I'm Tagged, Too!

-8 Favorite T.V. Shows:
1. MONK!!
2. Without a Trace
3. Psych
4. Murder She Wrote
5. What Not To Wear
6. American Idol
7. Cold Case Files
8. Anything on DIY or HGTV

-8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Costa Vida ( I miss this A LOT!!)
2. La Casita (In UT and AZ, but the one here is good!)
3. El Paso
4. Texas Road House
5. Olive Garden (Been craving this, but there isn't one here)
6. Crown Burger
7. Subway
8. Papa Murphy's

-8 Things that happened yesterday:
1. I had a meeting for Enrichment at my house
2. I took Audrey to preschool
3. Took Spencer, Jr. to school
4. I made chili and cornbread. (It's getting "cold" here.)
5. We watched the U beat TCU with the Pattersons(Now BYU just needs to beat the U!)
6. I watched a neighbor girl.
7. I couldn't sit up straight because my belly is getting huge and I think I ate too much chili.
8. Got new slip covers in the mail and they look awesome!

-8 Things to look forward to:
1. CHRISTMAS (We started listening to Christmas music the night before Halloween)
2. Going camping tonight, I think.
3. BYU game tomorrow
4. Getting out of the Army (We have a while still, but I definitely look forward to it.)
5. No more diapers (Again, I have a while before that will happen.)
6. Going back to school
7. Finishing the tree skirt I'm making
8. After the December Enrichment meeting

-8 things on my wish list
1. To be more patient
2. To live simply
3. To sleep more (yeah, right!)
4. To be thankful for the small things
5. To have someone professionally decorate my house
6. No fighting kids. (yeah, right!)
7. Peace on earth. ( I know that sounds like a beauty pageant answer, but I really do want that.)
8. That Spencer didn't have to travel so much. (It's better than Iraq, though.)

I tag Spencer, because everyone else I know has already been tagged.

Halloween

Halloween was pretty uneventful here. They have a certain time on post that you can go trick-or-treating, which is from 6-8 pm. I'm not sure what they do to you if you break that rule, but the MPs were patrolling the streets to make sure no one did. It didn't really matter to us, because we went to the trunk-or-treat at the church. There weren't very many people there, but that just meant that those that were there, got handfuls of candy instead of just a piece or two.
We came home at about 7, since there wasn't far to walk and we'd gone around to everyone by then, and went to a couple houses in our neighborhood. We finished at about 7:30, watched a movie, and went to bed.
You will notice, however, that Audrey's costume isn't completely on her (she was Uniqua from the Backyardigans). I didn't take pictures until we got home, because our new neighbors came to the door just as were leaving, so we were running late. When I did take pictures, though, Audrey was finished being Uniqua and there was nothing I could say to change her mind. Those of you that know her can understand that. You'll also notice from the pictures that I couldn't get all three of them to look at me at the same time. Candy was too much of a distraction for Isaac and Audrey just wanted her costume off.
Anyway, we missed Daddy, but hopefully he'll be around for the next Halloween. It is his favorite holiday, afterall. :)

Appreciation

There's nothing that will help you appreciate your spouse like having them gone. Spencer and I have spent a fair amount of time apart, but somehow I forget just how crazy life is without him. I change more dirty diapers, wash more dishes, and send more kids to their room than I ever do while he's home. Hopefully, someday, I'll be able to fully appreciate him, so we'll be able to be in the same house (for an extended period of time - like a month :)). Honestly, though, I'm so thankful for him and all he does to keep our house going.
Isaac has been cute since Spence has left. Every day, at least 7 or 8 times, he'll say, "Da?" and hold his hands up like he's completely clueless, which he may well be. He always wants to know where his dad is, but every time I tell him, he shakes his head. I think he's learning, a little too early, that he, as the child, knows WAY more than I do! I'm afraid it's only going to get worse from here.
Luckily Spencer will be home in a couple days. This trip has felt like Months, but I think it's partly because so much has been going on since he left. One of the greatest adventures was the MASSIVE temper tantrum Spencer Jr. threw tonight. I don't remember the last time that he cried himself to hysteria. It was a little bit scary, but mostly just funny now. The reason for the tantrum: a messy room and a mean mom that asked him to clean it. (I know! I'm pretty nervy.) Yet another reason that makes me thankful I'm not doing this all on my own all the time. I'd be even crazier than I am, if you can imagine that. I give props to the single mom!!

Aw, NUTS!!!

Why is it that all the crazy stuff happens while Spencer is gone?! It seems that every time he leaves I end up with sick kids and a possible trip to the ER. These past few days have been no exception. Spencer, Jr. has been home sick the last couple days and it turns out that Isaac has an allergy to cashews. I knew he had a nut allergy, because most of my family has been witness to it, but I wasn't sure what nut he was allergic to, until now.
At about 2 yesterday we were driving back from a trip to Target and I bought some cashews because I was near starvation (aka pregnant). I was sharing with Audrey and Isaac. (Audrey got way more, because she's much more vocal about her food needs. At least while we're in the car.) I think Isaac had maybe four or five. So, we got home and I went and cleaned the bathroom. When I came out at about 2:30 (the bathroom was pretty messy!) Isaac's nose and lips were purely white and swollen, his eyebrows were bright red and he had splotchy hives all over the rest of his body.
Well, of course I did't have any Benedryl in the house, so I was trying to get Spencer and Audrey to understand that we needed to hurry and the only thing that finally worked was for me to tell them that Isaac's airway could swell, he wouldn't be able to breathe, and could possibly die. It probably wasn't the right thing to say, but they kicked it into high gear after that.
We got to the Commissary, bought the Benedryl, and Spencer suggested that we stop on a bench outside the door and give him some there. After I'd given him the medicine, which he honestly loved and was asking for more the rest of the night, we were walking back to the car and Spencer said, "I'm glad we made it. It would have been sad if we hadn't. People would ask, 'Where's Isaac?' and we'd have to tell him he died." (I probably freaked him out a little more than I should have.)
We got home and he was getting much better, but at about 5:30 - 2 hours later, while I had dinner in the oven, he turned bright red EVERYWHERE! I called my mom to see what she would do, then called Spencer to get the number to the after hours clinic, and then called the PCM (Primary Care Manager) on call and they sent me to the ER in Sierra Vista.
We got in to see the Triage Nurse and as I was telling her what had happened she said, "Cashews probably arent' the best thing to give him." OH REALLY!?!? Then she said, "You shouldn't give nuts to toddlers because they can choke on them." Good to know, because I wasn't feeling bad enough at that point.
So, after all her advice, they got us back to a room, gave him more Benedryl, a shot of something, and a little while later a steroid. We left the hospital at about 9 with a prescription for a steroid and went to WalGreens to have it filled. We left at 9:20 with no prescription and they told me to be back at 10. Since we hadn't had dinner, we stopped at Carl's Jr. because it was accross the street and ate in the parking lot. I went back to WalGreens at 10 and finally left at 10:20. When I got home, all three kids were asleep, so I packed them all in the house and threw the rest of the cashews away!!

Working Hard

So, Spencer just left about an hour ago for Texas and I'm already hiding in the extra room with my computer. There are dishes to be done, rugs to be vacuumed, floors to be swept, and kids to get dressed and yet, here I sit. I'm justifying it by telling myself that I'm writing in my journal, but I know the truth. Who wants to do the dishes when I could sit in here with the door closed?!
You would think that there would have come a point in Spencer's and my life that we would be used to him leaving and just get on with it, but it doesn't ever get any easier and I miss him a little more every time. But, life gets busier and the time seems to pass more quickly, as well. This next week it's my turn to do preschool and I'm trying to get things ready for our November Enrichment Brunch. I'm not totally crazy yet since it isn't until the 12th, but there is plenty to do to prepare. Thankfully I have help and I'm not running around insane trying to take care of things myself. I am thankful for a calling that keeps me busy and kids that keep me even busier. I'm sure I would have lost it by now if it weren't for them. Sometimes I think they'll make me lose it, but in all honesty, they help me keep it together way more than I realize. I'm thankful for them and for my wonderful husband. He makes so many sacrifces for our family and I'm truly thankful to have him as my man. I love him tons!!

And Now I Know

We were walking Spencer home from school today and he had gone ahead a little bit, so Audrey yelled, "SPENCER, TOO FAR!!" (She is in charge after all.) Spencer stopped to wait and as soon as we caught up to him, he said, "Audrey, you don't have to yell. That's mom's job." Apparently I'm a yeller. It's good to know so that now, I can fulfill that job to my fullest potential.

That Dreaded Moment

I only have a minute, but I wanted to write this down so I can look back and laugh at it someday. (I hope!) Tuesday, I dropped Audrey off at preschool and went grocery shopping with Isaac, which by the way, was awesome. I don't know why I thought it was hard to shop with Spencer when he was a baby. Anyway, when I got out to my car, there was a message on my cell phone.
The man leaving the message explained that he is Spencer's school counselor and immediately I thought Spencer had been hurt badly. As I listened to the rest, though, my heart sank and I was fairly certain I would scream.
Now before I can go further in to this story, I must say that while we were camping last week, Spencer had found a pocket knife while dad Spencer was going through some of our camping gear. It was a small knife and young Spencer asked if he could have it. I said NO, just for the record, but Spencer, the dad, said he could have it when we got to the campsite and they would whittle sticks.
So, now back to my story. The school counselor let me know that Spencer had brought a pocket knife to school, which, in case I didn't know, is a serious thing. So, I called him back, but he wasn't at his desk. He called me back a little later and explained that Spencer had shown the knife to someone on the playground. I was mostly in shock and honestly have no idea what I said. I did ask if Spencer felt badly about it and he told me that he did. And then he told me that he personally wouldn't give his kindergartener a knife. (Oh, really?!) I asked him what he would like me to do and he told me the principal was at an administrators meeting and would take care of it when she got back. This may sound crazy and it could just be pregnant hormones, but I hung up and cried. I think it was partly embarrassment and partly that I felt bad for my Spencer that had no idea it would be a bad idea to take his cool pocket knife to school, that his DAD gave him. :)
The principal called me back at about 12:30 and told me Spencer was being suspended and asked if I could come pick him up from school. She said it was just a half day suspension because she felt he had learned his lesson and would never do it again.
When I picked Spencer up, he just cried. He said his stomach hurt, which I'm sure it did. Mine would hurt, too, if I had to spend a couple hours in the principals office. Anyway, Spencer, the dad, talked to him about it and all is well, but it was an overwhelming exerience and hopefully the last time Spencer gets sent to the principal's office.