Paper Mache', Anyone?!

Wow, messy sums it up!  I thought, oh yeah, I can do this, paper mache' isn't so bad.  And while I really wasn't wrong, I was a little, tiny bit overzealous. 

My neighbor and I decided a while back that making pinatas with the kids for a Halloween party would be a fun craft.  I thought, hey, I've never actually done paper mache', but why not.  So I decided we should use those giant balloons with the rubber band attached and paper mache' that for the pinata.  I said I could go ahead and practice one at home so that we could know what we were getting into.  A couple days into Jerry being gone I thought that the boys and I should make a huge mess in our kitchen accentuated with a little yelling from mommy.  I don't know how I made it to the age of 31 without knowing that flour and water is all it really takes to make concrete.  There are still bits of this fun being found on the floor and counter in my kitchen.  We really did have fun though.  I made sure we were all in our "grubby" clothes and let the boys go for it.  

Take note of Griffin in the background holding a piece of the table Nathan is sitting at

After letting the project dry for a couple days, all of the day care kids ventured to our backyard today to finish making the pinata. (We decided that 1 would be plenty for all of them)  We smothered it with glue and let them have at it with orange tissue paper.  I think they all enjoyed themselves (for a couple minutes), but as with many crafts someone is left at the end to finish it up. 

Guess who got to finish it up?! ;-)



Our finished pumpkin



Um, yeah, no!!!

Pumpkin Picking Fun

My neighbor runs an in-home child care here on the base, and a couple months ago I became her "employee".  Basically I help out when I can if they are going on trips, preparing crafts, sub when she is sick, etc.  She is an amazing woman!  She is very organized and creative, and my boys love going to her home.

Last week, the day after Jerry left, we went to Avila Barn with the day care.  Avila Barn is a place to buy seasonal produce, "country" items, yummy baked goods, fudge, pick produce, pet animals- basically family fun.  Take 9 kids and it gets a little crazy...fun, but crazy. 

This time of year they offer tractor rides and pumpkin & apple picking.  It was a wild afternoon wrangling kiddos, but all-in-all it was fun.

Giving hugs in the hay

A parent gave us these for the kids, and my boys loved wearing them

This is the wagon we use when we go places with the kiddos...Griffin loves to just hang out in it.  Imagine me pulling it full of kids through a pumpkin field...no pictures of that moment.

1 Week Down

Jerry has been in Alabama now for 1 week.....and we definitely miss him!  It may sound a little odd, but I try not to think about him too much throughout the day because I don't want to dwell on missing him.  The day after he left the boys and I made a paper chain to count down the days until Daddy comes home.  Nathan said that he didn't want the chain to be as long as it was.  Nathan knows that Daddy will be coming home when the Christmas decorations are out, so he asks me occasionally if we can get them out now.  He also asked me the other day if I could ride them in the bike trailer to the airport to see if Daddy was there yet.  I really don't like to complain about him being gone because I have friends whose husbands go to foreign war zones for 6 or more months.  Jerry is in Alabama "battling" humidity and ...?  Nonetheless, we do miss him!  VERY MUCH!  Jerry is such an amazing help around the house with the boys, laundry, cleaning, mental support, etc, that it is definitely noticed when he's not here.  A few months ago Jerry and I started giving the other person one night "off" per week so that we could have time on our own to do whatever.  Nathan asked me the other evening if it was my night off....hmmm 

We are doing well though and counting down the days...

Last Minute....Adventure?!

So on Tuesday morning around 11am Jerry got a phone call informing him that he needed to activate his government travel card and buy a plane ticket to go to Alabama the next day....for 7 weeks for the Senior NCO Academy.  A couple months ago we thought that he was going to be doing this, but a couple weeks ago he was told that he would not be going at this time.  So needless to say this was a bit of a surprise!!  I really don't like to complain about situations like this because I have military friends whose husbands have to leave for months at a time to dangerous places.  So we are fortunate that Jerry is only across the country in Alabama.  I won't lie though.  I am bummed that he isn't going to be here for Halloween or Thanksgiving!  It is also difficult that Nathan and Griffin don't have a strong concept of time.  We are going to make a paper chain today to count down the days until Daddy comes home.  Nathan knows that Daddy won't be home until the Christmas decorations are out.  Jerry flies back home on December 10th.  So wish me luck, and say a little prayer, that I won't lose my cool (too much) while the boys and I are on this "adventure".

Busy....reality or just an excuse?

So to all of my loyal followers (I think I had around 5) I genuinely apologize for the major gap in my blogging!!!!  I would like to tell you that I have been extremely busy, which I have, but aren't we all!?!  For a while I felt that I should only blog about things that I had pictures of...the fact is though that I don't carry a camera with me at all times...shame, shame!  I realize though that if you are taking time out of your busy day to read about the crazy life that exists in my orbit, I don't always need pictures to prove what is going on around here.

I am going to try much harder to keep our family blog up to date, with or without pictures.  Feel free to hassle me if I neglect this duty!