tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19301799547084647422024-03-14T13:58:49.691-04:00Sunrise on the WaterAnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.comBlogger336125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-9641341723671481682013-06-06T16:49:00.000-04:002013-06-06T16:49:01.342-04:00Announcing:Our newest little addition:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlRrci6B4dkXcV8JcJorw3BY3fIMchmm7v_29pl_AXGZtYJfRWm_7ztwku5mQsDmQ_-bDRd_17G1_qTDumjRq0l18h0cbSdZeitaHD28JWDT-ne1Yo_g71InE-QFnODqgWZL_WEsWzKM/s1600/P1000123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlRrci6B4dkXcV8JcJorw3BY3fIMchmm7v_29pl_AXGZtYJfRWm_7ztwku5mQsDmQ_-bDRd_17G1_qTDumjRq0l18h0cbSdZeitaHD28JWDT-ne1Yo_g71InE-QFnODqgWZL_WEsWzKM/s400/P1000123.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I'm exhausted, but it was all worth it. And I finally had my unmedicated birth! I have only good things to say about all of that. Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-85499703989881302192013-05-12T21:07:00.002-04:002013-05-12T21:10:22.389-04:00Mother's DayIt's Mother's Day, a day I've hated for years and years. I've had such a difficult and painful relationship with my mother, a mother who betrayed me in the worst way as a child. I've been able to move on and forgive, but there's no repairing the damage. So, Mother's Day was always the day I skipped church and avoided the cheesy platitudes around me.<br />
<br />
Today, though, my heart is full. I'm a mother to two little boys, and one more little soul on the way. Deciding to have this baby was a difficult one for us, and it almost didn't happen. It's sort of a setback in some ways, and a financial burden of unknown consequences.<br />
<br />
But as I watched my boys today, as we spent the day without their dad who has duty aboard his submarine for the next 24 hours, as I felt this child kick and grow within me, I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude that we'd decided to take this chance once more.<br />
<br />
I never really thought I'd do this whole stay-at-home mother gig. My own mother had done so, and I don't think it made her particularly happy at all. I was terrified of repeating her mistakes, or finding myself unable to give my children what they needed most. I feared that since I lacked a good role model, I had no ability to be a good mother at all.<br />
<br />
However, I married a sailor, and when we decided to have kids, I fell into this role because it was the only one that made any real sense. It's been a real challenge, but I'm so grateful for the last eight years of watching my children grow. I ache to hold this last little one, and know that we did the right thing by taking the chance to add another to our family.<br />
<br />
Most of all, I'm so happy to discover I am not doomed to repeat the mistakes of my own mother, that there is a way to grow out of it and be someone completely different. Today was a good Mother's Day, a day that wasn't full of flowers or fancy presents, but was full of love from my little boys.<br />
<br />
I am a lot of things, and I know that when the kids leave the house, I will find other things to fill my time, other ways to give, but I know that nothing I will ever do will ever be as powerful or have the greatest potential to change the future as what I do at home as a mother. I know this because I am acutely aware of what happens when your own mother isn't there when you need her, when she wounds instead of heals. There are some scars that never go away.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-36887664851802624392013-05-03T11:48:00.003-04:002013-05-03T11:48:39.026-04:00So. I've been gone from here for months. And they were eventful months, but I'm not going to try to catch up, nor do I even want to write about most of it. Suffice it to say, I'm glad to be on the other side for the most part.<br />
<br />
The thing I'm NOT on the other side of, though, is this pregnancy. I'm 35 weeks, and hoping it won't go on for any more than four more weeks. I've been contracting off and on since about 28 weeks, so maybe I'll get lucky. Or, maybe not. Cervix check next week for some more concrete information. All I know is that I can't sleep any more, my feet are swelling (sigh - didn't have that problem with the last two pregnancies), and this bowling ball in my stomach makes it really hard to do anything requiring bending.<br />
<br />
All that to say, I'm excited to hold this baby in my arms. Scared, yes, but excited. It's been over five years since we had a newborn in the house. Our life is very different - all babyproofing is about three houses back from the one we live in now. We can take the kids to movies and ride almost all the rides at Disney World. No one wears diapers during the day, and can hold it when they REALLY need to go. I don't know how this is going to go, but I think we'll figure it out somehow.<br />
<br />
As for homeschooling - we've got to test this month. I can't put it off anymore. The results are due August 1st, and with this baby due, I want it out of the way and in the mail before I have to deal with another kid around. I found a place that has both paper and online testing, so I think we'll do it on the computer. Most of the testing Wyatt did in the Bahamas was on a computer, so I'm thinking that will be the easiest solution for all concerned (I wasn't looking forward to teaching him how to fill in the bubble).<br />
<br />
Also, when this is out of the way, I can feel okay about quitting school for awhile. The plan is to take about a month off, then keep up a lighter schedule of math, spelling, and reading through the rest of the summer. Then we'll get back on track with a fuller schedule than we had this past year as we figured out what the heck we were doing.<br />
<br />
Unless, of course, we end up moving again. Which might happen. I'd like to shake my fist at the Navy right now. Not that they care what I think, of course.<br />
<br />
On the plus side, I think I've FINALLY worked out all child care options if the baby doesn't show up in the week I have in-house help. It's really rough to move and then find out your pregnant. So many details to work out with so little information and help. We'll figure this out, though. One day at a time.<br />
<br />
<br />Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-39001433668449503462013-01-24T19:46:00.000-05:002013-01-24T19:46:20.008-05:00Education - How's it FaringThis whole homeschooling thing has been really up and down. The first few months were pretty rough - I didn't know what I was doing, struggled to find the right rhythm, and match what we did to how Wyatt learned. I also worried about keeping him on track, especially since it's pretty hard to find any decent list of what is normally expected of the typical second grader (and every state seems to vary, so this makes it harder, since we won't be staying here for more than a couple years).<br />
<br />
Fast forward to today, and things are a whole lot more pleasant around here. I'm in the middle of deciding on a very different approach to spelling because all the traditional approaches I've used with Wyatt (and were used on him in school) have proven to a big waste of time, it's been absolutely exciting to research it and find something that makes a huge amount of sense to me as a person whose B.A. is in English (and most of those classes were in the teaching track). We should be starting that program next month, although we're already working on phonemes he still struggles to recognize despite being a very good reader.<br />
<br />
Our other subjects are also coming along. I've got a math program that's clicking with both him and myself (huge plus!), and we've finally worked in some science and the occasional civics lesson. And, he's doing a cursive program he likes, so yay for that.<br />
<br />
Despite how well the curriculum progress is coming, though, I've still been plagued by this nagging sense that I have no real way of knowing how well he's doing. Oscar's reading is exploding, but since he's technically not old enough for kindergarten (though he could totally handle it now), I'm not fretting about him. I know that teaching him to read, plus what he's picking up through Wyatt's work, is more than enough for a preschooler. Wyatt, though, that's harder to determine.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, I had my 20 week ultrasound, and we took both boys with us to it. They were completely fascinated, and had a million questions for the tech. Wyatt was picking out the spine and had comments on the blood flow and how he understood that to work. Oscar at one point read the word, "Foot" when she typed it on the screen to highlight the view of the baby's foot. She looked at him, asked him how old he was, then looked at us in surprise when he told her he was five. She then asked where they went to school, as she'd never had kids come in with so much interest and so many questions. I told her we were homeschooling them, and she said, "Ah, that's why!"<br />
<br />
I honestly have no idea what her background is with homeschooling so can't comment on just why she answered that way, but the whole exchange gave me a feeling that we were on the right track with them, something I have yet to feel in this whole process. I have worried a LOT about how they will come across to others. Homeschooling is tough mainly because you take on responsibility for ALL their education. Even if you are outsourcing some of it (and I just signed them up for a LEGO STEM class, so we are definitely going to do some of that!), there is still no passing it off on a bad school system or whatever.<br />
<br />
So, I know we're on the right track. Still lots of work ahead, but I feel better about this decision. I still couldn't tell you if we'll do it more than a couple years, but I <i>do</i> think we made the right choice to do it for now.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-83558012876751902772012-12-17T00:13:00.000-05:002012-12-17T00:15:22.383-05:00Home Again, Jiggety JigJust a quick update to say, yes, he's home! He came home a couple
weeks ago, and we then had the opportunity to go see his sub before they
drove it to the shipyard. The family day ended up on the same day of
the USS Enterprise's decommissioning ceremony, so traffic was a little
crappy on base, but it was okay. The boat was actually docked right next
to the carrier, too, so we saw a little of that action on the walk in.<br />
<br />
They
didn't put in the spiral staircase, so we had to climb straight down
the ladder to get in. This didn't bother me, but I was really worried
about how the kids would do. I was happy to discover that Wyatt, with
just a little coaxing, handled it just fine. Oscar had to be hauled down
by his dad, but he's small enough that that was no problem.<br />
<br />
Then,
we got to spend a few hours wandering around the sub, checking out what
every thing is and how it works. We had lunch there, too, and I was so
excited to watch the boys get to finally experience what life for their
dad is like. They had him hoist them up onto his rack, which was on the
very top this time around. Oscar got scared pretty quick, and Wyatt
proclaimed it not really to his liking.<br />
<br />
All
in all, it was an awesome experience. It'll be years before the chance
comes again, so I'm really glad we were able to make it work out. We're
juggling one car, and Oliver had duty that day, so I actually just drove
up, had dinner with him, then left him back on the boat the night before
(they had pulled in that afternoon) so we could come back the next day.
It was sad not to have him home his first night (or second), but it was
worth it.<br />
<br />
Leave is coming up now, too, so yay for finally having a break from this Navy stuff for a bit!Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-75583720952843937722012-11-28T20:57:00.000-05:002012-11-28T21:09:15.324-05:00Baby FishyI'm definitely feeling this baby moving around inside, which is really bizarre because I'm only 13 weeks. I saw my midwife this week and she said for a third baby, that's totally normal. So, okay! It's weird because clearly the kid has tons of room to swim around in there - she tried to get it on the doppler and, after finding the heartbeat almost immediately and losing it, it took awhile to find it again. I brought the boys with me, and Wyatt stood right up next to me, listening in with a big grin on his face. It's really cute to share this with them - he was too young when I was pregnant with Oscar to understand what was going on.<br />
<br />
In other news, I'm trying hard to be patient, and it's a struggle
right now. I can't say anything else about it, but, yes, it's all about a
missing spouse! Argh. I know that us moving here rather than going to
GA, then moving up a few months later was better. Truly, it was. Between
the pregnancy (that we knew nothing about when we PCS'd), to getting
homeschooling going, to just things like the second car that we was
shipped here, but we would have had to drive up for the second move, it
was all better. But, wow, I'm sick of this separation! All I have to say
to people who choose to geo-bach on purpose - you are crazy. That is
all.<br />
<br />
We did turn today into a library day. Wyatt found
some Magic School Bus books there, and was so excited about it. He'd
watched some of the show at school, and eagerly sat down at a table and
read through one of them while we were there. Happily, I just picked up
the entire series over Black Friday when Amazon had the set down dirt
cheap, and I also got a good price on a science kit based on the series
that will be sent out monthly, starting in December. I've been kind of
stumped on science for awhile, so I'm excited about it. We'll try to
find corresponding books through the library, and I'll buy a few if I
have to, then have the related DVD to watch as well as the experiments
in the kit to work through. <br />
<br />
We picked up donuts on the
way home, had a snack, then turned school into a math (can't slack on
that one!)/reading day, with some Magic School Bus DVDs at the end (he
was SO excited to come home and find out I had them - I had debated
waiting for Christmas to give them to him, but now I'm glad I didn't).
It was a good day, which hadn't started out as such. Here's hoping the
end of the week is just as good.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-91844072489035682212012-11-20T21:40:00.001-05:002012-11-20T21:40:16.904-05:00Patience is Elusive...We're so close to being back together as a family, but not quite there... It's a lot harder to have patience with it when you are so close to the end. On the plus side, I'm nearly twelve weeks and the morning sickness (why was this ever named morning sickness? For me, it gets worse as the day goes on, but I'm usually fine when I wake up) is fading away slowly. I'm looking forward to the middle trimester; it's always the best one for me.<br />
<br />
I'm actually hoping to run again when Oliver gets back. I haven't been able to do much since we moved as the boys are past the age of strapping into a stroller - not that I even own a jogger, anymore. Sold that puppy to someone in the Bahamas! Once you have multiple kids, and have chosen homeschooling for awhile, a jogger just doesn't make sense anymore.<br />
<br />
Oh, and in the interest of cramming this post full of baby-related stuff, I got a crib! And mattress. For fifty bucks! A friend here had a relative that was getting rid of it. It was barely used, just been in storage for a couple years. I'm thrilled; that saves us several hundred dollars. It actually looks very similar to the one I gave away before we moved, not that I would have cared much what it looked like; it's just a temporary holding pen for a couple years that pretty much no one will see but us, after all.<br />
<br />
Finally, the homeschooling gig is slowly coming together. I've even
got Oscar doing reading lessons again. I had to buy another program, but
he loves it, and no longer fights me, so it was worth it. It's been
interesting bouncing back and forth between them, but I'm just trying to
assign Wyatt something independent while I work with Oscar.<br />
<br />
I
have also started Wyatt on a new math program. We're going to keep up
with some of the other stuff, but I don't think he's being challenged
enough, and I need something with a little more structure as math is a
weakness for me. We did the first few pages today; it took him forever
because he kept distracting himself, but I think it might work out.
Crossing my fingers on that one.<br />
<br />
I'm doing very
free-wheeling spelling lessons, though. The program I initially tried
was a bust; it was rule-based, and he couldn't seem to recall any of the
rules it was teaching, so I gave up, did some research on how kids
learned to spell, and am doing something entirely of my own device now. I
think it may be working, too - he used to write scribbles whenever he
was playing and needed something written for whatever reason, but now he
is actually writing words, and is far less stressed about whether they
are spelled right or not (which I think was a huge impediment to writing
before). Which is not to say that I've taught him that spelling right
isn't important - more that it's okay to be wrong, and how to find the
answers when he is.<br />
<br />
Now, I just need to figure out how
to be more organized. Everything is in a single bookcase right now;
it's togther, but that's about all I can say about it. It's getting too
chaotic, and I need a better way to let the boys know what is expected
from them each day. I've got a few ideas, but think I will wait for Oliver
to return so I can go out and search for the right supplies on my own. I
will get a LOT more done that way!Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-23648698635845399032012-11-03T15:06:00.000-04:002012-11-03T15:11:58.222-04:00Halloween is over - and so is Sandy, and not having a washing machine - whew! I am absurdly tired right now. Sort of sad since it's only 1430, and
the kids were nice enough to let me sleep in a couple hours while they
watched Mythbusters on Netflix. I really don't think I'm as worn out
with this pregnancy as I was with Oscar, but it wipes me out halfway
through the day. Just to trick-or-treat, I had to lay down for awhile in
the afternoon so I could muster the energy to walk around the
neighborhood with the boys.<br />
<br />
Oh, yes, the cat's out of
the bag - we're expecting again! Considering how much I hate being
pregnant, and a lot of other things, I'm pretty sure this time it will
be the last, but we're happy about it. Once again, I'm doing a first
trimester without Oliver, but such is life for us. He should be back here
in another month, just in time for me to stop puking. Clearly, he is not
sad about this, haha.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the baby's due on June
6th. I can't exactly say it was a surprise to find out I was pregnant
because, well, we DO know how babies are made, but we weren't exactly
trying, either. Mostly playing Russian Roulette with it because we
couldn't make up our minds. Hideously romantic, I know.<br />
<br />
I had an ultrasound and determined I am
not, thankfully, carrying twins. I'd had some irrational fear that that
would happen, so it's good to know we're in the clear there. I also had
all the initial tests, was told I have some kind of thyroid issue, so my
midwife wants to put me on meds for the pregnancy, and maybe beyond. I
have to admit, I'm kind of surprised by this. I have no weird symptoms,
no family history of thyroid issues, and wonder if this is all some kind
of test fluke, but we'll see, I guess. I go back in a month, so I'll
have a nice long chat about it then.<br />
<br />
In other news,
hurricane Sandy almost rained out Halloween. Luckily, at least for us,
that didn't happen. We mostly ended up with a day stuck in the house
while the streets around us flooded out. Our housing area, though, seems
to be on higher ground, so nothing bad here. We didn't even lose power,
unlike a lot of my relatives farther up the coast. I certainly am
thankful about that one.<br />
<br />
We did nearly have a minor
tragedy, though. Oscar had some very specific ideas about the Captain
America costume he wanted for Halloween. He didn't want the redesigned
movie one, but wanted the old school one with "wings" on the helmet. He
also didn't want the muscle ones, which I have to agree look incredibly
stupid. So, I had to go to the internet. After one cancelled order
because of not enough stock (that took them four days to tell me, grrr),
I tried again, only to have Sandy delay it. It finally showed up on the
30th, just in time for the church's trunk or treat, that was more like a
"walk around the cultural hall and get candy" event because of the cold
front that swept in after the hurricane left.<br />
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<br />
Technically,
masks were outlawed at the church event, but I let him wear it, anyway.
It totally wasn't the same without it, and, um, it's not a full mask,
so I didn't see the issue. The only person to complain was another kid
whose parents' had clearly not allowed him to wear his (he had the movie
Captain America costume, and, yeah, it was almost impossible to tell
what he was since he also didn't have a shield).<br />
<br />
So,
after my Halloween rebellion, we trick-or-treated for real the next
night around our neighborhood. It was cold, and half the houses we went
to with lights on didn't answer the door, so we gave up after awhile,
but the kids still had fun. Andros definitely wins the Halloween prize,
however. That's a holiday they do far better than what we had in the
States (although, I'm talking the base here, not the outside community,
which really don't celebrate the holiday).<br />
<br />
And,
finally, our storage stuff actually caught up with us yesterday!! Which
means I have a washer and dryer again. Well, almost. After figuring out
how to hook up them up myself, something that included having to buy a
new cord for the dryer and switching it out due to the newness of our
house, I discovered that the vent is completely blocked by something
that feels straw-like. I'm guessing it's a bird's nest, because our
laundry room is upstairs, but I'm really not sure. It definitely has to
go, however, before we can use the dryer. I'd prefer to not have a fire.
Luckily, I can call maintenance to get rid of it, as I have no desire
to tackle that particular project. Hooking up a washer and dryer was
enough alpha-female behavior for one week.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-14314322336651586942012-10-17T18:40:00.003-04:002012-11-03T19:30:28.236-04:00Say What Again?I had an interesting conversation with Oscar yesterday. We were having one of those "What does <blank animal="animal"> _____ eat?" conversations when he came out with this one: "What do criminals eat, Mommy?" I kind of looked at him funny, then tried to explain that criminals were just people who made bad choices, not an actual species. </blank><br />
<br />
I have actually wondered before whether or not this is how their line of thinking went, so I wasn't entirely surprised by the question. It was, however, a confirmation that cops and robbers is a game that can be very much misunderstood by kids.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-7360206991925587872012-10-11T12:13:00.001-04:002012-10-11T12:14:18.975-04:00Major Life ChangesSo, Virginia. Here we are. Well, most of us. Oliver is cooling his
heels in Georgia, trying to finally check into his boat. I am fairly
sure it's going to happen today, which is a huge relief.<br />
<br />
We actually drove him down there so he could report on September
17, after spending a week in VA getting our housing worked out (and got
lucky enough to have our stuff arrive the day we did, so they delivered
it before we had to drive to GA - I was SO happy about that!). He didn't
actually report to his boat, though, but a sort of transitional command
that vets people and makes sure all is in order before they move on to
their actual commands.<br />
<br />
For the most part, this is no
big deal. They spend a couple days running around doing paperwork and
double checking everything, then that's it. Unfortunately for us, it
turned out to not be so simple. From the medical records we accidentally
left in VA (I had to drive back and overnight them, only to have them
get temporarily lost in the Navy's mail system for almost a week), to
the lack of a barracks room that Oliver had to practically beg for
(something that should have been a given when he showed up because he
had been ordered to move his family to another state), to the submarine
physical that apparently had to be redone, to the total backup of the eye doctors there in
Kingsbay because one was transferred unexpectedly...<br />
<br />
Slowly,
he's been working through the whole mess. The medical records were found, an eye appointment unexpectedly opened up, and we are no longer looking at a November time frame to get him to his boat. The physical is finally almost done, and hopefully we will get some more concrete information about when he'll be joining us here. <br />
<br />
I have more to say, but am not ready to say
it, so you'll have to wait, but our life has been so crazy lately! And
it's going to get crazier. I'm still trying to figure out this whole
homeschooling thing. It's been tough with the move and transitioning,
plus missing husband, but I'm at least working out a math, cursive
practice, spelling program, and reading time day that mostly works. I
just recently worked a little science into it, and will hopefully
improve on that as we get farther on and have less pressure on us.
There's a library near our home, with a couple more with in a half hour
that we can also use. I'm going to work out a few field trips when I
have the energy for it, and we're definitely going to do some schooling
this summer to make up for the last few months.<br />
<br />
So
far, I think we all like it okay. Wyatt, while missing his old school a
bit, has told me he's glad to be homeschooled, so that makes me feel
better about the decision. I like teaching him, although I'm sort of
surprised at times at the gaps I'm finding in what he knows. I don't
know if that's a warped expectation from me, or if his schooling on
Andros was a little more uneven than I realized, but we're working on
it.<br />
<br />
I really want to start up the Spanish program I
ordered for them, but am struggling with how to fit it in. I hope I can
find a way to do that soon. So much to think about!<br />
<br />
Anyway,
I'm going to keep blogging for now. I keep thinking about quitting, but
since I have gotten terrible at journaling, find Facebook a poor way to
look back and see how things were in life, and now actually have
something to talk about, I think I am loath to quit. So, for you three
people who still read this, thanks for hanging around! It's always good
to hear from you!Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-41334608292415047412012-08-07T13:59:00.004-04:002012-08-07T13:59:29.145-04:00Reflections on the PastI haven't been posting much on here. I think about it, then I just don't. Maybe blogging has run its course with me - I actually came close to picking up my years-long neglected paper-and-pen journal the other day. I don't know. We'll see.<br />
<br />
Anyway, life is changing very fast right now. Or, it will be changing dramatically when the movers show up next week to start packing up our stuff. I took the boys over to the school to return the last of our books to the library there, and had a chance to say good-bye to several people there, including Wyatt's Kindergarten and first grade teacher.<br />
<br />
After doing that, I walked home feeling reflective, and here I am, typing on the blog again.<br />
<br />
We've spent three years in the Bahamas. It's been a life-changing experience. As I prep for this move, I'm startled by how more relaxed I am about the details. This despite what has been a constantly changing set of orders, one of which came a week ago and has us moving to a different state than we expected.<br />
<br />
Our last move, the lack of information freaked me out, and I was so worked up about whether or not the way we were used to living would be possible here. Thinking about the contrast, I realized today that while I've moved around the US quite a bit, each move only required small adjustments in lifestyle. It wasn't too noticeable, or really required that much out of me.<br />
<br />
Living here, though, has required us to do just about everything differently. I no longer expect things to happen instantly, no longer fret when I can't get something I was so sure we needed, and no longer agonize over uncertainty or change. I actually thought I was a pretty flexible person before moving here, but realize that really wasn't the case at all. Maybe I was flexible by American standards, but that is about it.<br />
<br />
We're going to be homeless by the end of next week with no housing lined up due to the last minute orders change, and Oliver is going to be living in a different state than we are for several months. We don't know how we're going to manage that, financially or otherwise, but I know we'll figure it out. It may not be pretty for awhile, but stuff has a way of working itself out even if it isn't "perfect" the way it happens.<br />
<br />
I'm going to miss this place, even as I'm very happy to be moving on. I think that's the best time to go - when you have a lot of reasons to move on, yet you know you will be sad to say good-bye to certain people and places. That's where I'm at. <br />
<br />
I very much hope we get another chance to live overseas some day. My first taste has only made me want more.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-16478622697695700912012-06-13T09:56:00.000-04:002012-06-13T19:03:07.214-04:00¡Los ordenes han llegado!We've got orders. They came at the end of last week. It was very nice to actually see them, read them....and realize this move is going to be way more complicated than we'd thought. Because nothing is ever simple here. Nothing.<br />
<br />
I am sure we'll figure it all out, but trying to talk out the details was making my head spin the other day. We've got all the things about getting out of here to worry about, then a small storage shipment from WA to track down, a car to ship, and then the issue of only a couple months before we move again waiting for us, which definitely affects what housing we will choose.<br />
<br />
So, I've emailed the ombudsman of the boat he's heading to, and am trying to figure out stuff on that end. Oliver will run around here and do all the paperwork, while I get the house ready to meet the movers.<br />
<br />
Speaking of that, I went out to our shed (detached from the house) where we keep the bikes and other outside stuff this weekend. I caught sight of a mouse running around, so got pretty aggressive about cleaning stuff out and making a dumpster pile. We've had a mouse problem in the house, and trapped six mice before it seemed we'd solved the issue, so I'm not at all happy to see any mice near our trailer.<br />
<br />
Working in the shed, I didn't find any real evidence of a mouse den, other than a plastic bag that had been shredded, but there were plenty of lizard eggs, a cockroach, and a couple of ant nests in bizarre places. I didn't do a full clean because we still have time (and the bugs will just come back and I'll need to do it again), but I did notice that a window fan, taped into its box, that we'd put out there because we have central air and don't need it, had tons of dead ants under the packing tape sealing the tape. This struck me as rather bizarre, as did the ant nest I discovered between the boards we had put on concrete blocks for a makeshift shelf out there. Another bin, with tools and things like sandpaper that we rarely use, had a lot of ants crawling in and out of it, so I'm not looking forward to cleaning that one out.<br />
<br />
Ah, life in the tropics!Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-8722048060091333882012-06-06T20:44:00.002-04:002012-06-06T20:44:35.975-04:00Vamos a mudarnos....¿a un hotel?Oscar told me yesterday that he wanted to move to a hotel so he could
go bowling. I looked at him curiously, and realized suddenly that he has
absolutely no memories of living in the States. He had just turned two
when we moved here (literally days after his birthday, we got on the
plane), so Washington is just a blur. As a result, he associates things
like going to a restaurant, a toy store, mini-golf, and bowling to time
spent in a hotel. If we aren't in a hotel, we don't do those things
because they don't exist on our island. <br />
<br />
It's curious
how you can see things through your kids' eyes in a totally different
way. I am wondering how he will adjust to life in the country he was
born in, but doesn't remember. I suspect it will be fine; maybe harder
for me, actually, since living here requires a lifestyle change that is
very profound. I've got to go back and figure out how to do things all
over again. My perspective is nothing like it once was, and I mean that
in a good way.<br />
<br />
Living here has been frustrating and maddening at times, but it was so, so very good for me.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-73855250021981871042012-05-11T17:11:00.000-04:002012-05-11T17:11:08.970-04:00The Waiting Game...I'm really tired of waiting. It feels like I'm stuck in limbo right now - waiting for orders to finally arrive, waiting for the move to come, waiting for my son to finally be done with school so we can start figuring out how this whole homeschooling thing is gonna work out...<br />
<br />
Sigh.<br />
<br />
It's going to be fine, and we're not talking about a lot of time, really, but it's tough to be sitting on the edge of so many things. There's only so much housecleaning; curriculum studying; house-staring online (since I can't exactly do anything else without a concrete date to work with) that one can do. I am having fun pitching stuff, though, and doing that reminds me that we've wasted far too much money on stuff. So, I'm not spending on much other than food right now, and I've convinced the boys to get rid of three bags of toys in exchange for two new Hero Factory guys. I'd say that was a pretty great coup there.<br />
<br />
I'm trying to enjoy the last months we have here. It poured rain this afternoon, in a crazy, puddle-producing way that also knocked out the sketchily connected wifi tower on our street. When I went outside afterwards, I noticed a ton of snails making their way across our sidewalk, all of them headed in the same direction. (Is there some kind of snail convention I don't know about?) I called the boys outside, and we spent quite a bit of time watching them. I never realized snails could move as quickly as they did. I love stuff like that - this island is full of weird moments like that.<br />
<br />
So, whenever I get exasperated with the waiting, I try to remind myself that there are a lot of thins I will miss. Not the least of them being Oliver home every night. That's gonna be a hard one to give up.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-90809157019698072112012-04-26T13:33:00.004-04:002012-04-26T13:33:46.442-04:00Okay, just kidding - it was just the latest info on the ordmod. They're coming, though. It'll be nice to finally start looking for a place to live for real. Only a few months left to go here.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-66959520645133275842012-04-21T15:30:00.001-04:002012-04-21T15:30:14.666-04:00Orders?We've heard from a little birdie the orders may have arrived. Have to wait until Monday because Bupers doesn't seem to work at home (or we can't seem to get the password right - dunno which), but I believe we're looking at a September date, which means a move in four months. Still unclear where and for how long...but the end is in sight!Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-60060348304290950782012-04-19T21:19:00.002-04:002012-04-24T22:17:20.152-04:00What's the Point, Again?So, there's this guy I see around base sometimes. He wears a helmet when on a bike, as is required. He does not, however, buckle it under his chin - instead, he wraps the straps around the helmet itself, where it rides precariously on top of his head.<br />
<br />
This kind of baffles me. I mean, I know there are plenty of people who choose not to wear a helmet because it isn't "cool", and there are even more who don't seem to know how to fit it properly, but this is an outright worthless way of wearing a helmet. As soon as the guy crashes, the helmet is going to be long gone before his head hits anything. At least if the straps were hanging loose (like way too many kids around here wear their helmets) there might be some hope of it hanging on and providing a little protection.<br />
<br />
As a person whose been in more than one bike crash, one of them being a head collision where a helmet saved my face, literally, I'm unimpressed with the faux headgear that fulfills the rule here, but does nothing to actually fulfill the reason it exists...Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-82835803839944303752012-04-14T11:13:00.001-04:002012-04-14T11:18:16.684-04:00Zipping My Lips...For NowWell, it's been awhile since I last posted. Not that I've been terribly good about it lately or anything! There is a reason for this. We've got a situation brewing that has taken us by complete surprise, and depending on how it turns out, will complicate things much more than expected. I don't want to discuss it more than that, but eventually I will be able to do so. Since it's consuming my thoughts so much, though, I've had to just stay away from here as part of me just really wants to spew my guts.<br />
<br />
Sigh.<br />
<br />
Instead, I'm going to babble a little bit about Spanish because when I'm not thinking about the aforementioned situation, I'm thinking about Spanish. This week has been spring break for the kids, so I decided it was a good time to string together a more formal language lesson. I was taught using immersion classes in college, and found it to be fairly effective, so that's the way I'd like to teach them. I put together a lesson on colors (they already know at least half of them, so I figured it was a good way to start), and used a free printable book on Easter (¡Felizes Pascuas!) that had pictures of conejos (bunnies) and huevos (eggs) with color descriptions.<br />
<br />
It was actually a lot of fun. I started with a color song I found on Itunes that they really loved, then played ¿Donde está ______? with some colored eggs I made out of construction paper. Oscar quickly got bored with that (and even declared, "This is boring!"), but Wyatt seemed to like it. Then we moved to the book I'd printed out. I kept my speaking to Spanish only, and that was okay with them for the most part. The book had only Spanish phrases to figure out what colors to color the pictures, and I was really impressed that Wyatt wasn't even waiting for me to read them, he was figuring out what he had to do all on his own. I really didn't think reading would be a skill he would pick up at first, since I haven't spent any time on alphabet and how each letter sounds.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I'd say overall the lesson was a success. My head hurt after speaking only Spanish for a half hour, and I quickly realized I can't depend on myself to put together the main lessons if we're going to do immersion. I'm just not strong enough in the language. I can supplement, though, and get creative with outside resources, plus I know I can read books to them in Spanish and be okay with pronunciation. I need a spine, though, or this isn't going to happen.<br />
<br />
Ideally, I'd enroll them in a class, but, sadly, our country has yet to really realize the value of language learning at the elementary level. I've spent a lot of time looking for something in the place we're moving, and am coming up empty.<br />
<br />
So, I think I'm going to buy a program I've been looking at for awhile. It's called Calico Spanish, an immersion program used in schools, and they have a homeschool version. It's the most scripted one I've found, and it comes with a lot of hands on things to promote language learning in young kids. It's not cheap, but I think I've resigned myself to having to spend the most on language learning. Hopefully, we'll get lucky and find a friend who speaks Spanish so we can get some free practice in, but I can't count on that.<br />
<br />
I think I'll wait to get it until we move, though. Instead, this summer, I'm just going to try to keep informally teaching them. We're gonna label, label, label everything in the house, and I'm using <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Play-Learn-Spanish-Audio-Edition/dp/007175928X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334415454&sr=8-1">this book</a>, <u>Play and Learn Spanish</u> by Ana Lomba to pick up some new phrases to use with them. It's a pretty great reference book for teaching little kids, as it goes over a lot of the things you'd say to your kids in normal life, all categorized by topic. Oscar is actually responding very well to this; he's even trying to do more than just Spanglish it with a few words here and there and is using verbs.<br />
<br />
I don't really know what the end result of all this will be; I hope we all get comfortable using it, although I'm not expecting full fluency or true bilingualism for the boys. I just don't think I speak it well enough to make that happen, and classes are so incredibly difficult to find. My far-out-there hope is that we get stationed in Rota, but, yeah. Probably not gonna happen. So, we'll make do with what we have, and just hope for the best.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-91556341924681073892012-03-20T14:26:00.001-04:002012-03-20T14:26:54.713-04:00Where's the Mail?We got back from a week long trip to Florida this weekend. As is typical when we go away, we had a pile of boxes waiting for us when I made it over to the post office on Monday. Half of them were full of food, and the other half had homeschooling stuff (mostly books). Everything was fine with all of them.<br />
<br />
Today, though, I went to check the mail again and had a first: an envelope that was opened, resealed, and completely empty. The books missing were a couple of used science books I'd bought from someone, so it wasn't a big loss. It's crazy though - we've had three computers shipped here now (two laptops and one desktop), and every single one made it through fine. Of all the things to steal...<br />
<br />
Mail here is decent, all things considered. Sometimes, we get packages that are clearly handled poorly. I've had containers of dishwasher powder and laundry soap beat up so badly they were spilling powder everywhere. A few other things have had dings and such, and we've gotten a few boxes that were mashed or partly open. Never had anything stolen outright, though (unless you count two boxes from Amazon that vanished, never to be seen again - no idea what happened there, although the replacements came just fine).<br />
<br />
I did notice there was no customs form, so maybe that had something to do with it? This was a package that had been taking far too long to come, so I had already pretty much given up on it. It was weird to find the empty envelope in my mail.<br />
<br />
And I just watched a helicopter carrying a torpedo fly by our house.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-67640889799958808952012-03-12T16:52:00.000-04:002012-03-12T16:52:00.627-04:00Thoughts on My SpanishSo, I've been studying my Spanish rather hard the last few weeks. Between podcasts, a grammar book, and reading Spanish language blogs, plus the kid's books I bought to use later with the boys, I'm happy to discover I haven't lost nearly as much as I thought I had. I am, however, completely baffled as to how I managed to pass two college-level Spanish literature courses in college (one of which required me to write analysis papers in Spanish). I either had some very understanding professors, or I've lost more than I thought I have.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-42611976108561449812012-03-11T16:52:00.000-04:002012-03-11T16:52:04.380-04:00Orders Update (Sort of), and Other StuffFirst off, I learned recently that Oliver's orders are being modified, as we expected. I'm biting my fingernails because there's the chance he will lose his boast and get something else. Hopefully, that doesn't happen because I've gotten rather excited about this particular set of orders.<br />
<br />
However, since I have, as usual, no control over the outcome, I am not going to worry about it. I'm typically one to obsess over things, so this ability to roll with the punches is fabulous. Much as I wish this time in the Bahamas had been more about being a tourist and getting to experience local culture, I cannot overestimate how much good it has done for me in some very surprising ways.<br />
<br />
Still, sometimes you need to escape the island life, and we're burning some leave in a condo in Orlando right now. I find it sort of amusing that Oliver has never been in danger of losing leave before, even back when he was on the submarine and it was extremely hard to find opportunities to do so. It's fairly easy to take leave here, but he doesn't do so unless we have plans to fly off-island. It seems silly to take leave when you live in the middle of everyone you work with and a ten minute walk to your office...<br />
<br />
We actually managed to go to church today. First time in a year. It was kind of nice, although my dear, sweet four year old spent the car ride there proclaiming how he "hated church". What he actually means is he hates any situation that is new and requires him to be away from his family (needless to say, this child is thrilled by the idea of homeschooling - not only because he will be learning at home, but because his brother will no longer spend so much time away from him; he really misses Wyatt when he's at school). The last time we regularly attended church, he was not even two years old and still hated being left in the nursery. He's gone maybe three or four times over the last two and a half years, the last time being last summer.<br />
<br />
So, I gritted my teeth and hoped for the best. Overall, they both did okay. Wyatt leaned over about twenty minutes into Sacrament Meeting and asked how much longer before it ended. I decided it wasn't a good idea to tell him we still had over forty minutes to go... Oscar went to Primary, and I didn't have to sit with him. He wouldn't sit with his class, though, but was sitting with his brother when I left. About ten minutes later, someone brought him to me in my class because he'd been crying inconsolably. He took one look at me, asked for his little stuffed bear, which I had in my bag, then went back to class when I handed it to him. He had no more issues, other than a bathroom break I helped him with. Maybe moving back and attending church regularly won't be totally miserable at first. I'm crossing my fingers on that one.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-29309970380500280912012-03-02T21:44:00.000-05:002012-03-02T21:53:56.705-05:00Teaching SpanishWyatt has a PE teacher who speaks Spanish, I believe, as his native language. Last year, he'd give the kids a mini vocab lesson before they went out to do whatever was on the schedule that day. Wyatt loved this, and would come home excitedly sharing whatever word he'd picked up that day. Oscar picked up on it, and will now walk around the house proclaiming "doce" whenever he feels like it. Both the boys will often ask me what something means in Spanish, forcing me to search my atrophied Spanish background to try to remember what that is.<br />
<br />
Now that I'm working on a study plan for the boys, it struck me that I could probably introduce them to Spanish in a more formal way. I started looking for a program geared toward young kids, and found it far more painful than I had hoped it would be. I have zeroed in on one, though, although I'm going to wait a bit to order it in case I happen across something else. I found a bunch of exceptionally cheap Spanish early readers on Ebay to supplement it. I figure I'll go with that, and see how it is.<br />
<br />
The main issue, though, is that I don't think I can really expect them to actually learn the language if we don't use it at home. This means I need to be able to speak to them. So, I bought a book to review my own Spanish, and have been listening to the <a href="http://www.notesinspanish.com/">Notes in Spanish podcasts</a> to help me regain some of my ability (which are an absolutely amazing conversational resource, by the way. They have worksheets, too, and I very much want them, but since they are sold by a couple in Spain, they are going to be far too pricey with the exchange rates between the Euro and dollar right now) . I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I still remember, and I'm hopeful I'll be able to keep us all talking in Spanish at home, even outside of lessons.<br />
<br />
I do, though, worry about making sure they can hear the correct accent, which is why I'm going to be using a lot of listening and video activities. My accent was decent when I was learning, so that's a good thing now, but was kind of bad for my confidence when I was studying it because people thought I could speak the language far better than I actually could. They'd start speaking a mile a minute and I'd freak out. The best thing about teaching my own kids is that I don't at all feel the same pressure to speak well that I crippled me before. I'm just going to give it my best and see how it goes.<br />
<br />
I was happy to find out there are quite a few websites now where you can hire a tutor to either give you lessons or practive conversational Spanish over Skype. The ones coming out of South America are pretty cheap, only about ten bucks an hour. When we move back to the States and have a decent internet connection again, I think I'm going to sign myself up for tutoring.<br />
<br />
Oliver made me rather happy the other day, too, by saying he's thinking about studying Spanish a bit, too, so he can jump in. He speaks Portuguese, and lived in Brazil for a couple years, so it shouldn't be all that difficult. The two languages are VERY close. I can often understand him when he throws a phrase at me and vice versa. Our ultimate goal at this point is to take a family trip to Spain in a couple years.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-12269101271910919312012-02-24T09:49:00.002-05:002012-02-27T12:20:29.870-05:00Going a Little Crazy...I have not been able to fall asleep the last couple of nights, despite going to bed far too late. As soon as I lie down, my brain starts spinning, turning over a million different things in my head, and it seems to take forever for that to stop long enough for me to fall asleep. On the one hand, not a lot of is going on at the moment, but on the other, I've got a TON of prep to do for this year ahead.<br />
<br />
I'm really very excited about homeschooling, and I've got nearly everything decided on, curriculum-wise. Except math, which is by far my weakest subject. Everything else, I'm feeling confident about, and I'm starting to order the materials we'll be working with. Math, though, ugh. Every time I feel good about a program, I read about another one that sounds awesome, and I suddenly don't know anymore which way to go.<br />
<br />
I keep telling myself to just pick something and see how it goes, but then I just freak out some more. My background in math is weak because it was neglected by my parents, so I'm determined to give my own kids the grounding I lacked. So, every math program I look at is accompanied by my concern that it isn't thorough enough, or won't be the "best" way to teach them, or that it will end up not preparing them for high school math as well as it should. Plus, some of these programs are exceptionally pricey. Nothing like throwing down a couple hundred bucks for something you end up hating three weeks later... Luckily, I have a couple months before Wyatt is done with school here before I have to decide. Hopefully, I can get myself to take the plunge and order something before then.<br />
<br />
I don't have this problem at all with the other subjects because my background is far stronger. I actually paid a good chunk of my way through college by working as a writing tutor, so it gave me a good look at what kinds of issues there are in kids fresh out of high school. There is no way my kids will not know what a thesis statement is or how to write one by the time they enter college. I feel similarly about things like history and social studies. Science is not a huge thing for me, but it doesn't hold the same mystery and frustration as math does, so I've found that one fairly easy to plan, especially at the elementary levels.<br />
<br />
I plan on schooling year-round, with breaks throughout the year as needed or when they coincide with Oliver's leave opportunities. We're going to start some time this summer, after I give Wyatt about a month off, I think.<br />
<br />
At least, that is the plan right now. The orders situation is in massive flux. We have hard orders, but his command is most likely not going to release him on time for them. So, he needs new orders but they have yet to be worked out. This stresses me out because we're fast approaching the window of time that the actual move will have to be arranged if he is actually leaving on the orders he has. I am trying not to worry about this, but it has made it impossible to really make any concrete plans.<br />
<br />
Mostly, though, I'm ignoring the date issue, planning on getting all our school stuff ready anyway, purging our household goods for the two moves ahead of us this year, and all playing it by ear. I have clearly finally learned how to do this military-life thing because, for once, I'm not actually all that worked up about the uncertainty. I'm just going with what I have, and trying to make sure we can change mid-stream if we have to.<br />
<br />
But, I still am having trouble sleeping. I guess that's how the stress is finding an outlet right now.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-15110757073984632672012-02-18T15:59:00.001-05:002012-02-18T15:59:55.280-05:00Girl Scout Cookie SwitcherooIt's been Girl Scout cookie time here. We put in an order a few weeks ago, and the cookies finally arrived this week. Except, they aren't quite what we thought we'd ordered...<br />
<br />
We always, always, always buy Thin Mints and Samoas. Always. I was a Girl Scout, and got hooked that way, and those are just the two cookies we get when we have a chance. I never realized there are actually two bakers making cookies, and they don't all have the same names. Or the exactly the same recipes.<br />
<br />
So, instead of getting our dark chocolate flavored cookies, we got some made with milk chocolate. I don't know who thinks this somehow makes them the same, but as someone who is extremely picky about chocolate, it's NOT. And at $3.50 a puny box, I'm pretty disappointed I won't be eating any of them (luckily, my family is not as picky about the chocolate as I am, although Oliver definitely noticed the difference, too).<br />
<br />
I guess it's time I learned to <a href="http://bakingbites.com/2008/01/homemade-girl-scout-cookies-samoas/">make them myself</a>. And I don't think I'll order them again - but I will buy them directly so I can for sure what I'm getting. Poor marketing on the part of the Girl Scouts, imo.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1930179954708464742.post-11552076274104071162012-02-17T19:05:00.001-05:002012-02-17T19:05:51.136-05:00Homage to the Grocery StoreI never realized before what an amazing place a grocery store is. I sort of took for granted there would always be some place fully stocked with foods of all kinds some easy distance from my house. In fact, there would probably be two or three of them to choose from. I spent a fair amount of time complaining about the lack of something or other there, or criticized how one was far better than another at certain things. I'd still probably complain today about that, but I don't think I'll ever take such an amazing place for granted again.<br />
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The first thing I'm going to do when we move back to the States is head to the grocery store armed with a list of all the basic and exotic ingredients I can think of. Like apples. And rice paper and mushrooms so I can make<a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/wintery-spring-rolls-recipe.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+101Cookbooks+%28101+Cookbooks%29&utm_content=Google+Reader"> these</a>. Everything we can't get now, or can only get after it's spent far too much time being transported various ways. Wilted lettuce and withering green peppers are fairly common fair here.<br />
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After two and a half years, I've gotten used to this as much as I can, but I am definitely tired of trying to come up with something for dinner every night. I try very hard to get it in my head what we are having that morning so I am not hit with it at 1600. There is no such thing as meal planning when you don't really know what is going to be for sale that week in our gas station-sized grocery store (which also has about a 1/4 of the space dedicated to non-edible things). <br />
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I am a fan of the lowly grocery store. It's awesome. It's amazing how your perspective can change.Anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472342143854293192noreply@blogger.com0