Betty Visits Louisiana

After a cancelled flight, a few tears, and a little "friendly" chat with the airline, Betty finally made it to Louisiana. The boys were very antsy to get her here, and even made "welcome" signs for her. (though it didn't go well because she was one of the first people off the plane and we were late getting to the boys to hold them)

We spent most of Saturday shopping and hanging out around town. My parents came over for dinner that night and Betty made chicken (i don't know how to make it), mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and we cut up a watermelon. We also had ice cream for dinner but everyone was stuffed by that time.

Then we introduced Betty to the Wii and played bowling, but switched to Are you Smarter than a 5th grader. That in and of itself was worth her trip. She quickly became addicted and could not stop yelling at the tv when she got an answer wrong. (and for those of you who don't know Alabama DOES border Florida and glaciers don't make mountains)



On Sunday we had plans to go to the local water park, but the weather wasn't looking to promising. So we decided to venture just outside of town (ok it was 103 miles away). We took a trip to the zoo in Texas. I had always heard about the zoo in Tyler, but figured it's in nowhere town Texas so it probably wasn't going to be much. Boy was I wrong. Betty explained it to Stu as "better than the Hogel Zoo", and it was. Though it was VERY VERY hot that day, it was so much fun. We took a cooler with some snacks for everyone, and stopped for lunch just outside the zoo. They had a nice picnic table area where we had lunch, then inside we went. It was very inexpensive since they offered both senior and military discount. Two of our family members were free, and vinny cost just $5. Unfortunately I was the only full price patron, as I had lost my military ID (which was replaced on Monday). Inside the zoo we recieved a map, which Vinny took custody of and started on our way. We saw tons of birds, large cats, elephants, zebras, giraffes, rhinos, penguins, fish, more birds, and we also visited the petting zoo.



Vinny warmed right up at the petting zoo diving in to pet and brush the goats. Zavion was a little shy though, as he had been told all day not to get too close. But once he saw that Vinny was ok he jumped right in and really enjoyed himself.

As the zoo came to a close, so did our day of fun. As we were leaving Justin overheard a police officer saying something that brought me to tears. Someone ACTUALLY left their little dog in the car while they played at the zoo. It was nearly 100 degrees outside, and there was zoo security standing at the car waiting for them to return. Hopefully the dog was ok AND taken away from them.



With tears in my eyes I approached my car quickly to get the air started for the boys. Boy was I in for a shock when it didn't start. After a long tiring HOT 3 hours at the zoo, my poor car was dead. Luckily some Zookeepers were able to jump it and I made the long drive home and finally cooled off. It was an eventful day.

Betty left Monday afternoon, after some more shopping of course. All in our house is slowly returning to normal, though we miss Betty, we know she will return again soon.

Long time no update!

It's been a while since I have written anything. Not that I have been overly busy or nothing has been happening, I just have been too tired. So here is a quick update, before a post about Betty's trip.

Vinny is starting to get very excited as August approaches for Kindergarten. I need to start thinking about school supply shopping before the mad rush. He is happy to be out of school for the summer, and thinks EVERYDAY is the perfect day to go to the park, rain or 105 degree shine. He is still very much into Transformers, and was very excited to get new Transformers bedding.

Zavion is also doing very well. His speech is getting better by the day and more and more people are understanding what he is saying. He still has his own language for some things but he always has his translator, I mean mom, with him to help out. He still looks just like Justin, and is still the happiest go luckiest kid about everything.

Aidric is growing at the speed of light. He is up to four teeth now, sitting up on his own, and crawling is just around the corner. Snack and juice time is his favorite time of day and he has taken a strong liking to Wow Wow Wubbzy (a favorite in this house). He continues his physical therapy and has started going once a week now to correct some muscles in his neck.

Rollie Pollie

Aidric is on his hands and knees rocking back and forth...he WANTS to crawl. He practices frequently throughout the day and sometimes moves half an inch. But for the most part he just rolls. He knows that if he studies something long enough he can figure out a way to roll to it. Sometimes he gets himself going and rolls right into a wall or some furniture, and becomes very upset. And other times he gets himself into a sticky situation, and is not at all bothered by it.

Days of Summer Begin

Today was a gorgeous day outside. The temperature was a roasty 88 and the sun was shining as bright as could be. We decided to let the boys play in the water for a bit while Justin worked on my mom's car. The boys had a blast playing and Rebel and Bit Bit enjoyed hanging out in the front yard with us as well.

Hurricane Season

Monday marks the first official day of Hurricane Season 2009. Reading through the news, I came across the pre-approved list of names that will be used this year, and boy did I get a laugh. They seemed to cover a few faces of people we know. Congratulations to the following 2009 hurricanes: Bill (my exhusband), Fred (what we call Rebel), Mindy (my sister in-lay), and Theresa (my mom). Hopefully the damage done by these storms will not offend any of the afore mentioned.

Barksdale Air Show

The air show was this past weekend. We went Friday night for what is known as the Twilight Show, and is only open to military families. They only did a few small planes, and the parachute jumpers did pyrotechnics and a small fireworks show which was pretty cool.

We went again on Saturday, but only stayed for a few hours because it was EXTREMELY hot. We went back on Sunday because Justin's boss and some co-workers were going. I wish we would have stayed longer on Saturday and stayed home on Sunday because it POURED on Sunday. We were able to take cover under the wing of a B52, and I even scored a new t-shirt, because I had on a white tank top. Shortly after the rain stopped we were treated to a concert given by Aaron Tippin, and just minutes before he was finished, the rain started again. It eventually dried up after two hours and the planes were able to fly and start the show. The boys had a GREAT time, and each selected the number 4 Blue Angel jet as their toy of choice for this year. We left before most of the major acts too place, as everyone was damp, tired, and starting to get hot, but not before everyone had the chance to climb on and tour through some of the planes.




The one plane we didn't tour was the AWAX. It is the top-secret highly classified airplane and this is the first year it was open to tour to the public. The line was what seemed like a mile long and I didn't think everyone would want to wait. They had it roped off and armed gaurds were infront of and behind it.




Everyone had a great tome and I can't wait the long year to go again next May!

Mr. and Mrs. Alan Weigold

Jamie and Alan were married at 1pm in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 5, 2009. Congratulations guys!!!!

Bit Bit needs help....or can he give it?

Yesterday while we were dropping off Justin's truck for some maitenence, I saw a regular sized Yorkie dog. Justin overheard the owner telling some people that he was a certified therapy dog. It gave me the idea that Bit Bit (the super puppy) can do that. He likes to be held and loved on and c'mon...who doesn't love that cute little face? He will have to be tested on his abilities, one of which is walking on a leash or harness, something he does NOT like to do. So I am going to start working with him on that. It's only $10 to register him and have him tested. And then I have to get a reccomendation from his vet and from any places that I would take him (children's hospitals, nursing homes, special needs homes, etc.) I think he would a very good therapy doggie woggie and hopefully it's something I will stick to and get done. Now if we can just get him to learn to like a leash...

My Big Baby Sister Grows Up

Tomorrow my big sister gets married. And while she is my big sister I feel like she is my little sister too. I guess it has something to do with the fact that I am already married with three gorgeous little boys. She made a road trip out of her trip to her wedding in Vegas stopping at the Grand Canyon and Hoover Damn along the way. She has already posted over two hundred pictures to her Myspace page, and I am waiting for her to post more (bachlorette party at Chippendales? who doesn't want to see pictures of that?). When she comes home she will be married and it will seem kind of weird that she is actually married now with two step daughters. It's like in one day she is almost all caught up to her little grown up sister.

Would you like fries with that?

Now because I am younger than SOME people, it may apply even more so to you. But I can remember as a kid we could go to McDonalds, and order a hamburger or cheeseburger Happy Meal, with fries, a coke, a bag of cookies and a toy. It seemed like a lot as a kid, but I now remember when those were the simple days.

Tonight we decided to be nice to ourselves and go out to eat. Justin and I decided on Wingstop, and since the kids don't like wings, we let them pick a fast food place for them. They chose Sonic. NEVER, has Justin had such a difficult time ordering food. There are so many choices and with two different kids (i pray Aidric never discovers fast food) it gets confusing. Zavion wanted a grilled cheese kids meal with apples and a white milk. Vinny wanted a plain cheeseburger kids meal with a banana and a sprite. It sounds fairly simple but it's a lot harder to order when you have one kid trying to remind you what they want every 2 seconds and the other one in the back repeating and answering the lady taking your order. I sat in the truck with tears in my eyes laughing so hard at the difficulty of what seemed like such an easy task. The scene from Beethoven's Second always comes to mind; where the family can't decide so the dog barks the order into the speaker and the lady answers him with "would you like fries with that?" While I am glad that fast food now offers healthier choices in their kids meals, it makes deciding and ordering all the more difficult.

Family Day: hosted by the 917th Wing

Today was Family Day at the park on base, hosted by the entire Reserves wing on base. It was an awesome turn out of about 300 people at any given time. There were tons of activities for the boys to engage in, as well as face painting, balloon animals, and food, drinks, and music. We arrived at opening at 11am and had some lunch and played around until 1pm when Justin was scheduled to drive the kiddie train. He had an hour worth of driving kids around the park, horn tooting and all. Vinny asked to have his face painted and had a car on one cheek and a transformer on the other. He and Zavion stood in line and each asked Gabby the clown for a dog animal balloon. Then we marched over to the snow cone line and waited for blue bubblegum snow cones. There was a deejay playing music, and long lines for hot dogs and hamburgers. Vinny's favorite part of the whole day was the $1 he spent at the dunk tank. It took him several throws and a little help but he finally got the AF Reserves Captain in the water. I sure hope that doesn't affect Justin's day tomorrow.

It's a Miracle

We did it! We have finally rid Zavion of his bottle for good! He misplaced it earlier in the week and had to go to bed without it. I figured if he went to bed and slept fine without it, he wouldn't get it back. Not to mention that I didn't know where it was. I finally located it and said nothing, just threw it away when he wasn't looking. He has asked about it a few times but I just kind of ignore it and tell him to get his big boy juice cup. He has done SO much better than I expected him to without it and I am glad. We also switched Aidric's bottles hoping a smaller frame would encourage him to hold it. He was not thrilled and it took him a whole day of crying and screaming to understand that he wasn't getting his old bottle back to finally drink it. Now everyone is for the most part semi happy with their beverage containers....what a week!

The Three Munchkin Ears

In three short days my first baby, and he will always be my baby, will be enrolled in kindergarten. While I want him to be the smartest boy ever and get a great education, most of me wants to lock him in his room and board up the windows. I can't belive in just a few short months he will be putting on his little uniform and backpack and taking off with his lunch box. To counter balance starting a new school life, we decided to enroll him in soccer. The base has a great program that starts at age 5 and plays against other base and I think a few local youth teams. I think it will be something he will enjoy and can't wait to see him on the field.




As time marches on I have started to worry less and less about Zavion's speech. Dr. Parker wanted him to see a speech therapist if his speech wasn't better by September. Zavion must have thought that was a bad idea because now getting him to stop talking is nearly impossible. He even sings along in the car to his Imagination Movers CD and a few of my favorite songs too (picture American Woman or Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz sung by a two year old...it's hilarious). He is starting to make small sentences and getting better at saying words he used to have trouble with. I do however still worry about his little legs and I am going to talk to his doctor. Shriners Hospital said it should correct itself and he should come back in a year. But it doesn't seem to be getting better, and he falls a lot and right now has maybe 4 or 5 bruises at least on each leg. My biggest concern is that our Shriners is at the top of the list to close, making the next closest one in Houston (not that I would mind a trip back to NASA or the Houston Zoo). I think if his coordination doesn't improve over the next few weeks (though if like his mother he will be doomed for life as I have NO coordination skills) I will take him in and see what Dr. Parker suggests.





Aidric, or Tank as my dad now calls him, is growing like a bad weed that won't die. He eats a pretty big breakfast in the morning and I think soon he will start demanding more bacon, less baby oatmeal. He usually has one or two small bottles before lunch and then he will have a fruit for lunch. Then a few more bottles between then and dinner, which is usually a vegetable. Today for dinner he had an entire fruit and an entire vegetable and was content; untill he put on his adorable new big boy whale pajamas. I brought him out of his room so he could show his daddy his new jammies and as soon as we sat down some dinner came out. I didn't even have time to get the camera and take his CLEAN picture. I feel as though he is a little behind physically as well. He grows well but at 7 months still won't hold his own bottle and pitches a fit if you don't do it for him. He's not sitting up all the way, which could also be caused by the 9lb fat roll we call his stomach. I was hoping to make it all the way to the next scheduled appointment with no in between visits and so far so good. We only have all of May and most of June to go. So hopefully these boys will get there act together.

It Costs How Much?

I recently had the brilliant idea that I wanted mirror image toes; meaning I wanted my toes to match the rims on my car. I figured in all the companies in the world and all the millions of nail polish colors SOMEONE had to make this nail polish. Turns out I was right.



Unfortunately, this is not something I will be buying anytime soon. As it turns out this is a product that MANY people were demanding that companies make so those wonderful people took advantage and decided to charge at what I so far found to be the least expensive: $15. I absolutely cannot dignify spending that kind of money to paint my toes. My favorite brand, Pure Ice, is only $2 at Wal-Mart and that is more than enough. I toyed with the idea today of getting a different brand but I just could not in my own mind justify spending $7 for nail paint. I guess I will have to save my loose couch and laundry change for quite a while before I can get my chrome nails, and by then it will be out of style. Guess I should just stick to my favorite brand and continue to stock up on their colors.

Pro BMX Biker in the making

So today Justin built Zavion a small ramp for his cars so he could sit in the window seat and roll them down the ramp to the floor back and forth till death to him part. He had a blast for about 30 minutes then wanted to move it to the couch and do it there. So he helped Justin move the ramp, so he could show him right where he wanted it.

About ten minutes later Zavion comes from behind the couch with his bike and starts picking it up and trying to put it on the couch. I didn't see this going at all well, and since my friend's 4 year old recently broke his collar bone, I decided to stop it before it even started. So now Justin is outside building Zavion his very first bike ramp for his Fisher Price bike. Nothing too professional and extravegant but something that will keep him off the couch and off of people.

Happy Easter

They boys woke up this morning and climbed into bed with us as they usually do on the weekends. They must have forgotten that it was Easter because they said nothing just got into bed. So I sat up and said my Happy Easter and then the big question came: "Did the Easter Bunny come?"

So I got up and 'went to the bathroom'/hid the eggs, while Justin got the boys dressed. I got their buckets and out the door we went.




After we finished finding all the eggs we headed inside to locate our Easter Baskets (handmade by Justin). They each got one "favorite" thing and then a bunch of here and there trinkets they like to play with. Vinny got a new Wolverine toy and Zavion a new monster truck. They also got some bubbles, little rubber bunnies, fishing toys, hersey kisses, toothbrushes, toothpaste, motorcycles, and little pills that turn into foam animals in the water. They did pretty good.







After the excitement calmed down each boy settled into playing with their new toys. Later we will dye some Easter eggs, and since no one eats hard boiled eggs, we will donate them to the chimpanzees who do so they don't go to waste. They both are excited to color their eggs, Zavion got Elmo dye and Vinny got Transformers. We will spend the rest of the day inside relaxing as the weather outside is expected to be rather nasty today.

Pictures That don't speak loud enough

Thursday night our area and it's surroundings were hit by a large storm that included several tornados. Arkansas saw the worst of it that so far has reported 3 deaths. Texas was also hit pretty hard. Our local area took a pretty nasty hit as well.




The base was slammed with a tornado that knocked out power lines and nearly a dozen poles on the main road that leads into our neighborhood. It took out a hundreds of local trees some of which went through a few houses. Fences were destroyed and lawn ornaments were missing. We also saw a shed in one front yard, with it's rook in another, and still are not sure whose yard it actually belonged in. The cops had the main road to our neighborhood baracaded for about a mile which caused a bit of a traffic nightmare and the main gate to base was closed all day. The roof of the new Sonic just across from base was found on the Commissary so I am assuming they will be out of commission for a while. Justin said rumors on base were that the wall of one of the chaples had caved in and some windows were blown out. There was minor damage done to some airplanes and from what we saw this morning a few cars here and there burried under a few big trees. A local furniture store lost most of their front windows and roof, and a small motel setting up for a weekend wedding reception also lost it's roof and had water leaking into the rooms. The had to evacuate most of their guests.

We lost power at around 10pm last night and it was restored around 12pm today. We didn't get any damage to our house luckily but with no lights, and three small boys, we didn't get any sleep either. It was a pretty gorgeous day out today and while surveying the damage we saw tons of neighbors helping neighbors repairing roofs and cleaning up trees. From the weather reports it seems as though today and tomorrow will be our calm before the worse Easter storm.

Chicken Anyone?

Well I knew it was eventually going to happen to someone, sometime. Unfortunately Zavion was the unlucky duck. He was bitten by the chicken. He has had a low grade fever for the past few days so we have just been giving him his little cocktail to keep it down and keep him happy. But tonight all his happy little red bumps started popping up. Yes that's right. The Chicken Pox. My most favorite itchy disease. Justin had a bad case when he was four. I had a bad case when I was 10. Missing two weeks of school didn't bother me but missing my first ever trip to Disney World nearly killed me. (i got to go a few weeks later as a make up since you were sick trip) I figured it's something most kids have to go through and it's not completely horrible as long as he doesn't itch too much. We are going to stock up on lots of itchy lotions and feel better popsicles tomorrow. I just wish he wasn't going to be sick for Easter. I guess no Easter Bunny pictures this year Zavion.

BAFB Not So Hidden Secret

I always knew you could go fishing on base. I knew where the little lake was and didn't know why it was such a big deal. I also knew you could go hunting on base. I also knew where you could do that...also not a big deal. Until Justin showed me why it was a big deal. There was an entire side of base I had never even seen, 22,000 acres to be exact. That's a lot of space to not know about. And it's absolutely gorgeous. It's my new favorite place to go and I don't hunt or fish. Now don't get me wrong I will gladly enjoy this place with everyone, as it is infested with alligators and water snakes. I always like looking at alligators in water, from a distance, and when we went the other day we saw three small ones. But it was still a little chilly out so there weren't many.





We also went to Moon Lake, which is a small lake shaped like a crescent moon. It's very peaceful and on the four mile drive from the main road to the lake there are small farms with camps and a swamp on the left. I had such a good time driving through the woods and it reminded me of Pennsylvania and all the woods you have to drive through to get to things there.

Unavoidable

There is a reason I always keep an eye on my children...and NEVER let them go outside without me. Not even a mile down the road from our house a little girl was hit by a car crossing a very busy street by herself. Children do this all time as do adults to get to the little street corner hang out convenience store. It bugs me and Justin and I always say eventually someone will get hit. We were right and unfortunately it was a little girl. What irritates me the most is that the police called it "unavoidable". I am sorry but in my opinion this was COMPLETELY unavoidable. Her parents could have either been with her, or had everything they needed in the house so she didn't need to go to the store. People do frequently speed through that section but there are ALWAYS cops right there for that reason. The little girl is in critical condition at the hospital right now and I hope that she is ok and that the parents are somehow charged with child neglect because a little kid shouldn't be left alone much less allowed to cross a VERY busy street just a few yards away from one of the towns busiest intersections.