Just trying out something new

This Maya, often called "the Maya Beast" or "Maya the Wonder Dog."  Most days we call her "Rotten". Especially days like today when she is underfoot all the time and he cold, wet nose is Ito everything.  Oddly enough, cold, wet dog noses can activate the touch screen on my iPad.
Maybe I should just let her post during my "31days in October."

First Week Back-to-School

The first week started strong and ended week.  It was my fault though. I lost steam and needed way more rest than the boys did.
The boys did great though.  Jacob is enjoying his college classes and dreading the SAT.  (Fairly normal for a senior.) The younger three dove into their coursework and forced me to finish the week.
As a bonus, I have two eggs soaking in vinegar at this very moment.  On Monday,  they will be moved to water and corn syrup.
The weekend has been restful.  Too restful.  I'll be paying the price for all that rest during the week.  So it may be time for me to stop resting a get a little work done.

I'm back and so much has changed

After much frustration about blogger and being able to change my format, I switched to a new blog.....which never really happened.

Then a bloggy miracle occurred and I found that my old zoo home was working just fine.
Oddness.

So I'm back to my old home with tales about the boys in the zoo.

So what has happened.

We moved.  Then we moved again.  The boys have gotten bigger.  ZooDad is getting ready to go do his Army thing away from us.
Jacob earned his Eagle scout.  Matthew made it to Life Scout.  Andrew is 1st Class Scout.  Sam is on his way to Arrow of Light.

We are preparing one son to finish his homeschool career and head off to college.  I'm starting my second highschooler and the baby is on his last year in elementary school.

It's a busy time here in the zoo.

In which it all gets rather real

I forgot my blogger password for awhile. After a few weeks (urm.....months) of periodic frustration, it churned up from some recess in my brain. I've jotted that information on a post-it note for future reference.

So the move is happening. Unfortunately, it's happening a lot quicker than I really wanted. ZD and I have been spending quite a bit of time together on base as we visit the housing office, the finance people, and my new buddies at the transportation office. The moving company has contacted us and they will coming over in 2 weeks for a pre-move evaluation. Then they will be back to pack all of our belongings during the last week of March.

That's like....2 months away. Wow! Only 2 months.

Once the house is all packed up, we'll load the stuff we want to move ourselves into a big U-haul, put the other van on a tow bar, and load up the four kids and Mango kitty for the 26 hour drive to Bliss.
That's 1587 miles people. 4 days of driving.
I can't wait to see how we'll pull this one off. The vet has suggested that we sedate the cat. I'm wondering if my doctor would suggest the same thing for me.
It's sounds like fun.

Speaking of fun, tomorrow, I get to go to a Swallowing study.
I'll have various people, including a speech pathologist, watching me drink radioactive liquids of various viscosity's. All while we watch it go down my esophagus on an x-ray in real time. I get to culminate with a barium "cookie." You know, just to cover all the bases.
I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it because I have a gag reflex that could win Olympic gold and I know exactly where my Asperger's kids got their oral over-sensitive issues.
My ENT has great faith in me and it is quite sweet of him.
I, however, doubt I'll even be able to get down one mouthful of the first drink, much less three others and bonus "cookie" at the end.
Although, he did manage to get that little scope down my nose to my throat without me freaking out entirely....so ENT doc might have better odds than I think.

ZD is back at work. He had his foot surgery and 30 days of convalescent leave to learn how to walk again. The surgery was way more than we expected. He's left with a 6 inch scar down his foot and an implant in his foot. I'm sure glad it wasn't my foot. The results have been good. ZD is still stiff but there's no pain and he might be able to run again soon.
I'm glad he's back at work. 30 days home with nothing to do for work and unable to do much around the house.....it's not fun for anyone. He's bust wrapping up loose ends with his job and getting ready for his class for his new job.

In the homeschool area, math has become hectic for all the boys. Today, I'm covering coplanar lines, solving for unknown variables, 2 digit division with remainders, and "borrowing" in subtraction. Great fun for the math teacher. Not much fun for the math students.

If the people really wanted hope change....they should have joined the Army

There is one thing that all Army families can count on.....change. Plans are temporary and flexibility survival skills. It helps if you are also a planner or if you're not a planning person you need to be oblivious.

It also helps to be slightly optimistic. You hope for the best, plan for the worst, and just accept what happens.

It's not a bad life at all, really.

So my last post is out the window. After convincing his new assignment that he could not possibly get to Texas in late March/early April, ZD worked it out to get to his new digs in early May. That means we have to pack up the zoo at the end of April so we can get settled in.

For ZD, it's good news. He'll transition out of his old job when he takes leave for his surgery. (his foot, not a real big deal) Then he'll do special projects for a couple of weeks and check on his replacement. Before out processing, he'll take a four week class to prep him for the new job and then we'll have about 50 days of leave to prep to pack and get moved.

For me and the boys, the transition is not so clean. We have co-op classes and scouts. Plus we have the interruption to our school year.

It's inconvenient but it's not the end of the world.

We can homeschool in Texas. They have scouts there. There are large support groups and new things to do. And we will get to spend more time with ZD since he won't be working the long hours he did here. (We'll see how long that lasts.) We're looking forward to it even though the timing is not the best.

Change and hope.

West Texas Bound

It is official. We are going to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. The when is a bit sketchy. Late May at the earliest and 15 July at the absolute latest.

I'm thrilled to have official paperwork and an actual date. ZD is looking forward to a new job and new challenges. The boys are looking forward to going some place new and seeing new things.
Me....I'm just glad to not be waiting anymore. I've never cared where or when I just have always wanted to know where and when.

There's lots to do and a very slow economy to do them in. The house has to be prepped for sale or rented out. We have 12 years of junk to pare down. And added to the fun is ZooDad's planned surgery which will have him home but not helpful for 30 days.

Oh well, at least I can plan. I guess I'd better start my Spanish lessons.

The power of "No."

To prepare for the big move, I've had to drop most of my responsibilities.
Those who know me in real life know that I am a "do-er." If something needs to be done.... I do it.
Over the years I have racked up a lot of experiences that I can keep on my resume.

I've been cub scout den leader, advancement coordinator, popcorn kernel, treasurer, cub master and Boy Scout Merit badge counselor. I've planned camp outs, Blue and Gold banquets, sold popcorn, decorated parade floats, and sang more songs than I can count.

I've planned fundraisers and carnivals. I've taught co-op classes and private lessons. I've coordinated field trips, social activities, and achievement testing.
I've baked, crafted, and hauled kids around for events.
I even ran a food drive for several years.

Any need, at any time.... If you asked me to do something, my answer was always "Sure."

With the move, I've had to stop. I've had to say no. "No," does not come easy for me.. I know I can't do it all but the guilt I feel is immense. It just goes against my nature to watch and not help. It feels selfish.

But I am learning the power of "no."

I'm learning that other will step up if the usual people aren't available. I'm learning that events will fail if people aren't that interested in participating....and that's ok. I'm learning that taking personal responsibility away from people does not serve them in the long run.
I'm also learning to be selective in choosing to do things that benefit our family.

ZD said that it was time to "shake the blanket" and give me time to relax. He's a wise man that ZooDad. He respects the power of "no."