is to be expected. She is the oldest and at the age where she understands and remembers vividly the trials while Dad is gone. The boys, "T" who is five and "K" who is three, did well. I don't think it will hit them until we are in the thick of the deployment. I held up okay until I saw all of the other dads kissing their little ones on the head and their wives sobbing. I had done a pretty good job at separating myself from what was coming, having been through this before, and I was pretty determined to cling to my delusions for as long as possible. Ha! That didn't go as planned. But I did plan an escape route. I needed to go grocery shopping (the kind that cannot be avoided a moment longer) and I knew that having a task to focus on directly after would make me get my act together. Other than a few "buy mes" we came out of the store unscathed and ready to drive home and get back to our new reality! This is where the fun begins. Every military wife knows that something WILL happen that will test your training (or lack there of) while your spouse is gone. And boy it sure didn't take its sweet time!!! We got into the house, unloaded the groceries, got "K" down for a nap! Just when I was patting myself on the back I heard/smelled it! I walked around the corner to the kitchen and what do I find ????? SUDS! E-V-E-R-Y W-H-E-R-E!!!!!!!!! My darling "J" was trying to be helpful and started the dishwasher for me. One minor detail though, she used regular dish soap. And A LOT of it! So I have spent the better part of the afternoon trying to clean it up and get rid of this foamy nightmare! I swear the stuff keeps growing. For every one scoop I take out, three more scoops are waiting for me when I return........ Kids. You gotta love em. But I guess I am thankful that I got the first "one" out of the way, and a bonus is that it didn't require a trip to the Urgent Care! I am sure that there will be more to come, but we will be ready!  - E

*I hope you will enjoy reading our journey as it progresses, and I know I look forward to using this as a way to keep things in perspective during this deployment!