Becoming a Motel Connoisseur

I’m quickly learning how to pick motels.  I’m learning what “brands” I like and what amenities are higher on the priority list.  I’m learning to weigh costs/benefits such as a fridge and microwave, general neighborhood/environment, carpet or hardwood and other possible cleanliness issues that had never bothered me before (remember, there are cockroaches here!), proximity to base, pool availability, being on the first or second floor (because I have BOYS, who like to play on the railings), bed availability and hotel policies (charging for internet, charging per person, how many people can stay in a room, etc), and so many other little things that didn’t matter when I was only staying for a night and then moving on.  It’s quite interesting really.  I now have chains I like and chains I refuse to stay at.  Amazing the quirks frequent or prolonged traveling can instill.

Homeless

     I must say, as much fun as I’m having visiting family, and as grateful as I am to be able to be with Shawn on the weekends, traveling gets extremely difficult after a while.  There’s no real routine, a lot of time in a car, I have a difficult time sticking with goals (fitness goals for instance, or budget goals), tracking expenses after a while, etc.  It’s tiring too; you’re always on the go, packing or unpacking, looking for the toothbrushes, worrying about washing the clothes, or how you’re going to work out the meal plans.  Especially the food- planning meals in a motel with no fridge or even a microwave is just ridiculous.  I’m extremely grateful to be staying with family during the week. 

     Theo is my most needy child as far as routines go.  If we don’t do the same thing every time it can seriously upset his entire day.  This is a child who can throw a fit for hours over a single diaper change if you don’t have the right diapers—Huggies, with Mickey Mouse on them (which I totally spaced the other day when buying diapers…it’s gonna be a fun month).  So he’s been telling me every day that he wants to go back home now, to California.    He is not taking the news well that there is no more home in California, even though I try to get him psyched up about the new house we’ll be going to in Hawaii.  Right now, he’s just sad he doesn’t have any home at all.  (Olie is also telling me he wants a house now please, and he wants to not stay in hotels anymore!)  I feel for the kid, all of them really, even though I do get a little flustered when one of them goes around telling random people we’re homeless. 

So where should we go to church honey?

10th June 2012- Update!

Our solution to the church dilemma- going to church in a branch with no children (but they still wanted us there, and Shawn will have to attend that branch when we’re gone) is to go to the last two hours of the ward that meets at 9:00 so that the kids are able to attend classes too, and then the sacrament of the branch Shawn is assigned to.  It seems to be working out so I guess we’ll keep doing it :). 

I’m Melting, I’m Melting!

Can you guess what the picture is of?  So some people store things in their oven, and some don’t.  I don’t, my sister-in-law does.  I didn’t check the oven before turning it on to make biscuits.  The sad part is, I knew the large plastic bowl of granola was in there!  She’d told me that morning, but I’d forgotten by dinner time.  It wasn’t pretty, and I spent a lot of time cleaning it up.  I ran to the store and got oven cleaner, scrubbed it down the next morning, and in the afternoon.  My only consolation is that the oven looks better now than before I melted the plastic in it.  Now to find another plastic bowl and lid of that gargantuan size!

Branches Grow on Trees

As you'll soon be able to tell, this post was written yesterday :)

Shawn has been assigned to a student branch.  So that’s where we went today.  Ours were the only children there.  There’s no primary or nursery.  They haven’t had children around much, and were very happy to have us.  The boys all bore their testimonies in sacrament meeting, something they aren’t usually allowed to do (except Demetri), and had lots of attention the whole time.  Shawn stayed with the littler ones and conducted a mini class/nursery, while Demetri went to class with me.  He was happy to know some of the answers in Sunday School.  It was the story of Alma the Younger :).

While talking to the Branch President Theo told him that branches grow on trees.  I think he’s used to being in a ward, haha. 

Two Moms in a Kitchen

We’ve been staying at Shawn’s sister’s house in San Antonio for the last week.  We= Me and the kids.  We’ve had fun; it’s been an adventure!  The kids are getting along most of the time, and are enjoying the “vacation.”  I learned how to make granola (and the kids love her granola- yay!), we’ve been making smoothies like crazy in her Vitamix :), and yeah, well, cooking for a crowd of our size requires lots of time in the kitchen.  She has 5 kids and I have 4.  I’m excited to try a few recipes, and since she also homeschools, a few homeschool projects.  The first one in line for next week is a solar oven, 'cause, it's definitely warm enough.

We’re staying there during the week and coming back to San Angelo (3 hours away) to visit Shawn on the weekends.  It’s the compromise we came up with when Shawn got put in the barracks instead of being able to live with us, but didn’t want to miss his new baby for 3 months (they grow so fast when they’re that little!).  So we’re doing this till the 4^th of July and then heading back to Idaho, possibly very slowly.  The 30 hr. trip down here was killer. 

However, we did get to stop by Arches National Park for a few hours, which was awesome :), and we visited family and friends on the way, which was also cool.  I will see if I still have the ability to post pics…Oh look, it worked :)

 The boys were thrilled to find some "shade."  Doesn't look like much shade to me but I suppose it's all relative.

 Wow, all of us together in a picture...that's a rarity...

 The only acceptable-ish pic of me during the entire trip, and believe me there are plenty; my husband is camera crazy.

 There's a baby in there somewhere. Those shades are army-issued, and boy does he love them.  He takes better care of them than I do of the kids!

Still kickin'...if only barely

Monday and Tuesday the movers came (we ignored Demetri's birthday and decided to celebrate it in Kamiah); Wednesday was spent cleaning and finishing vacating the house.  Today has been graduation, paperwork, online trainings, more paperwork, hotel and naps for kids, running back and forth from hotel to post, and finally, ice cream (the kids were so patient today!).  Tomorrow depends on what the people in the various offices say- there's one paper in particular that needs to be signed before we can do anything else.
Busy week.  I'm just glad to be out of the house and hoping we can get out of here soon.  California was fun, but I'm ready to be done. I thought everything was done and we could just leave after graduation.  I should know by now and be able to anticipate the extra red tape!  (I just get optimistic when he actually has leave papers in his hand.)
Enjoying my baby- though still not comfortable enough with four children to go anywhere with them alone.  Shawn's frustrated.  Oh well, at least I was willing to have the four children; I don't know about more.  I'm savoring the newborn stage that I've missed so much.  Xander has three excited big brothers.  They love him, hold him, sing to him, play with him, and talk to him in funny voices.