I've been a little MIA lately so here's the random update....

I just haven't had a lot to post about lately. Our camera is dead so I don't have pictures to share and that's always everybody's favorite. Mike did repair the broken netbook but for some reason we cannot one of the keys to work, I've just found a way to work around it as it's not a commonly used letter, it's the one that comes after "W" and before "Y". I've been pretty busy with FRG stuff lately. The FRG (Family Readiness Group for my non-military friends) is traditionally organized by the commander's wife. The purpose of the FRG is to provide information and support to families within the unit. I've had quite a few meetings and stuff to organize for that so most of my downtime has been spent on FRG stuff instead of blogging.

Peter is doing really well, he's such a good kid! He's so easy to be around and so easy to take care of, I just wish it wasn't going by so fast! He's talking more but he's so funny about when he wants to talk. He never does it when you try to get him to talk but when you least epect (insert that missing letter here) it he'll surprise you. Peter now says "hi" "bye" "mama" "dadda" "nuggets" "juice" "milk" "shoes" "socks" "go" "more". He's at a weird place where he's trying to go from 2 naps a day to just one. Meanwhile Olivia is not taking naps anymore but she does have an hour of quiet time in her room. Olivia is doing better this week. They went down on one of her steroids last week and she seems to be able to concentrate a little better. It's not a huge difference but it is a noticeable improvement and she's been able to focus enough to complete some small tasks lately...things like threading beads on a string, or dropping beads down a straw into a cup, stacking blocks, finishing a puzzle. I'm not saying she does these things all the time but she is able to concentrate for brief periods of time so she can accomplish an activity. I've also noticed her playing more purposefully with her toys and interacting more with Peter. Olivia and Peter love to chase eachother around the house then they will run into one of their bedrooms and slam the door. I've moved all the toys out of our living room, now toys either go in their bedrooms or in the family room. It seems to be working out well, I don't spend time each night organizing the toys in the living room, I just throw them back into their bedrooms and shut the door.

After WEEKS of back and forth we finally decided on a phone plan that we think will work for us. First of all we get very bad cell phone reception at our house so we were paying tons of money for a cell phone plan that wasn't working for us. When Mike took command he also got his "crackberry" so he very rarely uses his old cell phone but wanted to keep the number. Actually that's not true, Mike wanted to get rid of cell phones completely but that is completely unrealistic! We went back and forth and around again and FINALLY decided to go with a pay as you go plan. We transferred our numbers and purchased phones. We added long distance to our home phone plan (and it came with Caller ID and Call Waiting, SUCH a BONUS, we haven't had these since we lived in Colorado, it feels like such a treat). Our cell phone bill was running around $150 a month and we weren't even using all of our minutes. Hopefully this will work better for us, and if it doesn't then there's no contract, we'll just decide on something else. I will say that I think that Best Buy is absolutely the best place to go for cell phones! They were able to provide tons of info without any pressure. They were very knowledgeable and helpful, if you get a best buy warrenty with your phone (which is cheaper than the insurance plan offered by wireless providers) then they will replace your phone with a brand new one instead of a refurbished one that you might get with a wireless provider.

I got all fired up about planting some flowers and a small vegetable garden. It was going to be such a fun, learning activity for all of us but then the doctor vetoed that idea. Dirt is full fungus and bacteria and mold and Olivia shouldn't play in it. I know I could do it without her but somehow the fun is gone and I'm not motivated at all.

The weather has been beautiful here lately but windy. If it's windy out Olivia has to wear her mask and she's just not into that at all so we've been staying indoors a lot.

Today we're blessed with an "off day", no therapies are scheduled, no doctor visits. I'm debating taking the kids to the mall for Easter outfits. I've been thinking a lot about my friends in Washington, who are entering the last stretch of a year long deployment to Afghanistan. It feels so weird that Mike isn't with them, that we live in North Carolina. They still have a few months to go but I've watched them get through this year with such grace, it's given me great perspective to get through this last year with Olivia. We also have friends from Colorado who are just embarking on another year long deployment to Iraq. This is the 3rd or 4th deployment in a row for some of them and I cannot even imagine how draining it is. They leave for a year, return home for a year, leave for a year, return for a year. Yuck! Please keep all of them in your prayers.