I'm Grounded...

I have not been my personal best.
I have grounded myself from TV & Computer for the next week.
I wont be around.
This is something I need to do for me. ;)
So, Radio it is… haha… I’ll have to Blog (the old fashioned way) and let you know how it panned out. ;)

See you in a week!

Update [#2] ... Dryer...

Well, the news is that yesterday it cost me 110$ to have him come out... (he spent 2 hours, and only charged me 1 hour ... :) ... )
He called this morning about the Part and Cost. It's going to cost 135$ and i also have to pay another 110$ to have him instal it. :(

So this Frikken thing has cost me 350$ ... I could have bought a Freeken New (Cheep) Dryer.

I guess i have to think it would also cost to Deliver[a new one], and [the new one] would not match my washer... (LOL)... At least this hopefuly will last a while... (at least until we leave??).... LOL

This is what an Emergancy Fund [repair fund] is all about ......... [Dave Ramsey]........
Love that book!

A few pictures...

Evan having fun w/ his 'Geo Tracks'

It's not looking good!

The dryer guys are here... ACK! I have a bad taste in my mouth... Please oh Please let it be Fixable! (Gosh, i can not believe this... a 4 yr old dryer.)

Update: Yes, its fixable...:) But, it's going to cost us. Total? Maybe 150~200$. But, thats nothing in comparison to the cost of a new just like it. :)
It's not fixed yet, ... tomorrow. They had to go and get the parts. :)
It was Electrical. I did nothing 'wrong' ~few~ ;)

~big sigh!~

A New day tomorrow w/ a doctors appointment for Evan. It's a Well Child Visit. He also need to get his shots updated. (We are Delayed Vax People).

This week is turning out to be more interesting than i thought... ;)

Wednesday... hump day...

Lets see, Today we start the beginning of Overseas Screening. Well, Not Officially. haha
All of us have to have Our Medical and Dental up to date. So,... It's my Turn. :( I am headed to the dentist today. It's been a while... over a year, and i am NOT excited at all. So, ... i guess we will see how it goes.
The kids went last month. (When we wanted Overseas, but did not yet know if we were going.) The kids teeth are doing great! ;)
And they are all set to go, along with Ej... now... it's up to me! ~SIGH~

Well, i am back from the Dentist. Few! It's been longer than i thought. I cant believe it! I am almost imbarresed to type how long it's been.... Almost 4 years! (Turns Red!)
The good news is the Doc said my teeth look great, and he was happy... happy with everything bu 2 Tiny Tiny 'cavitys'...ack!
Actually, it was not bad at all. He said they were Way Small... and it took just about 5 minutes each. Not bad! :)
40$ later, and i was on my way home! :)

So, Now we are all 'Class 1' Dental! ;)
Dental Down... Medical to go!

The Start of a New Week...

Well, the week did not start off that good. Lets hope it gets better!

This evening, after washing Ej's White uniform i went to load it in the dryer, and guess what? The Darn thing wont work! I just can not believe this! This Dryer is only 4 yrs old, and a Very Good/Nice type. We have never had a Appliance Problem before, so i feel kind of like "WTHell"???
I guess tomorrow will be filled with Call's and Estimates! SUX!

The good thing is Kitty, my good friend, had me over @ 10 pm tonight and i dryed Ej's clothing, and it looks Great!
And i had a GREAT cup of coffee and GOOD company too! Thanks Kitty *wink~wink*

On another note, i went to the food store and got a "truck load" and we are set for a week or so. We truly needed food. I am glad i went, but i dis-like going in general.
List's and dealing w/ Crowds. Not my favorite thing.

Today was pretty mellow, until the After School stuff happened... dryer/food shopping.

I cleaned out the 3rd bathroom and cleaned it up. I took everything out, and De-Cluttered. :) That bathroom is "out of commission now". I Locked the door behind me! I am Tired of washing down 3 bathrooms. The Funny thing is the kids Always get a bath in our room anyways, because i am always doing other things, & i dont want to leave them in thier bathroom.
So, Now we have 1 upstairs and 1 downstairs bathroom.
Most people would think i am crazy, but... i would rather have Less Work!

Well... lets hope the week gets better!

It's Official!

A Little Bird~y told us on Monday that our Bid for Yokosuka Naval Base Japan was Accepted. We heald the news all week...(boy, that was hard!)
In an e-mail dated for Friday April 4th we were given the Official word!
Were Moving!!!
We don't know the Month or Day yet. Also, We (as a family) have to pass Medical & Dental Screenings...As long as we all pass... we should be in Yokosuka Japan for the Holidays.
I will be around a lot over the next few days to add New Info, and Pictures of our Future 'Home'.
I have already had a Few Questions like...

*Are we Happy: Yes! Very!!
*Was this our Choice: Yes, We waited for Japan, Europe or any Overseas to Actually "Pop" up.
*Where is Yokosuka: "Yoko" (as i will refer to it) is about 45 minutes from Yokohama & about 2 hours from Tokyo. Yokohama is Japan's 2nd Largest City & Tokyo is Japan's and The Worlds Largest Metro City!
We are super Excited & hope all goes A-Ok with Screening!

Spring Break is Over...

Well, It's over. The week of Slacking, and just laying around is done. haha I am glad in a way. I enjoy the structure of the week. Although, i will miss Olivia Terribly and wish it Was Summer already, the next 2 months will be nice.

This morning went off with out a hitch. We got up about 7:30 am (as normal). Olivia was already dressed and Evan too. :) I had not even got out of bed yet.

It's very funny. We have been Very Relaxed this week, and yet Monday Morning hits, and the kids are back in the Swing of things Directly! It's almost as if they missed the Structure too.

:) I am Glad i am not alone!

Let see, This weekend we 'forgot' to go as a family to the YMCA for Swimming. I feel sad about it. Maybe we will have to make time During the week to go.

Daddy will come home tonight. I sure do miss him, even on these overnights.

I have yet to plan dinner, ... I really need to make a trip to the store. This is one thing that is a PITA about having one car. (but hey, the Good out weighs the Evil on that one!)

Here is Evan playing with Tape, Sciccors and a STAPLER (for the 1st time)... he just love to destroy paper! haha!

Duty...Duty SUX!!

Duty! Gosh, I am really starting to HATE Dutys! (never really liked them anyways)
What is a Duty? (for all ya Non Military Peeps)...
Duty is when Daddy goes to The Ship to work for a 24~36 hour 'work-day'. Today is Sunday, and Daddy left this morning @ 6:30 am to be at The Ship by 7 am. He will be "at Work" All Day today, and His Entire Work day Tomorrow (Monday). We will see him tomorrow for dinner.
This Really Sux!
[I have to add that if he was not gone for 6 full months every 12~18 months, with little week~month "in's an out's" in between.......... "dutys" would not be that bad. As many of you know, He just got back 2 months ago from a 6 month'r, and i am just needing him around! With 'Shore Duty' just about 5 months away it's Hard for me to get through these little things. 5 years of Sea Duty is what REALLY Sux...and thats what we are in the middle of right now. ~SIGH~ *Vent Over*]

A 'Typical Day' in our House!

Go Ahead, Laugh! I do!

Virginia Zoo [Norfolk, VA] Spring Break Visit...

Here are some pic’s from the Zoo today. The picture of the Elephant,... look closely! He is Painting! How Neat-O!

I wanted to make sure and go on Spring break. Also wanted to get one more visit because our Membership ends Tomorrow.

Well,... Wrong idea to go on Spring Break!!! Everyone and their Brother was thinking the Same Exact thing, Along with ALL the Childcare Centers and “Afterschool Care” places! WOW… it was packed!! I am so glad we went last month, much more relaxing for the kids and I.

We did have Quite a bit of fun, Mostly because we had a Playdate with another family who lives in our Housing Area. The Children go to Olivia’s School, and So… Olivia was excited to say the Very least!

Enjoy the pic’s!

Back-Yard Fun

A Mid-Week Picnic in the back yard is always fun! With Olivia out of school for the week, its been nice to do some diffrent things. You know... School, Homework, Dinner & Bed-time can be so Boring! A Lunch time picnic and some coloring in the back yard are always fun!

I can not wait until Summer Vacation!!! Spring Break is SUCH a Tease!

Moving...

This is our *NEW* Moving 'Ticker'. It's going to count down the days until were outta here [Virginia, USA]. Can you tell We are Excited???

As Dates and Location become Final the ticker will be adjusted.
Right now? I have it set for September 15th, 2008. October is our "Tranfser Month", and with The Military, all things can & will change.

Horton Hears a Who

• Today was Olivia's 1st day of Spring Break. She is mostly looking forward to Spring Break being over, ... let me explain... She has a Reading Log she has to fill in over Spring Break. If she fill's in the enitire paper, she will get to go with all the other 'special' students and have a 'pink lemonaid party'. She is SUPER Exicted about that party... and has been reading her head off, all by herself!!
  


• Today i thought a trip to the Beach would be nice, but the weather did not pan out. It was a Beautiful day, but Cold. It had to be 40's (maybe 30's) with that wind chill, but 60 in the Sun. Brrrrrrrr So, we stayed for 10 minutes... and headed out! haha!
  


• We decided to go eat an early (3:30 pm) dinner @ IHOP. Now, we have not been to IHOP in at least 4 years, maybe more! Olivia saw a Commercial on TV for a http://www.hortonmovie.com/ 'Horton Hears a Who' Menu. You know, Green Eggs and Ham and Crazy Pancakes. Well, thats what she BEGGED to 'do'. (We saw the movie over the weekend.) So, i gave in, and we went. The kids had a Blast with that dinner and the Jello/Sprite Drink. How Creative!!
  


• Please Enjoy the photo's from today... ;) I had F-U-N getting pic's from that super cool meal.
  


• FYI, Olivia learned her lesson... just because it looks Fun ... does not mean it Taste's Good! haha. She loved the Green Eggs and some of her pancakes... but in general, she was not impressed. A Lesson Learned!

Easter Morning!

Here are a few pictures from Easter Morning. Olivia was Excited about her new DVD to say the Very Least! Evan could care less, ... he is All About Candy!!

I have to add that i just LOVE the Peeps inside Chocolate Egg. Its just the Most Adorable 'goodie' invented! (I am a HUGE PEEP Fan!)... Did i Mention that Easter Candy is the BEST???

[This Yr #2 ... the 2nd yr NOT going overboard. (If you knew us in the past, we used to go overboard on EVERY holiday...We woke up about 2 yrs ago, and decided to STOP Spoiling the kids... and go the Minimalist Route.) :) Pat's on the back... We are LOVING this way of life MUCH better... it actually makes Holidays, and every day more fun!]

Egg Coloring

Gosh! Evan had a B-L-A-S-T! He was so handy with the Wire Egg Holder. It was impressive.

I think 3 yrs is a Great age. What a Fun Morning for Evan!

Olivia, ... she just takes her time. It's still fun but more so interesting. She loves being creative,... Evan was aready done, and Re-dipping when Olivia was on her 2nd egg. haha!

How They Grow!

This pic ---> (above) is March '08--->
This pic ---> (below) is Sept '07--->

Gosh, 6 months just flew by. I can only hope the next 6 go just as fast. In some ways i want the months to CRAWL... and in others (when your looking forward to things) i want them to FLY.

A Funny thing Time is!!

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

What a Beautiful Winter Day(in VA)! The wind is kicking at about 30~40 mph today (50 mph yesterday), we thought is was a Perfect day for the Kite! Evan has never flown a kite before, he had such a great time.

It was so nice, a 'no-fail' kind of Kite Day! (Lets hope for more Kite Days!)

















(Click the Picture for a Bigger Version!)

Sleepover's

Goodness! I remember when i was 6 and had a Sleepover. How Fun!

The pictures are of Makayla[7], Amelia [5] Olivia [6] and Evan [3]

What a crazy Fun night! Suprisingly, it was Easy and Fun, even for Us.

We will miss Mak & Mia when we move, ... They have been good friends to Olivia for almost 2 years.

Virginia Zoo [Norfolk, VA]

Our Visit to The Virginia Zoo was a success. Olivia & Evan had a great time.

Now, i have to say its not a big zoo. We made our way through 75% of it, in just under 3 hours. Of course with it being mid-winter we were chilled and there were a few exhibits closed. Also, there was construction. Overall the kids had a fun time out in the fresh air. The best part was the cost...only for gas, as we joined the zoo last spring. Unfortunately Ethan had duty today so he will have to join us next time. Enjoy the included photos.