WELCOME HOME ROD!!!

HE'S HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got up at 6am to get ready to go down to the pier.

All the kids were so excited and so was I.

Everyone got ready and we left for the pier around 8am.

We got there and had no problem finding parking.

They had sectioned of parking for us and it was really nice.

















They had donuts, coffee, juice, crafts, sign making, and Sea World Animals.





















They handed out flags, pom-poms, and braclets.

We were all ready for the ship to come in.















We saw the tugs coming and everyone got excited.

It wasn't our ship!

They brought in the visiting ships first!!

What a bummer!

We got word that the ship was passing under the bridge.

Then they announced that the ship was 20 minutes out.

Less than 5 minutes later we see the tugs again.











And then we saw our ship!!! YAY!!!















After mooring the ship they let us onto the pier and we found Rod.
















Taniyah waved, waved her flag and blew Rod kisses.

She was so excited to see him!!

After what seemed like forever he came off and we headed home.

And we were finally together as a family!!!

(Click on this picture to see all of the homecoming pictures)

Day 97!!! TOMORROW IS THE DAY!!!!

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We made it.

Tomorrow morning the ship will be pulling in!!!!

I'm excited!!!

Can you tell?!?

Today has been a long day.

Got up at 6:30 to take Ladaria to the school to pick up her registration packet.

Tyreque stayed at a friends house last night so he met us at the school.

They got their stuff and Tyreque was SUPPOSED to go back to his friend's house, eat and come home.

Ladaria and I went back to the house and got Mom so that we could go to Curves.

We went and did our workout and stopped at the grocery store.

I was hoping to make it to the commissary but knew that it wouldn't happen!

Went home and finished up some stuff there and washed the van.

It was still raining some but I knew that I wouldn't have time later to do it.

Finished that and took Ahma and Poppa to the airport.

They are headed back to Florida AGAIN.

We'll see how long they stay this time!!

From the airport I headed over to the pier.

We hung the banners that we made and then took the last one down to the walking bridge and put it up.

I had to climb up on the fence to attach it with zipties!!

The fence was filthy but I got up there and did it.

I wouldn't go over the fence to pull the bottom of the sign down.

It's scary up there above all those cars!!

From the pier I came home and fed kids dinner before heading off to the church.

There's a conference tonight and Ladaria is doing childcare so I took her down there.

While I was down there I redid two of the bulletin boards and they look so much better.

Came back home and Tyreque showed up.

Said he lost track of time and didn't realized that it was Thursday.

Didn't try to make excuses.

Said he should have been home earlier.

Now I'm off to pick up Ladaria and Lauren from the church and attempt to the windows in the dark!!

It FINALLY stopped raining!!

Tomorrow's update will be AFTER Rod gets home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 96!! TWO DAYS LEFT!!

Rod will be home in TWO days.

Well really it's one day and a wake up after today!!

I'm getting REALLY excited!

Today we went and worked out at Curves again.

My muscles are cetainly starting to feel it!

Then I took Mom and Ladaria to the house and headed to Target.

The new tv that I bought needed to be exchanged cause it wasn't working.

I got a better tv at $100 less AND I can take back the bracket that I bought which is another $100!!

What a blessing!!

Then I headed over to the church to get some work done there.

Put all the clean toys into bins and into the rooms.

Cleaned the new toys that I bought so they will will be dry tomorrow when I get there!

From there I headed home and hung up decorations!!

Talked with the neighbor and made dinner.

After dinner I headed off to a meeting at the church which was very informative.

Got some good ideas on ways that the church can improve and grow.

Growth and improvement is always a good thing.

Not always easy but good!!

Now I"m going to sleep so I can wake up to one less day!!

Day 95!! 3 days left!!

Do you see that?

No really do you see it?

Today Ladaria and I went over to the church and cleaned out rooms.

We cleaned out cabinets and shelves and cubbies.

We threw our crumpled paper and moldy cups and rotten grapes.

Curdled bottles and broken crayons and topless markers.

Broken cabinets and empty boxes and broken toys.

Lots and lots of stuff!

Cause I'm not scared to throw stuff away!!

We spent most of the day doing that and then moving the rooms around.

We've rearranged the rooms so that we have the 0-2 and 3-5 year olds in rooms next to each other while we work on the Nursery.

We are going to put in new cabinets and counters.

Then we are going to paint it in a Noah's Ark theme.

It will look good when it's done!

Day 94!! 4 days left!!

They finally came and fixed my floor.

They had to take a large piece out and replace it completly.

Then they had to redo all the seams since the first guys did them wrong.

So we were without the kitchen for a good part of the day again.

Mom, Ladaria and I went to Curves to work out.

Ladaria did two trips around the circle and then stretched.

That's all they would let her do since it was her first time.

We had fun and the lady there worked me harder than the lady on Sat!!

She made sure that I was doing all the machines correctly!

Took Ladaria to practice and stopped at the store to get peat and a few more homecoming decorations.

Only a few more days!!

Day 93!! 5 Days Left!

What an interesting day it was today!

We had Youth Day at church so the youth ran the service.

It was fun and they did a great job.

Came home and the kids cleaned out the van.

AND then they found an opposum in the garbage can.

Brayana tried to pick it up with a stick and it played dead!!

She freaked out and dropped it back into the garbage can.

The trash fell on top of it and was smushing it in there.

Hope came to the rescue and freed the opposum!!

He ran off into the neighbors yard!

Then we made homecoming signs for the house and the driveway.

It's still raining so I will have to put them out to hang a little later and finish decorating.

We are all getting excited!!

Mom made enchiladas for dinner and they were SO good!! YUMMY!!

Poppa fixed one of the bathtubs which had a steady stream of water running out of it.

It was hot water at that so not only were we wasting water we were wasting gas to heat the water.

The people who put the knobs in cemented the washer and stuff into the wall!

Poppa had to chisel it out so that he could remove it and replace it.

We were a little concerned that something might break but I decided that we could go ahead and try to fix it.

HE DID IT!!!!

No more leaking faucet!

Day 92!! 6 Days LEFT!!

Today was a long, busy day!

Started out the day with Coco going back and forth between a closed box and the closet.

I think she was trying to tell me to "Fix the stupid box and put the darn thing in the closet!'

So I did just that.

Put the sides up and a sheet over the top and stuck it in the closet.

She immediately got in and scratched and scooted, and dug and laid, and just tried to do whatever it was she was trying to do!

Then Mom and I went to Curves and worked out.

I'd never been there before and it was fun!

I did the full work out and it didn't hurt to bad - hehe!!

After that we stopped at the thrift store and I found an almost brand new pair of shoes for $2.99!! Also got Jaleel a pair of shoes and Makkiah some rollerblades.

Headed over to the church to help take down the decorations from my classroom.

Not very many people showed up to help which was kind of disappointing but it all got done!

Came home and fed the kids lunch before heading off to make homecoming banners.

We made the banners to hang at the pier and on the walking bridge as you leave the base.

Had fun but got burned.

Here's me painting banners:











I painted the flag, hearts, stars and some of the letters.

I got burned and it was overcast!

Then I headed off to pick up Ladaria from a pool party.

Acquired three other girls that I took to their respective homes.

Off to Walmart to get kitty litter and butter.

Came home and did some work for Children's ministry.

Then I went to check on my Momma.

I'd only seen her out once during the day and wondered if she was back in her box.

She was with THREE brand new babies!!

I left her and went back an hour later and another baby.

So far we have 2 grey and 2 black babies.

Here's a slide show with a few pictures:

Day 91!! ONE WEEK LEFT!!!

The tigers are all on the ship and the ship will be pulling out and heading for home in the morning.

One week and they will be pulling in to home!!!!

I went today and got stuff to decorate for homecoming.

Now I just need for the rain to stop so that I can get the decorating done!

We had our last day of VBS!

VBS was really fun and I think all the kids had a great time.

Even Taniyah got up and danced at the worship rally!!

After the first day things were organized and ran smoothly.

Now on to working on the stuff for Springtime Care (o-5 classes at church).

We will be redoing all the rooms there.

Painting, carpet, new cribs and toys!

It will all look great when we are done.

So I will continue to be busy over the next few weeks.

Have half the schedule completed and it should all run much more smoothly than it has.

Day 90!!! 8 Days Left!!!!!!!!!!

Are we getting excited yet?

YOU BET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I wake up in the morning I will have ONE WEEK LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still so much to get done!!

Today I went and got curriculum from the church.

Had a long talk with Angie and am really excited about the direction that Children's Ministry is going!!

It's going to be great!

Then I went and picked up Ahma and Poppa from the airport! WOOHOO!!

I always enjoy adult company- hehe!!

Taught VBS tonight and was thouroughly entertained by Ted, Ladaria, and Phyllis with their "news broadcast". It was great!

And now I'm just sitting here excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 89! 9 Days Left!!!

Single digits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're getting closer and closer.

So much I still need to get done!

Today I had a another big go around with AT&T BUT I finally got switched over to my new provider and am not going to pay the fee for terminating my contract early.

I have to say that their service really stinks and their customer service is also very poor.

So glad to be with a new provider and I've been able to use my internet whenever I want!

Day 3 of VBS was good.

No cartwheels today though!!

We have a lot of fun though and even Taniyah enjoys going!

She's learning to do some of the motions to the songs and it SO cute!!

Day 88!! 10 days left!!!!

We'll be heading into the single digits soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today Ladaria babysat for our old church so I took the kids to the park and cleaned out the van.

After that I took some pictures of the kids and played around some after I got home.

My first attempt at photoshopping items out of a picture:













Can you name the differences? It was fun to do.

Then I took some pictures and made a photo collage:










Taught Vacation Bible School. Dressed up like Queen Esther and did a cartwheel for the first time in years!! The cartwheel had nothing to do with the story, just entertaining the kids until dinner came!

Day 87! 11 Days Left!!

They days are counting down.

I'm glad it's Monday. Only one more left to get through!!

It was HOT again here today - triple digits! Hot and humid- YUCK!

We shouldn't be without Internet now since we switched over to a cable modem.

And today was the first day of Vacation Bible School!!

I had fun and I think the kids had fun!

I'm teaching the 1st and 2nd graders. They are a lot of fun and a nice change of pace from the little ones.

This week should fly by with VBS here!

Day 86!! 12 DAYS!!

Today wasn't as hot as yesterday.

Only hit mid 90 although it keeps raining in the middle of the night which makes for terrible humidity.

Mom's used to it but around here we usually get dry heat.

I don't like sweating when I'm not even moving!!

I "talked" with Rod from about 9pm to 4am!!!

He was doing his traffic school online so it was nice to be able to "talk" for so long!!

I should have been in bed BUT it was more exciting to talk to him!

Then I had to get up at 7 this morning for church and I was wide awake.

He needs to come home so I can get some decent sleep.

Although I really don't feel tired!

This week is VBS and I'm teaching so it will probably go by quickly.

Mom is coming back on Thursday for at least another week.

I think it depends on what happens with her doctors appt.

Day 85! 13 Days left!!

It has been HOT here.

Beyond HOT.

It was 111 degrees here at 2 pm and 94 degrees at 8pm.

Power outages and heat = no fun!!

We took advantage of the base theater and went to see the movie "Cars"

It was a really cute movie.

Taniyah slept through most of it!

That's the best way to do it!

I'm getting excited as the days count down.

Less than two weeks to go!

Day 84! TWO WEEKS LEFT!!!!

Today was a HOT day.

We spent the morning just being lazy in the heat but then I decided that needed to get it together and do something.

So in the heat I finished painting the bathroom. I had cut in the corners last week but was informed that I needed to do the ceiling first!!

I did the ceiling a few days ago and it has been so muggy that it took a few days to dry completely.

So one more bathroom is painted!! Now to add the border, trim and sink!

After that we went to a potluck.

The kids all started up here:











Then they would jump:





















And make a big splash:












Taniyah just lifeguarded:



















And then they all relaxed!

Day 83! 15 Days Left!

I painted the ceilings in the hallway and the bathroom.

I'm not so sure that I'm impressed with the ceiling paint that I bought.

I guess we'll see how it looks tomorrow.

Had my foster parent meeting tonight and two people showed up.

I'm ready to be done with this group.

Almost at the two week point!!!!!

Tomorrow we will have only two weeks left!!

Day 82! 16 Days left

Today I took Makkiah in for his appointment at the Ear, nose and throat (ENT) clinic.

He's been there many times before to see Dr. B. Dr B knew exactly who he was when he came into the room!! Tells you how many times we've been there.

He looked at Mak's neck and said "Let's schedule him for surgery".

Up to this point Mak has done well in dodging the surgery bullet but not this time.

So he's scheduled to go in and get this mass removed from his neck on August 28th.

Dr B thinks that it just some saliva glands that were misplaced but he will be sending it off to pathology to make sure that it's nothing serious.

Thankfully Rod will be back by then and the kids will all be in school. I have someone already scheduled to watch Taniyah for me that day as well.

The bad thing is that it's the Monday after school starts so Mak will start off missing school for this surgery.

The kid just can't get a break!

On a happier note I took a few pics of Taniyah sleeping and thought that I would share. No one else was asleep when I got the camera out or I would have taken their pics as well!!

Doesn't she look so sweet?

Day 81! 17 Left

Today we went to the zoo with some other Navy wives.

Click picture for slide show

It was a lot of fun even though it was hot.

We stayed for a couple of hours and then had lunch.

When the pregnant Mommies got whoozy from the heat we all headed home. I was a good excuse to leave!!

My internet comes and goes - when it rains, when the wind blows, when it's hot, when someone sneezes, etc. Well I got home from the zoo today, no internet AGAIN. I wanted to upload my pictures but I couldn't SO I call AT&T again. This is the 5th time I've called since Rod left and I don't call everytime my DSL goes down.

The tech tells me that I should be on fiber optic instead of copper. Well I had no internet in Dec for 3 weeks because I was SUPPOSED to be switched to fiber optic. I WASN'T!!! He tells me I have two options 1)Use dial up for 2 weeks and get switched to fiber optic or 2)Wait until the maintenance tech can come out on Sat to see if they can fix it AGAIN BUT there really is nothing to fix as the signal SUCKS! He told me that I'm well beyond the cut off for service and they shouldn't have given it to me to begin with. He also tells me that I should be getting credit on my bill for the intermitent service that I've been getting.

SO I call the billing office where they tell me that I have two options 1)cancel my DSL, wait 2-3 weeks with NO service (this includes dial up). They won't charge me the early termination fee as long as I resubscribe within 30days with a new 12 month contract at TWICE the price that I pay now OR 2) I can suck it up for another month, change providers, and then dispute the charges! Another month of service that SUCKS! and doesn't work half the time.

Does anybody else see a problem with this? He is talking to a woman whose husband has been gone on deplyment for 4 months and the ONLY contact that I have with him is E-MAIL, which I can't access.

I also went to the Homecoming and Reunion brief so now i know the specifics of the ship coming home. It's starting to feel more real!!

Day 80, 80, 80!!!!! 18 left

The countdown has begun with only 18 days left!!

I'm getting really excited!

Today I did more cleaning.

My bathroom and I'm sure there was something else in there.

Took Ladaria to practice and picked her up.

The flooring guy came by finally and they are going to be replacing part of my floor where they cut it.

Ahma and Poppa will be leaving early in the morning and not sure when they will be back next.

Depends on Mom's appts.

Day 79!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was a LONG but very productive day. The kids cleaned their rooms, did all their chores and cleaned the yard. I spent ALL day after getting back from church cleaning my room. I cleaned out the closet, I went through all of Rod's clothes and refolded them, did the same with my clothes. I cleaned off all te shelve, cleaned out from under the bed and vacuumed. It took a LONG time to go through everything that had made it into my room. Funny how everyone else's stuff makes it into MY room! SO it's clean and tomorrow will be a new project!

Day 78 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROD!!

Today is Rod's 30th birthday!!!!!!!!!!!

Mom and I put together a birthday box and shipped it off for him.

We put in some cupcakes, a #30 candle, plates & napkins, balloons, and some decorations.

Then we added a 30 SUCKS sucker and some Old Geezer playing cards as a joke!

Added a t-shirt, a calendar with family pictures including Rod & I, his parents, my parents, the kids, the ACTION team, and a few family vacation photos, a cup with a family picture on it, an MP3 player that I had loaded songs onto for him, and SNACKS.

Out on the boat you don't have much variety in the snacks so I always send snacks in his packages.

He got the box a couple of days ago but was waiting until today to have his cupcakes and such.

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On the homefront it was a busy day.

Got up this morning and cut the pieces to go under the cabinets.

Didn't glue them yet but they are cut to fit.

Then Mom and I headed to Home Depot to get moulding for the doors and baseboards.

I forgot my wallet in the other van so I owe Mom big time!!!

Came home and unloaded and got everyone ready to head off to Erin & Tom's going away party.

They are headed off to Washington soon and we wanted to go and wish them well.

We were there for the rest of the day and the kids swam and just had fun.

I took a few pictures and wanted to share them.

You can click on the picture to go to the slideshow.

Day 77

Started the day off early by going up on the roof and putting up tinting on the windows.

The windows into our kitchen make it HOT!!

SO to remedy that we put up smoke colored, glare cutting tint.

Sure made a big difference on the temperature in the kitchen this afternoon.

After we finished the tint I replaced the border in the kitchen that was coming off.

Hopefully this time it stays up a bit better.

Next on the list - putting up the border in Taniyah's bathroom.

Ladaria found it on sale when we went to Walmart for $5 and it matched perfect.

Looks much nicer in that bathroom.

Then it was on to moving the stuff upstairs over against the wall and covering it up.

It had been moved so that the house could be painted and had never been moved back.

I really need to get up there and go through that stuff.

Then I edged the corners and the edges of the walls in the kitchen bathroom.

Next I need to edge the ceiling in the bathroom and the hallway so that I can make it all one white color.

By that point it was so hot that I had to just hang out for a little while and cool off.

Mom went to her doctors appt and we chilled in the house where it was nice and cool thanks to the A/C.

Day 76 - Picture Day

Ok I'm a little late for her birthday but she is still one so they still qualify!!

Ahma, Ladaria and I took Taniyah to get them done.

Ahma ended up doing the session while Ladaria and I hid out in the front.

I think she did better with Ahma in there even though it was still HARD to get her to smile!

Here are all the pictures that they took.



















And here are all the photos that I photoshopped and I will add to it as I do pictures.

Yes I did buy the CD so I have a legal right to them!

This is my FAVORITE picture out of them all.

If you click on the pics it will take you to the two slideshows.

Day 75 - Spray Park pics

Took the kids to the spray park again today and I remembered my camera.

We went early in the day since it's been getting SO hot here lately.

Got all the kids together and off we headed.

Met a friend there with her kids and it wasn't nearly as crowded as last time.

He is a slide show of the pictures.

Day 74

Went in this morning and got my flat tire fixed.

Well more like I got four new tires so that I don't have to worry about a flat tire again for a while.

So I now have four brand new tires on my van!!

Got my house cleaned and took Ladaria to practice.

Made dinner and then waited for Ahma and Poppa to come in.

They FINALLY made it about 10pm!!

Doesn't seem like I got much accomplished today.

Day 73

So much happened today!

First I sat Makkiah down to do his K workbook that I had recently bought him only to discover that he had finished the WHOLE thing!!

So it's on to a different one!

He just amazes me sometimes!!
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Taniyah has learned to say her name!

You asked her what her name is and she says "tete"

It's SO cute!!
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Went to pick up Ladaria from practice and headed home.

Was on the 94 freeway when my front passenger tire blew out.

Thankfully we have AAA so I called them.

Kristi was nice enough to come take the kids home for me while I waited for AAA.

An hour and 15 minutes later the tow truck got there.

Put the spare on, let the jack down, and pppppppppppppppppppppppffffffffffffffffffffffffffff!!!

The spare had a hole in it and the air came out of it as well!!

So he towed it to Sam's Club and thankfully Kristi came back to stay with me until the driver came so she gave me a ride home.

Will get the tire fixed tomorrow.

Taniyah was the only one that I kept since there wasn't room in Kristi's van for her seat.

So when I got home to feed her dinner she did this:

Day 72!

Today we went to church and stayed for a meeting until around 1pm.

Then Jaleel and I went to Walmart to get a few things and came home.

Not much happened today.

I couldn't quite get motivated to do anything.

Tomorrow starts a new week.

I think I'll start it off with a cup of coffee and a kick in the pants!!

Only 26 days left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahma and Poppa will be back in TWO days.

Boy I have a lot to do before they come back-HEHE!!!!

Day 71

Today was a lazy play with the kids and with pictures day!

It was to hot to really do anything.

I did make it to the commissary so I guess I did accomplish something!

Jaleel went to a friends house and then his friend came over here to stay the night.

I have a bunch of things that I need to do.

Laundry, baseboards, cleaning up, painting the two doors that I took down, putting all the stuff that is in my bedroom back in the kitchen where it goes.

Here is my latest project:

Day 70!!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!

One more milestone down!!

Getting closer by the day!!

As you can see we got our new flooring in and it's finished!!

It looks so nice!

Now I just need to get the baseboards in and I think that I can do it.

We'll be able to move stuff back into the kitchen today and then I'll have my kitchen back.

I'm tired of having the kids eat in the library and it being so far from the kitchen.

Not much else is going on here.

I've felt disabled not being able to use the kitchen or go through the kitchen to get tools that I need so haven't gotten a lot accomplished in the last few days.

Spent time with the kids instead!

Day 69!!

They installed most of the vinyl today and will come back tomorrow morning to finish.

It looks so good!

I went around and washed the walls and took down the border that needs to be replaced.

It's always easier to put up the new when the old is gone.

I also started doing the molding in the hallway.

I bought a few pieces to do the molding near Taniyah's door.

The guy installing the floor said it looked good so I must be doing OK!!

I think I'm going to do the ones in the kitchen and save John's help for another project.

I want to replace the door in Bray & Lad room so I think I'm going to use him to do that.

So much to do and so little time!

Day 68

Today brought the flooring guys who skim coated the kitchen floor.

I hurried and got breakfast stuff so that the sleeping kids could eat when they woke up.

Took the kids to the spray park at Santee Lakes.

We met some friends there and the kids played.

It costs $1 per child for a wristband to play and it was well spent.

We stayed there for 3 hours until Taniyah was ready to take a nap.

Came home and painted some of the trim in Makkiah's room.

Headed to Home Depot and got molding which I am going to teach myself to install!! We'll see how it goes.

Then I decided to play with my Photoshop Elements.

Here is the result:
For some reason Blogger distorts the picture. It looks better in Flickr. I need to rescan the pics to get rid of the drywall dust.

Day 67 Happy 4th of July!!

Today was a LONG day!!

We moved everything off the floor in the kitchen to prepare for tomorrow.

Vaccumed and scraped around the edges of the floor.

Finished 3 loads of laundry.

Headed off to the store to get stuff for the beach.

Came home and packed the cooler for the beach - chicken, chips, apples, jerky, juice, water, gatorade, and crackers. Beach towels, toys, sun shade, swimsuit, extra clothes, sweatshirts, sandals.

Loaded up the van and headed to the beach with great timing.

Loads of people were leaving the beach to go see the fireworks elsewhere.

Good, gave us a front row parking spot!!

The kids ate and played in the water until about 8:15 then got showered and changed just in time for the foreworks to start.

It was awesome - we could see 10 shows - up close!!

There were so many it was hard to see them all!! Two of the sets were in sync.

Fireworks finished at 9:30pm, we packed up and headed off to home.

Or we attempted to head off to home!!

Some teens had been pulled over on the bridge, 2 cars, 3 police cars and backed up traffic.

At 11pm when we finally got past them it was smooth sailing and we got home quickly.

I got to talk to Rod again today also!! That's always a nice bonus.

Day 66

Getting closer to homecoming day!!

We are soon to be at less than one month until home.

YEAH!!!
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This morning I was awoken to the pound pound pound of the hammer on the roof!

The roofer's came back and finished!!!

Got all the kids up and dressed for the fair presentation.

Mailed Rod's birthday box at the post office (shhhh there's some really cool things in there and we don't want to spoil it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Went and picked up my rider and headed off to the fairgrounds.

Had the unfortunate oppurtunity to see some dancing that I don't like watching adults doing much less kids that are my own kids ages - UGH!

They were doing some things that they didn't have no business doing and the parents of the kids were there cheering them on.

When the one teen girl was movin to the point that she had to hold her shirt up and put her arms across her boobs so they didn't fall out of her shirt Marsha and I decided that the Kids Art Tent was looking really good!

We spent the rest of the time in there until our group was ready to go on.

The presentation went well and then we picked up another rider who lives out by us and needed a ride home.

I ended up with two boys staying at friend's houses and one friend staying at our house. So it all worked out well.

I think tomorrow we are going to watch the fire works at the beach. Not sure though

Day 65 - Happy Birthday Brayana!!

Today my baby turns 10!

I remember 10 years ago today when she was born and I became a Mom.

She was a beautiful, tiny little thing but perfect none the less.

She was my saving grace and I can't imagine her not being in my life.

She is turning into a beautiful, smart young lady.
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I got two calls from Rod today.

He called this morning to say hello and wish Brayana a Happy Birthday.

I let him know that a friend of ours was also in town.

He called me later to say that he had hooked up with the friend.

They were hanging out and staying out of trouble.

Glad that he has someone there to hang out with.
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I took the kids to the beach again today.

We got there a little earlier but still later in the day after it had cooled off some.

Jaleel met a boy his age who lives close to us and his Dad is an MA as well.

They had a blast and we exchanged numbers.

Jaleel was excited that there was someone close who is his age and a boy.

He felt like he had hit the jackpot!!!!
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I spoke with Makkiah's prek teacher for a while today and learned some interesting things.

One of his teachers (not the one that I was talking to) seemed to have a vindeta against Mak.

She wanted Mak kicked out of school and was upset that it didn't happen.

His nice teacher also went to bat many times when he was blamed for something that he didn't do. He generally got the blame because according to the other teacher "Makkiah is always the one who does it"

I'm just glad that he will be going to K next year although he LOVED his other teacher. It helped that she is a military wife who has a young child and a hubby on deployment and understand what Mak is going through with Dad being gone.

Day 64

I have pictures that I will post tomorrow but I haven't uploaded them yet.

Today I took Brayana and her Shelby, Ladaria and Taniyah to lunch for Brayana's birthday. Brayana's other friends couldn't make it so she invited Ladaria. Taniyah was a tag along cause she saw us leaving.

Brayana chose the Souplantation and we had a good time. Shelby is definetly much better behaved than Destini's friend. SHe was polite, well mannered and quiet.

After lunch we went on base and saw "Over the Hedge". It was a cute movie. Taniyah slept through the majority of it.

Came home and Rod called to say hello. It's always nice talking to him. It's getting closer to homecoming time!!!

Around 6pm it finally cooled off enough and we went out to the beach on base. The kids have been wanting to go but it's been to hot to sit out there. They played in the water and we ate chicken.

Left there around 9pm and it was still light enough out to see but I needed to get everyone home to shower and bed. There were still quite a few people there but it wasn't crowded at all.

Now everyone is in bed and the house is quiet except for the break in silence from Mak's cough. I don't know if I'm going to make it to church in the morning as I'm trying to keep him out of the heat. That seems to make him cough worse. I'm hoping that this cough goes away without anything else happening. Dec and June have been notorious months for him. We are out of June now so he can't change the months on me now!

Day 63

The day started out at 5:30 this morning.

I had to have Makkiah to the doctor by 7:15 this morning.

He still weighs 39 pounds and we are going to leave him off his ADHD med until school starts to see if he picks up any weight.

Dr wants to see him back before school to check his weight.

He is also going to send Mak to the peds ENT for the thing on his neck. Dr thinks it might be a tract in his neck like some people have on their tailbone. He thinks that the tract might be getting infected and that's what is causing the pimple looking thing on Mak's neck.

After the dr we headed off to find curtains. We finally found some white curtains to put in Mak's room that go really well with his walls.

Then we stopped at the flooring place and I accomplished more in one day than I did with the previous place. Needless to say I'm going with the new place and I should have the new floor in the kitchen by next Friday!!

Came home and the roofers were here. They had loaded all the materials yesterday and got started on it this afternoon. They will be back either today or Monday to finish!!

Rod also called me as he is within cell phone range. I was pleasantly suprised to see Rod cell on my phone. Unfortuanetly I was talking to the flooring guy and couldn't stay on the phone long. I felt so bad but I needed to get home since I knew that the roofers were there since Ladaria had called right before Rod to tell me that they were early.

So I came home- hung Mak's curtains, peeled paint off the door so that I can repaint it, hung 4 shelves and put up Taniyah's fan. Her room stays much cooler with the fan and the light makes it seem much brighter than the other light.

So another productive day!!

Day 62

This morning I got up and took Ahma and Poppa to the airport as they head off to Oregon for some visiting up there.

Came home and got to work.

The wall in Makkiah's room used to look like this:

After spending several hours here and there scraping off the layers of paint, retexturing and priming I finally got to start painting!!

So at the end of the day this is what his room looked like:

That was my accomplishment for the day!!

Day 61

Today I took Taniyah to get pictures done.

It didn't work out as well as I had planned and I think I give up on taking my kids to get their pictures done!

I made a new appt for when Mom could go with me and hope then we can at least get some none crying faces!

Then I headed to my MOPS meeting.

It was good to see all the ladies from MOPS who I haven't seen in several weeks.

Then I headed to lunch with some Navy wives.

It was fun to meet some new people.

After lunch I headed home to prime the wall in Makkiah's room.

Mom was busy while I was gone and got curtains hung in several rooms and laundry done.

The house is definetly coming together!

Day 60!!!!

I've made it 60 days without my hubby home.

I'm still in one piece and so are all of my children!

So much has changed in the last 60 days and yet so much has stayed the same.

Things in the house are coming along well, changing and improving.

We are two children less than we were 2 months ago.

The kids are out of school, Makkiah is looking forward to starting kindergarten and Ladaria is looking forward to high school.
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Today I finished texturing the wall in Makkiah's room.

It's now ready for primer and then to paint.

I have the border that I'm going to use picked out for in there and now to get it .
done.

By the time I got that done and the house picked up it was time to take Tyreque out to lunch for his birthday.

He invited his friend Spence to go with us to Red Lobster.

It was so cute watching them learn how to eat crab legs and lobster tail!

We had a great time and the two teenage boys were behaved so much better than the three girls I took out for Destini's birthday.
______________________________________-
I also started a new discipline chart system.

We used to do one a few years ago until we ran into some problems with a social worker.

It really worked well for us and now that I think about it I'm disappointed that we stopped using it.

We allowed the fear from this particular person to rule our home and it really had a huge impact on our children.

Yesterday I made up a temporary chart and this morning the new chart was hanging in the hallway ready to go.

I think that today was a much better, calmer day than we've had in a long time.

People thought about how they spoke to others so they wouldn't move down on the chart and lose priveleges.

I still have a few things to figure out with it but it is working already.

Makkiah had an EXCELLENT day and stayed at the TOP of the chart ALL day!!

Yesterday was a little rough with him but I think he's realizing that he's not in charge and it has really helped him out.

I'll try to keep up with our progress with the new system on here so people know how we are doing.

Have a great day!!!!!!!!

Day 59!!-Happy 16th Birthday Tyreque!!

Today Tyreque turns 16!!

He's growing up to fast and is doing great.

He's in that limbo area between not quite an adult and not quite a kid anymore.

He's a good kid though.

He spends the majority of his time at home.

He's not into drugs, girls or fast cars.

He doesn't do all the things that so many teens get in trouble for these days.

He does have his good days and his bad days but I'm glad that he chooses to have them here - at home - where I know that he is safe.

He was 8 years old when we first met him so we've now had him half of his life.

Hopefully we've had a good impact on him and helped him to travel a road that he otherwise wouldn't have chosen.

Tomorrow I am taking him out to lunch.

He wants to go to Red Lobster!!

Should be fun!

________________________________________
As the days go up the countdown gets lower!!

It's been 2 full months since Rod left.

2 busy months!

I've gotten a lot accomplished in the last two months and I can't wait for Rod to get home to see all of my projects!!

______________________________________________________
Got a call today from Rod's mom.

She just wanted to check on us and see how Rod has been doing.

She's doing well but didn't talk for long as it was late there and she was headed to bed.

That's what happens with a 3 hour time difference!

Day 58 - New flowerbed

Today was HOT!

The wind was even hot.

During the hot part if the day I textured Mak's wall.

I think it's going to look much better when it's done.

I've had the paint for his room but needed to redo this wall before I can paint it so that's almost done.

After it cooled of some I went out and finished the new flowerbed.

It covers the space between the yard and the nieghbors fence.

We could only get 10 blocks at a time so it too several days to get all the bricks that we needed for it.

I got it finished and filled with dirt.

Planted a hibiscus and transferred some rosebushes and some other flower that was growing in the yard into the bed.

I have to say that it looks much better than the gap that was there.

The front yard is almost finished.

Day 57 - Busy days

I was brave today.

Not only did I crawl to the other side of the house in the space above the ceiling.

I crawled under the house!

It's the first time I've been under there and it's not a place that I want to spend to much time.

I know have all the outlets in my house working AND the hall lights all work.

Went to HD and got stuff to retexture Mak's wall, outlet covers and some new plants.

I got another portion of the flowerbed done.

10 more locks and it will be finished.

I also got to talk with Rod this morning.

That is always a nice treat!!

Day 56-Lights (well some anyway!)

Today I got to work in the crawl space above the house.

We had some lights that weren't working so I crawled up there, along with my trusty helper Brayana and Mom down below to flip switches.

After a trip to the store to get a flashlight and a junction box I was able to get the lights in Makkiah's room to work.

I may have also figured out why the freezer is shocking people.

There is a wire coming from the outlet into the attic that just ends.

It's not capped or anything.

By the time I got that done it was to hot to do anything else up there so I had to come down.

More on that tomorrow.

Then I went in to scrape more paint off the wall in Mak's room.

I think I have all the flaking stuff off and will be able to retexture that wall soon.

Got it all cleaned up, showered since I was dusty and then I relaxed!

Here are some pictures that Rod sent me from WOG day on the ship.

WOG day is the day that the ship crosses over the equator.

All the people who haven't yet crossed the equator are called "pollywogs" and those who have crossed are called "shellbacks".

The day goes back to the story of King Neptune.

It's all a day of fun (at least the shellbacks think so!)

At the end of the day they throw their clothes overboard and have swimcall.

Day 55- Projects and patience!!

I actually got something accomplished today!!

First I got a phone call from PCO saying that I had been referred to the PQR board due to the number of children in my home and Rod being gone.

I know that I've heard those words before and I'm SO tired of that social worker!

I will NEVER take any of her kids again!!

How can someone come to my home one time and determine that I'm overwhelmed and have to many kids?!

She has an obvious prejudice and I hope that she is dealt with accordingly.

So now I'm on hold until at least July 5th when the board meets.

They will decide if they want to meet with me or not.

After that I started scraping the paint off of Mak's wall.

Somehow that turned into pulling the tile out of the hallway.

I wasn't sure what I was going to find underneath but was pleasantly suprised when I found hardwood floors.

They need to be redone but they were a nice thing to find under there.

Taniyah wouldn't walk on them at first, but quickly decided that they were ok!

Then I called the criminal psychic.

She gave us some information, some that we hadn't thought of in a while but was pretty accurate, other info that was new.

I'm not going to put that info on here as I gave the info to the detective and don't want to mess anything up.

Hoping to get more work done this weekend but it's supposed to be in the triple digits - YIKES!!

Day 54-VTC Day!!

WOW!!

I can't believe it's been 54 full days that Rod has been gone.

I can't wait for him to get back home!!

Today we got to go do another VTC.

It was so good to see him.

All the kids were so excited to see him, they all were trying to talk at once, getting mad that they coudl do it and they hadn't had a turn yet and wanted to tell Dad their whole life story since he's left.

It just doesn't work when you have 7 people and 30 minutes.

I'm so glad that I got to do one by myself (well I had the youngest two but they were quickly drawn to other things in the room!).

Then I headed back to the dentist.

Tyreque had his cleaning with no cavities.

Bray and Mak got thier fillings done so I'm finished again for 6 months!

We raked all the straw out of the yard so it's strawless now.

Don't know that I can say much more for it!!

We have about half of the new flowerbed done.

It will nicely cover the gap in the fence between our yard and the neighbors.

Should be able to get it done within the next few days.

Day 53- Dentist

Well, it was dentist day today.

I left baby Vinnie and Taniyah home with Ahma and Poppa.

Tyreque was in school so I took the other 5 kids to the dentist.

3 of them had great check ups.

2 of them had a total of 5 cavities (although small ones) and will be going back tomorrow when Tyreque has his appt.

Then I took the kids shopping at Walmart so they could spend mre of their gift cards from Grandma Bernice.

Three of the kids still have money on their cards and the other four have spent all their money.

Can't believe how long it takes them to shop for nothing.

Up and down the aisles, back and forth, up and down and they end up with, well, nothing really!

A pair of sunglasses that cosst 88cents, an ice cream, and some army men. Ladaria bought a CD player with some of her money but still has most of her card left!

By the time they get all of their cards spent it will be time for Christmas again!!

Day 52-Happy Monday

I'm babysitting for Linda, who is babysitting for Cindy.

So baby Vinnie has been here since last night.

I forgot what it was like to have a baby in the house!!

Put him to bed and putted around on the computer.

Laid down in bed and he decided that he needed a bottle.

So no sooner had I laid down that I had to get back up!!

Oh well, still beats the attitide, back talking and stealing that comes with some of the older kids.

He is a good baby when he's not itching.

He has really bad excema so I've been putting Makkiah's lotion on him.

It seems to be helping!

We have decided to put a new flowerbed in the yard so will be doing that project over the next few days.

Will post pictures of it when we are done.

In the meantime here is a picture of Taniyah!

Day 51 Happy Fathers Day!!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my hubby who is the best Dad in the whole world to his kids!!

I sent Rod a package for Father's Day and I gave Poppa a new shirt that says "Navy Dad" on it.

Since hubby wasn't here I really didn't have a whole lot to do.

We went to church and then lounged around the house.

It was a lazy sort of day.

Day 50!! Happy Birthday Destini!!!

Today Destini turns 9 years old!!

Instead of doing a big party this year I am taking the birthday child and 2 friends out to lunch.

Destini invited two girls from her class to go to the Home Town Buffet.

They were also invited to go see the movie The Wild with us.

Three girls who think they are teenagers but are only 9 was more than interesting!

Destini opened presents and they played for a little while before heading off to lunch.

At lunch they ate lots of ice cream and french fries.

Then we came home and waited for the movie.

After having them unlock the door and telling them that they needed to dance with ALL of their clothes on I decided that we should head for the movies.

The two girls decided that they were going to go put on makeup in the bathroom instead of watching the movie.

I had to go herd them back inside and let them know that I would take them home before the movie was over.

They decided that they would like to watch the movie instead.

After the movie they wanted to know if they could stay longer and play.

My response "Sure, until your Mom's come to pick you up at the scheduled time!!"

I was ready for them to go home!

I sure hope my kids don't act like that when they go somewhere.

Day 48 - Ladaria's promotion

Today was Ladaria's promotion ceremony.

It was really hot and we were far away.

I didn't get any really great pictures but I did get some decent pictures.

There were a LOT of people there and lots of teenagers.

So she is officially a high schooler now. She has left her middle school days behind her and she is moving up!!

Then I came home and slept!

I was so tired.

I haven't slept well since Rod's been gone so it was nice to just get some good sleep!

Day 47- Makkiah's promotion

Today was Makkiah's promotion from Headstart.

They had a nice ceremony at the park for all the kids.

Here is him with his "diploma" .

He goes on Monday for his Kindergarten testing and I'm confident that he will do great.

Mom discovered the teacher that Makkiah has a "personality confilct" with and it didn't take her long to figure out why that is.

Makkiah's teachers thought that Tyreque was my brother and couldn't believe that he is only 15.

They thought that he was several years older.

I put him to work at the end and he helped clean up and pack up tables.

While we were at the graduation Poppa went to have a meeting with the manager at Home Depot about our lawn mower.

Rod bought a lawn mower in March but I don't have a clue where he put the receipt.

The second time he used it he thought he had bent the blade but he didn't get a chance to return it before leaving.

So Poppa tried to use it and discovered that the motor mount was broken.

They wanted more to fix it than we payed for it and it wasn't our fault that it was broken.

I don't think the little bit of grass that we had at the time would do that to the lawn mower!

Poppa had his meeting and we ended up with a new lawn mower.

He didn't want another of the same one so he upgraded for us!!

Now we have a self propelled bagging mower. THANKS POPPA!!

Then Mom, Poppa and I went to a support group meeting.

We were the only ones there.

I think I'm going to be done with it.

It's pointless to go when noone shows up.

If they hadn't of come with me there wouldn't have been anyone there.

(Pictures from Makkiah's graduation can be seen by clicking on his picture)

Day 46 - Fair Day!!

Today we took the kids to the fair.

The ACTION team was presenting so we got into the fair without cost.

Each of the kids had an adult chaperone, Destini got a free ticket for reading 10 books, Taniyah and Makkiah got in free. So no charge to get in.

Poppa bought all the kids, Ahma and me bracelets -THANK YOU POPPA!!- so that the kids could ride all the rides.

The presentation went well and we rode LOTS of rides.

Even Mom got in on the action and rode some rides.

Poppa told the guy selling the tickets that he was "too damn old to ride those rides!!"

Poppa pushed the stroller, watched Tete and had refill the water bottle duty.

Tyreque and Ladaria went with their friends to ride and we headed to the Kiddy Zone.

I think we rode just about every ride that they had there.

Then we went over to the Fun Zone and rode some of the bigger rides.

The only rides that Makkiah didn't ride are the ones that he was to short to ride.

We ended the day with a ride on the water log ride and headed home.

By the time we got home all the kids were ready to head to bed.

If you click on the picture below it will take you to slideshow of pictures from the fair.

Day 45 - Floors

Tyreque pulled out all the tile from the kitchen.

It was put in about 2 years ago but it was defective.

It cracked and we are starting to have pieces missing in the tile so it really needed to be redone.

The neighbor has a roll-off bin and said that we could put the tile in there.

That means that we get to dispose of it for free.

Mom and I went to Carpeteria and picked out vinyl.

Rod and I had discussed putting in vinyl that looked like wood floor.

The guy at the store suggested against it since we have so much wood already in the kitchen.

He said that it would clash so instead I picked out a vinyl that looks like tile.

It's a similar color to what we pulled out but it won't crack and break.

It should be easier to keep clean as well.

There was mildew under the tile where it was cracked and had gotten wet.

Luckily there was a moisture barried between the subfloor and the tile so the subfloor is fine.

They are coming on Friday to measure for it and it should be installed next week.

YEAH!!

Day 44 - Cleaning

My Mom decided that she was going to do some cleaning today. She got out the vacuum and the cleaners and she cleaned. She also assigned me with chores to do!! BUT I had the camera!! We cleaned out the fridge, under the fridge, the trash compactor, the base boards, the drawers. Things today are cleaner than they were yesterday.

After our cleaning spree we headed off to Wallie world. We took Taniyah and Makkiah with us. As we were looking in the cologne section Makkiah points and says "I need that". My Mom looks at what his attention has been drawn to. It was Jovan Sex Appeal for Men!! We laughed along with everyone else who was around us. It was pretty funny!!

Day 43 - Hair Day

Today after church we relaxed Ladaria and Brayana's hair.

Mom and I tagged teamed it and got it done.

We started out with Ladaria, who has long, thick hair.

It took both of us putting the stuff in to get through it in the 8 minutes that was allowed.

Afterwards we did Brayana's hair.

She has less hair but also less time to get all the stuff in her hair.

The other thing with her hair is that the total time that you leave the stuff on starts when you start.

I think that thier hair turned out well. They both have pretty straight hair now!

Day 42

Went to VBS training this morning for a few hours.

It's that time of year again.

I'm teaching the 1st and 2nd grade class and Ted is helping me.

We'll have lots of fun!!!

Then I took Destini to the store to buy a birthday present for her friend.

Dropped her off at the birthday party and then came back home.

She went to a chocolate obsession birthday party.

Lots of girls, lots of chocolate!!!

Went and picked her up from the party and fed the kids dinner before heading off to the movies.

I took the kids to see "stick it".

It was a good movie and Taniyah did well for most of the movie.

Towards the end I stood in the back with her.

They had an area boxed in, I'm not sure what for but it worked well for a playpen!!

The kids really enjoyed the movie.

Day 41 - Awards

Today was the monthly awards assembly at the elementary school.




Brayana got an award for
perseverance. She didn't think that she was going to get an award this year. She has done really well but had not recieved and award and was upset. She was really happy that she got one today.











Destini also got an award for
perseverance. She also got a thank you certificate for working in the cafeteria during the year. She only worked in there so that she could get free snacks!! But hey she helped, without whining!!








After the awards assembly I went and got my haircut. I love it. It's right above my shoulders and layered. Really brings out the natural wave in my hair and is much lighter and easier to take care of.

Poppa cut the plywood to go into the new access hole in the ceiling. Now I just need to paint and it will look like it always belonged there!

Mom took her nighttime pills in the morning instead of her daytime ones so she dozed most of the day - OOPS!!!

Day 40!!!

Today was a busy and productive day.

Mom and I headed off to Walmart to do some shopping. Fringe, pillow stuffing, a new pair of sandals and moth balls!

Then we stopped at the farmers market to get a few things and headed off to pick up Makkiah from school.

After coming home Mom and I reupholstered the bench that I bought last week at the thrift store. I also made some pillows to go on it with the extra material.

Poppa bought some molding and is making a new access hole in the ceiling where our hole was. It's easier to make an attic access that to try to patch it.

I will caulk it and then I will be able to paint the ceiling white. All one color of white instead of the 5 or so different colors and finished of white.

Mom also fixed the clock that Rod bought when he was on his last deployment. So now it works again - YEAH!

Then Mom and I made dinner and fed the kids.

Tomorrow will be another busy day.

Day 39

Today was a pretty laid back kind of day.

Took Makkiah to school.

Found orange cat a home! I took him to Makkiah's school and someone there wanted him. I'm so glad that I didn't have to take him to the shelter. I don't know if I could have left that poor, little innocent kitten at the place. It's a great place but I still don't think I could have left him there.

Then Mom and I took apart the old crib and put the new crib together. It looks really nice and the side rail goes up and stays up!! Taniyah likes her new bed!!

Made dinner and went to a meeting. Not much happening here today!!!

I'll leave you with a pitcure of Ladaria and Taniyah!!

Day 38 - VTC!!!!!!!

I got to "see" Rod today!!!!!!!

We did a video teleconference and it was awesome.

Taniyah and Makkiah came with me since the other kids were in school.

I did get to video tape it so that the other kids could watch it.

We may get to do another one since so few people have signed up!

It was so great to be able to see him AND talk to him at the same time.

Taniyah was so cute.

In the beginning she just STARED at Rod.

She could figure out WHY it was that he was on the tv talking to her.

Then she decided that she would wave at him and say hi.

By the end of the 15 minutes she was clowing him kisses!!

We brought the tape home and she was waving and blowing kisses to him on the tape.

The kids all loved being able to see Dad on the tv even though they didn't get to talk to him.

Maybe in a couple of weeks.

Day 37- Happy Birthday to Me!!!!!!

Today I turned 29!

For a few weeks I'm the same age as Rod.

Then he will turn 30!

Yes I will be 30 next year but he is 30 first - HEHE!!!

My Mom gave me a coffee cup with the kids picture on it.

I love it!!

Then I got cake and ice cream - Thank you Poppa for going to the store to get me a cake!!

After cake and ice cream Mom gave me a beautiful bracelet.

It has the words - loving, daughter, forever on beads with some white and pink beads.

It really is beautiful!!

I also got a call from Rod and he told me Happy Birthday!

Tomorrow is my VTC with him!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited!!

Day 36

Went to church this morning and worked in the nursery.

Still no change in the status of the Children's ministry.

Amah, Poppa and the kids all sat in the sanctuary.

After we came home I went grocery shopping.

Two stops and three carts later me and the boys were headed home.

When I got home Tyreque and Ladaria had a relaxing time prepared for me.

They had bought some ice cream and had it in my bathroom.

Soft music playing and candle lit.

Bathwater ran with bubbles in it!!

They told me to relax and take my time.

They would unload the van and put all the groceries away.

So I took a nice long relaxing bath!

They are so sweet!!

Day 35-Hot, busy day

We got up this morning and headed off to the La Mesa Flag Day Parade.

It was SO hot.

They say that it was over 100 degrees outside and I believe it.

Thankfully we brought lots of water!

Brayana played the flutophone with her classmates.

We walked along behind them and tried to keep from melting!!

Then on the way back we saw these ostrichs in the parade!

We left the parade and went to get lunch before heading off to pick up Mom and Poppa from the airport.

We got there just as they came out from collecting their luggage!

Great timing.

I put some new pictures in my Flickr account.

Day 34

Today I returned my camera which had decided to stop working.

Since I've not had such good luck with Sony I got a Nikon instead.

It takes nice pictures.

You can set it to take black and white photos.

Or color, as well as several others.

Then I noticed that my nutty cats had once again been out to the beehive! Here is a picture of carmel who looks like he had a bad reaction to a collagen shot!

Day 33

Today I took Taniyah to the park because we were bored.

There was nobody at the park for us to play with either!

So we went shopping instead!

I love going to the thrift store and finding great deals.

While I was there Mom called to get my address.

Taniyah sang for everyone.

And then threw a tizzy because we had to pay for her purse!

She thought the guy was going to actually put it in the bag instead of giving it back to her!

Went to a foster parent meeting.

It was potluck and socialize night.

It was fun and we laughed a lot!

Only two days intil my Mom gets here.

Only five days till my birthday!