March 26, 2011 is when I started this blog. I am not ending it tonight, but the reson for beginning it will be over in about 15 or so hours. I went back and read my first post, noting that I said I was going to write every day... that worked out real well! Grover has been gone 287 days and I have written 46, now 47, times.
In the ending of this seperation, I'm feeling very very lucky that first of all, we made it through. Second of all that it was cut short by a few months and we will be back together earlier than I orginally thought. Yesterday was my birthday. I was on edge all day because I knew my husband was supposed to be leaving Iraq. I was desperate to know that he was finally gone. At 10 pm when I was finally drifting off to sleep my phone rang and I heard my husband say the words I had been waiting to hear. "I'm on my way home." Best birthday present ever!!!!
Today I made sure to keep myself busy and the boys managed to keep me really busy as well. Isaac has an ear infection and had to go to the dr, then had to go the pharmacy, then had to go to Walmart to get an oil change and also to get snack for preschool tomorrow. Right now I should be more than asleep but I'm like a child on Christmas Eve. :) I'll be up at the crack of dawn I'm sure, get ready, take the boys to school. Oddly I have to go get my driver's license renewed tomorrow. I'm super happy about that though so I can get a new picture on the damn thing. The old one I swear to you I look horrifying!
I'm not taking the boys to the welcome home ceremony. They will stay at the house with my sister. I don't think GJ could take having to tell them goodbye for the millionth time this year. So I'll go with a few family members and then after it's over he'll go to demob at the base down south and I'll be able to pick him up sometime this weekend. I think I'm going to make it a surprise for the boys. I'll have my mom stay with them and then I'll pick him up. I know she wants to see the boys reaction when they see him come home. I'm sure it'll be priceless.
For now I'm going to do my best to shut my eyes and go to sleep. That way at least 7 more hours will be gone and I will be that much closer to finally seeing G on US soil. Which will probably be one of the best days of my life.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Marriage
I was just reading headlines on yahoo.com and looking at what was trending and one of the top ten trending items was "gay marriage". I didn't read the article. It was something about California and making gay marriage legal or keeping it illegal or whatever.
I don't need to read the article because whatever it says won't change my opinion on it. I am outraged. Beyond belief. That we are still having this conversation. I can not believe that STILL there is some debate about whether or not gay couples should be married. It is such a simple answer and it blows my mind the money that has to be wasted, the time, the energy, the resources, that go into an arguement that is so ludacris. Here is the answer.
Love is Love.
Why on earth anyone should be told whether or not they can marry totally blows my mind. I understand that there are some religions who won't acknowledge gay marriage. I don't agree with that, but I don't agree with all aspects of religious beliefs anyway. However, legally, from the government stand point, I wish I could fathom why it matters if a woman and man marry, or if a man and man marry or if a woman and woman marry. In essence marriage according to the state is a contract, no? I mean truly, you're tying yourself to a person financially really, and I suppose being responsible for them as well, should anything happen to them. Good or bad, what's mine is yours and if we ever decide to end this thing, we are both responsible to figure out finances. I take care of you, you take care of me, we split what possessions and cash we have, that's that. Of course children make it more complicated when it comes to divorce, but still, it involves financing those children and taking care of them. All that is beside the point though really, because most people don't enter in to a marriage expecting to get a divorce.
My point is, when it comes to the eyes of the state, or the country, what do they really care about who is marrying who? If there truly is seperation of church and state, then why is this such an arguement within the states? To be honest about it, I pretty much feel the same way about poligamy. Who cares if a man has more than one wife so long as financially they are not cheating anyone out of anything? If you don't cheat on your taxes, or cheat the health care system, what the hell does it matter? So long as everyone is consenting adults?
Now, I'm not gay, and I absolutely couldn't ever be a poligamist(still, I don't feel there's anything really wrong with it as long as everyone is an adult and freely enters into it. I'm just too selfish to share my husband) but I just don't see the reason for telling people who love eachother that they can not marry one another. I don't know what the exact divorce rate is in this country, but I'm pretty sure at one time it was something like 51%. Really then, it's not like the one man and one woman thing are some kind of stellar roll model for the next generation.
I know that all that may really offend some people. I absolutely do not mean to offend anyone. If, because of your religion or own personal morals you do not agree with what I just said, that is completely okay with me. I respect everyone's right to their opinion. I just don't think it's any one person's place, and certainly not the government's place, to impose their morals on to others and say that they are not allowed to legally bind themselves to whom they chose.
Again, Love is Love. With all the tragic things that happen on a daily basis, with all the hate... adding a little more love into the world is never a bad thing. I hope that by the time my children are grown up enough to understand this type of thing, they will say something like, "mama, I can't believe you're old enough to have been alive when gay marriage was illegal."
I don't need to read the article because whatever it says won't change my opinion on it. I am outraged. Beyond belief. That we are still having this conversation. I can not believe that STILL there is some debate about whether or not gay couples should be married. It is such a simple answer and it blows my mind the money that has to be wasted, the time, the energy, the resources, that go into an arguement that is so ludacris. Here is the answer.
Love is Love.
Why on earth anyone should be told whether or not they can marry totally blows my mind. I understand that there are some religions who won't acknowledge gay marriage. I don't agree with that, but I don't agree with all aspects of religious beliefs anyway. However, legally, from the government stand point, I wish I could fathom why it matters if a woman and man marry, or if a man and man marry or if a woman and woman marry. In essence marriage according to the state is a contract, no? I mean truly, you're tying yourself to a person financially really, and I suppose being responsible for them as well, should anything happen to them. Good or bad, what's mine is yours and if we ever decide to end this thing, we are both responsible to figure out finances. I take care of you, you take care of me, we split what possessions and cash we have, that's that. Of course children make it more complicated when it comes to divorce, but still, it involves financing those children and taking care of them. All that is beside the point though really, because most people don't enter in to a marriage expecting to get a divorce.
My point is, when it comes to the eyes of the state, or the country, what do they really care about who is marrying who? If there truly is seperation of church and state, then why is this such an arguement within the states? To be honest about it, I pretty much feel the same way about poligamy. Who cares if a man has more than one wife so long as financially they are not cheating anyone out of anything? If you don't cheat on your taxes, or cheat the health care system, what the hell does it matter? So long as everyone is consenting adults?
Now, I'm not gay, and I absolutely couldn't ever be a poligamist(still, I don't feel there's anything really wrong with it as long as everyone is an adult and freely enters into it. I'm just too selfish to share my husband) but I just don't see the reason for telling people who love eachother that they can not marry one another. I don't know what the exact divorce rate is in this country, but I'm pretty sure at one time it was something like 51%. Really then, it's not like the one man and one woman thing are some kind of stellar roll model for the next generation.
I know that all that may really offend some people. I absolutely do not mean to offend anyone. If, because of your religion or own personal morals you do not agree with what I just said, that is completely okay with me. I respect everyone's right to their opinion. I just don't think it's any one person's place, and certainly not the government's place, to impose their morals on to others and say that they are not allowed to legally bind themselves to whom they chose.
Again, Love is Love. With all the tragic things that happen on a daily basis, with all the hate... adding a little more love into the world is never a bad thing. I hope that by the time my children are grown up enough to understand this type of thing, they will say something like, "mama, I can't believe you're old enough to have been alive when gay marriage was illegal."
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Harry Potter
I just finished watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 with my children. It was the first time they had seen the last movie, as I thought it was a bit too intense to see in theaters for them. It's extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary that these movies have spanned an entire decade. I was thinking as the credits were rolling and Lysander was high fiving me saying "we won we won!" about how the past decade of my life I've read the books and seen the movies, and how different my life was ten years ago when all of this started.
I started reading the books my junior year of high school. My etymology teacher, Miss Burrell at the time(now Mrs. Carson) had a Harry Potter movie poster in her classroom and told us all we should read the books. So I started reading the first one and then my mom bought me the first four in hardback for my birthday. I remember going to see the first movie with my mom and two of my best girlfriends. I think the second movie I saw with my mom and those same friends. By the time the third movie came out I was in college and I'm pretty sure I saw it with the guy I was dating at the time. The fourth movie was the first one I saw at a midnight showing. It was right before I turned 21 and I had just started dating the man who would eventually be my husband. I saw the 4th one three times in a 24 hour period because I had that many different friends I was asked to go see it with.
The fifth movie I also saw at midnight... and I was also 8 months pregnant with my first son. I saw it with a girlfriend of mine because Grover, who had become my husband between the fourth and fifth movies, had also become a Soldier in the United States Army and was away at Basic Training and AIT. The longest stretch of time between movies was between the fifth and sixth movie, and that's easy for me to remember because by the time the sixth movie came out, I had already had Isaac, and Lysander was old(ish) enough to go see it in theaters and it was his first "cinematic adventure"(which is a Dane Cook reference and I kept saying that for like a month before we went to see it and I was totally bummed because the only person I know who would have thought that was really funny was my brother. I couldn't tell him because he was away at boot camp. He had joined the United States Marine Corp).
Having already read all the books, I knew that there was no way I was going to take the kids to see the last Harry Potter in theaters. It's a lot darker, but really that is the point of the series. It starts out very lighthearted, and very easy for a younger reader to get into. I was a bit old, admittedly, when I started reading the first one, but there's something about all of these books, that no matter what age you are when you start, you can identify. JK Rowling somehow manages to take you back to when you were the age of the main characters. She writes so in depthly and the story flows so effortlessly that it just envelopes you in her magical world. Of course, if you've read the books before seeing the movies, you can't help but be critical of the movies, but I learned to look at them as two seperate entites. The movies are just what they say, an adaptation.
So the book, what turned into two movies. Grover and I and my sister saw the first part together. This was the first movie I had drank before I watched. We were a little tipsy... but we had a lot of fun. This was also the last movie I would see in theaters with Grover because a few months after it came out, he went on his first deployment to Iraq. So when the second part of the movie came out, I saw it with my mom(which was fitting because we started this journey together) and my sister and my aunt and cousin. We went to a midnight showing as per usual by this point. It was fun and I was happy, though a little sad, as I always am when I do something fun, that Grover wasn't there to see it with me. Also I should add that I wish I could have seen it with the two girlfriends, Lindsey and Chelsea, who I saw the first movie with, but unfortunately we've all got these stupid "adult" lives going on now and it's really hard for us to all get together. I really wanted to see Britney Spears with them when she was in concert this summer too, but days before that happened Lindsey had to go off to law school and Chelsea lives out of state now too, sothat didn't happen either.... but I digress ;)
Tonight as I watched the movies, partly through myself and partly through my children's eyes, we laughed and I cried a few times and I thought, what a powerfully good message this has for my kids. How grateful I am to JK Rowling for imagining this world and these characters, so I could read them and learn from them and love them, and then pass that along to the next generation, my sons, who now love the movies and when old enough, will adore the books. Even at the end of the movie, when it was the "19 years later" scene, I could still identify with the characters. They had grown older(older than I am now though, I just want to make that very clear) and had children. In the books she beautifully wrote the epilouge and transformed the characters from their teenage selves to their adult parent selves. In the movie, it was amazing to see these actors aged through makeup but also really bring to life the love that parents have for their children and how watching them go off on their own is a bittersweet thing to do.
It may sound corny to say that a book series and a movie series has effected your life, or been a big part of your life. However, I know I am not the only person who feels this way, I'd say the billions of others who have seen these movies and read these books and stuck with it from beginning to end have very similar feelings to mine. I am positive that it will continue to be a big part of my life as my children grow and read the books and watch the movies, and their children do the same. It will stand the test of time, undoubtedly. I'd just like to end here and one more time say, Thank you JK Rowling for giving me and my sons and the world seven amazing novels set in such a magical world.
I started reading the books my junior year of high school. My etymology teacher, Miss Burrell at the time(now Mrs. Carson) had a Harry Potter movie poster in her classroom and told us all we should read the books. So I started reading the first one and then my mom bought me the first four in hardback for my birthday. I remember going to see the first movie with my mom and two of my best girlfriends. I think the second movie I saw with my mom and those same friends. By the time the third movie came out I was in college and I'm pretty sure I saw it with the guy I was dating at the time. The fourth movie was the first one I saw at a midnight showing. It was right before I turned 21 and I had just started dating the man who would eventually be my husband. I saw the 4th one three times in a 24 hour period because I had that many different friends I was asked to go see it with.
The fifth movie I also saw at midnight... and I was also 8 months pregnant with my first son. I saw it with a girlfriend of mine because Grover, who had become my husband between the fourth and fifth movies, had also become a Soldier in the United States Army and was away at Basic Training and AIT. The longest stretch of time between movies was between the fifth and sixth movie, and that's easy for me to remember because by the time the sixth movie came out, I had already had Isaac, and Lysander was old(ish) enough to go see it in theaters and it was his first "cinematic adventure"(which is a Dane Cook reference and I kept saying that for like a month before we went to see it and I was totally bummed because the only person I know who would have thought that was really funny was my brother. I couldn't tell him because he was away at boot camp. He had joined the United States Marine Corp).
Having already read all the books, I knew that there was no way I was going to take the kids to see the last Harry Potter in theaters. It's a lot darker, but really that is the point of the series. It starts out very lighthearted, and very easy for a younger reader to get into. I was a bit old, admittedly, when I started reading the first one, but there's something about all of these books, that no matter what age you are when you start, you can identify. JK Rowling somehow manages to take you back to when you were the age of the main characters. She writes so in depthly and the story flows so effortlessly that it just envelopes you in her magical world. Of course, if you've read the books before seeing the movies, you can't help but be critical of the movies, but I learned to look at them as two seperate entites. The movies are just what they say, an adaptation.
So the book, what turned into two movies. Grover and I and my sister saw the first part together. This was the first movie I had drank before I watched. We were a little tipsy... but we had a lot of fun. This was also the last movie I would see in theaters with Grover because a few months after it came out, he went on his first deployment to Iraq. So when the second part of the movie came out, I saw it with my mom(which was fitting because we started this journey together) and my sister and my aunt and cousin. We went to a midnight showing as per usual by this point. It was fun and I was happy, though a little sad, as I always am when I do something fun, that Grover wasn't there to see it with me. Also I should add that I wish I could have seen it with the two girlfriends, Lindsey and Chelsea, who I saw the first movie with, but unfortunately we've all got these stupid "adult" lives going on now and it's really hard for us to all get together. I really wanted to see Britney Spears with them when she was in concert this summer too, but days before that happened Lindsey had to go off to law school and Chelsea lives out of state now too, sothat didn't happen either.... but I digress ;)
Tonight as I watched the movies, partly through myself and partly through my children's eyes, we laughed and I cried a few times and I thought, what a powerfully good message this has for my kids. How grateful I am to JK Rowling for imagining this world and these characters, so I could read them and learn from them and love them, and then pass that along to the next generation, my sons, who now love the movies and when old enough, will adore the books. Even at the end of the movie, when it was the "19 years later" scene, I could still identify with the characters. They had grown older(older than I am now though, I just want to make that very clear) and had children. In the books she beautifully wrote the epilouge and transformed the characters from their teenage selves to their adult parent selves. In the movie, it was amazing to see these actors aged through makeup but also really bring to life the love that parents have for their children and how watching them go off on their own is a bittersweet thing to do.
It may sound corny to say that a book series and a movie series has effected your life, or been a big part of your life. However, I know I am not the only person who feels this way, I'd say the billions of others who have seen these movies and read these books and stuck with it from beginning to end have very similar feelings to mine. I am positive that it will continue to be a big part of my life as my children grow and read the books and watch the movies, and their children do the same. It will stand the test of time, undoubtedly. I'd just like to end here and one more time say, Thank you JK Rowling for giving me and my sons and the world seven amazing novels set in such a magical world.
It's November!!
On November 1st, I got super excited because I thought "this is the month my husband is leaving Iraq!" Technically he won't be home until December, but still, it will be a load off my mind just to have him leaving the country. I'm still so excited and I get more excited as every day passes. However, I do feel as if this is a bit of a slow moving month. Every month that he's been gone I've been desperate to have a quiet relaxing month where I'm not constantly busy doing things. Of course it would be the month before he gets home that I finally get my wish and I don't have a lot going on so I feel as if time is moving at a slower pace. This proves beyond a shadow of a doubt to me that God does have a sense of humor. :)
I suppose it's really just the first three weeks that we don't have much going on. A few appointments here and there, and of course preschool and speech therapy, but that's about it. That's why next weekend I'm going to put up the Christmas tree. The week of Thanksgiving is SUPER busy. And then I only have a couple weeks until GJ is actually home. And in between those two weeks I get to see him when he gets back to Indiana before he goes into demob. I don't think I'm going to take the boys with me to see him that time though. They would just be confused about why they only get to see him for an hour and then go four more days without seeing him. Might as well save myself the heartbreak as well as them. A pack of wild animals couldn't keep me from meeting him for an hour at Stout Field when they get in ;)
So the first 12 days of November, not hugely exciting. But at least I'll be well rested when G gets home! Down to less than a month! Soooooooo happy about that!
I suppose it's really just the first three weeks that we don't have much going on. A few appointments here and there, and of course preschool and speech therapy, but that's about it. That's why next weekend I'm going to put up the Christmas tree. The week of Thanksgiving is SUPER busy. And then I only have a couple weeks until GJ is actually home. And in between those two weeks I get to see him when he gets back to Indiana before he goes into demob. I don't think I'm going to take the boys with me to see him that time though. They would just be confused about why they only get to see him for an hour and then go four more days without seeing him. Might as well save myself the heartbreak as well as them. A pack of wild animals couldn't keep me from meeting him for an hour at Stout Field when they get in ;)
So the first 12 days of November, not hugely exciting. But at least I'll be well rested when G gets home! Down to less than a month! Soooooooo happy about that!
Halloween at Preschool
Since last year I did Lysander's Halloween party at school, this year I went to Isaac's. Isaac has the same teachers that Lysander did last year and the party was pretty much exactly the same. I had a pretty good time but I swear Isaac is probably a million times more well behaved normally than the day I was there. Truly, I thought the little stations were kind of boring too, but there's not a whole lot you can do with 2 and 3 year olds. Still, I'd say they could cut the stations in half and then there wouldn't be 15 matching games in a row. Here are a few pictures I managed to take while I was there.
That last activity they did was so simple. One of the teachers threw a bucket full of foam cut outs of ghosts, bats and pumpkins into the air and the kids collected them. I swear, I will start doing that with my kids at home!
Happy Halloween!!
I really was looking forward to trick or treating this year. We always go up to my mom's house to trick or treat. Not a big deal in downtown Indianapolis. In fact, I don't even know of anywhere to trick or treat at downtown! So we went up there and I got the boys in their costumes. Lysander was Optimus Prime and Isaac was Bumblebee from Transformers. (side note here, I love the Transformers movies, but it's really aggrivating for me that they like the Transformers now bc of course they want the toys and you have to have a Phd from MIT to be able to transform those stupid toys)
When trick or treating started we went out with Fred. My mom went last year, apparently they are taking turns. I knew that this year would probably be the last year that I could get away with only going out for 30-45 minutes. Next year they are going to want to go out the entire time and I'm going to have to have a cocktail to make it through!
The first house they were a little hesitant about, but then once they got the hang of it, they were off and running and thought it was the greatest thing ever!
The first house they were a little hesitant about, but then once they got the hang of it, they were off and running and thought it was the greatest thing ever!
I didn't even want to go up to this house because clowns scare the hell out of me, but they weren't phased even in the slightest!
However, Lysander did sprint on out of there after he got his candy!
This house took a little convincing to get them to go up to. They had spooky music and flashing lights and when she opened up the door it was dark inside and smoke poured out. I thought it was awesome,but her whole house must have filled with smoke!
Isaac went after his big brother checked it out and made sure it was okay.
Like I said, thankfully, after going for about a half hour they were ready to go back and eat pizza. We ate pizza and then they played with playdoh. I wanted to watch Scared Shrekless but no one else had any desire to. I was totally exhausted and it got late really quick so we left about 9 or so. The boys both passed out completely in the car on the way home and didn't even wake up when I brought them in and put them in their jammies. I always know it's been a good day when they come all the way in and get changed without even slightly opening their eyes :) Spoooooooky!
Trip to Florida
The weekend before Halloween, my best friend and I got on a plane to go spend five days celebrating her 30th birthday down in Florida with her family.
Her parents have the most beautiful condo on the Isle of Capri, between Marco and Naples. It was astounding walking in to their condo. Beautifully decorated and very spacious. It has a gorgeous linei(I have no idea how to spell that, but it means deck that looks on to water, I'd like to start calling my porch that, regardless of the lack of water because I like saying that word) The room we slept in has a king sized bed that was THE MOST COMFORTABLE thing I've EVER slept in. I love that bed, and thinking about it makes me a little sad because I miss it.
When we flew in, Stef's mom picked us up, and we went to the biggest outlet mall I've ever seen. It was closing shortly after we got there so we just hit a few shops and then went to dinner. Definitely a good way to kick off our weekend. We went back to the condo and pretty much just curled up in the fabulous bed and watched tv til we passed out. The next day was Stef's actual birthday, so we drove to Delray Beach and met her brother and sister in law at the Marriot there. It was a gorgeous hotel. We had a view of the ocean from our room.
We went and had lunch and then Stef's mom had booked her and I massages that afternoon. I honestly was so relaxed after that massage I could have passed out for the rest of the day. But we went to Stef's parent's room and they had gotten her a cake and she opened up presents and we all had drinks and then we went down to the pool to sit out in the sun for a bit. After awhile Stef and I went upstairs and spent two hours getting ready for the night. We had a champagne toast to Stef before we went to dinner and then we made our way out.
We had the most amazing dinner at a restaurant called Prime. It was a steak and sushi place. Hand to God, some of the best food I've ever had. The sushi was amazing and we had some appetizers that were to die for.
This is all of us at dinner. Our waiter took this photo and I really wish we would have thought to get a picture of him. When we introduced himself he said his name and then also that some people like to call him Robert Downey Jr. I hadn't really looked at him when he said that, but when I looked up, I could have died, he looked EXACTLY like Robert Downey Jr. Like, had I seen him on the street, I would have thought it was the actor. It was amazing.
We spent the rest of the night at two different bars. The first was called the Office I think. It was pretty cool, very hip. It was a restaurant too, but there was standing room at the bar. I have to break here to say that Stef' sister in law is pregnant, and she was totally awesome the whole night. When I was pregnant, there is NO way I would have gone out with a bunch of people intent on getting drunk. But she was more than a trooper, she actually enjoyed herself. I wish I was that kind of selfless. ;)
The second place we went to was a bar called Caliente. It had 275 different kinds of Tequila. It was a pretty awesome little club, but the DJ kinda sucked. He was playing great music, but he would only play like 30 seconds of each song. His "mixing" left a little to be desired. We stayed there for awhile, but eventually grew tired of it, and decided to head back to the hotel. There weren't too many places that were non smoking for Stef's sister in law, so we just headed back to the room.
The rest of the weekend we did pretty much three things. Shopping, laying out by the pool, and eating. We went back to Stef's parents' condo the day after her birthday. It really was a perfect vacation. No time constraints, no worries, just relaxing. I missed the kids and I know she missed hers too, but it was much needed after a very stressful year for both of us. We definitely came back with WAY more than we went there with. It was hilarious how much stuff we had in our suitcases. Stef had to take some out and put some of it in our carry ons to make sure hers was under 50 lbs!
So that was our jaunt down to Florida. I had a great time and I'm so glad I was there to celebrate my best friend's 30th birthday. May this be her best decade yet. I love you mama!! :)
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