Hurricane Irene

So we weathered the Hurricane this past weekend just fine. We didn't even loose power. This was my first experience with hurricanes in North Carolina and I have to say it was different from what I was accustomed to. I grew up in Houston and then went to college in New Orleans so I'm pretty familiar with Hurricanes. Growing up I somehow came to believe that hurricanes that enter the Gulf of Mexico are somehow much more serious than those that sweep up along the Atlantic coast. I don't know if this is an extension of the belief that "everything is better/bigger in Texas" or if there is real science behind this belief (ie. maybe the water in the Gulf of Mexico is warmer leading to a stronger storm or storms also seem to stall in the gulf getting stronger before slamming into the coast while those in the Atlantic Ocean seem to fall apart). My point being that I had the impression that storms off the Atlantic Coast are typically weak. Secondly Houston is a huge market so the weather men would compete to hype the storm up and make it seem more exciting. It's all about the ratings after all. People in Louisiana are just crazy, and hurricanes send them over the edge. Half the population thinks that the mere mention of a hurricane is cause enough for a hurricane party and begin drinking heavily as the storm approaches and the other half of the population thinks that they must hunker down and protect their property at all costs. I never really understood this part, protect your house from what, the water? the wind? what are you going to do exactly, threaten Mother Nature? (I am of course exaggerating, there are a fair number of reasonable, rational, level headed people in both Texas and Louisiana.)

North Carolinians seemed so calm, so rational. There was no oversensationalizing things on the news. They delivered the facts, provided information and instruction. Everyone seemed to be able to go about their business and prepare for the storm at the same time.

In the end the storm weakened significantly before reaching the coast. We were well prepared, pantry stocked, gas in the cars, patio furniture secured, toys moved inside. But nothing happened, it was windy but we got very little rain. Hurricane Irene did significantly less damage than the tornadoes that swept through our area in April. We did enjoy spending the extra time together. So here's our Hurricane Irene recap.

Mike and Peter played Guitar Hero



Olivia and Daddy got in some extra cuddle time



We watched Toy Story at least 3 times



We got a beautiful sunset on Saturday evening!



I know some of our friends to the north didn't fare so well. You're in our thoughts and prayers!

First Day...

Today was Olivia's first day of Kindergarten! I think she loved it. We have a silly little song that I sing to her as I'm getting her dressed for school. I haven't sung it all summer but when she heard me singing it this morning she lit up. She was very happy waiting with Mike and I for her school bus (thanks 82nd Airborne Division for deciding that it's important for military parents to be there for the first day of school, it made our morning extra special).

Olivia got very excited when she saw the school bus. Mike and I were much more nervous than she was! It seemed very peaceful at our house today. Peter really missed Olivia and couldn't wait to see her. I got a little teary but managed to keep things under control. I know Olivia loves school so that makes it much easier for me. Olivia's teacher and her 1:1 both sent home notes saying that Olivia had a good day. Her teacher wrote : "Olivia had a GREAT first day!! She laughed and payed attention very well. I was so impressed". According to the daily log Olivia was a happy and excellent participator in all their activities, expecially Math.

Back to School

Monday night we all attended the Back to School/Open House night at Olivia's new school. Olivia begins Kindergarten this year and in terms of education it's a whole different ballgame. Services in North Carolina are divided into 2 categories...Early Intervention (mainly serving people from birth-to-three years) and the K-12 system. In North Carolina the kids in the 3 and 4 year old category fall into a grey area, they qualify for and receive early intervention services but the administration of these services varies widely based on what geographic area of North Carolina you live in. Olivia turned 5 over the summer so we're officially crossing into the threshold of the K-12 education system and all the federal laws and guidelines that go along with it.

Last year Olivia attended a preschool program for 3 and 4 year olds at the public school in our neighborhood. Students have to have a qualifying condition in order to attend the preschool program and those conditions ranged from physical and cognitive disabilities to communication challenges and economic status.

This year Olivia will be attending a different elementary school in our school district that is better equipped to serve students with special needs. At Olivia's new school they have several classes of children with special needs divided by diagnosis. Olivia will have the same 1:1 aide as she did last year and this is he area of her education that we're most pleased with. We like the teacher but we're not sure that Olivia's class will be the best fit for her. Olivia will be in the ID (Intellectually Disabled) class. There will a total of 6 kids in Olivia's class, 1 teacher, 2 classroom aides, and Olivia's 1:1. We know that we're moving soon so we aren't going to push it.

Olivia enjoyed visiting her classroom. Some of her classmates will be in wheelchairs so the classroom is a large open space. There's not a lot of furniture which is good since Olivia won't be tempted to climb on it, there's plenty of room for her to run around and nice big windows.



There are a ton of new toys for Olivia to discover. I was nervous about how Olivia would do in her new class at her new school but within the first 10 minutes Olivia had gone right over to the play area and was happily entertaining herself with some of the toys and books.



Peter also enjoyed visiting Olivia's classroom. I know that he'll love school when he's finally able to go. He is such a laid back little guy. He really is a very easy kid. He impressed everyone when he announced in his loudest voice that had to pee pee. After that was taken care of he announced that he was ready for a snack, he pulled up a chair and sat down at the table to enjoy his snack while Olivia explored her new classroom and Mike and I were able to chat with the teacher.


Olivia's first day of school is on Thursday. She'll be riding the school bus all by herself for the very first time. Check back later in the week to see how it goes.

A Very Special Person

A very special person in my life is my Grandmother. I love her dearly and words cannot even begin to express how special my relationship is with her. My Grandmother recently celebrated a birthday. Last year we were able do spend her birthday with her and almost all of my extended family at her 90th birthday celebration. This year we weren't able to squeeze a trip in but thanks to another very special person in my life (my cousin Katy) and her blog I almost feel like I was there. I'm so excited that we're going to be moving closer to family and I will be able to see my Grandmother more often.

To see a few pictures from the birthday celebration click on over to my cousin's blog: Me & The Boys

National Airborne Day

Last weekend was National Airborne Day. I know, you're all regretting missing it. We headed downtown to enjoy the festivities. We were running a bit late but saw the guys parachuting into the ceremony as we were driving.

Some of the soldiers from Mike's Battalion were there wit one of their guns. Peter loves to see Daddy's "boom boom guns". These are the same guns they drop from airplanes.









Sure it's all fun and games for Peter to love playing with all the Army gear but when I see his eyes light up at the sight of a big tank or airplane I can actually feel my heart ache a bit. I can deal with my husband being in the military but I don't know how I could ever deal with my baby boy following in Daddy's footsteps.



The parachute riggers are fascinating. These are the guys who stuff the chutes, ensuring that every parachute is packed correctly so it opens correctly. Important job is such an understatement!



My favorite part of the day was hearing the All American Chorus. They are awesome! The kids love them and hearing them always gives me goosebumps. (Sophie they sang your song, "Stand By Me")

Summer Summary

Saying that the summer flew by is a huge understatement. I really cannot believe it's over. We have Open House on Monday and Olivia's first day of school is next week. In some ways I'm very ready for her to begin school again but I've really enjoyed having her home over the summer. I know Peter will miss her! I wasn't expecting them to play together much but they surprised me. It was so much fun to watch them chase each other around. They also love to play in the pretend kitchen together. But their all time favorite activity is jumping on the bed together it doesn't matter whose bed it is....they love to jump! Peter also enjoys hiding and then popping out of his hiding place and yelling "peek-a-boo" to Olivia's endless enjoyment.

We have had some big changes this summer. Olivia started ABA therapy. It's only been a few weeks but it has been really interesting so far. ABA is hard to explain and I'm working on trying to get some videos that will help explain it a little better.

Peter is almost potty trained. I'm really surprised at how easy the whole process was. It basically took about a week. He wears a pull-up during his nap time and at bedtime but he is usually dry when he wakes up from his nap. He completes the potty process completely by himself with the exception of turning on the sink to wash his hands since he can't reach the tap. He has developed a bit of a fear of public toilets, especially the automatic flush toilets. Who can blame him though?

The kids are both seriously tan despite the constant application of sunscreen. They are just blessed to have Mike's great skin color.

Olivia will finally receive her wheelchair in 2-3 weeks. We began the process back in March. They warned me that it could take several months but it still took much longer than I expected. We are blessed to have health insurance but since our health insurance is managed by the world's largest bureaucracy everything takes so much longer. It wasn't even a question of whether or not the wheelchair would be approved for Olivia it was just getting all the right paperwork signed by the right people. It has been a pain in the A**!

Peter is becoming quite independent. He insists that "self do it" at least 18 times a day. He gets dressed all by himself. I love that each morning when I ask how he slept he replies that he slept "in Thomas bed". I love how literal he is. Peter loves to watch the Disney channel. Mike is also teaching him several Spanish words and phrases. It's adorable to hear them talk to each other. He was going to begin a preschool program here in the fall but with our upcoming move we're going to put that on hold for a bit.

I am still looking for a job in New Orleans. I have had several phone interviews and a couple of on-campus interviews. I've had a couple of rejections. At this point I'm hoping that I'll know more by the end of the month. We don't want to make decisions about where to live in New Orleans until we know about my job status will be.

Mike is finishing up his time in command. Lately that's meaning a lot of very early mornings and late nights. When you're in command you're responsible for the well being of a large number of soldiers and their families but you're responsible for an even larger amount of equipment--guns, tanks, Humvees, cannons, computer systems, etc. When commanders change the equipment changes hands and every single item must be accounted for. Like everything else in the Army its such a process. It absolutely astounds me that soldiers can travel thousands of miles and be ready to defend our country in a matter of HOURS but paperwork takes MONTHS.

We decided to fore go a summer vacation in preparation of our move this fall. We're very much looking forward to getting settled and having some time to relax for a bit. I think we'll have to wait for Christmas. It seems crazy to think so far in advance but we're expecting to spend Halloween in New Orleans. October is just around the corner.

Chaos

We are in the midst of complete chaos around here. If you were outside looking in you wouldn't notice anything different in fact very little has changed in our daily lives. It is there, it is looming up ahead. Change. 100 little changes that will be amount to one big giant season of changes.

I mentioned that we will be moving to New Orleans. Here's the only thing we actually KNOW about our move, Mike will be an ROTC instructor at Tulane and he will start there no later than December 1st. Between now and then it feels like there are are a million details to work out, all of them depend on eachother, they're lining up like dominos. As of not it looks like Mike will be finishing up with his current job responsibilities here around September 15th and we're hoping to officially be in New Orleans no later than October 1st.

We know that I want to go back to work when we move to New Orleans. I have had several phone interviews and a couple of on campus interviews. I made a quick trip earlier in the week to New Orleans for the on-campus interviews and I was able to view several rental properties. The interviews went well and I hope to hear something early next week. I am very apprehensive about the job search. I'm well aware it's a very difficult time to find a job so I wanted to be sure and start my search early. I've expressed that I would be willing to move to New Orleans sooner than October 1st if a potential employer needed me to. I don't mind moving without Mike but it would make it more complicated.

We have found a wonderful school for Olivia to attend in New Orleans (more on that later) but her first day of school will be in North Carolina later in the month. Olivia will transition to a new school but she will have the same 1:1 aide that she had last year. We love Olivia's 1:1 and are so happy that she will be able to help Olivia transition to her new school.

Peter was registered to attend a pre-school program here in North Carolina but with everything else going on we've decided to wait on that for a bit. We're looking into daycare/pre-school programs for him in New Orleans. There are plenty of options and I know that Peter will enjoy being able to socialize more with peers.

After touring most of New Orleans over the weekend we have been able to identify which areas of the city we'd be comfortable living in. The housing market in New Orleans is very different from the military communities we're used to living in. I'm sure we'll be able to find something but we're worried about the timing. We still own our home in Colorado and while we do receive some rental income we want to try and coordinate the move so that we are not having to pay rent/mortgage on 3 places at once (Colorado, North Carolina & New Orleans). Again all of this depends on when I might find a job.

We are all feeling the stress caused by so much uncertainty. We hope that more details will fall into place soon!

Do Over

• Olivia's diaper ripped at some point last night and in the 30 minutes that she was awake and playing in her room before I got her she managed to scatter diaper filling all over the carpet, in her bed, everywhere.
• During my run this morning Olivia threw her cup out of the stroller, as I tried to pick it up I stepped on it, fell, and skinned my knee
• When we arrived home from our run Peter went promptly went to the bathroom but then he proceeded to pee two different times on two different couch cushions in a matter of 15 minutes.
• While I was cleaning up the diaper mess in Olivia's room Peter managed to order a new book on Mike's nook. It took Mike and I several hours to figure out how to order new books and Peter managed it in a matter of seconds
• While I was cleaning up Peter's potty accidents Olivia proceeded to have some potty issues of her own but unfortunately this task was even messier since it involved #2.
• It was 11 am before I got everything sorted out and I was supposed to squeeze in a trip to the grocery store but that obviously didn't happen
• While I made lunch the kids proceeded to completely destroy the living room. I've been cleaning, cooking, and doing laundry all day and the house is 10 times messier now than it was when we woke up this morning.

I'm ready for a do over. This does cheer me up a bit....

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/blogs/2011/07/history-of-rap-part-2-with-justin-timberlake/

August

Are you one of those people who loves shopping for school supplies? Does your heart skip a beat when you see brightly colored notebooks and freshly sharpened pencils? Do you love the smell of a new box of crayons? Yeah, me either. :)

I am so not ready for summer to end, I feel like there are a million things I wanted to do this summer. The weather is still on my side, we're still enjoying triple digit temps but the calendar is a different story. I cannot believe it's August already! I have found the perfect solution to my end-of-summer blues. A couple of weeks ago Mike and I were walking through downtown Fayetteville and we popped into one of my favorite little stores here. It's a good old fashioned gift shop with tons of breakable stuff so I rarely go in. Imagine my delight when I saw the beautiful display of Lilly Pulitzer agendas.



It's an August 2011 to December 2012 agenda so it really is a great investment (of that's what I told Mike to convince him I had to have said agenda). And the shop offers a military discount and my military guy is a sucker for that 10% discount.



I have acutally been counting down to August 1st for the last 11 days just so I could use my new agenda!

Couch to 5K--Success!

At the beginning of the summer we got a new jogging stroller and I decided to celebrate its arrival by doing the Couch to 5K program. I was diligent and stuck with the program. Initially it was really tough. It gets hot here in North Carolina so I would get up and get my run in first thing in the morning. Most mornings it was all I could do to get the kids up, dressed and out of the house before the temps topped the 90's. The kids would ride barefoot, I'd pour some dry cereal into their trays but at least we were on our way. The kids really do enjoy their stroller time. There are quite a few bunnyies in our neighborhood and Peter would enjoy pointing them out along the way. Olivia just enjoyed the scenery.

Last week Mike came home from work and announced that he'd signed us up for the Ft. Bragg Family 5K. I was a little worried, I had just finished week 6 of the 9 week program, I was worried I wouldn't be ready. I continued training though and decided to just do my best. When we pulled up to the race I almost changed my mind. I thought there would be a few people there but it was pretty crowded. We set off and I felt comfortable with my training. Initially it was very strange to run with such a large group of people. I was used to it just being me and the kids (and our neighborhood bunnies). I kept my pace though and didn't let the crowd and rush of people throw me off. As we continued I began to feel more and more confident with my pace and my training. The crowd thinned out a bit. People that had sprinted off the start slowed down and started walking but I kept up my steady jog. Mike pushed the kids in the stroller and he was nice enough to run slow enough so that we could run together. I finished! I'm so proud of myself. I was very slow but I did it! I'm not sure I'll ever be one of those people who can't wait to get up in the morning and go for a 6 mile run but I have come to really enjoy my 35 minute jogs in the morning.

At the finish line! Mike kept trying to take pictures of me during the race but I fussed at him every time I saw him try to pull out the camera. That picture at the end was my motivation to keep going!


Mike was incredibly supportive! He pushed the kids up a huge hill (I never would have made it up the hill if I'd been pushing). Mike would stop and refill the kids sippy cups and get them more snacks and then run to catch up with me. If he hadn't signed us up for the race in the first place I'm not sure I ever would have done it. On top of all that he got me these beautiful flowers!