New Adventure

I turn the big 3-0 this year and to be honest I'm starting to feel my age. Having three children definitely puts a strain on your body but, I have set some goals for myself the rest of the time that I am stationed here in Germany. I signed up to complete the Nijmegen March in the Netherlands in July. This is a 100 mile march that is completed over 4 days. I am nervous about tackling this but, I need a real challenge. My other goal is to complete a marathon while stationed here. As of now I have completed two practice walks. The first was a 10K and the second a 15K. I am suppose to tackle a 20K this weekend. I had a new respect for distance after completing my first walk. My weekest point were my feet. I had blisters by the half way point and had to stop for a bit. Still, I have learned how to tape my feet and wear the best socks. I have to complete the march in uniform. I have not done my marches while in uniform but, I did complete the second march while wearing my boots. I will be completing my other marches in my boots as well. I have pictures but I still haven't downloaded them yet. Hope to soon! I have also tackled a new work regime and it is the hardest thing I have ever done but I LOVE it. It's called crossfit. www.crossfit.com It is short, high intense, full body workouts that regularly take you to the point of muscle failure. Though the workouts are grueling and at times seem immpossible, my strength has doubled in the past three weeks!! Check it out, the best thing is, the workouts are usually over in 20 minutes.

From the Mouth of Babes

Hannah: Momma, if a bad man ever beats you up, I'll call the police.
ME: Well thank you Hannah
Hannah: If daddy ever beats you up, I think you will be ok, my daddy isn't going to jail
ME: Well thanks Hannah!

After running out of Ranch dressing
ME: I'm sorry Hannah we don't have any more Ranch dressing
Hannah: Just put some milk in the jar and shake it, it ain't hard mom.
ME: ....

Dad asked Hannah to write the letter "Q" for him
Hannah: Watch and learn dad
Dad: ....speechless...

Rebekah after seeing me change Matthew's diaper for the first time.
Rebekah: Mom, is it suppose to look like that?
ME: Yes, he is a boy
Rebekah: Oh

Matthew Giggled

Matthew is just a couple days shy of two months old. I can't believe how fast time has flown since the day I delivered. Yesterday, Matthew and daddy were all cuddled up in the lazy boy and Rob called me to come look at him. I ran into the room and Matthew had a huge grin on his face. I watched with glee at his smiling, sleeping face when he let out a giggle. Nothing excites a mom's heart like hearing her little one's laugh. I wondered in amazement at what was going on in that little head of his. Could he be recalling my face, or daddy's, or perhaps one of his doting sisters? Maybe he is remembering one of his bright toys that he found fascinating or how bright the snow is out the window. I would love to know what caused that sweet giggle. I guess its not for me to know, perhaps a joke between him and God. I'm sure there is all types of medical research that has been done to explain why infants smile, laugh, coo and all the other precious expressions they make. Still, in my mind, he is smiling because he remembers all the kisses, nuzzles, and love he received when he was awake.

Ahhh! Youth!

My husband and I recently discussed how our oldest daughter, who has always been so docile, has recently turned into a tyrant. Hannah whines constantly and has meltdowns on regular occasions. We have both been at a loss for what was wrong or how to handle it. This morning I got my monthly email from Babycenter, informing me of what to expect from my almost 5 year old. The article was titled, "I don't like that mommy". It caught my attention immediately because those are the exact words that Hannah says to me on a daily basis now. According to babycenter, my child now experiences the full range of emotions and doesn't know how to handle them. Unlike a newborn who doesn't know yet how to be happy, or sad, or angry, or bitter, Hannah is now experiencing all these feelings. Children going through this stage react in different ways, some children throw temper tantrums, some whine and cry, some have meltdowns. Babycenter claimed that the worse thing to do was to fuss at our daughter, which we have been doing, for this behavior. Instead, they recommend teaching them how to gain control over the emotion. Another interesting aspect was children can be put on edge very easily. Babycenter stated that something as simple as seeing a picture of a scary monster could put a child on edge. Later in the day, the child may have a meltdown over, mommy telling him no, or not getting what he wants for dinner. I found this interesting because I am currently reading James Dobson's "bringing up boys", it stated that the reason children shouldn't watch violent movies or scary movies is because they cannot differentiate between reality and fantasy. This was eye opening for me. I always screened what they watched based on nudity, language, violence, etc. Now, I understand that even Walt Disney movies that have scary monsters can be a problem. I will definitely reconsider what I allow my children to watch.

Yesterday, Rob left for Ramstein AFB in K-town, Germany. He will be attending a school there for the next 6 weeks. Hannah has asked continually when he is coming back and if we can go visit. I repeated our plans to go visit him week after next. However, this was not sufficient and she proceeded into a meltdown. She started crying uncontrollably. I sent her to her room until I figured out what I was going to do about the situation. During that time, Rob called. Rebekah talked to him while I went to tell Hannah that her dad was on the phone. However, she was still crying and refused to talk to him or me. I carried her down the hall and sat her on the couch. I then told Rob what was going on and told him that I wanted to try to put him on speaker phone and let him talk to her and see if she would eventually respond. I put him on speaker phone because Hannah refused to hold the phone. It took about 5 minutes of Rob talking before she would respond to anything he said. The conversation was starting to go good and she asked Rob if she could come visit. Rob told her next weekend she could come visit. Well, the meltdown started again. She pushed the phone away, buried her head and cried.

I finished up my conversation with Rob and I went and sat beside Hannah on the couch. I put my arm around her and explained that she was sad. I asked her if her heart hurt. She said yes, because she couldn't see her daddy. I told her that is was ok to be sad and that my heart hurts too when daddy leaves. I then suggested we eat dinner, take a bubble bath, and have some hot chocolate. This seemed to pacify her. To my suprise, she ate all her dinner. Hannah and Rebekah took a bubble bath and are currently drinking their hot chocolate and coloring a picture for daddy. We decided to help stop the hurting heart, we would do something for daddy every day until we see him again. Then we would give him a basket of everything we had gotten for him. Today we are coloring pictures, tomorrow Hannah said that she wanted to get him a magazine to read. Hopefully, we make it through the next 6 weeks without any major hang-ups!

A New Year

New Year's is such an awesome time to me! I relish looking back over the past year, smiling at what has been accomplished and grimacing at mistakes that were made. 2009 was a difficult year for me and looking back on it isn't enjoyable. There was one bright highlight and that was Matthew being born!! Every cloud has a silver lining. 2010 means a clean slate. I find it fitting that January is a winter month, cold, crisp and refreshing. 2010 also promises to be a challenging year. I am required to retrain in my crew position and immediately return to instructor status with a possible upgrade to evaluator. I have to part with my newborn at daycare. I have to finish my degree and start my next one. However, I don't want to just work this year, I want to do somethings that I would just enjoy. I enjoy cooking though I rarely seem to have the time. This year I might tackle really learning how to cook. I'm not too sure yet how I will accomplish this yet. I may grab a cookbook and just start going trough all the recipes.

I also want to take a cake decorating class and perhaps a photography class. I know this seems like a lot, but that is what I like, a full plate!!

Book Reading for 2010

I fell way short of my 2009 goal to read 100 books! I only managed to read 30. However, pregnancy happened and I went back to college so, I had a couple things working against me. For 2010, I have decided to only shoot for 30 books! I will graduate from college in May and will hopefully start my nursing prerequisites shortly after. Since this is my first goal, reading for fun will have to be placed on the back burner. My long term goal (2 years from now) is to have been accepted to the AECP program for nursing through the Air Force. I have to complete a few nursing requirements but should be able to apply within a year to 18 months. I have about 5 books on my window sill waiting to be tackled, they are: 1) Culture of Corruption 2) Arguing with Idiots 3)Inkheart 4) Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding 5) Get Your Own Beer, I'm Watching the Game. WOW! right! Have you seen a more diverse group of books? I am almost complete with the breastfeeding book, and the last book in this group was bought for me by my husband so that I can understand the innerworkings of football (eye roll). I still promised to finish it. I still have some books on my 2009 list that I never got to read, they include: 1) A Grief Observed 2) The Screwtape Letters 3) Mere Christianity 4) Three Cups of Tea 5) Too Small to Ignore. As always, if any of you have recommendations, please send them my way or, if you have weread on Facebook, chuck a book at me! I love taking recommendations because it gets me to read books that I would not choose on my own. I have been able to read some fabulous books this year because I branched out and read what I would have never read on my own. For instance, my darling sister insisted I read Twilight. I would never on my own chosen a book about Vampires as I am not into that genre, however...I did enjoy them and am a convert...go team Edward...I also read a Dean Koontz book, also not my style. However, a guy from work recommended "Sieze the Night" and as I promised myself that I would read whatever was suggested, I completed it. Last of all, I took a recommendation from the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and read a Biography on Col Bud Day. It described his life in the Air Force to include 7 years in Hanoi Hilton. So, bring on the recommendations!!!

Christmas cookies

Last night Hannah, Rebekah and I tackled making Christmas cookies. I don't particularly care for sugar cookies but I found a peanut butter and ginger cookie recipe from Hershey's Holiday Recipes. We had a ball making the dough and rolling it out and cutting out the shapes. The cookies didn't turn out that great. They had a good taste but, they stuck to the cookie pan horribly, though directions said not to grease the pan. I also believe that rolling the dough to only an 1/8th of an inch was too thin. The cookies were very crisp, though not burnt. I think this recipe is worth a do-over. I will probably reduce the amount of flour used, and of course, grease the pan. Anyway, the fun part came afterwards when we decorated the cookies. All rules went out the window. Partaking in one of these cookies promises the onset of a diabetic coma.