Promotion orders ~ Congratulations Babe

I am so proud of my hubby for making SFC/E7. (he pins on tomorrow) He works hard and is VERY good at his job. I however have no idea how to be an E7's wife. I am not the kind to kiss up to somebody to make them feel important. I do not believe in being "politically correct". I am not the kind to host huge parties for people I don't know and going to a "ball" is not my idea of fun. I will however back our soldiers and be available to ALL military and their spouses when they need me as I do now. I do take pride in my hubby and his job. I will take my new "post" with honor and pray God shows me the way. I can not however guarantee the outcome.

Congratulations also to SSgt Vaz and family on your promotion!!
Love you guys

silly dogs

Does this qualify as "Dog tired"

I have pictures

I FINALLY went to Sears to get my pics. They turned out really good. I was putting it off till I had to go pay bills cause the price of gas is just to much these days and I refuse to give them more than I have to. I made a tank last 3+ weeks this month and the second tank will last 2 weeks. I am so proud of myself. (cause you all know I could go through a tank a week)This is my first step of trying to be frugal ~ something that doesn't come easy for me. :) As I have said before I am very spoiled. I did however walk past a pair of sandals (at Payless) that I really wanted since I seen them last week (at Penny's) and they were even half price today. I did buy me 4 new shirts today though. But in my defence I really needed them. Shoes I give into but I hate shopping for clothes ~ HATE IT. Well I guess I better jump down out of this monkey tree I've been hiding in and get my room clean.

Happy Birthday to my Mom (in-law)

Happy Birthday to my Mom

Wordless Wednesday

lovely coffee

What age is to young to be addicted to coffee? (LOL) I think Brat~baby 4 might need a 12 step program intervention!! :) My DH I have to blame you and your coffee soaked genetics for this one. Good thing its more milk than coffee. Now I'm off for another cup myself

Memorial Day

To those of you who serve in our great Military ~past present and future~ We thank you. Thank you for all that you do and all the sacrifices you and your family make for us. To my husband, SFC Sherman, thank you. Thank you for your 17 years of service. Thank you for your love and friendship and understanding of who I am. Even though we have been apart as much as we have been together the last 14 years I wouldn't change any of it. I am very proud of you and what you do for us. I love you babe. So many people don't understand how we can be apart for so long. For me its just another day in the life of an Army wife. Do I miss you ~ like crazy every second, do I worry ~ non stop, but this is who we are and what we do. I feel it is a privilege and an honor to serve beside you. (even if it is only on the home front) Anybody who is willing to put their own life and freedom on the line for the life and freedom of a stranger will always be a hero to me. Thank you and may God bless each and every one of you.

In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," Moina Michael replied with her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

Journey's Backyard BBQ in Nashville

We had a lot of fun today. We loaded up and headed to Nashville for the Journey's backyard bbq. They had skate/bmx (sakteboard/Bicycle Motocross)demos featuring DC teams with Rob Dydrek, Dave Mirra, and Danny Way. They had FMX (Freestyle Motocross) demos by Rockstar and Metal Mulisha featuring Derek Garland, Ryan Hagy, Jonny Ebenal. They had a battle of the bands and a live performance by Ludo and Angels & Airwaves. We watched same awesome tricks both on the bikes and boards. We got to hear some great music and got lots of free stuff like shirts, hats, sunglasses, and posters and deck stickers and cds from Audio, DC, Etnies, Globe, Osiris, Vans, Circa, OGIO, Rockstar Energy drink and many more. The kids got to design a Converse with sharpies. We also got a DC banner that was hanging on the half pipe. We had a blast and even walked the mall. OH did i mention it was all free.

Us in the Etnies tent at Journeys backyard bbq in Nashville
Brat~baby 2

Brat~babies 3 and 1

Brat~baby 4 and momma

cake pics

Brat~baby 1 and "charley" decorated this lovely cake

Report cards are in

I am very happy with the kids grades.

Brat~baby 4's grades:

Reading A
Math A
Language A
Spelling A
Science E
Social S. E
Handwriting S
and all S's on her Developmental skills/attitude

Brat~baby 3's grades:

Reading A
Math C
Language A
Spelling A
Science A
Social S. B
Handwriting S
and all S's on her Developmental skills/attitude

Brat~baby 2's IEP progress:

He has met 4 of his goals by the end of his 4th quarter.
the rest of his goals all say he has made progress toward his goals

Brat~baby 1's grades:

1stQ Journalism A
2ndQ Computer Tech B
3rdQ Spanish D
4thQ Art A

1st SM Choir A
2nd SM PE B


Social Studies B
Language Arts C
Math B
Reading C
Science C

Brat~baby ones bday

It's been an overall good day. A little stressful here and there but we had a few good laughs. The kids got out early today for their last day of school. We lounged around the house and some took naps. Brat~baby 1 went to "Charley's" house for a while and then they decided to go bowling. We met up with them on post and bowled a couple of games and ate pizza. By the time we got half way through the 2ND round we were all tired and ready to go. We took Brat~baby 1 to get some things she wanted for her bday and then headed home since it was late. We are planning on doing cakes this weekend. And maybe some more shopping. I forgot my camera so I unfortunately don't have pics to share.

Wordless Wednesday

Just catching up

Not to much going on lately. I've been trying to clean and get ready for school to be out at the same time. Thursday is their last day for the year and Brat~baby ones bday. We have gotten most of the flowers planted and should have the rest done by tomorrow night. I have let go of my OCD tendencies (for the most part) and let the kids plant the flowers where ever they wanted to. I have also started running about 2miles every other night. I plan to start running every night starting tomorrow. The kids and I have kind of fallen into our groove. They are for the most part getting along and listening. Other than an occasional elbow rubbing on chores they are minding. Daddy calls often enough to keep them inline :) Well I'm off to bed. I have an early morning and alot to do tomorrow. Here are the latest pics of the childrens flower garden.

the new photos

Here are the results of our latest trip to Sears photo. We did pics for Brat~baby 1's bday. The guy we booked the appointment with decided to not go to work today so we had dumbass and his twin. I’m kind of glad they were idealess and lazy cause then I got to set the poses. The kids had to much fun and I think the pictures turned out great. I almost didn't get any of them cause dumbass #1 deleted them when trying to put them on the disk. He some how managed to sweet talk them out of the camera. I think I would have killed him. I don’t have the disk yet cause he forgot to ring it up so I now have to wait till I pick up my pictures. I actually survived the mall and got to spend some time with Mrs. A. she is so cool. Brat~baby1 also got her ears pierced again about 10 minutes before we did pictures. That was a mess in and of itself. The lady couldn't get the darn holes lined up. But after about 20 min in the chair we finally got it done and they look good. I get to do this again in just 4 weeks for Brat~baby 2's bday. :) Well not the ear piercing part though :)

Anything for my girls :)

Meme from Aunt Becky...

4 things I did 10 years ago: (1998)
1. was pregnant with brat~baby3
2. my first flight (8 months preg with brat~baby3)
3. spent 2/3rds of my year with out hubby and preg with 2 babies at home (DH was on mission after mission and then AIT for re class)
4. drove from AZ to KS 8 months preg.

4 things I did 5 years ago: (2003)
1. DH was deployed to Iraq for 13 months (We were in Germany)
2. Potty training Brat~baby4
3. Working for the FRG (Secretary - treasurer - newsletter publisher - fundraising Coordinator - party planning) And I loved it
4. spending all my time with Patrice, and Ang I miss Europe!!

4 things I did yesterday:
1. Paid bills
2. Watched Burn Notice - (and online chatting with Sara)
3. Watched Psych
4. ran 2 miles

4 shows I love to watch:
1. Monk
2. Psych
3. Burn Notice
4. Bones, House, NCIS, clean house and many more :)

should of hid under the covers

Well I was going to do the trampoline this morning but my oldset decided to forget her lunch. (after she said go back to bed mom you only got an hour and a half sleep) I stayed up anyway cause I had to get the girls up. Anyway ~ after I got the girls on the bus I got myself ready figuring if I had to go out I might as well go to the commissary and US Cav. I get to the school and she says well I could have just bought my lunch I still have adays worth on the card. I gave it to her anyway and headed to US Cav to get the headgear hubby needed. I also needed them to sew on rank so I took them to the back and handed everything to the lady and she turns it in as a rush order (no biggie was in no hurry and I could wait for them) then tells me $2.40 then says oh wait I always for get to ring up the rank then she said $4.40. I said well what about the hats?? She said oh you havent paid for those??????????? Hello 3 boonies and rank and sewing. I could have walked out with $40.00 still in my pocket. I don't know if I'm more mad at her for being a ditz or me for being so dern honest and reminding her 3 times how to do her job. Isn't she the one who got paid for it? Well either way I finally got hubby his headgear (and prob saved the lady her dern job) then headed to the commissary where I figured no kids its early be in and out 30 min to an hour. Ya NOOOOOOO they had a case lot sale today!!! It took 15 min just to park after it took 10 just to get into the parking lot. I was lucky and didnt have to drive around. I pulled in just as a lady was loading her car it just took them 15 min to do it. First time I have ever seen the MP's (military police) directing traffic in a commissary parking lot. I was in there for about 2 1/2hours. By the time I got to the milk I wanted to curl up in the cooler and go to sleep. People were standing in the middle of the isles not moving and kids were screaming (I mean screaming). Thats to long on no sleep and no food. Now the post office.......do I dare try today? ummmm nope gonna stay home. My luck the building would end up getting locked down with me in it :)

this is to funny

honestly is it to hard to grow a brain

If I have to listen to one more ill educated asshole talk about how the Military doesn’t pay rent and taxes and utilities I am going to scream. Apparently you are to busy enjoying the freedom our soldiers provide you to learn a few simple facts!!!! We DO pay rent and its usually higher than the civilians pay. We just don’t lose our house for not paying cause it comes straight out of their checks. We DO pay taxes!!! We ALL pay federal taxes and MOST pay state. If we shop at the px/bx yes things are tax free but are usually higher priced then most local stores. And groceries ~ we may not pay taxes per say on our groceries but we have this thing called a surcharge and its about 5% right now. Don’t get me wrong but isn’t the tax on food at “Wal-Mart” only1%. HELLO People. We may get nontaxable income when they are deployed but that’s it. And to tell you the truth it’s a small price for you to pay to have somebody else over there fighting for your freedom so you can sit around and bad mouth us. The Military gave you your freedom to say stupid things when ever you want ~ why not pay them back by shutting the hell up!!!!!!!!!!

Is it really Wednesday

It was a day for hair

I love my girls. And today they all wanted something done to their hair. Here are the pics ~ Brat~baby 3 and Brat~baby 4 just have in clips. Brat~baby 1 now has black hair. Its gonna take some time to get used to.

Night of the Arts

Tonight was Night of the Arts at Brat~baby 3 and 4's school. The kiddos work hard on their projects that they put out on display for parents to admire before they go to the gym and listen to them put a really good concert. We really enjoyed ourselves tonight. Great job girls!!

The art work and perfomance pics of Brat~baby 4


The art work and perfomance pics of Brat~baby 3

The flower garden

The Brat~babies worked on the flowers some more. We may actually get some where with it soon

Funny pics

These are for you Shell ~ we thought you would get a kick out of them.

Its rather funny to see the birds eating your dogs food.


Billboard on the riverfront

My early anniversary dinner

Since DH isn't hone to fix the usual pasta with all the trimmings, the Brat~babies took me out for dinner. It only took an hour to decide where to go and during the 20 min. drive that changed about 3 more times. We ended up at steak n shake. We had a ball. The kids were in a goofy mood but a good goofy mood. Then we went to Wal-Mart to get more pictures printed and some other things for them and daddy. Now I’m going to go get a big glass of tea and curl up to “The Bourne Ultimatum” waiting to see if DH is able to get online tonight. I have pictures for everybody but need addresses.

Happy Mother's Day

I had a really good Mother's Day today! My babies made me breakfast in bed and then forced me to get ready and GO to church. (I really wanted to stay home) After church we were going to go on a picnic but the wind gusts were around 50 mh. so we set up the new tank for the bichers (they are like eels) instead and Brat~baby 1 and her friend made brownies. Then it was back to church for dinner and a movie night. We watched Night at the Museum and had angel hair pasta with Alfredo sauce. I am now going to curl up on my bed and watch a movie and wait to see if DH logs back in. I hope you all enjoyed your mothers day today.

why

Its gonna be a long hard day (week). The only plant I had left from Joes services is now gone. I am so angry and sad and frustrated right now. I think I'm just gonna take the week off and baby step my way back to a human state of mind if thats possible. I know I haven't actually delt with the loss of my sweet baby cause everytime I think about him I break down all over again (and I think about him all the time). I don't want to grow up. I don't want to deal with the pain. I dont want to let go. I am going to go plant flowers now and have a long talk with God. I know its time, I know it in my heart, but that doesn't make it any easier.

Field Day with the other munchkin :o)

Brat~baby 3 had her field day today. It was very hot out but beautiful. we had a lot of fun. She played hard and ran hard and laughed a lot. I really enjoy these days with the kids. We both got burnt and then we all went for icecream! :)

tired tired tired

on the bright side I managed to cut and sort 36 sheets of photos ~for the first time ever~ the same day I got them. believe it or not it only took 20 min. NOW I have to go mail them. (I have a feeling this will take longer than 20 min.) on the not so bright side - I have not slept in well forever. I just can't seem to shut my mind off. Its not like I'm really even thinking about anything. I lay there and just when I think I'm about to fall asleep I hear in the back of my mind ~hummmmm are you ever going to fall asleep cause your still awake here~ duh My eyes ache and I didn't even know that was possible!! At least I'm catching up on burn notice right? (and monk and psych and csi and many many others) :)(: I know I know there will be plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead but at this rate I just might have to take stock in coffee cause if I don't get any soon I'm gonna have to start drinking it on a daily (or hourly) basis.

My happy day

I get to talk to hubby before I fell asleep ~ I got to sleep till I woke up on my own ~ I got some housework done ~ I went and picked up our pictures from Sears (they are awesome) ~ Then I kidnapped Brat~baby 1's friends mom and we went to dinner. I got to try a new place with great food and enjoy the company of a really cool person. You all would love her ~ she would so fit right into a girls night out!! (and her kids are great too)

A much better day

I talked to hubby last night and he has this way of making me calm inside. I woke up feeling much better today and with a new "game plan" for my life. AND I learned this new word (the same one I have been trying to teach my brat~babies for years now) this one magical yet simple word that can make a huge difference. Yep you guessed it that word is NO. It may be accompanied by another word such as sorry or can’t or with words like not right now or I really can’t. You may also see it in the form of NOPE, NOT, AIN’T HAPPENING, and the occasional ARE YOU SERIOUS!! And to think how much crap I could have avoided if I would have just listened to myself (and hubby and friends) sooner :)
(don’t tell but I soooooooo like my new word)

Wordless Wednesday

I guess I'm all out of big girl pills

I love my life I really do!! I just wish sometimes that I wasn't so damn invisible. I hate being treated like nothing I say or do matters. But then again when I'm not invisible I'm being used as an ATM or door mat. I am so tired, frustrated, aggravated, and upset. But I guess mostly at myself. It seems the more I fail the harder I try ~ but damn it the harder I try the more I fail . I’m just not sure why I keep trying anymore.........something has to give ~ problem is its usually me

The supermarket

Okay those of you who really know me know that I adore children okay most children there are exceptions!! For example the mighty mites running around yelling and screaming in the middle of the supermarket ~ well any store for that matter. I understand kids will be kids and some are more hyper than others. I don’t however understand why parents think that its okay for us to have to dodge their unwatched ill mannered children! And the screaming oh my lord when you can hear them from across an entire Army Commissary very clearly its annoying and when you are standing next to said child/children its beyond words. There is no excuse for this behavior I have heard them all and they just don’t wash with me. If you give them a warning and then follow through by PUTTING BACK THEIR DAMN COCOA PUFFS AND WALK OUT they will stop!!! I have actually done this and yes they cry all the way home but believe me when you go back later and say if you do it again we are leaving they know you are ACTUALLY LEAVING. Empty threats are the tactics of lazy parents who in turn raise up ill mannered children.

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Is the grass greener on the other side?

There are actually days where I think selling myself as a maid on Ebay would be easier!!! This just so happens to be one of those days ~ and you can never hide from yourself cause that would be a true vacation ~

My HUGE yard

When we got the house we fell in love with it and the big yard. WELL..........
I just came to the realization that I will be spending EVERY DAY this summer MOWING!! I just spent the last 3+hours (With Brat~baby 1's help) mowing the front yard. Me on the big rider and her push mowing the edges. It took me and DH 4 Days to mow the back yard using the rider and its not even done and now I have to start on it AGAIN!!!! Its a blessing and a curse:)Well if nothing else atleast you will know where to find me :)(:
On the bright side I have an excuse to make snowcones everyday right!!

Field day with the munchkin :o)

It was a beautiful morning out for it and Brat~baby 4 had tons of fun. She did a lot of races and then we ate lunch at her desk while watching The Lion King. She ran hard and laughed hard today and it made my heart smile :) Oh and my camera works again.

Days are looking up again

You know you have hope for a good day when the most stressful part of your morning is whether to wear baby powder or vanilla chi scented deoderant. :)
Edit to above~ In like a lamb out like a lion I guess. Everthing was great today but now we are under a sever tornado warning. The kids are in the storm room sleeping and I will be headed there soon. I HATE this weather!! I don't remember it being this bad. Then again I haven't lived in the midwest in over 8 years. Say a little prayer for those hiding from the weather AGAIN :)

My lovely Credit Union

Okay why did the credit union call me this morning and wake me up at the crack of dark!! They asked about a charge on my card in IE (Ireland) and when I calmly tried to tell her DH was there on that day she started asking my if I was planning a vacation there maybe paid for a rental car where I AGAIN tried to tell her that DH was there on that day! Are you seeing a pattern here?!? Finally after telling her again that DH was in Ireland on his way to Iraq she understood and then did the OH he's military ~ duh ~ why else have we been calling you telling you not to send us the insurance papers since you dont cover military!!! Anyway I get the whole card fraud thing but she called me over $21.36 where was she when THEY put my deposit in wrong and it cost me loads more????? I would have paid more for some dern sleep!!!!!
A little grouchy I know but I haven't slept much in the last week and to top it off I somehow broke my camera and I really needed it tomorrow:(

Hubby

Hubby called at 5:30 this morning (1:30 pm his time) he is back at FOB Summerall. He has the night off and is planning to get as much sleep as he can. I am happy to hear the trip was uneventful and am finally starting to relax a little. Hopefully by this time tomorrow he will be back on the internet and I will get to hear from him almost every night!! LOVE YA BABE!