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The Best Stomp Yet

Friday, March 16, 2012

Anyone who has been keeping an eye on this blog for awhile, or knows anything about us at all, knows that we loooove a good puddle stomp.

So of course, after the first big rain here at our new base, the very minute that the droplets paused from their thunderous free fall- we went for it.



Eleanore was as if she had never seen a puddle quite so big, before (...probably because she hadn't)! Jaw hanging wide open while girly shrieks of absolute joy launched upwards from her diaphragm.

If I took a few steps back, it looked a little something like this...



The rains had come down from the cloudy sky and filled the area between plexes full to the brim with buckets and buckets of cold fresh water. This is my favorite part about spring. The rains.



Gosh, can you even imagine what it must be like running through puddles as a child? Well... I guess if you did it, you can, but- as I've mentioned before (maybe a few times), I've never owned a pair of rain boots, or gone on a real puddle stomp (not without my kids present, anyways)- watching the happiness painted all over their faces makes my heart feel like its going to literally explode into a billion pieces of heart shaped confetti. How fun?! How absolutely body rocking, mind blowing, out of this world fun?!

This is the kind of stuff that I really geek out over.
Okay, well- this and anything with cats on it. Or any time traveling re-living your high school years type movies (17 Again, anyone??). Or- chai. I'm a total nerd for chai.

Also: photography, geology (omg do you know how the great lakes formed? SO COOL!!), and the nfg station on pandora every Thursday afternoon while I'm making cookie bars.

Right. But, anyways.



As if I didn't already feel like my soul could die happy and float right on up to heaven after seeing their eyes light up at the mere sight of the leftover rains- they give me stunning images that take my breath away and cause me to cry like a freakin' baby right where I kneel on the side of the wet concrete road. Really kids, holding hands and looking over your shoulder with those happy "I'm about to do the biggest jump you've ever seen in your life, mom!" eyes... thanks kids- please pause while I blow my nose on the sleeve to your Father's hoodie that I stole and am currently wearing with no intentions of ever giving back.



Charlie doesn't have any golashes of his own, so hes been rockin' a pair of purple ladybug covered boots that his sister used to wear.

Did I mention that this water was absolutely freezing?

And thats why what happened next was even more ridiculous...



Because Christopher is just a great big ol' kid, too. They went dancing on reflecting clouds and ripples.

I don't know what he was expecting that initial plunge to feel like when he broke the ice, but- surprise! Its cold!



You know that feeling of being on top of the world? Of being the absolute best at life, and nothing matters other than right now, because you're so happy that there is no other emotion and everything is A-Okay? ...well I saw that in Eleanore, as she walked along the fine line between lake and land, arms outreached and spirit sparkling. I see this from her often. And it reminds me of when I was a child. And it reminds me of what its like to be a child. And its these memories that mold me into the Mother that I am. I want her to feel on top of the world. Even when I don't. I want her to be the absolute best, and know that there is no other emotion other than happy. We spend enough time in tantrums and time outs and dealing with rules and learning and helping and sharing and blah blah blaaaah, that- when I see her lose herself in just being, its the warmest most fulfilling feeling that ever existed, ever.



And in the end, after many and much dancing and playing- the kids sat down on the curb, kicked off their boots, poured out the remains of their adventure, and skipped right on inside for a hot bath and some hot chai.

I have to say- I think this was our best stomp yet.

Until Evelyn is old enough to join in, at least...


Tools And Leaves

Thursday, March 15, 2012


They like to lose themselves within the clutter of red plastic tools and rice cakes. The tree above our house seems to have its seasons mixed up- it drops garbage bag size loads of dried up leaves onto our roof daily, which then floods our back porch, especially on a windy day, which is every day, and forces me to get out into the shaded fresh air to sweep all of it up. That way, the kids can actually see and get to their tool set- where they'll then spend hours and hours playing- so long as I let them- until they think they've built an entire castle, when really they've just destroyed the wooden foam boards by poking at them with spilled sticks from the littering tree that I love/loathe so much- and anyways...

its all pretty great.

No Matter What

Wednesday, March 14, 2012


On any given day, you can usually find Eleanore lining up her toy kitties in the corner of the couch, arranging them just so, so that all of their whiskers touch and they're all holding beanie filled paws. And if shes not doing that, then shes probably got her nose stuffed into the crease of a forty year old copy of Where The Wild Things Are, borrowed from the base library. And if shes not doing that, well then maybe shes playing on the back porch inside of her handmade-by-a-friend tee pee, scooting around in a much-too-small coupe car, or fighting with her brother over the the plastic swirly drill at the tool set.



And even when shes out of her mind angry with me- kicking and throwing punches, grabbing anything in sight and throwing it against the wall- shes still breathtakingly gorgeous to me.

Eleanore, I still love you when you're mad at me. I still love you when I'm mad at you. Nothing will ever prevent our love from loving. Not even the plastic swirly drill at the tool set.

Slats Of Sunshine

Monday, March 12, 2012


We don't go out into the bright sun much these days. We curiously watch the outside through the slats in the blinds- "
boodees" pecking at the leaf covered ground in search of fallen acorns, soldiers walking to and from class on their lunch breaks, our air force wind sock twisting and turning from the hook on our front porch-

There is nothing more stunning than the sun shining down onto my sunshine.

I Love You Beans

Saturday, March 10, 2012

We've never had much of a garden, here in sun soaked Texas. A few Easters ago the big gift giving bunny brought us tin buckets full of potting soil, pink plastic shovels, small purple gloves, and an assortment of vibrantly colored flowers to do what we would with them- but, the intense spring heat dissolved the flower's pretty petals into a sparkly dust before we even had a chance to watch them bloom.

We have lengthy talks of gardens- dreams of farming and harvesting our own fruits and vegetables- in our heads, we live on a cloudy prairie in a house that we built with our own hands, and all we have to do all day long, is spin around in circles in our apple orchard, and bake berry crisps between our handheld chalkboard writing lessons.

Have I mentioned that we dream big?
...Or maybe not quite big enough.



Grammy sent the kids "
I Love You" beans in their special packages for Valentines Day- Little beans scripted with those precious words, that you plant into prepared pots, gently water, and then set into the sun to live and grow. It maybe took a few days, but before we knew it, there were tiny green stems pushing up at the beans soil roof, and knocking on the walls of the plastic green houses that they came with.

The kids really liked growing and nourishing their bean babies. From planting them, to watering them, to checking their progress day to day- this was so much fun.

Far from an organic berry farm, but- its a start.

Hello, Goodfellow!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Would you believe me if I told you that I was sitting here listening to a real live harpist, while subconciously typing this? Because I am.

Other sounds are: the rustle of freshly unfolded garbage bags being pulled from their carts, shaken out, and replacing the old bags. Mama's whispering goodbye to thier Mama's as they doze off to sleep after what I'm sure was a long and exhausting day for both. And the intercom announcing that the cafateria will be closing at 6:00 (good thing my family is bringing me homemade pasta), which I'd bet has a few folks rethinking their dinnertime meal plans- it was bread roll night you know?

But- lets just focus in on and get back to the beautiful orchestra melodies echoing down the hallway. Because- it, is, gorgeous. She just played the theme music from The Notebook. ...thats so good you know I couldn't make it up.

And to really paint a pretty picture for you: I'm snuggled in a tan plaid snuggie (gifted to me by my husband, who clearly knows the way to my heart)
- fingers barely poking out of the extra long furry sleeves, unwashed dreads tangled into a slept upon knot that rests on the very top of my head, peices sticking out in every direction, and- the best part- I haven't changed my clothes in 3 days (Christopher is on the way with a fresh pair of underwear, a toothbrush, and all 3 of my wonderful babies).

Lets make the best of all of this, shall we? Uninterupted sleep, and the chance to upload some sadly neglected photos. In other words: a chance to catch my breath.


***
We've been at Goodfellow AFB for about a month now. And we love it. It suits us. Looking back, the transition from there to here was a lot easier than we had anticipated- but of course, it came along with a few minor
(thankfully not major) bumps in the road, the way that every move does. Saying goodbye to such good friends was probably the hardest part. Walking away from the house that we had lived and loved in for so long- there just aren't words. BUT- now here we are. Writing new chapters and documenting new adventures. I'd say we're adjusting quite well- making big changes and putting whats important right here on the front burner beside the tea kettle- this is our new home (temporarily, at least), and we are giving it our all.



The stars aligned just so, and we were able to move straight into our new home- skipping the second round of hotel living that we had so been dreading. Things scattered across the floor from one wall to the other- the kids set up camp in the living room, while Christopher and I
(and the cat) took the family room.



The actual drive from base to base wasn't so bad- the baby slept while the older two watched a movie (Geez, they are so spoiled). It was just all of the uproar of eating in the car and using the housing office bathroom and chasing the cat around in a grassy field and all the usual twists and turns that take place when you're leaving one place for another. Resting their heads on their pillows was welcomed.

And as soon as our eyes popped open the next morning, it was go-time. We set Charlie and Eleanore up with their portable DVD babysitter (again, I know- I'm not proud of it), and I strapped the baby to my back in the ergo, because well- thats just the only way to get shit done.

So we moved things. All day. For hours, and hours, and hours, and hours. We unloaded until our hands were blistered and our backs were sore.

And then Christopher says something along the lines of "oops, I forgot to weigh the truck while it was full". Oh, my, God. ...now, the only way to get payed for a do it yourself move in the military, is to weigh the truck while its both empty, and full- that way they know how much stuff you moved, and can pay you accordingly. I could have died. He, could have died, had I not put down my weapon and just let it go. I won't even bother telling you how the story unfolded, just use your imagination. Insert choice words, and then some loving forgiveness, and an empty bank account. You win some, you lose some, right? Gotta play with the hand you're dealt, yadda yadda.



After we got the washer and dryer unloaded, the last two things (which happened to be the heaviest), we let the kids go for a romp in the moving truck. This, they had been dying to do all day.

"And finally!", Evelyn must have been thinking, "I can get down and stretch those made to move toddler legs"!



Back and forth, back and forth. Up the walk, down the walk, up the walk down the walk. Stop to pick up an acorn. Back and forth. Walk walk walk, run run fall, up the walk down the walk, lah di dah.



Yep- so that was that. A move well done. Our first PCS- a success.



And then comes the getting settled in. The adjustment period. Figuring out where the best place to put the coats and shoes is (in a big heaping pile by the back door? Okay!), figuring out what toys go where (the kids have their own play room), how to get the couch to fit into the room that we want it in without busting the vintage walls down (that wall is coming down if it has to, dangit!), and figuring out where in the heck to get good drinking water, because this stuff tastes like dirt!



Eleanore is big into chai tea right now. We've started a tea cup collection so that we can drink our tea from a different cup every day. Tea with Daddy is the best.



Evelyn is big into belly buttons, and boobies. Not hers, but everyone elses.



And mirrors. They all love this mirror. We've kept it at ground level just so that they can watch themselves talk/play/dance.



On Valentines Day, Eleanore planted her I Love You bean seed that Grammy sent to her. Hers and Charlie's are both sitting in the window sill now, sprouting up into beautiful ... um... I Love You beans. They're also constantly getting knocked over when the kids play kingdom of whatever with the couch cushions, and when the cat plays "kill the I Love You bean".



Charlie made Daddy a special Valentine while Elie was away at school and Evelyn was napping. He glued all by himself, colored all by himself, and had a crying fit when we tried to trace his hand (which I eventually forced upon him, btw- it was just torture for him). Making things for other people is important. We need to show other people that we care. ..."yets watch dinosyoys", he says in reply. Good talk.



Sometimes we wear pillows as hats.



Sometimes we help Daddy build shelves.



There is almost always jelly on our faces.



And even on our roughest days, when we're not feeling so well, or when we've just gotten over stimulated- we take a deep breath, and we just are.

Big changes, round these parts. Big celebrations, big adventures, and big changes.

Well now- I've got my pictures uploaded, I've got clean teeth and clean underwear (Eleanore made sure to point out "ew Mom, you stink!" before going back home for lunch), and I've got a feast of peanut butter and jelly rice cakes in a bag beside my bed that are calling my name. Hopefully I'll be out of here tomorrow. A quick trip to the ER for some glucose seemed to go a little bit differently than expected. I haven't had a seizure today, for the first day since this attack started. I hope to keep up the trend, and maybe go a day without nurses wiping my snot off of my face for me (its always funny when I look back on it, but sooooo embarrassing in real time). Good vibes. Fingers crossed. You know the drill.

Mom, Dad, Kalii, Grammy, Grauntie, bloggy friends- I hope you like the pictures. Sorry I've been gone for so long. Maybe I'll visit the web more often :)