Seven Quick Takes on The Girls, The Cats, and The Doctor

You guys, I have severely neglected my actual camera lately. 

I blame the heat.

When it is too hot outside, the last thing I want hanging around my neck and adding to "Things That Will Cause Me to Sweat More than My Scottish Heritage Naturally Bestowed Upon Me" is a heavy camera. So, I just forget to bring it places and rely on my cell phone. My cell phone is basically my quick pic camera. 

Anyway, these pictures are from August. I know. I suck. I promise to start carrying around my real camera more.

Back to the original post! It's Friday! 7 Quick Takes link up day with Jennifer Fulwiler over at Conversion Diary! Time for me to share seven random thoughts with you lovely people. Ready?

One.

Thanks for all the love and support from my post about Evan's job situation. He's diligently applying and we're hoping for some concrete things in the near future. But, while we patiently (well...maybe not as patiently as we'd like) wait for the job situation to pan out, I have been going through our house room by room and deciding what isn't going to make it for another move. 

Five people can quickly accumulate a lot of things in 3.5 years. But, it has been a great stress reliever to go through a room, sift through what needs to be kept, and declare it ready to be packed up and moved. It's kind of a shame we're not staying in the military because I feel like I've found my groove for getting a house Moving Ready.

Two.
I've been throwing around the idea of not getting a smart phone the next time it's time to upgrade my phone. Which? probably means I could totally just go in and switch my phone now since non-smart phones (dumb phones?) are basically given away at Verizon. I need to actually sit down and make a pro/con list as to why a smart phone should or should not be purchased. Any thoughts? Any of you gone back to a non-smart phone after having a smart phone?

I just don't need endless access to the internet. I am not strong enough to avoid the siren call of a smart phone. And the thing is, right now I have a Windows phone which has about 1/8 the app choices of androids or Apple phones and I still am a freakin phone addict.

Three.
Speaking of phone addictions, I can not even begin to thank everyone for the kind words about the post I put up yesterday on Mea Cuppa. The facebook comments, emails and texts were so kind. I do so love being able to share my thoughts with everyone and for those of you who read my posts here and then support Kara and I over at Mea Cuppa too, well, I just big puffy heart you all.

Some day I'm going to write a post all about why I feel like blogging is just the bees knees, because I really do think it's been such a positive thing for me and so many others. Betcha can't wait to hear me ramble about that, huh?

Four.
We have a San Antonio To Do list going in our house. We aren't for sure when we'll be moving from here, but the chances are very great we won't be living here anymore. So, we've been trying to think of some things that we either want to make sure we go see or do one more time or go and see some things we haven't gotten around to yet.

Julia has quite a few restaurants she wants to make sure we eat at "for the last time ever!". On her list--McDonald's, Chick-Fil-A and Starbucks. Erm...


Five.
I've told you all this fourteen million times, but for those of you who maybe have some how missed me cry and complain, I would ask you to please read this post and this post and this post so that you truly understand that I am not heartless...but oh my goodness, when these cats die I am DONE DONE DONE having pets that are supposed to poop in my house. Done. All done. I may or may not think upon having a dog, goat, pig, horse, chicken(s), or other such animal merely because said other animals POOP OUTSIDE.

You guys, I have two large male cats. They share one very large litter box because this house is not capable of having more than one litter box unless we decide to put the litter box in one of our bedrooms and NO FREAKING WAY. They're just so stinky. And changing the litter box is lower on my "Chores I Don't Mind Doing" list than vacuuming (and you all know I ding dong hate to vacuum).

The other day I was cleaning out the cat litter and was probably cursing under my breath (not probably, I was) when Julia came in to watch me. "Mom, when these cats die, this is going to be a pet free home, right?". Umm...guess I've voiced my opinions about that enough for it to become second hand knowledge to the six year old.

Six.
Can I take a minute here and just tell you how much I love Dr. Who? We're on season 5 right now, the first season as Matt Smith as The Doctor. I have to tell you, I am a die hard David Tennant fan. I was so unsure about this Matt Smith guy taking over that I posted on facebook for fellow Whovians to hold my hand as we started the new season. Now, I am here to tell you that I still big puffy heart David Tennant's Doctor, but Matt Smith has been delightful. And I super love Amy Pond (which, I know, many of you told me I would!). Elisabeth is such a true Whovian that she has talked us into starting the old series from the very first Doctor after we get caught up with the current reboot series. No need to twist our arms, Evan and I both agreed.

Anyway, we've got some plans for the three of us dressing as Doctor Who things (not Julia and Vivian, they are solid on being Elsa and Anna). I am soooooooo excited about Halloween this year!!!

Seven.
Everyone keeps asking how it's going with just Vivian at home and I have to say that it's going really well. We're all up in the morning well before 7 getting ready for school. Julia is so independent in the mornings. She has her own alarm clock (a Hello Kitty one I found on amazon that plays Christmas music as the alarm...I know, super weird), lays her clothes out the night before, has her lunch ready in the refrigerator so she can seamlessly throw it in her backpack. Her alarm goes off at 6:40am and she is always ready to walk to the bus stop by 7:10. And, the icing on the cake--Julia loves school. Loves it.

Elisabeth has really benefited from having a later bus pick up time and has not had to rush to get out the door on time like she did all through her elementary school years here. She's up at 6:45 and out the door by 7:45 to catch her 7:50 bus. I was like that growing up too. I just needed enough time to wake up and slothily get done what needed to get done. I hated (and still hate) being rushed to wake up.

But, Vivian is doing great. We hang out and either watch Max & Ruby (V) or read blogs while drinking coffee (me) after we've walked Julia to the bus. We go to the Y, the library, run errands. She likes to help me do laundry, dishes, and clean. She's perfectly happy playing by herself with her toys and seems to just be waiting until her Juju comes home. I think she likes getting some solo time where it's quiet and she has me to herself. She's much less aggressive when the two people she loves to antagonize the most aren't home.



Well, thanks for checking in here! I love 7 Quick Takes because it's kind of like an organized catch up time.

Come What May

We found out last Wednesday that Evan is being laid off by the Air Force. We had known for months that there was a big possibility that it could happen. There was a Force Shaping Board that met in July (on Evan's actual birthday to add an extra jab to the kidneys) to decide who would get to stay in and who would be asked to leave from Evan's 2009 graduating class. They were looking at getting rid of 40+ people out of 75.

I could go on and on about how ridiculous this cut is and how much it sucks for us, but honestly, there's only so many times you can bitch and moan about something like this before it turns into useless whining. Do I wish we hadn't been cut? Of course I do. Evan's an exceptional employee and I'm not just saying that because I'm his wife and think he's dreamy (which I do). He's hard working, smart, and loyal. He's well liked by his co-workers and a go-to guy from his higher ups. He has so many great attributes that I could continue telling you about, but I know full well that Evan will get grumpy and tell me I'm exaggerating (I'm not) and that even if those things were all true, it doesn't have seemed to have mattered. He was cut.

So, now we job hunt. Because they didn't tell us the results of that board until last week and Evan's last technical day is December 31, they did not give us very long to find a job, find a new home, move and get settled before they pull the rug out from under us.

Evan's been working like crazy on his resume and looking for job leads. I won't lie, it's panic inducing if we think about it all too much. We've been praying, taking it one day at a time, prioritizing what needs to be done to get his resume out there.

On my end, I have to start preparing for a move to who-knows-where at who-knows-when. It's such a different beast to pack for a move that the military gives you when you know where you're going, what his job will be, and over 6 months to plan and pack. We have none of those factors this time. The military isn't telling us where to go, just that we have to leave. We have no idea where we're moving because we have no idea what Evan's job will be. It's...overwhelming.

This weekend I started going through things in the basement and I sat there for a few minutes and let myself have a pity party. (I figure I'm entitled to a few of those before this is all said and done)

I don't want to move.

I know that sounds so ridiculous after all the moaning and groaning I did the first year or so of having moved here, but so much has happened. We have a home here, a routine. We figured we'd be here until at least 2015 or 2016. I like our parish, the girls' schools, the neighborhood. Yes, I have always known we'd never be here forever, but the way this has all played out has been like a big punch in the stomach--I didn't' see it coming and it hurts like hell. We joined the Air Force because we felt it was the most secure job choice. Irony at it's finest.

What's weird to me in all of this is that the routine continues. No matter how worked up I get about thinking about the unknown, I still have to help the girls pack lunches for school, still have to change diapers, still have to grocery shop, cook dinner, menu plan, do laundry, listen to grievances about what one sister has unjustly done to another sister. Life still goes on. And maybe that's the blessing in all of this--a good dose of reality to the surreal knowledge that our whole lives will be very different very soon.

The girls know as much as we feel they are old enough to handle. So, Vivian knows nothing. Julia knows that we're going to be moving soon. She knows that Evan isn't going to be working for the Air Force anymore and that he's looking for a new job. I think she is used to us talking about moving because we are in the military and that this is just another type of move with them. She was surprised that we didn't know what state we were going to next. Elisabeth knows almost everything. She's aware that Evan was laid off because of budget cuts and that now we're looking for a new job. She knows we could be moving anytime between October and December. However, she is fully confident in Evan finding a job and her complete trust in us is amazing (albeit a heavy cross to bear).

This week, I'm just focusing on going through things. We're do for a purge of stuff, so that's what I'm doing. I'm making piles of Keep, Donate, Trash and I'm slowly going through the things we own. I know it will take much longer than a week, especially since I'm only going through things when there are snippets of free time, but it's something tangible that I can do right now that isn't fretting.

So, please, keep us in your prayers and thoughts. We'll be keeping everyone as updated as we can.

August Reading Log

I read so many good books in August!! I can't wait to share them with you all!

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I had read this book before a few years ago, but decided to reread it after Elisabeth and Evan had read it and wanted to watch the movie. To be honest, it was even more powerful the second time around. I just love Zusak's writing style. He writes in a manner that really compliments my imagination. And, I still cried and cried at the end. I knew it was coming, had seen the movie with Evan and Elisabeth a couple days before I actually completed the book, totally remembered the ending, but still cried. It's just one of my favoritest books ever.

2. Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple

I bought this book because I had heard nothing but good things about it. I expected it to be leg-slapping funny, but it wasn't. Instead it was a charming, humorous book that I just couldn't put down. I LOVED Bernadette. I found Audrey to be annoying but hilarious! A great, fun read!

3. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

My dear friend Tawny was reading this book right before she moved and she had her nose in it so often those last few days I knew I'd need to read it. It was soooooo great!!! I love books that inspire you to go do new and great things. Bryson tells his story of deciding to hike the over 2000+ mile Appalachian Train in an informative but conversational tone. In fact, I was laughing out loud at his stories throughout the entire book. This is one I will be pushing on others and an author I will be seeking out more.

4. Dying of the Light by George R. R. Martin

I checked this out from the library because I wanted to read some of Martin's other works. I'm so enraptured with A Song of Ice and Fire series that I wanted to see if I'd enjoy his other work as much. I do! Just like with A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin created another world with just so much depth and detail that you truly have to wonder how many worlds are in that man's head. This book was all outer space and sci-fi, with a lot of suspense and questioning of humanity's nature. It was a really good book.

5. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

This book was recommended by a bookie blogger I follow--Anne Bogel from Modern Mrs. Darcy (don't follow her? YOU SHOULD!). Oh my goodness, you guys, this book was fascinating!!! A memoir about Cahalan's terrifying spiral into madness, Cahalan talks the reader through everything that happened in an honest, intelligent way. At times mind boggling-ly frightening, her story is so moving that it must be shared. My favorite book of the month by far!!

6. House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III

Wow. This book was so intense. A very dramatic story about one house being fought over by people drowning in their own dark life situations. I did not like Kathy. At all. (Anyone out there read it and want to talk to me about it, cause seriously, I hated Kathy but could see where others might love her.) There were times I sympathized with her, but at the end (part II) I was done with her.Overall, it was just a heavy, heavy book. One I'm glad I read, but won't pick up again (and won't be seeing the movie).

7. Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism by Scott & Kimberly Hahn

The Hahns are strong leaders of the Catholic Church, but being new to Catholicism, I'd heard of them but had never read any of his work. A friend recommended that I start with his and his wife's conversion story. This book was wonderful. Obviously a religious book (obvs), I loved how they took turns telling their view points of important parts of their lives together. Turns out, Scott Hahn has written like a bajillion non-fiction books and let me tell you, I plan on reading them all!

8. Midwives by Chris Bohjalian

This book has been on my shelves for YEARS and I am so grumpy that I have neglected to read it before now. It was a beautiful read. Bohjalian quietly and poetically unfolds this terrible tragedy using the voice of the daughter Connie, who tells us about her mother Sybil--a midwife who may or may not have accidentally killed the mother of a baby she was delivering. It was just so well written. I loved all the characters, the story, the subtle suspense. 

Ok. That's it for August. Please let me know what you've been reading, if you've read any of these (cause you all know I L-O-V-E to talk about what I've read), and what I need to add to my ever growing list!!

The USS Lexington

Well, I promised you a USS Lexington post and here it is!!!

You all are so good for putting up with me.

This was by far Evan's favorite part of the trip. He hates sand, thinks the ocean tastes bad, is not fond of local restaurants that give off a "weird smelly vibe", but you tell him that he can tour an aircraft carrier turned museum and he is like a kid in a candy shop.

I am not even going to pretend like I know enough about the Lexington to give you virtual tour, so I'm just going to provide commentary on the people that Evan drug toured the museum with--these fine folks:

Let's start with this rapscallion:

No, not Keith. Keith was an angel the entire time. I'm talking about Vivian. We knew darn well that this was going to either be an epic fail with her or a mild disaster. I am happy to report it was not even a mild disaster, she did sooooo well! Turns out that all those damn stairs that took you up and down the aircraft carrier, the ability to run full lengths on the top deck, and being given the choice to either hold our hands or let us hold her string to her back pack (she chose the string) worked in her favor. Who'da thunk?

Important information (which Evan talked about at great length, but which I knew I wouldn't remember, so I snapped a picture to read later. I am no dummy, y'all.)

Divergent fangirl reference:

Kyle Cain, this is for you! An Air Force "Big" moment!!!!!

Small child hilarity:

So we climbed forty bajillion stairs to get to the aircraft landing area (technical term are not my thing). Not just normal stairs, though, the scary "too narrow and steep with gapping holes that young children can fall to their doom through" stairs, so I did not walk with the children because stairs and falling are two phobias that I start getting full blown panic attacks over. (Remind me to tell you the catwalk story from high school sometime.)

Anyway, once we'd safely made it up to the top, we realized that it was a gorgeous day and that the wind was a bit strong.

So, it ended up being Julia who puttered out first. We were so worried about Vivian losing her mind, we hadn't thought about Julia's tendency to turn sluggish when she's tired and bored.

Julia thought the viewer was the bees knees.

Me: Ha! Do you think that's because they wanted the woman to know before a man walked in on them birth?
Evan: You know that means women's quarters, right? As in, where they bunked.
Me: Hahahaha. Yeah, I was just joking.
{Always check the spelling of words before attempting to be witty...}


V loved the stairs. Like, was so excited about climbing them. The girl loves her some gross motor activities.

My favorite part of the whole thing was seeing the kitchen area. They had signs and pictures up of what dining and feeding a huge number of sailors was like and I totally found it fascinating!

Creepy mannequin cooks.

I'm putting this sign up in my house right by the table.

True to form, Evan's favorite part was the engine room.

 Vivian also liked the engine room.

He cracks me up.

After a good four hours exploring the Lexington, we came out to see these skies:

Time to head home, says Julia (who is petrified of all storms).

I love this picture because I can totally imagine this scenario taking place 25 years ago with Keith taking pictures of his very excited 6 year old Evan. Isn't it nice that some things don't change?

Seriously, it was such a good trip. I loved spending time on the beach, watching the girls get to experience the ocean.

Julia voluntarily smiled for the first take:

But put her pout face back on for the second:

Beach Bonnetts (kind of like the Beach Boys, but not)

When Evan's parents came to visit last month, we decided to finally commit and make a trip to the beach like we've been talking about for months (years). We booked a room for one night at Corpus Christi, packed up a million things to dig and make sand castles and headed out.

Turns out, the beach is just 2.5 hours away. Yeah...we totally were under the impression it was 4-5 hours away. Hopefully, we'll take advantage of it being so close and maybe take a day trip again soon!

I went ahead and purchased this lovely umbrella for the trip:

I knew we'd need something for the kiddos to hide under when the sun was too much and to keep our things shaded. Turns out, this umbrella was absolutely perfect! Don't you love a great internet, site-unseen, cross your fingers you'll actually love it purchase?!

We actually were early to check in to our hotel, so we drove along to Padre Island and hung out at their beach for the afternoon. It was not crowded at all. And I just have to tell you that the weather couldn't have been nicer!

I'm sure you're shocked that Vivian's Tonka truck was a part of the trip, right?

We haven't been to a beach since our Disney Trip in January 2008 and it was waaay too cold to get in the water, so I can't actually remember the last time that I swam in the ocean. We're always so landlocked. First thing that I quickly remembered that I'd forgotten--salt water does NOT taste good nor does it feel good when you accidentally sniff it up your nose.

Vivian was a bit wary of going into the water. She preferred to dig and command her Papa to bring her pails of water like the tiny dictator that she is.

Look at those clouds!!!!

Proof I actually was there!

Our hotel was on the beach and we were lucky enough to get rooms with a view. I've never had a room with a view before, so I may or may not have been a *tiny bit* excited.

Evan was excited because from our room he could see the USS Lexington. Of course, we had pre-purchased tickets to go and tour the WWII air craft carrier for the next day. (If you all are very good blog readers and are on your best behavior, I will post a blog post just about the USS Lexington.)

After a quick shower, and a bit of some iPadding...

we headed out to dinner. 

Quick Story: So, we all needed to take showers to get all the sand off before dinner. Evan showered first and was all, "Man, there's so much sand!" I peek in and it's like he dumped a small pail of sand into the tub. If you know me at all, you know that I hate sand. Hate. I was all, "Dude, I'm showering next because if I have that much sand in my hair and stuff I'm going to pitch a fit!". So, I jump in the shower next. Now, I need to tell you that, when I take my glasses off, I am blind as a bat. Seriously. Like ridiculously, probably technically legally blind, blind without my glasses.

I notice that I, too, have left sand in the tub and as I'm getting dressed, I holler to Evan that I'm going to try to make the sand go down the drain before we throw the baby in for her bath. I put on my glasses, go to turn on the water, and notice that the sand is looking at me. With an eye. 

Weird. How can the sand look at me? And why does it look shiny and fish shaped...

You guys, it was a fish. Like a minnow sized fish. In the tub. Dead. Dead dead dead.

Of course, I freak out because I very quickly realize that if the fish was not there when Evan showered (Evan with his recently eye-surgeried 20/12 vision, who would have definitely noticed a freaking fish in the tub), that means the fish CAME FROM ME! A FREAKING FRACKING FISH WAS TRAPPED UNDER MY HAT, IN MY HAIR, THAT I BROUGHT FROM THE OCEAN INTO MY HOTEL SHOWER.

I don't need to tell you that Evan found this whole thing hilarious. As did his parents. And my children. Elisabeth very kindly flushed the fish that I accidentally murdered by taking it from the ocean. 

The end.

The clouds at dinner time...

After dinner, we got back in our swimsuits for a bit of nighttime beaching and then some very intense hotel pool swimming where Julia showed us her superbly perfect "canyon ball!" dives.

Another quick story: When we went to the beach after dinner, Ebeth found this super duper awesome shell that was totally not broken. It was one of those spirally shells that you want to hold to your ear and listen to the ocean. It was about the size of the palm of my hand and I congratulated her on her awesome find. I threw it in our pool bag and we headed to the pool. When we were getting ready for bed, I put the shell on the counter above the mini-fridge. 

I was busy plugging in phones and iPads and whatnot when I hear a "thunk". I look over and the ding dong shell had rolled off the counter. I picked it up and brought it the less slippery desk I was sitting at and continued picking up. I handed Evan pajamas to put on Vivian, turned around and saw the shell slowly creeping across the table. This time when I went to pick it up, it's legs scurried back but not fast enough because I totally saw them shrink into the shell.

Yep. Hermit crab. That I toted around in my pool bag for a couple of hours.

Evan very chivalrously took the poor hermit crab and his shell back to the beach (after we took lots of pictures and showed all the girls, of course). 

The end.

We woke up bright and early, ate a delicious ("delicious") McDonald's breakfast, and headed back out to the beach. We spent the rest of the day at the Corpus Christi beach.

Elisabeth was in the water the whole time. She just loved it. All the grown ups took turns going out with her. She must be part mermaid. (This picture taken right before poor Ebeth got stung by a jellyfish. She handled it super well and we convinced her it would make a great story to tell everyone. She then walked around like a badass for the rest of the day.)

Vivian decided to actually let her feet get wet without being held on the second day.

And that she was fully capable of filling up her own buckets with water.

We just had so much fun! It was the younger two's first time seeing the ocean and I'm so glad we live close enough to take them when they're still young enough to see it as a huge adventure.

We spent some time digging around for shells, too. We found mainly really pretty pieces of oyster shells, but there were a few other non-oyster shells, too.

The next time we go to the gulf, I think we're going to head over to Mustang Island in Port Aransas. We hear that that's an even better place to hang out. But, can it beat standing in the entrance to a very tacky gift shop that's also a giant shark mouth?!

  *You all were so good that I am totally going to write another post just about the USS Lexington. How lucky are you?!