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May 24 OK, Last time!I moved my blog. Last time I do it, promise. Please come see me at www.just-us-ya-know.blogspot.com At least I think that's it... <sigh>. April 12 LOVE the fam...I am having such a good time with Katy and Brandon! I feel bad though, cause it's like the 3 siblings that live here fight over who gets to spend time with them and it's dumb because we should all just do stuff together in my opinion. Oh well, that's how it always is when fam is in town. At least they know they are loved!!
My kids are doing so well on their potty training. As long as they are completely naked, they go only on the toilet. Unfortunately, we live in a society where I can't take them out while they are naked... kinda messes things up. But they are both getting better.
Other than that, not much going on right now. Randy has AT in a few weeks, 21 days at Camp Williams. We are hoping since it's so close he will be allowed to come home at night, but who knows? I have lost so much confidence in our military leaders lately. He still has NEVER BEEN PAID for one of his drills, and we have talked to everyone we can think of! Pooh. Oh well.
Have a great weekend everyone! April 03 MORE good news!My sister Katy got engaged today!!! She and her honey Brandon have been a couple for 2 years, as of April 1 (Raedin's b-day!) They will be getting married on April 1 next year. I am so happy for her. I like Brandon. I am the only sib here in Utah that has met him and he's a nice guy. And he is a lot like Randy in many ways, except he's liberal and Randy is uber-conservative! I told Randy that when they are here next week, he and Brandon can talk about anything in the world EXCEPT politics!! HAHA! So congrats to Katy Bear! I am so excited to see them both next week! April 01 I'M AN AUNT!!!Ok, it's not the first time. I have 4 nieces on my side and a ton of nieces and nephews on Randy's. BUT, this one is DIFFERENT. For one thing, it's a BOY!!!! And for another, I got to be with my sister through the whole labor and delivery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot describe how incredibly happy that has made me. You see, mine were both c-sections, and I have had to have my tubes tied, so I have never had the chance to experience live, healthy, natural birth. And I gotta tell ya, I am SO PROUD of my sissy!!!! Chris did SO well. She ended up asking for an epidural, and once it hit and she could stop fighting the contractions, she went so fast. Raedin Levi R------ was born at 5:04 am and weighed 6 lbs 13 oz, 18 inches long. His 2 big sisters were so long compared to him!! They are so in love with him , and so am I!!!
CONGRATS CHRISSY AND NATE!! HE IS AWESOME!!!
***Also, Randy's home unit, the 145th, is leaving in July for a 12 mo deployment. At this time, they are saying the 40 who went with the 222nd will most likely NOT have to go. Please pray for that with us!!*** February 09 A small difficulty in being NG instead of Reg Army...I took Randy down to the armory tonight with all his gear for an FTX up at Dugway. Something about the whole thing made me just bawl. It wasn't because it's our first time apart for this long since he got home (I mean, it's only 2 days for cryin' out loud).
It was kinda because it means he can't take work off next Wednesday to take me out, because he had to miss work tonight (he works nights) and he can't take me out this weekend, and he can't next because it's my bro's wedding. It does stink that we are spending another V-Day not together and not celebrating, once again because of military stuff. On the other hand, he will be home that night and it's a commercial holiday anyway. So it's not really that. Really, it's seeing him training and knowing very really that it IS TRAINING. It used to be, "Oh look how sexy, my man is in a uniform off playing soldier!" And then he got deployed. And now it's, "Oh look, my man is learning new tactics to try to stay alive next time he gets called up." And ya know what? THAT SCARES ME. It breaks my heart. It worries me. I am one of those dumb people who thought National Guard meant home security: patrolling the street when the prez comes to town, guarding City Hall during important meetings, clean-up after natural disasters.... and SOMETIMES a trip out of the country for a bit. Now it's like we should have just gone regular Army in the first place. We know he is going to go again. We know there is no longer a limit to how often he can go or how long. And I hate seeing him go to drill knowing that this time, this could be the one where they announce his next deployment. This could be it. And if it's not, then next time could be it. Or the next. I try so hard not to dwell on it, but we ARE NOT regular Army, and so tonight was kinda a plummet back to the reality of "It can and will happen again, we just don't know when." And I hate that. January 31 Life happenings...Randy and I went on a date last Saturday. It was fun, we got some Chinese food and walked around the mall for a while before going to see Night at the Museum. SOOOOO funny!!! I absolutely LOVED it. We are going to see it again this weekend in fact, lol. Seriously, it was soo much fun. I love Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson! OW has physical comedy down so good, he is PERFECT in his delivery.
Julia is in her last semester of preschool, I can't believe it. I am so wishy-washy on how I feel about her going to kindergarten in a normal class next year. I feel like it's a scary thing. I mean, she's been surrounded so far by other kids with delays, and teachers and therapists who are trained to teach kids like her. I know she is super smart, and learns well, but she is still delayed in her speech. And she is still really little, even with all the weight she has gained lately (we hit 30+ pounds finally!!!! YAY!). But she is little. I don't want her teased or bullied! I don't want her being abused at school and not knowing how to tell me what's going on! I don't want kids thinking she is dumb just because she isn't potty-trained yet. She can't have proper bladder control yet, she is still on liquid feedings that make her go a lot, a little at a time. But we ARE trying. I feel like she's SAFE where she is, does that make sense? And sending her out into the "real" world isn't SAFE. I don't know, I don't know what I want for her. Do I want to hold her back so she can be a little more caught up? Or do I want to send her to K and see if it helps her improve even more? I don't know. I need to pray about it I think.
Enough rambling for one night. January 28 Brief UpdateOK, where to begin?? Randy left his job at the beginning of December and is now working at a place called Reed Hycalog. He grinds drill bits with diamond-dust grinder wheels. Pays more than the last job, but it's a swing shift, 3:45 to 12:15 at night. It's good in a way, I find myself getting a LOT more done at home now that I am not distracted all evening by my hubby and I don't have the car at night to go run around. But it also means he doesn't get as much time with the kids. On the other hand, now he feels like going back to school is much more doable. So that is good. The holidays were good to us. Just having Randy here this year made all the difference in the world!! His cousin came home to in November; on Veteran's Day as a matter of fact, go figure! So it was good to see him on Christmas. Julia had back surgery on January 4th. She was diagnosed with a thing called Sprengel's Deformity. Basically, her right scapula (shoulder blade) didn't fully descend when she was developing in the embryonic stage. So the orthopedist went in and cut the muscles connected to the scapula and pulled them down and re-attached them to a lower part of her spine. It made such a difference! She can now put her right arm completely over her head and she doesn't have the funny hunch-looking thing on her shoulder now. She recovered extremely quickly and is back in school. They want her to go to mainstream kindergarten next year!! I can't believe it, it is too unreal to think about at this point. She really is doing well though, more and more people comment on how much easier it is to communicate with her. Nathaniel is growing like a weed. He is the ultimate cutie and monkey and trouble-maker. He is starting to want to sit on the potty every once in a while. Hasn't produced anything yet, but since we are now officially potty-training Julia, I am sure he will soon too. I shaved his head recently and he looks so much like his daddy like that it's eerie. Randy and I went to his battery's version of a military ball on December 2. It was pretty lame but we got to dress up, so that was fun. I'm going to throw some pics on here some time today, but for now I need to give my poor wrists and fingers a break. Typing this much HURTS these days something fierce. Happy Sunday all! January 25 I'm back!Not sure if I will actually do this very often, but I kinda miss the blogging thing. Not much to say right now, I am not feeling real communicative. My grandma passed away today and I am kinda numb. But I will update soon I promise!! August 25 MOVING...my blog. Not sure if it will be permanent. We'll see. I just started it so not much there yet, but it will be at www.fourinutah.blogspot.com Have a terrific weekend everyone! August 17 so I'm wondering...Who do we yell at about this stupid new Live Space crap? Cause I'll be first in line.... Seriously, if I wanted to be on mySpace, then I would be on mySpace!!
Not much going on around here. My brother and sister fly back to Vermont in less than a week. It's been nice having them here, but I suspect it's been the most boring vacation they've ever had. My car only fits so many people and I don't have as much $$ as I did last year to treat them, so I haven't been much fun, and my Dad is so busy working that he's not been down but for 3 days. (He lives about 2 hours north of here.) So I am fairly sure they will be glad to get back to boring old VT just in time for school. Granted, they will miss the babies and the massive number of video games available here, but I don't think they'll be real sad to go. Mom misses them, so she is glad they'll be home soon.
OH! I know something fun to report... my sister Chris is finally officially engaged! Randy will soon have a fellow southerner to commisserate with! So congrats to Nate and Chris!
August 11 StuffIt's been fun having the kids here from Vermont. We've taken it easy for the most part. Done some shopping, movies, waterpark, but that's all so far. I am trying to talk my dad into all of us going bowling tomorrow. It's a riot bowling with my family!
Randy's job is kicking his butt. He comes home from work so tired and sore, he is not in the mood to do much of anything. My brother Steven just started today, working with Randy. So I will have two exhausted men in my house, making messes they are too tired to clean up, and I am already feeling overwhelmed with how messy my house has become of late. I hate having fibromyalgia, it seriously is a pain, literally and figuratively, when I try to clean. Oh well.
I came up with an idea for Randy to try, where each Saturday he takes one of the kids, alternating each week, and does something just with them. I suggested things like going on a picnic in the park (which he is doing tomorrow with Nathaniel) or going on a walk or anything like that. He is just too tired at night to do anything much with the kids, so they all need this.
OK, today is definitely a bad flare-up day, my wrists are hurting already. Have a great weekend Blogland!
PS Does anyone else HATE this new "Live Spaces" crap?!?!?! August 02 What the ??I am in such a witchy mood tonight. I just want to yell at everybody and throw things and beat on my husband. Absolutely NO REASON why, just one of those weird mood swings we women get sometimes. Yeesh. Tomorrow is the big day that Amanda and JT arrive from Vermont!! I am so stoked, I love seeing them and I am thrilled that Randy is HERE for once. When they came out in summer of 2004, Randy got home from basic just a day before they headed back home, and of course he was not here last summer, plus he's never been able to make the trip there with me. So this will be fun for him and them and me! We are having JT and his girlfriend stay with us. We had to go to the armory to borrow a cot and it was a MESS. Randy hosed it down and replaced some missing bolts. We'll make my bro use it; his lady can use our good new one from Cabela's! Have you ever been to a Cabela's?? It is the most AWESOME outdoor store EVER. My kids like to go just to see all the many many displays of animals and the huge live aquarium. I go in and drool and await the day when Randy decides he's up for camping again!!
The kids are a riot these days. Julia has started shushing people when they tell her to do something she doesnt' want to do. Nathaniel is big on telling Julia no and trying to discipline her. It is hilarious. There are so many times lately where I am laughing so hard I can't discipline either one of them!
I think Nathaniel and Randy are starting to do a little better with each other. Nathaniel climbed into Randy's lap last night and laid a big kiss on his cheek and just sat there for a few minutes, it was great. I tell Randy it's only fair that Nathaniel is such a momma's boy; Julia is and always has been a HUGE daddy's girl!
OK, wrists are hurting... danged fibromyalgia... have a good rest of the week everyone!! July 28 Summer tiiiiime, and the livin' is eeeeasy...8 days down and Randy still likes his job! Woohoo! LOL His ride got fired, that was a bummer, but he found someone else to carpool with so that's good! I need my car!! LOL. So, my sister Amanda (14) and my brother JT (17) and his girlfriend are flying out next week from Vermont. I am so excited!! I love my family, it's always awesome to get together. We are going to the local waterpark with them on Thursday, it's military discount day! Gotta love some of the perks... since ya hate the bulls*** that often comes from being in. Things are slow here right now. Randy and I are going on a date tomorrow night. It's a surprise, I am a little nervous, haha. Tonight we are just taking it easy, watching some History Channel. He loves it! I do sometimes. It gets depressing though. Hope everyone has had a great week and have an even greater weekend! July 23 Sunday funOK, not really. We went shopping at Wal-mart and spent twice what we planned on, as usual! We are having a BBQ tonight in honor of Pioneer Day, which is a total Utah/Mormon holiday. We got some fireworks too. I love having people over to cook out and relax and socialize! This is the first summer I can remember where I have done normal summertime things on a constant basis! Now if I could just convince Randy to go camping.... yeah right. He feels like he kinda was camping the past year.
I am feeling a little sad about the way things are right now between Nathaniel and his Daddy. Nathaniel, for those who don't know, is 2, and due to a 4 month Basic/AIT followed 6 months later by a 16 month deployment... plus a 6 week separation in between... well, he's not had his Daddy much. They play together and Nathaniel calls him Daddy but I feel like Randy just isn't letting himself get close to Nathaniel. Nathaniel is, unsurprisingly, a total Momma's boy and it bothers Randy. He tends to be sensitive and whiny and I find myself getting extremely perturbed when Randy tells him things like he's a whiny baby and needs to grow up. I try to put them together often so they can bond, but Randy prefers to take Julia when he goes anywhere (I did however make him take Nat with him to buy fireworks... told him it was a total guy thing!). I don't want my son to grow up at odds with his father, feeling like his father doesn't love him as much or respect him or whatever. I had that issue with my dad growing up and to this day we are not what you would call close. Anyway, I am crying now, so I am going to finish writing. But any advice or ideas would be appreciated. July 20 WOOHOO!It's been a good week! Randy was offered TWO jobs yesterday! The one he went with pays a little better, but the best part is that he is working with two of our good friends and they already love their jobs, so I figure he will too! He can work lots of overtime if he wants and in 30 days he is eligible for benefits. He started today! Also we finally got his travel pay/per diem pay today!
We went bowling yesterday with my brother, sister, and her fiance. It was a blast! My kids (with the help of bumpers and a ramp) bowled better than the adults half the time!! I also went for a night out with some girlfriends, we went and sang some karaoke and it was awesome. I really needed that. So life is good right now. It seems weird for Randy to be gone, but it could be for another deployment rather than a meager day of work, so I am not complaining.
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UPDATE: Randy cut his knee on his first day. It's his usual first day injury, I am used to that, haha. He's ok though and he likes what he's doing!! He just doesn't like getiting up at 5 to carpool! July 16 Busy beesI'm trying to fingure out how it is that we are constantly busy and yet nothing seems to ever get done except to occasionally have fun with friends! Randy's resume is typed and ready to go be turned in to several places tomorrow. I hate job hunting, it stinks. His previous work history is not the greatest but I am hoping people see what he's been doing the past year and half and help him out! We really need some income... like a week ago, haha.
The kids are loving having their daddy, it's like Christmas times 20 for them. They love having a big guy around all the time to rough house with but also to snuggle with when they get hurt. Julia gets the tiniest boo-boo and you would think she was fatally wounded until Daddy kisses it and makes it better!!
Randy is handling civilian life pretty darn well. A couple times he's gotten super moody and easy to tick off, but really he's great. It feels so weird to be married to a vet, and not just a vet, a VFW! Never in a million years would I have thought this is where I would be back when I was oh, say, 21. Strange and surreal.
I hope everyone has had a great weekend. We went to a BBQ at Randy's 1st Sgt's house yesterday, it was a lot of fun. We also went to a Llama Festival at the Hindu Krishna coumpound, sounds weird but it was a blast. Today, I am sleeping. I feel sooooo dizzy. Have a great week everyone! July 10 Happy anniversary!I don't know anyone whose anniversary is today, but it's someone's somewhere so I am remembering them, haha. We were recently discussing having a shindig on our upcoming 5th wedding anniversary actually. We got married in the middle of the night in my mom's bishop's office about 6 months before we had planned, and we didn't have anyone there but 2 of my sisters and 2 of our friends, so we thought it would be nice to do something where the fam can celebrate with us. My kids will make an adorable flower girl and ring bearer, dontcha think?
Randy finds out today for sure if he got a job with a security company he's been interested in. I am nervous for him, he really wants it, but if he doesn't get it... well, he hasn't really started looking elsewhere yet and his last check is REALLY REALLY small.
We went swimming on Saturday. I finally managed to drag Randy to the Vet Pool (huge outdoor pool, kiddie playpool, and waterslides) and naturally it was chilly and windy by the time we got there. Great. It will be twice as hard to convince him to go again. Randy hates swimming, which stinks because I LOVE being in the water and so do the kids. Although to be fair, I think his biggest issue with going again today is financial. Does anyone know of anything besides the Army Emergency Relief fund that helps when you are behind on rent? I am stressing a little...
CASSIE, THIS PIC IS CRAPPY BUT IT'S FOR YOU!!
Have a great week everyone!! July 05 Sorry I am a slacker...I haven't been very good lately about checking everyone's blogs or even keeping up on my own. It's amazing how much busier this 4th of July has been with actually having Randy here. This is the first in 3 years that he's been here for it. We went to the Stadium of Fire at BYU Stadium on the 1st. It was awesome, they had Leann Womack, Taylor Hicks (lates American Idol, took a pic for Cassie!!), Raven Symone, and a former Ranger turned country star named Keni Thomas. They also had the Golden Knights, an Army parachuting team, which Julia loved. But she was afraid every time one landed that he would land right on her! It was funny. The fireworks were amazing. I think the best parts of the night for me were when they had the pledge led via sattelite by some soldiers in Afghanistan, and when Leanne Womack introduced a military wife that was expecting to talk to her hubby on the sattelite... and he was there hiding!! It was awesome, I BAWLED like a big baby at that. Actually, I also cried during the pledge and the anthem because Randy was in his uniform and it was the first time I'd gotten to see him salute like that. The parade on the 4th wasn't all that great but the kids really enjoyed it. We had an all-day BBQ for friends and it was so much fun. We lit some fireworks after the kids went to bed. (Found out on Sunday when we tried doing a family BBQ that my kids are pretty much terrified of fireworks like that.) Randy had a moment at the Stadium where he "choked up" because the first few fireworks sounded like small-arms fire, and also when a .30 Browning came up during the parade that was being fired, he for a split second went on alert and reached for a weapon he no longer has to carry. It was strange to see that, but I am glad that he has not had any major PTSD-type symptoms thus far. Hopefully it will stay that way. He is being very sweet to me, my back and ribs are hurting so much lately I can barely do anything even remotely useful. Still haven't heard back on my X-ray; hopefully it's just a case of inflammation offset by a big bear hug on the tarmac, in which case it will eventually subside (and is WORTH IT). I hope you all had a fabulous fourth! June 29 X--rayFinally got it done yesterday, just waiting to hear the results. Nothing too exciting going on. Oh, except that we are broke but I plan to surprise Randy with a 2-night getaway. Not sure how that's going to happen now. Oh well. June 25 Calming DownThings are starting to calm down around here. The initial homecoming hype and excitement is being replaced by a relaxed sense of peace. Randy hasn't started a civilian job yet, but I know once he does, we will settle into a new routine and after a while, it will once again feel like that's how it always has been. So far Randy is handling civilian life pretty well. I am sure there will be some problems at some point, but I really feel confident that we can handle them together.
The kids are really enjoying having their Daddy home. It is so nice to be able to let them let out their excessive energy with him, because he can handle it and really likes it, and it hurts me most the time. He is a great Daddy, I am so very happy he is theirs.
In other news, I have a spot of cartilage between two of my ribs on the right side, which is inflamed. I have to get an X-ray done to be sure I don't have a cracked rib aggravating it. That is actually what I thought I had in the first place, the pain has been building and got so intense that even breathing has been painful lately. I am icing it, keeping it compressed, and taking prescription strength naproxen sodium (basically Aleve). I will be going in hopefully tomorrow for the X-ray. Not sure of that, my car is in the shop AGAIN, this time because the radiator decided to let out all its contents on my driveway. Joy. Hope everyone has a great week. |
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