Officially on break...

Yesterday I sat down and took both my Humanities final and my Managerial Accounting final. On both Tests I can miss a good amount to still hold my A. I think that I did really good on the Humanities final but the Managerial Accounting final has me a little bit worried. The test was big and I do not do so well on the accounting tests. I can miss up to 85 points on the test but that is little consolation when one of the questions I think I missed was an essay question worth 25 points! Oh well it is done and over with! Even if I bombed both tests with a ZERO I would still pass with a high C low B so I am not going to stress... okay maybe just a little bit.

By taking my finals early I have extended my 2 week break by an entire week, so now I have 3 weeks worth of break and it feels oh so good to be done for a bit. This will be only the 3rd break I have gotten since I started school August of 2008. The school has breaks over 4th of July and over Christmas! This morning I got stuff situated for my financials for school. Got information inputted into the My CAA account and made sure I was enrolled in my classes through the school. Next set of classes, Marketing and Health, Nutrition & Wellness, start on January 4th. The day after we return home from leave.

So last ngiht the Cosmo's gave me a break and gave us just a beautiful light snow. Of course the roads are slicker than snot so schools are starting late, which means no school for Brenden! That would have been great but the school called at 0545 (5:45 AM) to inform me! Thanks for calling but text next time okay!! They had to close down the back way out of our housing area because people were sliding down the hill... Hubby called right after the school to excitedly inform me he slid backwards in MY VAN all the way down the hill! I could have killed him!

I did get my new Nikon P90 on Friday! It is sooo pretty! It is light and compact! I am still working on reading the manual and figuring out all of the gadgets it comes with but all in all what a wonderful camera! With the correct setting it can take such an amazing picture. My only problem is I will have to use my entire break to study the near 200 page manual they sent to get that perfect picture. But you better believe that I will know the entire thing by Christmas!

Well I had better get to work doing something... at least I know it is not HOMEWORK! I have a week to choreograph and pack up the family for the trek over the mountains and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go!

Couples Night Out

We did it!! For the first time since Brenden was born (over 5 years ago) we went out with NO kids with other couples. Of course we have been out together but all of our friends were always our babysitters so we never had a couple to go out with! So Saturday night I picked up a few teenage girls, don't worry I knew them... I pre-ordered Pizza Hut and ran frantically from the house!

We had 2 other couples join us on our night out! We enjoyed Olive Garden and I had been craving the Chicken Scampi so I was in LOVE!!! MMMM Sooo good! Then we scampered across the parking lot to the mall! After walking through the mall and finding so much I wanted to buy and nothing I did we finally settled into the photo book and we all got pictures taken!

Of course being out without children makes you want to do nothing more than act like the biggest goofball in the world! So we had our fun waiting for the movie to start and we decided to burn the rest of our time taking over the Arcade in the theatre. After watching the Hubby's battle on Dance, Dance Revolution... which I might add was the funniest crap I have ever seen... I played one friend in a few games of air hockey! Which I ROCKED at and then another gal and me jumped in a truck and went to kill spiders. I do not know the name of the game but it was FUN! I definitely see us doing that again.

Finally the movie starts, "The Blind Side", the Michael Oher movie starring Sandra Bullock! What an awesome movie, it had some great parts of humor and was based on a true story which made it all the better. It has been a long time since I have seen a movie that makes you want to run out of the theatre and be a better person. If it has the effects on the rest of the audience as it did me I think minority children will be getting adopted much faster! <--- that is a joke people!! Definitely the MUST SEE movie of the year! I cannot wait for it to come out on DVD, it was so good I may buy 2 copies!

Anyways after the movie we returned home, my house was standing my children were asleep and everything was better than I left it! I gladly paid the babysitters and one of the husbands took them home! It was a wonderful night! Couldn't have asked for more and I think I could really see us doing this on a bi-monthly basis or something! OMG someone mark it on the calendar... I may just have a social life outside my children!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Break

The last few days I have felt totally overwhelmed. I have accounting to finish, laundry to finish and put away, and a house to clean. My finals for my classes open tonight at midnight and I have to find time to complete them by Thursday. Not to mention I have to get all the presents, clothes and everything else together before the 21st so we can head home for Christmas. I am not looking forward to the busy week and a half approaching!

I have been tense and cranky with the Hubby and for good measure the kids are bouncing on Mom's last nerve. It is easy to say that the 2 weeks home will be well worth all of the work. I need the break from school, from the house and I need to be surrounded by my family, uplifted by the spirit of the holidays, and drunk for new years!

The family is coming off a very long year and it is overwhelming to think that 2010 will be even busier with more obstacles to face. We know Hubby is on rotation to go back and have a window but do not know really what dates we are looking at! I have 16 months left of school that will seemingly never end, and the fun has really worn off the whole getting my college education. The new house is broken in and the extra space just brings more for me to clean. I am looking at a year with my baby brother deployed. My sister having her 4th baby while her husband is in basic training and all his officer courses, hopefully moving them out here near us this summer and just one thing after another!

Oh but I must share with you the wonderful name they have picked out for their newest addition. My sisters have never been all that kind to their children's' names and have made learning to write it in kindergarten something of a challenge. I am totally in love with Emmalynn though! It instantly makes me think of Claudia Joy's daughter off of Army Wives and think it fits well with the times! I wish I could just name babies for a living! There are so many beautiful names out there and I relish in hearing what my family and friends have chosen!

Saturday we have 2 teens coming over to watch mine and another friends children, 5 rugrats in all and under the age of 5. Hubby and I , along with 2 other couples, are going to go out and eat dinner at the Olive Garden and watch the movie "The Blind Side" for a change of pace. This of course is in place of our weekly game night that we have been hosting! I need some time where I am not worrying about children and where I can relish in holding Hubby's hand. I can laugh and have a wonderful time. It has been a while since we have been able to have couple time. In fact I do not remember when the last time Hubby and I went out kid less, to have a night with other couples. Usually those other couples are our baby sitter and we are theirs so going out together is out of the question.

I know I just need to pull up my big girl panties and deal with the cards life is dealing me right now but it seems like all the major goals are so far away! I need to start concentrating on getting through the days and weeks rather than the months and years again! I need to start finding consistency and organization within my day. Not only will this help my sanity but it will help the kids too. Oh and speaking of children... I have the whiniest, cotton filled ears, mess making, dare devils ever born! I do not know what has gotten into them but the more and more we get on them and try to get them behave the harder and harder they rebel. I am really dreading the teenage years right now!

Well I had better get to doing my math and laundry before I lose track of time! Quick update on the school book drive I am trying to do... we got a donation yesterday for 10 more books. So hopefully we have half of what we are trying to get! I have some other emails out there and am hoping that I hear good news back soon! Keep your fingers crossed!

No Love

Last night, after I came home from Christmas shopping, Hubby and I were catching up on "So You Think You Can Dance" and the little princess decided that she didn't want to sleep! We fought with her and fought with her. We try not to yell or punish them unless they are really not listening but after 2 hours of telling her to go upstairs, going upstairs and telling her to get in bed, tucking her in and telling the boys to quit tattling and go to bed themselves, I finally lost it.

"Alyson Jolene, take your rear end up stairs and go to bed..."

She simply stares back at me like I have lost my mind

"NOWWWW".... in my deep, firm, Mom is PISSED voice.

The outer shell cracks, the shoulders slump, tears well, and lip pouts. In her shakiest, pathetic voice she can muster, "My Mommy doesn't love me" (Sniff Sniff) I mean you couldn't have directed it any better. Hubby busts out laughing, my heart is instantly shattered.

I bring her back down, explain to her that no matter how much of a diva she is that I will always love her.

"Otay Mom, I stay up now??"

"NO", deep, pissed voice again because I just got played. Up the stairs she goes... pitifully exclaiming how my fleeting love has left her.

I know that she is only 2 1/2 and that she doesn't even come close to understanding the meaning of love, but as much as my children drive me nuts I would never even think of threatening them with my love. It is something that is always there, as I am sure all the Mom's understand. Where in the world does a 2 year old come up with that though??

Of course it is funny that she would exclaim that because I am making her go to bed, I just now think back on the times where I was mean to my mother and realize that those words hurt worse than I would ever know. I do know one thing, I will be printing out this blog and sticking it in Baby Book, so when she has children of her own I can whip it out and say, "A daughter is a Mother's revenge!".

Santa's Castle

Today I got to go and visit Santa's Castle, which is pretty much "Toys for Tots" here on post for military families. Anyways I went and what a great program. They had military veterans and spouses there to help you pick. Some great toys, gave you a family game and a bunch of stocking stuffers for the kiddos. I got way more then I could have ever imagined.

Hubby was quite impressed with everything I had and we decided that one of the soldiers in his unit could use some of the presents. The soldier is having a rough holiday and with 2 little girls we wanted to help out. So the board game, all the girl oriented presents, and the coloring books and reading books went to them. I know I can just pick Aly up something small to counter what the boys are getting. It just felt good to pass some of the wonderful and overflowing charity along.

The school here also put us in for "Toys for Tots" off post but with the economic times I decided that it would be best if I let the other families, both military and non military, use their service. My kids will be more than happy with the handful of toys that they are getting. I am not a parent who has to have a stuffed tree. As long as the kids get to see family and enjoy the gift giving we are happy. Most of all Christmas is not about the gifts, its about the chance to see our loved ones and eat good food!

I am just blown away with the level of donation and good will we are getting this year. While I feel like it could be used for soldiers more needy than us I realize that in Justin's unit most of his soldiers are single, married without children, or have older children, so the good will goes to us. It is great seeing people coming to the aide of military families in such a tough time economically. Nothing moved me more than the gentlemen who was helping me out to my car after I got all the presents. He was just there to help, he was happy and you could tell that helping the families was his big gift of the year. I know next year I will definitely be buying presents and giving back to this organization.

If anyone is looking to donate check out your local base and see if you can volunteer your time or donate presents to help such a wonderful program. I know they certainly filled my heart with holiday cheer!

~Update~ The publisher got back to me yesterday about the books and they are sending as many as they can. So we are waiting to see how many are donated there and we have asked the local rotary club. I am pretty happy with the immediate support we are receiving for the kids books!