Not much going on. Nathan and I went bowling with the 3rd ID Band on Thursday. They were having a family get-together at the bowling alley. I guess since Eric's gone, they didn't think to call us until the day of. Which was okay. Nathan won one and I won one. It's two days later, and my back muscles are still sore from throwing the ball. That was actually a big step for me - I really dislike going someplace by myself when I don't know anyone there. I did recognize one or two people, but since most everyone was in civies, I didn't make a lot of connections between names and faces. Apparently we're going to have another get-to-gether/meeting in February, which is supposed to be some sort of psueo-Valentine Day dinner, but Eric still won't be back by then.

He's in DC right now. They played at a retirement home/nursing home, and at Walter Reed Hospital. They've also had some sightseeing stuff built in - driving around the Mall, Arlington, etc. They got to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown. The guy in charge of the military detail there let them go into the guard's off-limits area, and explained how they did everything. Which sounded pretty cool. But Eric realized that standing motionless for 2 hours as part of your duty is most definitely NOT the job for him. Tee-hee! They'll be returning to DC later this afternoon.

First place, baby!

That's right - the new kid won first place in his den, out of 11 boys. He ran 4 heats - came in first once and second the other 3 times. Car weighs 4-3/8 oz (5 is the max). We're going to district next!

So I understand that there's serious ice and cold weather back home today. Here, Nathan wore shorts to school. Now, it has gotten cold here. Here's a self-portrait of me, bundled up before going for a walk last week. No one ever takes pictures of me - and I'm usually horrified when they go - but I decided to take a pic of myself. Eric laughs at my 'save darfur' sweatshirt - but it's warm!

Notice the #43 car. The kid decided that he didn't like the green stripes he had painted on it. So mommy stands outside to sand the paint job down and repaint. Keep your fingers crossed - the derby is tomorrow. My dad has corrected me - he did not actually cut his finger off. Just a cut vertically through the nail. (And the slice on the forearm with the rotary saw, and the ...)

I finally finished re-quilting these two quilts. My mom's aunt made them for her when she was a girl. I took them with me to college and they just became mine. But by then, they were coming apart and the batting was coming out. I guess back when I was pregnant, mom dismantled the quilt squares with the intention that either she or I would reassemble them. I have carried those cotton-picked blocks around for 7 years! That's through 5 moves, stored in an old piece of luggage. I finally resolved to myself that I wasn't moving them again like that. It's taken me 6 months, but they're finally done. I love these quilts. I would never make the pattern myself, but I just love them. They are for display only! They are not going on a bed where a cat is going to hack up a hairball on them or a little boy will spill his fruit punch on them.

I suppose that's not so important in the grand scheme of things. Just one of those items on my to-do list that have been weighing me down. I'm trying to knock out as much of my to-do list as possible before I find a job. And I'm trying to get into the habit of exercising, so that when I'm working, I'll still make exercise a priority. Blech. I did buy a new exercise DVD that I like. It's amazing to me that I ever made it through 7 years of marching band - I obviously can't tell my right foot from my left.

I made our flight reservations to go see Eric. Nathan is very excited to go on a plane. I think he's just as excited to have Eric chase him around the hotel room (something that mommy just doesn't like to do).

Eric had the sniffles yesterday when I talked to him, but he sounded better today. He's acting first Sgt this week for his class. Apparently his brand of leadership is a shock to others in his class. His basic philosophy is that you figure out how to handle things on your own, the army isn't going to hold your hand for the simple stuff. Anyway, they're doing a field trip later this week. They get to got to Washington to play at Walter Reed. Not sure what else they're doing while they're there.

So if you have a facebook account, look him up. Somebody at sometime got him to register, and now he's got people coming out of the woodwork. Some who he insists he doesn't know. He says it's addictive - someone links to you, then you look at their friends and find people you haven't thought of for months. And he's right. I looked yesterday and found all sorts of people - people I went to high school with, the flag instructor I hated in high school, my cousins on my mom's side - even my uncle! I just don't get the attraction. It's not like I dislike the people I went to high school with - I guess I'm just not hard-wired to maintain long distance relationships. I can't imagine creating a profile on one of these websites and looking for people I haven't seen in 20 years (yes my 20th high school reunion is this year). The only reason I blog is to keep family and some friends posted on what we're doing out here. Oh well. To each his own. So invite Eric to be your friend, and be sure and add him to whatever silly online games you can do on facebook. I'm sure he'll love it!

New World Order

Kumbaya and all that. Michelle Obama was beautiful and those kids are SO much better behaved than mine. But really, Yo-Yo Ma ROCKS!!!!

We celebrated the first day of the rest of our lives by going to a scout meeting. Oh - the trials and tribulations of the pinewood derby! Which is next week. Eric had roughed out a car before he left, leaving it up to us to sand and paint it. Well, Nathan was upset that Eric didn't ask his opinion on how the car should look. So when we went to the boy scout store 2 weeks ago, he finds a Speedy Secrets to the Pinewood Derby book. We buy it and a new block of wood. Now he's looking at me to cut out a Indy car body, the most complicated template in the book. Okay - we don't own any power tools. I've never wood shopped anything in my life. I bought a little dremel power tool and prayed that I wouldn't cut off my finger like my father did once upon a time. Eyeglasses are not a proper sawdust barrier. But I think it turned out okay. I got major props from the other moms for handling the woodcarving myself. The important part is that both he and I seem to be finding a place in the group.

Howdy ya'll!

Haven't really had much to post about. Just me and Nathan doing our thing.

Nathan did get his report card yesterday. It's the first one since we came to Ft. Stewart. He meets grade-level expectations for readying, speaking/listening, science, social studies, art and p.e. He's making steady progress towards grade-level expectations in writing and mathematics. I looked at the 1st grade standards for both, and I'm thinking the standards are more appropo for 3rd or 4th grade! "writes for different audiences and purposes, embeds the language of literature in writing, describes spatial relationships using geometry and algebra" ?@?#?@?!?#

You all will be pleased to note that his project on the paiutes earned him an "E" - exceeds expectations. Whew! All that effort Eric and I made on the wickiup paid off! ;)

Spent 3 hours yesterday trying to get rid of a trojan horse on the computer. That's Eric's job, not mine. I'm trying to knock this post out as quick as I can, because I saw an electric company truck in my backyard. I'm sure I'll be without power any minute now.

I'm loading msn messenger on this computer, so anyone who wants to IM me, let me know. I did have yahoo on the laptop, but Eric has assured me that he's deleted it. Claims my laptop is running at lightening speed. Hmmpt.

The cold spell that has hit most of the nation is finally reaching into our neck of the woods. We'll actually hit into the teens on Friday night. The local weathermen are saying it hasn't been this cold in 40 years. Cold snap happens just when Nathan's got a 4 day weekend. Will be hard pressed to come up with activities to stave off cabin fever.

Eric is doing well at school. Had his first bass lesson on Tuesday. Teacher apparently have him some mind-twisting exercises, which take him hours to complete. Now, Eric has always been someone who can practice for hours. I admire that about him, because I never was to have such single-minded focus. He's also moved into a different location. He was staying in the barracks which was like a Motel 6. Now he's moved into navy lodging, which is apparently several steps up. Even has a kitchen, so his attitude about the stay has greatly improved.

Update on my mom's health (for those of my far-flung friends who ask me occasionally) Talked to my mom on Tuesday. She went to her new oncologist last week. She had been going every 3 months, getting blood work tested. He tells her that she needs to come now every 6 months. And if someone did blood work today, they wouldn't find any evidence of the cancer. Now, that doesn't mean that she's cured - it's a manageable disease at this point. She was talking to another patient while she was at the doctor, who had been diagnosed 2 years earlier. I guess that lady had much the same treatment as mom. Her cancer was starting to creep back in. So mom will continued to be monitored. But they're continuing to make breakthroughs. Who knows what will be on the horizon in 2 years?

bummer.......

School's back in session

Yippee! School's back in session! (That would be MY reaction, not Nathan's).

Seems like SOP - give Nathan the first nudge at 7:00, promise of 5 or 10 more minutes, force him out of the bed. He dresses himself and comes downstairs, "I hate school. I don't want to go. I have a stomach ache." Microburst of rain happens 5 minutes before he leaves for school. "See - it's a hurricane out there. I shouldn't have to go to school."

Meanwhile, estastic whiring dervish dancing (but on the inside) from me. Shove the kid out the door, and then just enjoy the silence for a few minutes.

Ahhhhhhh.

You know, it's not like I can't be productive with Eric and Nathan in the house. Neither one of them are curtailing my efforts to deal stuff done. But I just don't get much done while they're home. A big chuck of my morning was going through all the receipts I had accumulated in the last month, plus going through all the other stacks of paper on about 3 tables, plus balancing all the accounts. Whew! The weight off my mind, just by finally dealing with all the white-out of paper.

That and going to the commissary took most of my morning. But I've got a fresh slate for tomorrow - cleaning wise that is. Now that the Christmas stuff is all packed away and there aren't stray papers everywhere, I can actually dust. Wheeeeee.

Nathan said school was okay today. His mouth seems to be doing well. I've decided not to start the braces until February. Give him (and me) time for the memory of mouth pain to fade before starting round 2.

Talked to Eric this afternoon. He managed to get lost this morning on his walk. He's excited about the bass lessons. I don't think he's had consistent electric bass instruction since he started playing at the Presidio. Seems like the instructors he finds either flake out on him or insist he plays stand up bass. So I'm glad he's getting this opportunity.

One of his friends from high school called here looking for him. He's so wound up about the game tomorrow night, he can barely talk straight.

Last day of break

Yes, we did manage to spend all day in our pajamas. Finished off the remote controlled lego dinosaur. It walks for about 20 steps, then some part jars loose and messes up the whole works. sigh. typical.

Nathan gave me the cold shoulder for about 2 hours this afternoon. I had enough of the restaurant game and told him I didn't want to play it anymore. Hurt feelings. Stomping upstairs to his room. Actually didn't seem to do much of anything but pout. Never heard the PS2 or DVD player. The lure of pizza finally made him come down.

Seems to be handling the loss of 2 teeth just fine. Gums are a little swollen where the teeth came out. PB & J went down just fine at lunch. so did the pizza.

He's upstairs watching his last show of the night. Goes back to school tomorrow. Yea!!! Tomorrow will be my January 1st. Give everything a clean sweep and welcome in the new year.

WE survived - the both of us

So Nathan had 2 baby teeth extracted and a small cavity filled today.

Did not start out well. The workmen were back out in our backyard this morning. And, of course, the power went out around 9:00. They assured me it would be back on soon.

I finally nagged Nathan out of bed around 9:15. He definitely wasn't looking forward to this. In fact, he refused to get into the car until I threatened to take toys away. It was just so hard to coerce him into this. I mean, the baby teeth would come out eventually anyway, right? Why subject him to the pain and anxiety? And this was a relatively minor procedure. I wonder how parents who have children with life-threatening diseases handle the stress for their children.

They let me stay in there while they were giving him the local anesthesia. Eric was sure that they'd knock him out for this, but they managed to do it with just a local. Actually, with 4 or 5 shots - I thought there'd just be 2 shots. Poor Nathan was okay for the first 3, but he really started panicking and getting anxious after that. Panting, crying - I just felt so awful for making him go through this.

Anyway, the dental staff kept reassuring him, and after the shots I went back into the reception area. All told, it was over in about an hour. He came out with the chipmunk effect - packed gauze in both cheeks. We went home long enough to check on the electricity. Nathan tried to drink a soda, but he discovered that a numb lip didn't work well. He got upset as he kept dribbling on himself.

We went to Savannah for some retail therapy. I took him to Toys R Us. My guilt in making him go through this was enough to justify the road trip. By the time we got there, the numbness had worn off and he was talking clearly again. His little heart went pitter-patter when he hit the lego aisle. We got a massive one that can built as either a dinosaur, alligator or huge spider. And it has a remote control! We've just about conquered the dinosaur, but we'll have to finish it up tomorrow. We've already misplaced a piece, which is freaking Nathan out to no end, but I think it'll still work correctly. I spend as much time on the lego things as he does. "I can't find this piece. I want to take a break - can you do it for me?"

A quick trip to the craft store, the book store, and the boy scout store, and we came home. If he wasn't working on the legos, he was designing a menu for his fort. Now, Nathan doesn't make a fort to hide from me, or plan his next strategic battle. No, our son makes forts that serve food. He's a short-order cook in there. He'll make anything you want, plus a drink, and have it out to you on a conveyor belt. And if you don't spend an hour thinking up food items, non-stop, he'll act like his best friend died. Your order must have a drink and a side item. Do you want a regular or a bendy straw with that? Sigh... I can get down and play with him for a long time on a lot of games, but for some reason I just don't have much patience for this particular game. Ten minutes is about all I can handle. Tonight, though he decided that he needed a menu for his restaurant. I had to come up with the items, plus spell them out for him, all while talking to my parents on the phone.

Anyhoo. Tomorrow is Nathan's last day of Christmas break. To offset the angst of today, we're going to spend tomorrow in our pajamas all day. Then thankfully, he goes back to school on Wednesday.

Talked to Eric a couple of times today. For all his anxiety before he left, it sounds like he had a good day. Passed his weigh in with a good safety margin. They're lookin' at getting out a week earlier than Eric expected. And about 7 or 8 of some of his best army buddies are working at the school, so it's like old home week. He sounded pleased to see some of his friends again. He's already made plans to watch the OU game with one of them on Thursday.

Looks like Texas is starting to pull away verses Ohio State. Sigh. I don't think I'll say up til the better end.

Left for school

Eric left to go to ANOC today in Virginia. For some reason, the guy he was driving up there with couldn't come to the house to pick him up. Nooooo, Nathan and I had to drive Eric to the band hall at 5:45 this morning. Needless to say, I've been dragging all day today.

I've talked to him. He made it safely. Already set up in his dorm room. He took my laptop. (So those of you who IM me - I'm sure he's disabled that on the laptop. He thinks my computer runs too slow. I haven't had the quiet mental time to set up an IM account on our home computer yet. And don't think you can IM Eric during the OU/Florida game on Thursday. He won't respond.) He really didn't want to go. And he complained as he packed and got uniforms prepped. But I have no doubt that he will give it his best effort and do well while he's there. He actually had to buy a mouth guard - apparently they are expected to do combatives!!! Now, I would think that a 43 year old man with a bum knee shouldn't be expected to do hand-to-hand, particularly in a music techniques and leadership course. But, what do I know? If they make him do it, I hope someone gets pictures.

Took Nathan to wallyworld to spend some of his Christmas loot today. Got a couple of lego sets. That kept him occupied for the better part of the afternoon, but he's been very interactive all evening. We have 11 rooms in the house, and I can't get any alone time for more than 5 minutes! sigh. Luckily school starts back on Wednesday, and his buddy's mother has already offered to take him for awhile on Saturday.

Tomorrow he's going to have 2 teeth extracted and one filling done on a small cavity. We had it scheduled for the 11th, but the dentist's office called me tonight to tell me they had an opening for tomorrow. I'm thinking, "a dentist that calls me on a sunday?" She said the office had been closed for 2 weeks for the holidays and she had come in for a few hours to get prepared for the work week. O-kayyyy. She assures me that the extractions can be done with a local anesthesia, so we'll see. I've explained to Nathan that he'll just be loosing 2 baby teeth that he'd be loosing eventually anyway, but we'll see how he handles it. In an effort to calm fears (his and mine) and assuage mother's guilt that I have to willingly take him someplace where they will initially inflict pain on him, I've already promised him a trip to Toys R Us at the first available opportunity.