An Explanation

I posted from my phone to let anyone interested know that Janes ultrasound was cancelled. Her doctor was home sick the day of the appointment and while her appointment was at the hospital so she should have been able to have her ultrasound. She had told the nurse that her daughters were sick with the flu, possibly H1N1, and with the possibility that she could be infected they weren't able to let her have the ultrasound.

It has been rescheduled for the 19th. The doctor called her this morning and decided that even though she isn't feeling too bad now, he wanted her on Tamiflu anyway because of the risks for her with H1N1. She'll be taking it until the 19th as of now and possibly for another week after.

It worries me. I hate that I can't be at the ultrasound. I'm sad. The good news is that we got to see family and we got to see Jane a couple times and she seems to be doing well. She's showing now and we're hoping the rest of the pregnancy goes good and that this will pass.

The boys are happy to be home, Kirke's happy we're home. I'm happy to be home. Only I'm not feeling overly happy for some reason. I guess it's just leaving so much undone at home.

Keep thinking pink... Blue's nice too.

~Till They All Come Home~

The ultrasound was rescheduled so we're heading back to MO with no clue about the gender of the baby. I'm very very disappointed...

Adoption Update

The birth mom, birth dad and I met with a local attorney today. The first one we met with said it would cost their minimum fee of $4500 and would be a simple process. Today's attorney said it would be a simple process and therefore cost us only a fraction of the price.

Today's meeting was very reassuring. I need this boost of confidence. The birth parents are very secure in their decision to allow us to adopt the baby. The attorney and I had a chance to chat a little after the birth parents went out to the car because I was waiting on a text from Kirke with some information. She was very helpful and seemed to be looking forward to helping us with this process.

I'm very excited and Monday is our ultrasound!! Think pink!! And if it's blue then think healthy!!!

~Till They All Come Home~

Best Friends Shouldn't Be Separated

We love our Army life most of the time. We love that we get to move around and meet new people. We develop very fast friendships that become our families.

Over the past two years we've been lucky enough to meet some of the very best friends we could imagine. Tayton and Cadie had a slow go at their friendship because they are both pretty shy. And Tayton isn't one bit into girly stuff. Lucky for him Cadie doesn't care much for pink pretty girly things most of the time either. She's never asked him to play barbies and he respected her for that. In first grade they were seated together and he relied greatly on her being there to help him through his days. She took care of him and made him feel safe at times that he might have otherwise melted down. They spend afternoons and weekends together hanging out and learning about Pokemon and riding bikes. Their bond is amazing. We've promised to make sure they can make it to prom together! As they said goodbye today Tayton hugged Cadie a million times, requested that I take a picture of him and Cadie together a few times. He's an amazing kid and she was a fantastic part of his emotional development the past two years. As they left he stood on my van waving until they were out of sight. He then said "I'm pretty sure this is going to be a rough day for me." I held him for the next 20 or so minutes. It's too hard to say goodbye sometimes.

Cassidy has gone from being a creepy little slobbery, girly, smelly baby to just another part of the group. The boys were thrilled with this change. Korbin has taken to including Cassidy in his fun in the recent months. He was very "big brotherish" with her and that means lots of fighting, bossing and a little bit of fun! It was a sweet transition for the kids to see a child go from a one year old to a 3 1/2 year old.

Christian came on the scene quiet and reserved. Brandy I were certain he hated us. We still wonder. Then we realized he does think we're funny and is as much a smarty pants as us!He proved to be much more fun to be around since we weren't scared he secretly wished we'd choke on our drinks. We're really gonna miss his quiet snickering in the corner while we're being stupid. And his witty answers in the game of Things.

And then there's Vicki. Amber's mom who lives with them. She's fantastic. She thinks that I'm funny and that makes me happy. She's fun and crazy and she just kinda "gets us" which is hard to find in our "parental" types.

Last but not least we have Amber. Amber was brought into this madness by Brandy. She was thrown full force into our group, probably somewhat involuntarily, as the deployment planning started taking shape. We convinced her to move on post into our friend Summer's old house cause we're cool like that. And it was convenient for us and we're all about what's best for us, right? Since she was thrown in head first she didn't get time to ease into our group which would have given her an escape route. Instead she was trapped! Sucker!

Well here's my beef. We got here before her. We've been her longer and damn it she gets to leave first? Not fair! Leaving first is the easiest. It's the ones left back waiting (or stuck forever, sorry Brandy) that are suckin! It's harder to fill the voids left by friends who've come and gone than to start fresh in a new adventure.

We spent nearly everyday doing something together. We survived the deployment together as well as the post deployment struggles. It's been a rough road we've travelled but we laugh. We can always laugh even if half the group thinks Brandy and I shouldn't mix according to game night answers that is....liars, you love it!

Some friendships are meant to be temporary and eventually fade into memories. The ones we've made here aren't that type. We're not saying goodbye, we're saying "see you later" even though later may be really far away. We love you guys and you're going to be missed more than you or I could have imagined!

Enjoy your new adventure Sud's Family. It's gonna be hard to find people like Brandy and I and our crazy families again you know? You're welcome!

~Till They All Come Home~

Lamberts Throwed Rolls and Hog Jowls

We've been going ninety to nothing the past couple weeks! I've been dying to eat at Lamberts Cafe for a while now. Dana told me they throw rolls and that's all I needed to know. Any resturant that throws food is great in my opinion!

We finally went two weeks ago. We went with Ambers family and our good friend James. We got there and put our name on the waiting list at 4:45. Only an hour and forty minute wait! Wow! We waited because dang it I want someone to throw food!

We got our table and Amber's in-laws were with us. Well they're about as country as you can get coming from Indiana. We ordered our food, caught some food from the air and got more brought around in giant pots and slopped onto our plates. Oh wait, I didn't eat on a plate! It was a giant fryin pan!

Ambers Father in Law ordered Jowls. I had no idea what jowls were. Then next thing I know Korbin and Cadie were each eating themselves some hog jowls. Korbin told me it was good! Amber's hubby told Cadie to ask her grandpa what they were. He replied "the jaw of the hog (cheek)", as if that's perfectly normal.

Korbin's response to that bit of knowlege: "I'm full of eating this now." And he put it on the table.

~Till They All Come Home~

Half Naked Foreigner OR Trick-or-Treat OR Men Dressed as Women

First off let me just mention that we encountered this guy along our trick-or-treat route. He and a trusty companion were passing out candy. He talked with a crazy accent. His friend that was with him was in a military uniform but it wasn't United States so we're not sure where they came from since we do have a lot of foreign military here on the Fort. But I was cool with him stopping to hand out candy to our kids.

Right up until I realized he wasn't wearing any pants. At which point I couldn't stop staring and laughing. And my real camera had been put away since it was dark so I was left with this terrible image from my phone. But you can clearly see that his legs are painted but there are no pants.

Creepy.


Oh and one more thing. No Pants Guy should have been told by his trusty companion not to be squatting down because his little speedo's weren't enough...

So, On to the good pictures. Here's our group of kids. Somehow Megan and Abby are missing from this picture. This was right before we started trick-or-treating. Tayton is chewbacca and Korbin's a dinosaur after he decided that he wasn't going to wear his werewolf costume so he loaned it to Nicholas because he's so stinking sweet!

Everyone really loved my milk jug skeleton's that I slaved over for the past couple weeks!

I wasn't kidding. They LOVED them. Those guys got an awful lot of attention!

This is what Kirke would look like if he had hair like Dorothy from Wizard of OZ. I"m glad he doesn't. But it also kinda makes me wonder what a baby girl would have looked like .....scary!

And as if it wasn't bad enough that Kirke put on the wig but Christian dressed up as a Spartan Cheerleader from SNL.

Kirke and I ditched our Roman God and Goddess costumes we originally planned on for a more simple Thing 1 and Thing 2. We got way more attention than I'd have liked. Too many people talked to us and pointed us out and that's not really my thing. Really it's not....

All in all we had a fantastic day. Sadly our Halloween was also a going away party for some of our very closest friends. Tayton's best friend and one of mine.

~Till They All Come Home~

Get the Leg Out

I think th eboy needs new pants. He just thinks he's funny!

Oh yeah and he's standing on the table and I'm okay with that....that's how we roll!

~Till They All Come Home~

Look What I caught!

This little guy was hanging out on the sidewalk this afternoon. Probably soaking up some much needed sunshine after all of these cold rainy days! He's hanging out in a pop bottle right now so Kirke can see him before we let him go.

~Till They All Come Home~

Poor Poor Scrappy

I've had Scrappy longer than I've had Kirke! True story. One in which I tend to remind Kirke of more often than necessary I'm sure! He's 11 years old now. He's still laid back and tolerant of all the kids antics and I have no idea how he manages! Especially on days like this:

Maybe he was just cold?

~Till They All Come Home~

HEY!!!

Who stopped following me? I was so excited to have 50 followers and now back down to 49. I must suck. I'll work on that and lure you back!!

~Till They All Come Home~

Don't Put Your Hand in Little Holes!

Last night Korbin came down stairs upset. He had gotten his hand stuck in a waffle block. The darn kid wouldn't let me take his picture. Why would a 6 year old stick his hand through a block that is too small? I thought we'd outgrown these types of situations. Seriously kid! If your hand doesn't fit going into a hole then it's probably not gonna come out so well either!!



And since the little punk wouldn't let me take his picture you can all laugh at this old video of the same sort of problem!

UPDATE: Korbin has agreed to a public service announcement/reinactment about yesterdays events for other children to keep them safe from the dangers of waffle blocks. (plus people didn't know what waffle blocks are)

~Till They All Come Home~

My Kids Spend Too Much Time With Adults

I'm not sure if I'd be happier having the boys come home from pubic school repeating the things they hear there or if it's better that they are picking up on things they hear around the house and out in public.

Here's a few things I've overheard recently:

~~

When pulling into a parking spot at Target some parking lot idiot (PLI) did something that I can't remember at this point. And then SOMEONE (James) in our car said "way to go numb nuts". As soon as Korbin opened the car door he loudly said "way to go numb nuts" within earshot of the previously mentioned PLI then laughed and kept repeating "numb nuts" until we were able to stop laughing and explain that he's not allowed to use that word. Ever.

~~

Tayton has been getting instant headaches recently every time he starts to cry about something. Today he hit his ear on something and was crying while we were at a party. I was in the bathroom with him getting him a little wet towel to dab off the blood and he said "I think that my hurts when I cry because it's taking so much longer for my brain to process it than most people. You know cause of my sensory integration disorder!" (silly kid hears and absorbs every single thing you say)

~~

We were chatting with some friends about our plans for our kids if something happens to us. We all have to have wills drawn up before deployments (well in AK we did anyhow) and my brother and his wife are the lucky winners of two naughty little blond boys if Kirke and I meet an early demise. Korbin overheard us talking and said "Mom if you and Dad both die at the same time I'm gonna have to go live with someone lonely, Grandma Vettel!" This is my grandma who is 77. I replied "I think she's a little too old to take care of you hunny." Korbin was quick to respond "that's okay, I can just take care of her!" They LOVE their Great Grandma Vettel. It's impossible not to!

~~

Tayton just told me that he'd like to someday get another type of animal that lives in a cages. "Probably like a reptile" he said. "They're my second favorite". So I of course asked "what's your first favorite?" He said "OH, mammals!" He likes to keep his options open.

~~

And last but not least while we were listening to the radio the other day Korbin started singing "I make them good girls go bad!" (By Cobra Starship) over and over. I'm pretty sure this might be true. Because a little while later he saw his wife walking out of the store (we were on a convoy to a haunted trail and their family ran inside for a quick stop) and when he saw Megan he shouted "hey baby" out the window to her. Her response was to run and hug him of course......

~~

Korbin said after one of the recent haunted house visits "I wasn't really scared I was just pretending to be so they would think they were doing a good job!"

~~

Silly Kids.

~Till They All Come Home~

Holy Crow You're Really 50??

Today one of the most wonderful people I know turned 50! Wow 50!

I remember when you were only 26 for so many years. Although I was too smart to fall for your crazy antics even when I was only six....and then seven, eight and nine. Nice try!


When I was a little girl you always kept an open dialect between us. I knew that I could talk to you about anything. Even when I was in 5th grade and thought I met the love of my life. You didn't laugh at me or shrug me off. Instead you shared details of your childhood loves. Even though you knew that it was something that would pass quickly you valued my feelings and took care to protect them. I remember that day by the kitchen sink as we talked.

I always loved the time that it was just the two of us and we'd get a chance to really talk. As I got a little older those talks often took place as we drove to Battle Creek to pick up dad from the trucking company he worked for through the weeks. I love that I could tell you anything without judgement or harsh words and lectures.

Later in high school I thought I met the love of my life again. This time everyone else thought so too. I know how hard it was for you when I was 19 and I told you that my 4 year relationship with that boy was over and then just 2 months later was truly in love and planning to marry Kirke. Most parents would have told me I was an idiot and was making a huge mistake. Instead you listened. You looked into my eyes and I saw that you were a little unsure but your words were loving and encouraging and full of support. You trusted me to make a good decision.

Later that year you turned 40. Another new decade and I turned 20 and I was marrying the man who truly is the love of my life. You were there for me even though I knew you were worried. You made sure that my day went smoothly. We went together, just the two of us to get our hair and make up done for the wedding and you were proud of the woman you'd raised me to be and I was proud that you're my mom.

Since getting married (almost 10 years ago now!) our relationship has transformed. We've gone from being mother/daughter to sharing a bond and a closeness that has no definition or label to clearly explain our relationship. Sometimes it's mother/daughter, sometimes its friends, sometimes its two girls giggling their heads off over something ridiculous.

The most important thing I learned from you was how to be a playful parent. I remember the times of playing sports (which you were terrible at, haha), hide n seek in the dark, board games and cards, our own lip syncing contests, and a gazillion other things we did just being crazy and laughing together.

I know that I can always call you and I value our relationship and it's many aspects. I wish that I could be there to celebrate your birthday with you today. I'll be home in two weeks and we'll have a day out just you and I.

I love you Mom Happy Birthday!!

~Till They All Come Home~

How Do You Forget Something Like That?

Today I got up got around, showered and went to some second hand stores with Brandy in search of some size medium/large maternity pants for the birth mom. While we were shopping for her the birth mom, aka Jane, called. She was at her doctors appointment and called me to let me (get this!!!) hear the baby's heartbeat!! It was 152! Hoping for a girl here!! Think pink! Although blue would fit in around here just here just fine! It was so great to get to feel like we're a small part of this pregnancy! All was good in the world.

It's 11:22 and we just left our friends house to come home for the night. It's a Friday night so we did our usual game night.

And it wasn't until just a few minutes ago when I took off my boots that I realized I only shaved one leg. That's right! I walked around all day with one shaved leg and one hairy beast of a leg. Fan-freakin-tastic!

Thankfully it's not summer so I wore long pants!

~Till They All Come Home~

No More Mama Drama

We heard from the birth mom today and she is doing fine since moving out of my moms house. We're going to get her a cell phone on our plan and we'll be able to maintain better contact. Tomorrow she has her 16 week appointment and will be calling me from the doctors appointment so we can hear the heartbeat! I'm so excited!!

Everything is still moving forward. And she's still very on board. The one statement she said that reassured me most was "I am not going to bring another child into this lifestyle". After I asked her about her feelings about the adoption and any second thoughts. She's very certain that she's doing the right thing for this baby.

Oh and big news!! She's also going to schedule her ultrasound in November during the time I am home visiting.

I feel better!

In addition our family is all well. No more sickness here! Woohoo!

~Till They All Come Home~

Today's Update

Well we all seem to be okay today. The boy are obviously still recovering. Tayton's drinking like a fish in fear of another IV they told him he'd be getting if we came back to the ER. That is really helping him a lot. We've managed to only medicate this morning and nothing since. Thank God!!

The bad news is that I'm not feeling tip top. I'm pretty sure I'm just exhausted at least that's what I'm going to be telling myself until it passes!

Thanks for all your well wishes, we'll be back to our normal selves soon!

~Till They All Come Home~

ER Visit #2

At about 5:30 tonight we took Taytons temperature and he was up to 103.6 again (I think). He had Tylenol around 3 and I gave him Motrin right then and I called the ER since we were there last night. They told me to bring him right in. So I did and they took his temperature and it was 102.8 they told him that he was dehydrated and if he didn't drink the giant cup of Gatorade they gave him then he'd be getting another IV. The went ahead and gave him more Tylenol. Then we waited for about 4 hours to be called back. They took us back and of course by then he had plenty to drink and the meds were working well and he was feeling fine. Little snot! The doctor sent us for more chest x-rays to rule out pneumonia and said he didn't have to get an IV unless he stopped drinking plenty and we brought him back in. They believe it's the flu which type we don't know. It doesn't matter much since they treat it the same with Tamiflu, which he's on.

Let's hope that we can finally get some sleep and that this is the end of the ER trips for the flu.

~Till They All Come Home~

Wow What A Night We Had

Korbin was feeling a lot better yesterday. But Tayton came into our bedroom around 6am crying, well screaming that his head hurt and he was running a fever and cried himself into an asthma attack. Good morning! We went back to bed after the medicine kicked in. We got up a while later and after lunch we did two hours of school. Sometime in that time period Tayton needed his inhaler again when he started with another asthma attack.

Around 3:30 I took Taytons temperature and it was 101. No biggie, he always runs fevers with any sort of sickness. A little Tylenol and sent him on his way. Korbin's fever was hanging around 99-100 without meds.

Well Kirke came home from work and I sent him up to check Taytons temperature. He said the reading shot straight up to 104 and he stopped and came to get me. I took it again and his temperature was 104.6!! We snapped into fight mode. I changed into pants and Kirke got Tayton dressed. Gave him Motrin and headed off to the ER.

Once we got there we waited a few minutes they took his vitals and sent us off to xray for chest xrays. With his asthma and frequent bronchitis we come to expect that. After his xray a nurse was waiting for us to take us not back to he ER but to an empty waiting room of one of the clinics. Weird. Then they took us back to a room and explained that they would be testing him for seasonal flu as well as H1N1. No worries here. I knew he'd be alright. They did those two tests, started an IV, took blood, did a urinalysis. His heart rate was 170 and stayed high even after his fever came down to 100. The IV seemed to help and his heart rate was 136 when we were released.

All the test were negative but the doctor seemed convinced that this is indeed the flu and the test isn't as reliable as we could hope. So with the decision that the flu test (regular flu, we don't have the N1H1 results yet) was a false negative. She sent us home and he's doing pretty well.

Tayton stole the hearts of his personal nursing staff in what turned out to be the fast track clinic not some kind of isolation chamber. He wasn't supposed to be on that side because he had to have blood drawn and an IV but they took him because they didn't have any patients and the ER was full. He had 3 nurses who were so attentive to him and answered all of his crazy questions and did everything they could to make him feel safe and comfortable.

I'm pretty sure this was our best visit to the ER in the 3 years we've been here. And we make plenty.

During discharge the nurse gave us his note to excuse him from school for the next 5 days......Tayton was very excited! Then I had to clarify that she meant public school not home school. I also told him if he'd like to follow the rules on the note then he should read the rest that says he can return (to public school) on the 12th! He didn't agree.

~Till They All Come Home~

Korbin's Sick and Miserable

Korbin was just fine, a tad emotional but thats typical on a no meds (ADHD)day for him. We were at Brandy's and he was running around and acting normal. For dinner he had two sloppy joe's (his favorite!) and went to play. A bit later Kirke found him laying on the couch in Brandy's living room. Kirke carried him into the play room so he could watch TV while we played Wii.

A short time later Kirke checked on him and he was sleeping and hot. We got him home and found he had a 103.8 fever. Both boys always run very high fevers so no need to worry yet. A little Motrin and a good nights sleep should help.

Here he is at Brandy's last night.

This morning the same thing. His temperature zips right back up over 103 every time the Motrin wears off. Poor little guy! It wouldn't be so concerning for us if he didn't have his kidney troubles but that always makes us a bit more cautious when he get sick. And I must admit that the whole H1N1 crap worries me too.

And here he is sleeping in my lap today. Poor little guy.

~Till They All Come Home~

Baby Mama Drama in a Family Fued Sorta Way

"Jane", the birth mother of the baby we're adopting in March, is having some problems. She was living with my mom and they had some issues so Jane has moved out. We don't know who she and her two girls are living with or where exactly they are living. I spoke with her briefly yesterday. She assures me that things won't change for us and the adoption because of the problem with my parents but it makes me nervous. I'm also worried about the girls. She seems confident in our abilities to raise this baby and that we are the best fit for this child.

We need happy thoughts and prayers that this all turns out alright. We are still confident that Jane will follow through with the adoption I'm just concerned about her taking care of herself, the girls and my baby.

Tayton told me two or three days ago that we were going to have to teach him to make bottles so he can feed the baby since he's the first one up in the morning! Too cute! Korbin chimed in to say that he also needed to learn since he was the last to fall asleep at night. They are excited to have a baby brother/sister. I'm excited too and so is Kirke I just hope the time goes by quickly and everything goes without a hitch!

~Till They All Come Home~