Oh army, your efficiency astounds me

When Austin joined the army the fatigues he was issued were green camouflage just like you'd
Imagine. This is known as the BDU. The one from the movies and toys and decades past. So, along with it he was issued some gear in that pattern as well. Bags, helmet, rucksack, camel bac, etc. lots of gear.

During his first deployment, though, the uniform that was worn was the DCU (Desert combat uniform I think). This was the same style of camouflage pattern but rather than dark woodsy colors it is tan and lighter browns. Makes sense - Vietnam and Iraq are pretty different right? So he needed coordinating gear naturally. He then was issued everything in DCU.

In 2007 the army converted their general day to day uniform from the BDU to what is now known as ACU. (army combat uniform) The design and coloring changed and although I fought hard, declaring Crayola already named a crayon army green therefore the army must wear green, I lost the battle and Austin was forced to buy new uniforms. The ACU pattern is a pixelated pattern of light tans and lighter greens. Then, when he was deployed in 2008 his BDU and DCU gear was of no use and he was issued the helmet, Rucksack, bags, etc in ACU. After deployments end some things do get turned back in, but for the most part this now made #3 of everything in our little wallis family collection.

So, why wouldn't the army come out with a new uniform again? It only makes sense that Austin would need more gear to go to Afghanistan. They came out with Multicam which is currently only used in Afghanistan. You are not allowed to wear it in garrison (meaning at home). I didn't scoff too much at the fourth set of gear only because I like multicam better than ACU's so I didn't mind. This is multicam, and the main change from ACU to multicam is the color scheme.



I have watched our crawl space fill over the last few years and there are really only three things in it: holiday decorations, baby 'stuff' and army gear. The holiday decorations seem to be the only thing that doesn't multiple exponentially.

When you PCS (army speak for move) there is a long process of 'clearing' your old duty station. So Austin has to check out of the commissary, the library, finance, etc. One of the stops is CIF which stands for central issuing facility. This is the one I've most looked forward to - this is where you get to turn in all that gear that has been issued over the years.

Clearly I had bigger plans for Austin's CIF appointment than the army did.

I had been politely reminding him (read: nagging) to go through all of his gear and sort it out So that when his CIF appointment comes up he has it all ready to be turned in. Some things can't be turned in and I knew if he put it off until the night before he'd be frustrated at having to sift through it all.

So, after many reminders, last Friday he sent me pictures of the work he had done. Here is the collection of gear that can not be turned in and, in turn, will occupy our limited storage space:



There are 3 foot lockers, 3 big green bag things, and two rucksacks - all stuff full of BDU, ACU, DCU, and multicam 'stuff' (ignore the weight bag and front of Williams crib - those are just coming because they have to. Unless someone wants to buy a weight bag...)

So, my friends, drum roll please. This is the collection of gear that the army will allow him to leave in Colorado.



It's a really good thing they allow you to turn in gear because I just don't know where we would put that.

Oh army, I love you despite your many flaws.

- manda

William Wednesday!

William got strep throat last week so his week was somewhat rough. 10 days ago we took him to the urgent care (it was a Sunday night) because in a matter of 2 hours while we were bowling with Oh Gosh he went from a delightfully happy toddler to a cuddly wuddly uncomfortable baby. For the last 4 frames of our second game he was curled in my lap like an infant. I told Brian, “I think he has strep” and he said “oh is this not normal?” Ahh, while I wish he WERE still cuddly wuddly for more than 10 seconds at a time, no…its not normal. I get a few cuddles here and there but generally he’s way too busy! His initial strep test was negative but because he had a high fever and seemed sick, and because Austin had been diagnosed a few days earlier, they went ahead and gave him amoxicillin. Two days later they called back to say the culture came back positive – no shock. Once he had been on antibiotics for 24 hours he was golden, but that first 24 hours was pretty painful. I’m glad we didn’t wait until Monday morning to see the doctor!

He has been struggling with school drop offs ever since he was sick though, and makes it very hard for us to leave him. The teachers have told me once we’re gone he’s very happy but its hard to leave a baby begging you to stay! He’s never really been like this other than when he changed classrooms, so I suspect the reason is because one of his teachers moved and he has a new one. I think he is resistant to change (hello Karma) and I think he just is uneasy when it isn’t his regular teachers there in the mornings to greet him. Hopefully this isn’t an indicator of how our move to California is going to go! If so, I may just need to visit the vineyards a lot!

Saturday the family group from austin’s unit went to Monkey Bizness and paid everyone’s entry, then last night a friend and I wanted to meet and let William and Isaiah play together so he has gotten to go twice in a few days – lucky duck! He walked in last night like he owned the place and he spent the majority of his time climbing up and sliding down the big inflatable slide. When we were there Saturday he thought he needed our help climbing up, but at one point he got impatient waiting on us and went ahead on his own. Ever since then he has realized he needs us for nothing at Monkey Bizness other than buying him some juice and/or yogurt.

He has become VERY obsessed with songs lately and thinks there’s a song for everything. Have I already shared this? Maybe so. Austin doesn’t entertain the song game as much as I do – he just tells William there aren’t songs for everything. Me? No, I am the sucker who actually belts out lyrics like “I love you Melvin, and I love to drive you, you’re so handsome when you’re clean, oh sweet Melvin…my Melvin…” or lyrics like “red light stop, red light stop, green light go, yellow we don’t know!” I should make an album I think. The tunes all somewhat sound the same, but then again isn’t that true for all musicians anyway?

Last night before we went to play at monkey bizness we went to chick fil a. I swear, it was like one of our days of old – when Austin was gone we ate a looooooot of chick fil a, I’ll say that. At the register the lady asked, “can I have your name?” so I said “Amanda”. William then pointed to me and said “manda”. I said “no, mommy” he giggled and repeated “manda”. So, I giggled and repeated “mommy”. He dropped it momentarily, but when I handed him his food he said “thanks miss manda”. I’m sure I should have ignored it or followed other wise parenting advice, but all I did was laugh. So I’m guessing this “manda” thing isn’t going to die soon.

For the first few weeks after we left the house in Galveston William repeatedly asked to go back. “go back a beach house” “go mr tony’s beach house” “play a beach house”. He finally decided that the beach house was broken and Mr Tony would be fixing it. He still says it sometimes, and he even asked a few days ago AGAIN if we could go back. So, I took the opportunity to ask him “William do you want to go get a new house by a new beach?” “YEAH!” “And do you want a new room in your new house by the beach?” “YEAH!” “Ok William, mommy and daddy will find us a NEW beach house. Really soon I promise” No, we won’t live ON the water, but close enough right? We even looked at new bedroom décor for him last weekend and he got excited about it, but then Austin and I decided that maybe it’d be best if we make his new room seem as much like his old room as possible. He’ll have a lot of changes so maybe we should stick with Mickey for awhile longer. Plus, we’ll be in Mickey’s second home state…we kind of owe it to him don’t we?

I’ll end with a few pictures for ya – some from monkey bizness building “boats” with dada, some from his adorable church outfit and crazy smiles. He’s such a goofball! Have I mentioned he’s the light of my life?



















- manda

Well, He did it Again

Sunday morning after I finished blogging about the struggles I had Saturday we got up and went to church. We actually got there before the pre-worship songs started which was quite the feat :)

The music was great and the opening prayer was great, and I already felt more peaceful than I had an hour or so earlier. And then He did it; God slapped me with His lesson again.

The service was on 1 Corinthians 13. I'd guess it is one of the most well known passages in the Bible and that most people can recite a thing or two from it. But I've never actually listened to a sermon on it other than at a wedding, and at weddings it is all directed at how the bride and groom can make their marriage last.

This time, though, I heard about the other angle. The side of love we don't like to talk about. It's not
The love between two people who want to spend their lives together. Its not the love you give your spouse when they're trying your patience, and it's not the love you give your child. No, this time I learned about how the passage really just teaches how to love people. Everyone. Love everyone.

Instantly I thought of the family from saturday and I had a private conversation with God: you want ME to love HIM? You want me to pray for him and lift him up and love HIM? Are you KIDDING ME??

No, he wasn't kidding me. In fact, the next thing he taught me was that my life will not be measured by my worldly successes or by the good deeds I've done or by the items I've checked off my to-do list. It doesn't matter if I find a great job and build up the financial security o spend so much time worrying about. My life, like all lives, will be marked a success if I have chosen to LOVE.

The sermon hit me from two sides. First, I was reminded that we are not just called to love when it's easy. We are not just called to love the nice people we meet on the bright sunny days. We are called to love everyone - with patience and kindness, without judgement or anger. We are called to love without keeping tally of right and wrong. Boy was I doing that all wrong this weekend! For me to love this man who has hurt his family, I do not need to know what he did or how he did it or any aspect of his mistakes. I just need to love him and pray for him and the rest is not my concern.

The second piece of the sermon I took away was that my dads life WAS full. I always look at it and my heart hurts that he missed so much. He would have absolutely loved being a grandfather - he was so good at spoiling his own kids and wife rotten to the core (all 4 of us really) - imagine how he would have been with grandkids?!? The ones you're SUPPOSED to spoil rotten? He would have loved to see all of the accomplishments of his kids over the last 14 years. He missed out, and as sad as it makes me for myself it breaks my heart for him.

But his life was full. He knew how to love people. He knew how to love the people that he didn't even really like, and he knew the difference I think. He never had a lot of money or worldly success. He didn't find a cure for cancer (but man THAT would have been helpful), he didn't live a life that will make history because of its ingenuity or impact. But he loved and because of that his life was as full as they come.

It is not my job to keep a tally board and compare everyone to him, determining who DESERVED cancer or who deserved to die. The two lives are separate from each other and all I can do is be thankful that I had one of those 2 men and not the other as my father, then I can pray for the other.

I hope that in all my worries for our upcoming move - I hope that in all my stress - I haven't become too busy to truly love people. It's not always easy or convenient or fun, and they won't always love me back. But I hope I haven't gotten - and don't ever get - so lost in my own life that I forget the greatest calling of all.

Love never fails.


- manda

MM: More Updates!

First, I hope you can all forgive me for my lack of blogging last week! I have been very busy trying to keep my focus and productivity at work while also getting things done for Monterey. I had a productive week in both of those avenues...so, blogging just had to sit on the back burner. My apologies.

But hopefully I will have more to share this week!

I think Austin and I both finally got 100% on board with moving sometime last week. Not that we had a choice or any control in it. We were going to be moving whether we were on board or not, but we seemed to turn our attitudes, focus and perspective around a bit. So now I can ALMOST say I am excited. I CAN say, though I'm not really excited, I'm ready to be there. Living in limbo is not fun!! I am not a quick decision maker when it comes to life altering decisions, but once I've made up my mind I like things to be done quickly. So spending 5 months "moving" has been torture. But, we're almost there!!!

We are still waiting to find out if we will qualify for E7 housing, but in the event that we don't - we have an address!!!! If the management company decides to allow us to move into an E7 house instead we will just transfer our application over. I know posting addresses on the internet isn't the brightest decision, but I also know practically anything can be found online whether you make it public or not. So - here is our potential new home:

2131 11th Cavalry Ave

Seaside, CA

Seaside is the town where the military community is, and "seaside" it is!!! According to google maps the house appears to be roughly 4,000 feet from the water. I don't think it is beach water, so it's not like we'd run and jump in (unless we like landing on cliffs) but it's still water! The house has a balcony off the master bedroom so I am hoping there is at least a glimpse of ocean from the balcony. All depends on where the house faces, but I'm not giving up on it yet!!!

We also scheduled for our household items to be picked up. After spending all day Saturday packing up someone else's house (did you read that post? NOT fun) I realized how thankful I am that the military provides someone else to do the dirty work. I don't mind organizing and packing, I'd gladly do that. But haul everything outside and make the moving truck like a giant 3D puzzle? No thanks!!! The movers will come and pack up our house April 12-13, then they will pick everything up to be moved April 16. So it looks like we will either spend that weekend with friends, with uncle oh gosh, or camping out on air mattresses. Jealous??

I also made a very cute "Moving to Monterey" binder last week. Austin doesn't keep track of dates compounding on dates, especially if days hold more than one event, so I decided I'd make him a little calendar. Then I decided, why stop there? Why not go ahead and build our travel route? What started as two innocent little excel worksheets turn into a binder with 8 sections, divided by pretty color coded dividers. There were only 7 categories I could think of, but I don't like odd numbers so I made an 8th just for good measure. There's a housing section, child care, TMO (the lovely people who will be moving our stuff), Stars and Strips (the rental company we HOPE will find renters for our house), travel plans, pets (i think we will board our cats for the last week we are in Colorado), PCS entitlements (the things we may be reimbursed for through the army) and an 8th section that is yet to be determined. I have a few ideas but haven't committed to one yet. Austin isn't as in love with the binder as I am, but it has already come in handy as a resource tool for him so he does like it.

After all of our household goods have been taken we will stay with Uncle Oh Gosh until I finish work (which I THINK will be April 20, but I haven't made a definite decision yet) and then we will embark in our journey on the 23! I found some pet friendly hotels along the way (although finding pet-friendly-people who allow more than 2 pets and/or more than 100 pounds all together was challenging) and it looks like we will make 2 stops along the way. We will drive to Grand Junction, CO then onto Las Vegas and then we will arrive in Monterey. And, if everyone does exactly as I've told them to we will get the keys to our house April 26 and have our household goods delivered April 27.

I've found that I am very good at managing processes and telling people what to do. So if someone could find me a job where I just get to tell everyone what to do, that'd be awesome. My employment seems to be the only hole in our master plan so if that hole could be filled in I'd greatly appreciate it. But, one month ago we didn't know any details or dates or plans or even have any remote idea what was going to happen other than our arrival in Monterey, so I'd say we made a lot of progress in one month. If we could just execute the plan and maybe, just maybe, get a good job lead for me over the next month I'd be a happy mama.

Hope you're enjoying this ride as much as I am. Well, actually I hope you're enjoying it more than I am...and I think you may be! We hear from people all the time about how "exciting" this must be. We hear how beautiful Monterey is, how much fun we will have immersing ourselves in such a different culture for a few years, and about how "lucky" we are to be able to experience this. I even hear an "I'm jealous!" or two occasionally! While I'm on board with moving, I'm not quite to THAT point of excitement yet. I am averse to change and risk and if life could stay just as it is I'd be happier than a pig in slop (like that one better Brittany???) But, life never does stay just as it is and so I will adapt. I'm just not as adventurous or free spirited as I think military wives should be so its a bit out of my comfort zone. I'm getting there though!!! And I was greatly encouraged when Jodi reminded me last week:

You're a lot like me when it comes to change. It isn't exciting or thrilling and really just scares the crap out of you. But, you're also a lot like me in that you're going to make the best out of whatever situation you are in. So even if you live in a box on the side of the road, I know once you get settled there you're going to find a way to love it. It's just the getting-there part that really sucks.

Almost there.

The Why's

One of my first stages of grief was to try to figure out 'why'. I did it every time my dad's cancer came back and after he passed away.

Why did MY dad get sick?
Why did a GOOD man have to die young?
Why did God do this to OUR family?

The 'why' questions are filled with anger and rage and come from a place where I don't want my heart to reside. So I worked hard to surround myself with scriptures like Jeremiah 29:11 and Isaiah 41:10 and let myself work through that phase as fast as possible.

Then when a friend had a verbally abusive, alcoholic dad the questions crept back in. Why not him? Wouldn't a kid be better off with no dad than one who hurts her?

I had to remind myself it's not my job to play God and that there is a plan. There's a reason; a purpose. I didn't know the reason and I didn't need to. I just needed to trust.

There have been brief moments in the last 6 or so years when I have began to wonder why, but these instances have stemmed more from sadness and pain. Why wasn't my dad at my wedding? Why didn't my dad get to meet his grandson? Why will he miss the rest of these moments in the lives of his family? I wasn't angry or doubting God's plan, and the moments were short lived. But I still wanted to understand why.

Yesterday, though, I found myself as angry as ever. Yesterday I helped a friend pack up her entire house and prepare to move 2000 miles away. She has 3 kids with 3 separate bedrooms to pack. She had a basement full of stuff. She had A LOT of stuff and she is moving it all across the country by herself. She was on a short timeline and has been up to her hair in paperwork and legal logistics for the last month, so the house hadn't been prepared. I was more than happy to help and my organization kept the whole day in order, so I'm glad I could be there. But being there made me angry.

The reason she has had this whirlwind month is because her husband is in jail. Specifics can't be shared, but he is in jail on horrific counts and will hopefully be in jail beyond William's college graduation.

Why? Why do 3 kids have to grow up with their dad in jail? Why do they have to slowly learn of what he did that put him in jail? Why does a woman have to mentally and emotionally process the dissolve of her marriage and for reasons which no one can truly understand?

Then the killer question entered my mind: why couldn't he die?

I hate when I think this. I hate when I try to pick and choose who should have died in my Dad's place, but I can't help it. Why not this man?

My dad was a good person! He was a wonderful father and husband. He was a great friend. He was a Christian example. Why did he have to die while other people got to live?

A man ruined lives. People will be in counseling for years to come because of him. And HE got to LIVE? Why couldn't he suffer through 4 years of cancer and pain only to die in the end?

Why?

I left the house more angry than I'd been in over a decade. I prayed and called my mom and my brother. I talked to Austin and I prayed some more.

I don't want to be angry, and I know it will pass. But when my day comes I won't be asking God why I didn't get all the money in the world. I won't be asking why he made war and peace. I won't be asking why the sky is blue or the grass is green, or any of the other questions I've conjured up through the years. But I will be asking him why good people die while bad people continue to destroy lives.

Not because I don't trust him, but because I want to understand his plan.


- manda

MM: Making Progress

We have officially applied for housing. And guess what? Last week Austin was selected for promotion to E7!!! He isn't officially promoted yet, but he will be sometime this year. We are waiting to hear back if they will approve for us to live in E7 housing right away or if we will have to move into an E6 house, so keep your fingers crossed.

As of now though, we know what our house will be like if we have to live in E6. It is a 1722 square foot duplex. 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, 2 car detached garage. It isn't my dream home but it sure beats the 1175 sq foot 2 bedroom we could have gotten!!! So I'll take it. Besides, I've realized how much extra crap we have accumulated over the last 5 years in our 1630 square foot house...I can only imagine the excess we would accrue in a larger home. So I'm ok with it :)

Some notes on the house:

There is a balcony of the master bedroom which excites me. I have big plans for setting up our TRX band and working out on the balcony. Hope it works!!! I loved working out on the porch in Galveston.

The master bedroom is 3 feet wider than ours now, has a walk in closet and a larger vanity in the bathroom. That excites me a LOT. The Only Complaint I've ever had about our house is the master area so this is an improvement! No more large bathtub - but I'm sure I fit into a standard sized tub...it'll just be a slight adjustment.

There is a large 'dining and den' area across from the kitchen which is separate from the living room so I have high hopes of our living room not looking like a shopping mall for Thomas the Train. Maybe it'd be possible to contain that a little further back in the house...where you don't trip on Percy as you enter. Maybe :)

There is more storage in the house than a lot I've seen and the garage has a little extra space so that's awesome. That will come in handy considering the mound of baby paraphernalia and army gear in our crawl space below our house. It's all organized - but that doesn't change how crowded it is!!!

All in all, we definitely would have loved more of an upgrade in our living conditions but somehow just having some sort of concrete plans makes it all more exciting. Maybe it isn't the home of our dreams but we are excited to have a home for our next adventure!!!

- manda

Life with boots at home

Austin and I just endured a year apart and greeted each other with the same enthusiasm, anticipation, love and excitement at the airport. But we just came from two different worlds, and I’m realizing that the post-deployment period is very different for each of us.

I’m not sure if I can speak for all spouses here, so I’ll just speak for myself when I say that I believe I mentally blocked out the deployment about 20 minutes after his plane landed. He got home January 5, 2012 and it may as well have been January 5, 2005 because I feel like it was light years ago. I can remember it if you ask me to, but I do not feel like we are readjusting. I do not feel like he just got home. I feel like this is how life has always been.

However, I think for the soldiers deployed the mental toughness only begins as their boots hit the ground. He spent a year at war which my mind may never fully comprehend. I don’t think his mind had much time to comprehend it while he was there, but now that he’s back he has to begin the process of mentally processing what he just went through. I’ll never know what he did or saw. I’ll never know the times he thought he’d never see us again. I’ll never know the mental toughness that was required or the emotional breakdowns that happened after a stressful day. And I don’t think soldiers process those things until they are safe at home. On top of that, he has to adjust back into a life that he had left behind. He has had to get to know his son who is a completely different person than he was one year ago. He has had to learn where some things are kept now. I don’t even remember that I may have moved things around in my never ending attempt at complete organization, but for him things must seem like they are in the most illogical places. He has done a wonderful job at throwing himself into the pool rather than just getting his feet wet and I think that has contributed to my ability to just forget he was ever gone. But when we got back from Texas I realized that it must just be grueling for him.

I don’t know if you know this about me, but my mind goes about a mile a minute and I see and think of about 100 things at once. I have plans for every room of our house and for our finances and our vehicles and our moving and our vacations. I have plans for tomorrow and plans for 10 years from now. And on top of that, I’m trying desperately to be flexible to the idea that those plans heavily depend on my employment. I don’t have to have all of these things written out or explained to me; I just see them in my head. The downside is that I expect that people are up to speed with that and on the same page. Why wouldn’t they be? Why wouldn’t he know that I thought Sunday night we should do X, Y, and Z and that it should be done before bedtime and take very little effort or discussion? I can be a bit demanding I think, although I’m trying my hardest to be as relaxed and understanding and flexible as possible. Not my area of strength, but I’m trying hard.

We are in two different worlds. He is trying to readjust to home and I am trying to let go of home. He is trying to learn where everything is and I am trying to pack everything up. He is trying to settle in and I’m trying to gear up to move on. I don’t think we could be in further mental places. Thankfully, as a couple we are doing very well – but I can only imagine how some couples really struggle through this reintegration process. Luckily we aren’t fighting and have fairly open lines of communication and I am trying my best to be aware of how demanding I can get…and even with all of that openness and awareness we are still adjusting and learning and not yet where we were one year ago. I just feel for the couples who run into more struggles.

I think people – non military people – put very little thought into life after the boots have hit the ground. In general I believe people feel strongly for the servicemen and women serving overseas, and a good amount of people have compassion for the families left behind. But I think once they are reunited people move on and just think the nightmare is over and life is back as it should be.

Life IS back as it should be: we are together. But life is not back as it once was, and that’s where the growing and learning and trying comes into play.


- manda

William's month

The last time I wrote William Wednesday was three weeks ago right after he “broke oh gosh house” but his “teeth ok”, and in the height of his “up again” phase. Apparently some things are short lived and some last awhile because up again ended soon after we arrived in Texas, much to our disappointment, but he still talks about his teeth at oh gosh’s house!

His speech improves so quickly which is definitely bitter sweet. Of course we beam with pride at the fact that he speaks better than some 3 year olds and forms sentences well beyond his age, but we are sad every time his cute baby talk turns into correct pronunciation. When we first got to Texas we had to tell everyone that if he were to say “ree you” that means “carry you” which means he wants YOU to carry HIM. So there was a lot of “cici ree you” or “yaya ree you” or “mommy ree you”. But before we even left Galveston he had corrected himself and was able to say “carry you”. He still doesn’t grasp the concept of pronouns so she doesn’t say “carry me” but his little baby words don’t last long.

At the beach house there was a kid room where William slept and it was painted to look like an underwater scene. VERY neat. There were all sorts of sea animals painted on the walls, then some creatures were glued on the walls so they were more 3D. He loved the octopus and Austin loved hearing him try to say the word. “Otocopus” is how it sounded, and Austin asked for it over and over. I had to remind him that the more he asks, the more repetition William gets so the sooner the cute word will become just the normal word. But he doesn’t care, he’s just soaking it in – it is one of the cutest little words he’s said.

William had a great time on vacation. I won’t spoil our entire vacation in one blog so I’ll just talk about his highlights for now. He was WONDERFUL with all of the car travel, I was very pleased. Granted we did sacrifice ourselves and drove through the night to allow him as little awake time in the car as possible, but I was still impressed. I was mostly surprised that once we got to a destination there was no whining if we said “ok let’s get back in Melvin and go to ___”. We did a lot of driving and he was such a trooper and was just along for the ride. We left after dinner on a Wednesday night and he was awake for about an hour watching Toy Story and wanting to read books, then he slept until about an hour before we got to Uncle Gene’s apartment. He fell asleep happy, woke up happy, and was happy to go to breakfast with his uncle!




After breakfast/brunch we watched Cars for a little bit and then all went to a park. Gene and Austin taught William how to chase ducks which was pretty amusing. There was a little pond so William tried to chase them in the direction of the water and then once they reached the edge of the pond William would point at the water and yell, “get in the water duck!” He had me cracking up.



Once he was worn out we got back in the car and took him to College Station for dinner. He slept the whole way and had a nice time for his first trip to CS!

We officially started our vacation by spending the first weekend in Galveston with Cici and Pop. William was stoked to have a large audience and plenty of people to occupy him. When one person got tired of playing trains he just hopped on over to the next. The weather was pretty chilly the first weekend – I Really hadn’t anticipated needing a JACKET in Galveston, so we didn’t spend much time outside, but we had fun. His favorite part of the first weekend was going to see the Elissa. I was surprised to find out that Herb, Candace and Austin had never been to the Elissa or even knew what it was, so I was excited to take them. I’m sure I will butcher the description, being that I am not a history buff, but you can look it up if you’re interested! It was a wooden maritime ship from the 1800’s that was used for trade across the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the last ships of its kind still in operation and it makes at least one sail per year. Otherwise it is docked in Galveston and can be toured. I went as a kid and thought it was so fun, and William seemed to agree. He loved walking through the cabins, climbing on the beds where (somehow) sailors slept, and looking in the kitchen. He also liked climbing the stairs which seemed to have been built for people with feet the size of William’s not mine! Everyone else enjoyed reading the plaques and historical notes, but William and I mostly just ran up and down the “boat on the water”.










While we were enjoying our time child-free William was enjoying his extra special attention. He had Cici’s attention devoted 100% to him until she passed him off to yaya. Then he had Yaya and Papa all to himself with a brief visit from mommy, dada, Uncle Brandon, Aunt Dana and baby Kelli. He got to go to the children’s museum with both Cici and Yaya, got to go to the livestock show with yaya and papa, and was surely given whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it. I heard he was on his best behavior, but I can’t imagine why a child WOULDN’T be when there is nothing that could possibly upset him! When he got to Galveston that second weekend I heard all about how much fun he had on the train at the rodeo with papa. It wasn’t really a train AT the rodeo, it was the shuttle from the parking lot TO the rodeo…he probably didn’t even need the livestock show at all! Just the train!!!




Our second weekend in Galveston with-child was fun too. Uncle Brandon, Aunt Dana and Baby Kelli came down for the weekend and William LOVED baby Kelli. He loved to watch her as she sat in her bouncy chair, he loved to bring things to her, and when she was sad or fussy he really wanted to make her better. He would say “baby Kelli sad, rub back” then he would rub her back and sometimes kiss her head. When he was sitting in the living room watching Cars he would look over every couple of minutes to check up on her. I thought he’d be jealous of another baby but he just adored her. Before Kelli arrived we went to the Rainforest Café for dinner. We couldn’t decide if William would love it or hate it – we thought maybe it would be a little scary, but worth a shot. He LOVED it. I’ve heard about the gorillas ever since. Did you know that the gorillas are loud when its raining? William knows. He tells me a lot. The service was not great and it took too long to get seated, get drinks, get food and get dessert so William was getting antsy towards the end. Papa thought he had a solution though. He asked the waitress if she could just make it rain for William! She told us it rains every half hour but Papa wanted them to make a special exception for William. Grandparents will do ANYTHING won’t they??? We ended up seeing it rain 3 times which was sufficient, and when we just had to go BACK to the one in Houston we got to see it rain 3 times more. What a lucky kid!




Saturday the Scarpatis came down for dinner which turned out to be quite the feast. We didn’t realize that the generous corvette owner had left us so many steaks, ground meat, chicken AND 4 lobster tails so we had plenty of food. William was the star of the show at first, then when he retreated to train-mode Marty, Jon and Brandon started a guitar sing along. It was nice! William had fun with all of the people and got to open birthday presents so he was in toddler heaven.

The next week we spent bouncing from place to place – mom’s house, friend’s house, cici’s house, San Antonio, Dallas – and William was such a good traveler. I kept waiting for that breaking point – the moment where we realize we pushed the envelope – but it never came! He just went right along with whatever we were doing. In San Antonio we got to go on another boat in the water (a riverwalk tour) which fascinated him. 30 minutes was just slightly too long, but he loved it. We hoped to take him to the Alamo but he was asleep before we left the parking garage…that boat on the water wore him out!





He got to play with the kids of one of my college friends in San Antonio and he looked like a SHRIMP! He’s always been above average in height but next to these two boys he looked like a itty bitty boy – and one of the boys is 4 months younger than him! But he thought their house was his own heaven…motorized cars, remote control cars, swing set, outdoor playsets, cars galore…he loved it. And I thought the three did pretty well socializing too! Then in Dallas he was introduced to barbies and doll strollers and the pink world of girls. Naturally Austin was concerned with his gender identity, but I calmly reminded him that William is 2 and that if he wants to crash a stroller into another stroller we don’t need to be alarmed.

When we got home I decided it was time we curb his interest in removing his shoes in the car. IT was funny while it lasted (no, really it wasn’t) and I know that it was just God laughing because of my previous obsession with babies and shoes, but enough is enough. So, I decided that I’d reward him with m&m’s if he can keep his shoes on for a car ride. Behavior analysts would suggest smaller time frames to start though, so we started with 2 minutes. I set the timer on my phone and at the end of 2 minutes the alarm went off and sounded like a motorcycle. Then he got 2 m&m’s. The first car ride he did take the shoes off during his first 2 minute stretch, but since then he hasn’t removed the shoes once! We are up to 5 minute intervals now and so far it is still successful! He didn’t seem to notice the interval increases until we got to 5, and he does get antsy and start patting on his shoes saying “keep shoes on keep socks on” so I think we will sit at 5 for awhile. I realize that rewarding my child with candy may not be the best thing – but I’ll take the 8 m&m’s per car ride over fighting over shoes all of the time. And eventually the idea is that there will be no more m&ms and no more struggle! I’ll keep you posted.

Overall he’s had a very exciting three weeks. The phrases he has picked up:
Holy Moley
Oh my goodness
Goodness gracious
Oh Yaya
Hear motorcycle get m&m’s keep those shoes on!
Go back to the beach house with black car (I know baby, I want the black car too)
Dada tummy hurt blue medicine all better (Austin is sick…so far not all better but William thinks he will be if he drinks the blue medicine)

I’m sure there are more phrases that I’m missing, but you get the idea. He’s learning sarcasm for sure and he’s picking up on any little thing we say. Good thing we’re not heavy cuss-ers!!! Can’t believe my itty bitty baby is such a big boy…amazes me every day…but I think I have more fun every day than the day before so for now I’m just enjoying the ride.


- manda

Corvette

If I had grown up in the age of digital photography I would be able to pull up 20 pictures to add to this post of Alexis and me posing next to random corvettes in random parking lots across the city of Houston. But, I didn’t really get into digital cameras until my senior year of college and…well…I purposely didn’t take many pictures to document myself in that time. So, you’ll just have to use your imagination and take my word for it: We stood by a LOT of corvettes.

The best one we ever took pictures with was a purple one we saw outside the Corps dorms on campus. As always, we took turns standing by it, leaning over to kiss it, sitting on it, and pretending to grab the door handle as the other one took the pictures to document the moment. (We sure were cool kids, I’m glad we found each other.) The reason this corvette was the best (read: most humiliating) is because the owner just happened to be standing less than a football field away. Luckily he was a cool guy, as I’m sure all corvette owners must be, and he let us sit in it and take pictures in it and talked to us about it a lot. He also talked about his son a lot, who happened to be a member of the Corps of cadets, and I’m thinking had one of us jumped at the topic of his son we MAY have had a chance to ride in the car. I always looked back on that memory thinking “man, I should have shown a little more interest in the son because that may have been my only shot at riding in a corvette”.

Nope my friends, it wasn’t. God gave me a second chance at love. And love it was.

I didn’t know I liked fast cars and loud exhausts and getting up to 70mph in second gear. I didn’t know I would ever enjoy racing down a residential street (keep in mind we were the only people on that street all week AND our house was at the very end of the street so it was like our personal drag strip) But I learned that I do have a wild hair or two. Because I LOVED the corvette.

I used to love them for their looks. They just LOOK awesome. I don’t care for Porsches or Mercedes or Lamborghinis (how do you even spell that weird name?) I never thought I really liked the corvette for its abilities, just its looks. Just like all those shallow men out there who marry for looks. But, I found that I am not shallow. I love the corvette’s talents even more than his appearance and his appearance only improves as I learn what all he can do. (Note: I realize vehicles and boats and such are supposed to female, but I feel a little weird having such a lust for another female. Another male is ok, even if I’m married. Heck, my husband had more lust than I did)

The point is - We had SUCH a good time with that car. We made probably 15 trips to the grocery store in a 3 day span, drove to Houston just to get on the freeway, and rode up and down Seawall Boulevard endlessly. Anything to get in that car. We may as well have not been at the beach because I had very little interest in the water (except for the fact that I LOVED waking up and looking out the wall of windows and seeing the waves) We loved it so much that the morning after we had to give her back to her owner I woke up after having multiple dreams about the her. Yes, she has now switched genders because she is the girlfriend of her owner again. I can’t claim her forever.

Because of that, I decided that I should own a corvette one day. Maybe not a brand new one, and maybe not one with the engine that we enjoyed in Galveston. But I should own one. Someday. It was amazing.

So I am starting my bucket list. Item #1: own a corvette. Gotta dream big people.

MM: California Girl

The favorite question for people to ask when they hear where we are moving is, “Did you ever picture yourself wanting to be a California girl?” I get that a lot, or I get some variation of that. “Have you EVER wanted to live THERE?” “Do you LIKE California?” I think the reaction to California is one of more shock and confusion than if I had said we were moving to Germany or Italy or Australia or Korea. Those places are foreign countries, but people (myself included) seem to put California on the list of planets in outer space. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Saturn, California, Jupiter… Its just so different than anywhere else – or so it seems. I wouldn’t really know as I’ve seen very little of California and spent no time putting any thought into the states on the other side of my beautiful mountain range. The answer to the big question is no – I’ve never pictured myself in California nor have I ever wanted to be a “California girl”. I don’t know that 2 states are more polar opposite than California and Texas, and I’m from Texas…so living THERE…eh, not really on my bucket list.

To recap, so far on MM we’ve talked about how the day care situation is gloomy and we will default with the military day care for now. We’ve talked about how the housing situation is less than desirable and we will default with the military housing for now. If I had hit “post” instead of “delete” we would also have touched on the job situation which is – you guessed it – gloomy and less than desirable. And we’ve now talked about how I’ve never wanted to live on another planet but clearly I’m defaulting with where the army is sending us for now.

I’m noticing a trend.

I don’t like being negative or negativity in general, and I don’t think that there is going to be a black cloud hanging over our heads for the next 2-3 years. I won’t ALLOW a black cloud to hang over our heads. So, I’m going to change my view point. I can’t change California – it is a conglomeration of hippies and liberals and people with more money than any single person ever needs. It is a state with more income derived within its boundaries and higher income tax rates than many others, yet somehow the government is more broke than our federal government. No, I can’t change California. I can’t change that we are going there either. I tried - I tried to actually have Austin change it, I tried to deny it thinking that may make it disappear like the monsters under my bed seemed to as a kid, and I tried to pretend to be happy about it thinking it was just a test and if I took the high road God would make it go away. But I’ve realized as we are halfway through March (which will be my last full month in Colorado) that I cannot change that we are going THERE.

But I can change how I feel about it. How I truly feel, not just pretending to try to fool God. So that’s what I will do and I’m starting today.

I just spent two and a half weeks in Texas and I was reminded of a few things. First, I was reminded of how much I love Texas. I really do. I love so many things about the state of Texas and I love love LOVE that I am from Texas. There are plenty of things I complain about – the weather, the traffic, the population to name a few – but in the end I truly love Texas. I love taking day trips and driving through the open spaces. I love wildflower season. I love how many very different cultures there are within the one state, yet how similar they are at heart. I love the food (not the 5 pounds I gained though). I love that people wave at you no matter where you are and that you are always greeted with a smile. I love that you can make conversations in parking lots and it isn’t weird. I love all of my family and friends who I always hate to leave and I love the life I lived in Texas. Texas is still very much home to me.

Being there also reminded me that I always wanted to venture off and go places though. I wanted to live in Maine. I wanted to go to law school in the Midwest or the New England area. I wanted to live near the east coast and be able to walk to the pretty beaches. I wanted to see other places and settle in areas that I hadn’t ever been.

But, I know myself. I know the knot in my stomach that has been growing since I found out I’d be moving to Monterey. I know that even though I always WANTED to do those things, I would not have the spontaneity to jump up and do it. I would have gotten very comfortable wherever I had landed after college and moving to another CITY would have taken years of planning and analyzing, much less another state. And another planet? Never would have happened.

But the army gave it to me. They gave me what I always wanted but would never give myself. No, I didn’t want California – but I wanted to see other places and meet other people and see how other areas of the country live. And now I can. I will. I will be a few short hours from Disneyland and Universal Studios and Hollywood. I will be a beautiful coastal trip away from Oregon and Washington and will be able to see parts of the country I’d never have seen otherwise. Rumor has it I may even see whales from my rooftop! This assuming I have a rooftop that is accessible by ladder and that I have a ladder and that I climb on my roof. But you get the idea. I will be pushed very much out of my comfort zone. Very much. But how does the saying go? Something about risk and reward or give and take or something like that? Most military families agree that the best part of all of the moving is that nothing is permanent. If you hate it, it’s just a few short years until you’re sent on your merry way. And really, if there’s the potential to see whales from my rooftop or drive to visit Mickey, how bad could it really be?

Happy Monterey Monday – and only a handful more until I’m greeting you on Monday from Monterey. Now time to get to packin’!

Addicted

My mom paid me a great compliment while I was home last week. She said, 'I want to be as addicted to working out as you'. I hadn't really thought I was addicted before. I had thought I'd like to be, I wanted to be, and I patiently waited for the day when I wouldn't feel like the one striving to be someone who always works out.

Does that make sense?

You know - the people who work out not to lose weight or to impress or to release tension - I wanted to be the person who just works out. Who does it because that's what I do. And No one ever asks, 'oh do you work out?' because everyone already knows.

I wasn't ever really an athlete. I tried to play soccer for a few years and I was on the volleyball team - but in both instances my entertainment far exceeded my skill. I'm not the fastest or strongest or most coordinated. I was more of the cheer leader on the team than the girl who scores that winning goal or gets the ace that wins the match...I just am not an athlete. So working out was never part of my life - ever - until I needed to lose weight.

I've worked for 5 years to lose 60 pounds. When put that way it doesn't sound all that impressive really - but I guess I could also say I've worked for 3 years to lose 60 pounds because in 2008 I gained back all of my 2007 efforts. But then I didn't really TRY for 3 years since most of 2009 was spent gaining weight...so it's been a back and forth. And until 2011, I worked out to lose weight. Period. I didn't love it, I didnt miss it on off days, I didn't crave it, and I rarely talked about it. Working out was a means to an end for me and I feared that once I did lose the weight I'd quit working out and be right back where I started.

But in 2011 it became a lot more than losing weight. I think it started as a crutch to lean on while Austin was gone, much like work had been in 2008, but it transformed over the year. I started doing it to prove to myself I was strong and able. And now I do it because it's just part of what I do.

I miss it on off-days or days when work gets in the way. I think about it all the time, wondering what I'll do next. And yes, at times I obsess over it - probably to the point of annoyance.

But I'm pretty proud that I don't have to feel like a 'poser' anymore. I'm not someone who is giving it a try. I'm just one of those people who, ya know, works out. Wow. That's me. And I love it!!!

Today though, it may be more to lose weight than because it's just part of my routine...cause man, I enjoyed some chips and salsa and margaritas and more chips and salsa and add some queso while I was on vacation. Yum, but yikes.

Back to the grind :)


- manda

Amateur

Good morning! I hope this finds you nestled comfortably in your work chairs, coffee in hand ready to tackle the last day of the work week. Yay!

It has been brought to my attention that my amateur status as a logger is apparent. Were I a professional blogger, or even a true dedicated blogger, I would have carved out half an hour each morning of my vacation, perhaps after my morning workout (which fell by the way side in week 2 by the way) to sit and blog. Maybe I'd sit on the porch of the beach house looking out at the water until motivation for a topic came to me.

But, I'm not a professional. While I would like to be, I don't have the audience or the content to be a professional.

I have recently toyed with a few ideas that would be leaps of faith and bolder jumps than I've generally taken, but for now I'm holding back. I have thought of doing a giveaway to raise interest and grow my reader group, I even have the blog all written out and ready to go, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet. It's one of those things that is fun in my head but if I do it - what if I fail? Or worse, what if it goes better than expected and I am on a journey which I am not really prepared for? Paving a path I hadn't intended. It's funny to think that getting what I want could be so scary, but it is. For a safe risk -averse person like myself it is.

Another idea I have toyed with, with the great support and encouragement from potentially my first client, is opening an organizing blog and starting work as a professional organizer. This one gets my glassy eyed like a kid in a candy store, but I know this would be a money sucker for me until the business was profitable and I'm not sure I have the means for that right now. But i have still thought of playing around with it and seeing how it would go - maybe even joining the NAPO - the national association of professional organizers. Did you know there is such a group? Because I've stalked their website for years.

So I apologize for my lack of writing while on vacation. Maybe one day I will be like the wonderful women of blogosphere who have put their blog higher on their priority list. Maybe when I have more than 10 readers :) (not to say I don't love each and every one of you)

The good news here is that tomorrow we begin our journey back to Colorado and I surely will have lots to write about. If I don't, I promise to just make things up.

Happy Friday and have a good weekend. :)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

MM - Housing

So I thought I was good and planned some blogs ahead, even wrote a few to post later and jotted down some ideas for other days. But then I got here and just didn't care as much as I thought I would :) so here is what I had written for this weeks MM.



Two things I never wanted: to own a rental property and to live on a military installation.

Two things that will soon be true: we will own a rental property and we will live on a military installation.

Lessons, lessons, lessons. What I stand to learn is yet to be known, but I’m sure there’s some lesson waiting to be unveiled.

In 2009, when I was 6 months pregnant, we found out we were being relocated to Sierra Vista, AZ. It was a nightmare. I can’t remember if I blogged about it or not – the entire nightmare was luckily short lived – but I dreaded every aspect of that move. Arizona sounded utterly miserable, and Sierra Vista must rank at the very bottom of Arizona’s “places to live” list. The weather is terrible. It’s the DESERT. I could go on and on. The ONE upside to the situation was that our realtor guessed we would make between $20,000-$30,000 profit on the sale of our house. Perfect.

Not even 3 years later the same realtor came over to discuss selling the same house and the picture is very different. Best case scenario: we bring about $2,000 to closing to sell the house. Best case.

PAY to sell the house.

No. Not an option. I’m not paying to sell my house. I was hoping for maybe $15,000 profit…I knew the housing market had taken more of a hit since 2009 but come on…a $30,000 hit????? No.

After the realtor left Austin brought up the option of renting the house.

No. Not an option. I’m not going to pay someone else to find someone else to live in MY house. To let their dog pee in MY house. To let their cat destroy MY blinds. No.

Ok, wait. One of those has to be an option seeing as ME living there is not. And as much as I tried to think of a fourth option, I realized there isn’t one. That’s it. I live there, I sell it, or I rent it. No, no, no. So we have to go with the less of the evils here.

We have signed a contract with a local rental management company who does a lot of business with military members at Buckley. They are confident the house will rent quickly at the price we want as they manage many homes in our neighborhood and the location is very convenient for service members. The management company will handle finding the renter, credit and background checks, securing the deposit, collecting rent, and checking in periodically to make sure the house is being taken care of. We can almost wipe our hands of it and at the price we are asking we can walk away with a whopping $25/month profit. Wow. I almost feel like we’ve struck gold. What ever will I do with such hefty earnings?

The second element to the housing situation is where we will move. The first thing you think of when you think of California (well, maybe after you think of Hollywood and Pretty Woman and surfing and rich housewives and the broke government) is the insanely overpriced houses. Insanely overpriced. Insane. Did I say insane? We’ve looked at some houses to buy in the area and for a house smaller than our current house, in an area that is less than desirable, the price is more than double what our house is currently worth. Buying just doesn't seem to be the smartest choice at all and we really haven't even entertained the idea. We’ve looked at rental houses in the area and to rent a 1400 square foot house it could cost anywhere from $2,000-$3,000/month. TO RENT A HOUSE SMALLER THAN THE ONE WE OWN. What?!?! Oh, and most don’t allow pets.(aren't liberals supposed to be animal lovers??? I better stop with the political associations/opinions for the next few years) so they don't like pets and We have 3. Nancy we could maybe get away with, but its Kind of hard to hide an 80 pound dog and a 25 pound cat.

The most economically feasible and sensible solution is to live on base. I’ll briefly explain military housing in case you don’t know how it works. Service members are entitled to receive either an on post (post, base, installation - whatever word you like) house free of charge or a housing allowance which is adjusted based on the cost of living in the area. If you choose to take the housing allowance you could potentially pocket some of the money depending on how much your rent or mortgage is, and in some cases you get a bigger home than what is available on the military installation. We have been paying $200 less per month for our mortgage than what Austin's allowance is, so we have been profiting from it do to speak. If you choose to live on post, you have no utilities and no rent, but you also have no monthly tax-free allowance to try to profit from. The houses vary in quality and size from place to place, and there doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason to how or why some places are nicer than others. The size and quality of your house does depend on your rank and size of family, so an E7 (the 7th level of promotion for an enlisted soldier) with 4 dependents will have a much nicer home than an E3 with 1 dependent. I’m not going to explain why we have never had interest in living on post, we just haven’t. It does have its perks – never paying a water or electricity bill sounds nice, and living that close to the grocery store, gym, and PX sounds good too. But we've just never wanted to.

So here we are. We can pay $2,000 to sell our house then turn around and pay $2,000/month to rent a smaller house, or We can rent our house and live for free on the military installation. Right now it looks like the second is our best combination. Once we’re settled there, if I find a job or we don’t like the house, we may look for rentals in the area but for now this seems the most seamless and most sensible.

I know I said home is where the heart is and my heart is with Austin. I know family is the only thing that matters and whether we sell our house or rent it out, and whether we live on or off post, I will be with my family. I know that God has plans for us and will provide for us and that all of my worry amounts to nothing in preparation for the move. I also know I’m a very stubborn, strong willed person who really, really likes things to go my way. And I can throw a pretty good fit, if you ask me.

So for now I’m working through my trust, knowledge, and faith battling against my worries, expectations, and concerns. I just need to remember that. I recently saw a quote (that I'll surely butcher here) that said the biggest thing that gets in our way is our expectations of how things should be. I think We SHOULD be able to sell our house and make some cash to stow away and I think we SHOULD be able to rent a comparable home for just slightly more in california. Clearly I need to wipe the slate of all of my expectations and wait patiently for what the Lord has to tell me next.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A special love

I always knew my Aunt Mandy loved me a lot, but I always figured it was because I was named after her. How special would that be to have someone named after you?

I know Brian adores William and they are practically best friends, but come on - its William. Who WOULDN'T want to be his best friend?

I just didn't know how special the love can be for a niece or nephew.

I got to see baby Kelli for a little while yesterday and I could just eat her up. My heart feels like it could burst with love and excitement for this little girl who doesn't even know who I am.

I have so many thoughts and plans and dreams of what our relationship will be like, but for now this is enough. Just holding her itty bitty precious hand looking at those sweet sweet eyes is more than enough for me.




I love my 'lelli' :)


- manda