This time I found a funky plate, a ton of great books to use as part of school with the kids, and a couple sweaters. There was other stuff as well but I may be the only one who thinks that they’re treasures.

I’d like to think that this particular sweater was made for me. A J.Crew in apple green. Perfectly complimentary for my red hair. At $4.69… It was love.

Best part of my day.

I finally remembered to make the drive into Texas on a Thursday to check this barbecue thing out. I needed to know if this was the real deal or just your average joe’s barbecue.

Apparently this was the real deal. When I pulled into the parking lot I could barely find a spot to park my truck. I was not shocked to see that out of all the vehicles, and there were a lot, there was one lonely car. At that point I knew I was in Texas for sure.

This was the view that welcomed me from the front door…

A long line. At 11:30, when we arrived, our order was number 78. The line never shortened the entire time. We waited for a good twenty or twenty-five minutes to simply place our order. Then we waited about as long for our order to be ready.

There were a few parts of this Texan experience that cracked me up. First, the number of cowboy boots and cowboy hats contained in that building. As a New Yorker, I take great delight in seeing all the cowboy paraphernalia. Second, the gallon jugs of barbecue sauce that sat on the counters for public use. You could also buy a gallon of the sauce for fifteen dollars. I don’t know a whole lot about the going rate of barbecue sauce, but I’m thinking that’s a deal. Thirdly, the fact that the four of us smelled like a big ol’ piece of brisket for the rest of the day.

Was the food worth it?

Unequivocally, yes. There was a good reason the line never shortened and the parking was full.

We’ll be going back.

After our awesome dinner of pulled pork, brisket, beans, and macaroni and cheese the kids played with a couple of balloons. Dull, you say? Boring? Oh no. They played happily for the longest time! Who needs expensive toys when there are balloons to be had.

Early this morning Eve and I harvested tomatoes… we have them coming out of our ears, so to speak. I had no idea that the teeny tiny garden my mom helped us plant back in April would yield such a harvest. I have gotten so much joy out of my garden. And delicious food too!

I’m already plotting and planning next year’s garden in my head. What’s funny about that is I still have cold-weather veggies to plant this year. Spinach, swiss chard, and peas are planned for once the weather chills out.

Today during school, Eliza and Judah recited their latest poems for me. I decided to give the video capabilities of my new Nikon D90 – which was part of the prize package from winning the photo contest – a whirl for the recording. I liked it! Perhaps a bit choppy but still pretty fantastic. I had a 50mm lens on the camera when I took the video and I like the way it looks.

Eliza with “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring”

Eliza recites “It’s Raining” from andrea hub on Vimeo.

Judah with “Wise Old Owl” (and yes, he’s an incredibly funny and sweet little boy)

Judah recites “Wise Old Owl” from andrea hub on Vimeo.

We rounded our day out by attending a birthday party at our wonderful friend’s house. There was a BIG bouncy castle for the kids (20 of them!), delicious bbq ,and lots of friends to hang out with. The party was such fun! Jamie made this amazing cake for her son Andy… I was so impressed! I love spending the evening with friends…

Happy week-ending!

You are my heart. But you already knew that… I tell you all the time. Your chief concern in life is to be included in everything. It doesn’t matter what is going on, you’re there. In fact, you are playing at my feet as I write this.

It’s no wonder that you are an expert at applying make-up, you diligently study me as I apply mine. You lean over Judah’s shoulder during school – I think you may learn nearly everything by osmosis. If I’m dressing myself, styling my hair, throwing laundry in the washing machine, working in my garden… I can guarantee that if I take three steps backwards, I’ll trip over you.

Because not only are you my heart, you’re my shadow.

Last evening you helped me prepare our dinner of chicken nuggets, sweet potato biscuits, and sliced up tomatoes from the garden. You were happy, happy. You had woken up a wee bit grumpy from your nap but perked up with an offer to help me cook dinner.

This is your spot.

What am I going to do when you don’t have that soft belly anymore? My heart will break.

We started off by peeling a sweet potato. You wanted so badly to be good at peeling but… you’re just not there yet. Thankfully you have no qualms about asking for help. We put our hands together and peeled as a team. You smiled up at me and I was reminded of just how much I love you.

Next we broke up bread and placed in the food processor – your favorite part is pushing the buttons. Bravery was the name of your game; you didn’t even jump at the loud noise or put your hands over your ears though I badly wanted you to so I could take a photo of your chubby hands and facial expression.

While we were waiting on the bread crumbs to be chopped I asked you to smile for mama’s camera. For a second you did but there was a yawn that sneaked up on you. I admit, this was exceedingly more cute than your hands on your ears.

I did end up with a smile. I feel the need to capture as many squished up smiles as I can before grow out of them. Even a heart of stone cold ice would have to melt when you flash your smile.

I crept upstairs after you had gone to bed for just one more kiss. Sometimes I need one more. And you always humor me. Thanks for that.

Love you,
Mama.

What started out as five small red bumps on her cheek morphed into a full onslaught of red bumps covering her arms and legs by the next morning. I watched them closely for a few days but decided it would be best if I braved the germs at the doctor’s office and brought her in to be checked.

Suffice to say, the doctor had no idea what the bumps were from and she gave me zero solid answers. Or an answer of any kind. Very frustrating.

One interesting thing did occur from our fruitless visit to the doctor’s office. Eliza was weighed as part of the routine check-in… thirty-two pounds. A few days earlier Eve had weighed herself… thirty-four pounds.

My girls, who are four and a half years apart in age, are two pounds apart in weight. My Eve is a chippy bird. Teeny-tiny. I’m not sure the girl has ever been on the growth chart at any of her well-child visits. We haven’t been for well-child since we left Vermont but in the years prior, Eve would follow the chart but always be under it at every point. She’s just a tiny bit of a thing.

Eve, at seven, still wears a 5T and her friend Eleanor, who is six, hands her clothes down to us. All I can say is, she’s healthy and growing, she eats great foods and sleeps plenty. God made her beautifully petite, I guess.

This year we put Eve in a hip-hop class with her two best buds, Eleanor and Kelsey.

I was able to go and watch a class a few weeks ago and I was enthralled! And convinced that I would love to take a hip-hop class. The teacher is a hoot and there’s fun loud music… it’s totally great! I’m not convinced that it’s the class for Eve. She doesn’t really feel the music. What she does have is great hip-hop attitude and a superb hip-hop “face” as her teacher calls it.

Looking through the photos Daniel snapped tonight – he was able to watch her in class for the first time – I’m thinking she’d probably like ballet a whole lot more.

Daniel is convinced she’s gymnast material. Time will tell, I guess. For right now, we’re committed to hip-hop. Perhaps in San Antonio we can explore something else.

On a non-related note, my workout stunk to high heaven tonight. Frustrating to the max. And I’ve never sweat more in my life, I can assure you.

My only comfort is that although I had an awful time with the amount of weight and the movements -because of the weight- I worked hard and I’m stronger for it. Other than that… I’m sticking my tongue out and saying, “Pfffftttt….”

And now…. Bed.

Yesterday the three kids and I made a vat of applesauce. And by “vat” I mean… A Vat.

We are great lovers of applesauce in our home. I am deep down thankful that all it took to make this applesauce was some elbow grease. I appreciated not having to pay a single dime for all of this deliciousness. And I’m thrilled at the prospect of being able to eat applesauce all winter long. The only thing standing between me and a cold winter morning eating a piping hot bowl of smooshed apples is the canning process. (Well, that and a few months.)

Yikes. I don’t have my mom here to help me out this year. I’m a teesy bit afraid that I’m going to mess up. Fingers crossed that I won’t!

Today was… today. I feel like I accomplished nothing of importance. I did manage to remind myself earlier this evening that I successfully cared for three children; I fed them, schooled them, they wore clean clothes, they laughed and played, they even brushed their teeth today.

Fairly successful though not enormously productive.

Tonight we went to a fun birthday party for one of our friend’s little boy. His name is Jack and he turned four today. I loved how excited he was for his birthday! His mom, Miss Jessie, handed out dinosaur masks for the kids to wear… what a hit!

Can you hear her roaring at you?! I have a feeling that by tomorrow night I may be a bit deaf from the roaring I’m going to hear all day from my three very cute dinosaurs.

Shhh… don’t anyone tell her that her mask is on upside down. It’s so much funnier this way.

Even though today was just today… I’m happy. And I get to wake up tomorrow with a brand new day to enjoy.

I’m the kind of girl that if I have an event to anticipate, living the grind isn’t tough. So I dream and I dream. Small dreams, big dreams, and all the in-between dreams. Being a mil-spouse, there are plenty of dreams that I have to put on the back burner. Some of them have to simmer for what seems a lifetime, some for only a season.

The dream that occupies the most real estate in my heart is Vermont. Four of the most grueling, heart-wrenching years of my life yet all I desire is to get my body back there. To stay.

Vermont is my forever home.

Daniel and I enjoy long drives because we are able to really talk with each other. On one of our drives out to Amarillo, Daniel mentioned that he could see us living in Vermont in the future. The man had no idea how he made my heart leap by saying that one simple sentence. You see, Daniel has been anti-Vermont for the last nearly three years. Like to the point where we can’t talk about the state, we don’t mention his old boss by name, he wouldn’t even discuss my trip up there with the girls last September. I can’t blame him a bit. Four years of a boss who was so fake he made Pamela Anderson’s boobs look real. Four years of being held responsible for the choices that he had absolutely no control over. I could go on but there’s no point. Suffice to say…

Hell.

Vermont has been my dream since we left the Green Mountain state. I couldn’t shake off recruiting fast enough, but Vermont… there was no shaking those roots free from the dream soil of my heart.

On our drive, hearing Daniel say that he saw us living there again, I almost burst into tears. Even writing this, I feel the tears coming. I never thought my dream would ever come to fruition. I couldn’t demand that my husband live somewhere he hated. Our retirement from the Air Force and from raising children is looked upon as the “golden time” in our life together. We talk about it often, we build houses in the air… “a huge kitchen with two sinks and two ovens… a library with shelves up to the sky… a room painted butter yellow with french doors and sky lights where I can dance to my heart’s content… woodsy trails where we can ride four wheelers with our grandchildren… a gun range…” Such dreams. Good dreams. Dreams that I never thought would take shape in Vermont.

In a few years, when we make the money that can support paying on a mortgage and still being able to live regular life, we’ve talked about scouring the countryside of Vermont and buying the land where we want to build.

Knowing where we are going to settle down after Daniel’s career in the Air Force is completed makes looking at a possible and highly probable eighteen years of living a gypsy life easier to swallow.

Having dreams is good.

Daniel was able to sneak away for a bit during nap time to check out a gorgeous 1966 Chevy truck. He’s in great need of a vehicle to drive to work both here, during the winter, and once we arrive in San Antonio. New Mexico is an ideal place to buy a classic vehicle due to the roads being salt-free in winter and the price being low as a reflection of volume in the market. Time will tell what he decides to do!

“Dessert and drinks” was a blast, as always. Gorgeous perfection in the weather department, zero flies (a terrible problem here), and plenty of amazing friends…

Gingersnaps disappeared in record time…

Gorgeous Abby was showered with love…

The swings were never empty…

What’s life worth without friendships? I never want to find out.

I rounded out the day with a back squat workout. I have a tender spot in my heart for back squats. I love them, I do. But last night… no love. The muscles across my shoulders were angry with me from the previous night’s sumo deadlifts and push jerks. Laying the heavy bar onto those sore muscles was no fun… no fun at all.

I set a personal record – which isn’t much so don’t get too excited – my body isn’t built for strength. I was happy nonetheless. I did get stuck once, thankfully Daniel saved me. The last time I dumped the weight while in a back squat I did it incorrectly and hurt my back, I had much trepidation about dropping the weight again. I’m grateful for my man who lifted the bar off my shoulders like it was a feather.

Before we headed to bed, Daniel and I watched a couple of episodes of “Friends.” I love ending the night in gales of laughter…

And now, a brand new week!

Last Saturday… sucky.

This Saturday… great.

I think the problem lies in Saturday being a wild card day, and I just don’t deal well with that. I have the same basic structure every day of the week with the kids. Sure we change activities once in a while but each day is pretty much the same. Routine is good for the kids and good for me.

Weekends though… we flail.

I don’t like flailing.

Today I took the bull by the horns. I planned ahead and decided that I would keep the day as much like our regular week days as possible. You know what, it worked beautifully.

The only thing that changed was that we didn’t work on any school. Judah was sad and grumpy about that. I tried to appease him by telling him that we could work on a small school project but I just realized that I forgot to. I feel terrible! The boy loves school and I am stinkin’ thankful for that.

This morning and into the early afternoon all five of us worked on chores around the house. We cleaned and laundered and vacuumed and mopped; I even took the kitchen table out to the driveway and scrubbed the tar out of it. Sadly I think I may have scrubbed a little hard because I actually took the varnish off. Our poor little table looks awful now. I’m bummed!

Lunch time and nap time stayed the same, we played with friends afterward, and dinner was normal. Our day worked and I am happy.
Gosh, you know, as I write this I realize that at times I am a slow learner. I should have realized that the loss of routine was the problem way before now. I guess the saving grace is that at least I’m learning.

Daniel made sure to spend some time with each of the kids individually today. He’s been working long days and time at home has been somewhat limited. One of the characteristics my husband has that I appreciate is how he plays with the kids in the way that works for them. Today with Judah he built a high tech airplane out of legos; with Eliza he played house; with Eve he played monopoly.

Eve mopped the floor with her Daddy! And clearly, she felt terrible about it.

Daniel and Eve… two peas in a pod. Terrifically alike in every way.

Eliza and I spent some time beautifying ourselves this evening. The girl is crazy about nail polish; when she spied me painting my toes her main focus in life shifted from sucking her thumb to having her fingers and toes painted too.

The weather was pretty iffy which meant at one point we were polishing amidst sprinkles. But it was fun and she was happy as a clam. And if you’ve ever seen Eliza happy as a clam you know that there’s not much you wouldn’t do to make her be that way again. She’s delightful.

Dinner tonight was BLTs and if you know me at all you know that bacon is one of my love languages. I was a happy girl. I even had two sandwiches. I’ve cut bread out of my diet by about 95% so this was a big deal! I loved every bite.

I rounded the day out with an awesome (and hard!) CrossFit workout. I even learned a new movement – the “push jerk.” Learning it took me more than a few tries, but that was okay! I had ninety-three times to figure that bad boy out. From what Daniel, my coach, said – I got it. I’m pretty stoked about that!

I have to be honest here, I feel like I’m always saying that my day was great… Let me be clear on this, there are times in every single one of my days that are bad – maybe even awful. But when I stop in here at night to think on and write about my day, I can’t help but focus on the happy parts and thankfully, the terrible, horrible, very bad parts slip out of view.

So are we perfect here? No way! We’re just really good at forgetting the yuck.

Daniel has to agree to stay in the Air Force for ten years beyond his coming commission, so today wasn’t a mile stone or the result of a big decision we had to make on whether or not he would stay in for four more years.

It was an exciting day, nonetheless.

And what was especially exciting was that the kids and I actually made it to the ceremony on time. Quite a feat, I’ll tell you.

There were showers for four (that makes it sound so easy, doesn’t it? It’s not.), blow drying hair for three, styling hair for three, ironing three little outfits, breakfast for four, make-up for one, removing traces of breakfast from three sweet faces, shoes on eight feet, brushing four sets of teeth, all the necessary gear into the truck. And then, finally, the actual driving, which was difficult because I was forced to maintain my good attitude in front of the children even though I got stuck behind two incredibly slow cars. Why must that always happen when one is pressed for time?

Anyway, we are in a (mostly) loving and committed relationship with the United States Air Force for at least… well, a really long time. Like thirteen more years. But more than likely, eighteen years. Let’s not think too long on that because I might cry. Sometimes I just want a home I can call my own.

Moving right along…

Today was also a much anticipated day for Eve. Today was “Bug Club” day with her little girlfriends. My daughter (very much the planner) has had her bag of supplies packed since Wednesday. But she left it in the room that she shares with Eliza. Unluckily, at “bug club” time Eliza was napping and there was no retrieving of the bag. Poor girl was crushed. We made do with another not quite as cute but serviceable bag and all was well. Now, I’m not sure what is exactly involved with the “bug club” but I do know that I think it’s hilarious. My daughter – the one who freaks out over bugs of any shape or size, is in a bug club. Highly amusing. And so very cute.

Do you want to know how my husband made my day end so well? I had mentioned earlier in the evening that I really wanted to drive out – way out – and watch the moon rise. The nights are beautiful here and because it’s unbelievably flat and wide open you can see the whole sky for what seems like a million miles. At eight o’clock tonight Daniel burst through the front door and told me get in the truck; we were headed out to watch the moon rise. He remembered!

God bless my man, he sat in the truck with me for nearly forty-five minutes waiting and watching for the moon. He even fielded highly suspicious questions from want-to-be cowboy cops as to why we were pulled over on the side of a dirt road with our truck lights off. They totally didn’t buy the moon watching thing. Ha!

The moon was gorgeous tonight and the fact that my husband took me out there so I could watch it rise was wonderful.

An exceptionally good Friday, friends. Happy weekend!