Good weekend!!

I had a 4-day weekend because of the Thanksgiving Day holiday and that was nice. Ryan also had Thursday and Friday off, so we got to have some good family time! Friday we slept in until almost 10 and then spent some time on our computers and playing with Robbie. We went to the Post Office and a few other errands in the afternoon, but no shopping. I hate the crowds (not that I’m much of a shopper anyways). Saturday we spent at home getting our tree up (a fake one this year) and some decorations and lights around our house. Here’s our Christmas Tree! We have lights in all our windows, and stocking on the mantle. We still need to get one for Robbie and then I’ll take a pic of that. Our “real” stockings (the ones that Santa actually puts stuff in) are at Mom and Dad’s – that’s where we spend Christmas.
Today we went to Church and then did our weekly grocery shopping afterwards. We spent the afternoon finishing our tree and the lights and I got some more cross stitching in. Robbie took a 3 hour nap this afternoon, and that was kind of nice.
I’m off to bed now – 4:40 a.m. comes awfully early. . .

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope everyone had a blessed day! I am thankful for many things – my wonderful, loving family, all my friends – both online and “in person”, good health, and many other things.
Ryan and I spent a good part of the day at Jared & Suzanne’s (the same Suzanne that watches Robbie while I’m at work) and we shared Thanksgiving dinner with them. There was lots of yummy food – turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade rolls, a green jello salad thing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie! We played a couple of board games before and after we ate and had a good time just talking and stuff. After we left there, we stopped at Walmart to get a few things and then came home and watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which we had Tivo’ed. I got some cross stitching done both on the drive to and from the Bree’s and once we got home.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Short week!!

Well, another week has come and gone, and I haven’t gotten any better about writing every day or so. Maybe someday. . .

Last weekend on Saturday Ryan and I (and Robbie, of course) went to Christmas Made in the South. It’s a HUGE arts & crafts show held in the Civic Center here in Augusta. There were lots of wonderful things for sale there, and we bought a few Christmas presents. Then later in the day we went to a gun and knife show. That was pretty interesting – I’ve never been to one before, but Ryan has. He found something for his Vietnam living history stuff, so it was a worthwhile trip!

Sunday at Church was a pancake breakfast, so we went early for that – yummy! And then after the service, we came home and watched the last NASCAR race of the season. Our driver didn’t win the race or the championship, but it was a really good race.

Monday morning we played at a ceremony for the opening of the Christmas House – a place for low-income families to go so their children can have a good Christmas. They receive donations to buy food for the families and toys for the kids. The amount of donations was awesome! Tuesday evening was the tree lighting ceremony downtown Augusta. It POURED rain for a while and was really windy, but then it stopped raining and wasn’t too bad. We played Christmas music for about 1/2 hour before the tree lighting and then when they lit the tree, we played O Christmas Tree. Not a bad gig despite the rain. And then today was a short day except for me. We had concert band for about an hour this morning before the Jazz Combo had to leave to play at a gig. We received a safety briefing for the holiday weekend before the Combo left, and then we did our cleaning details and were released for the day. But I was CQ, so I had to stay. That’s ok, though – I got a bunch of cross stitching done. And First Sergeant released me at 3:00, an hour earlier than normal. We went to our Church’s Thanksgiving service this evening and then home to watch some TV and I got a bit more stitching done while Ryan played with Robbie on the floor. He sure is fun to watch!

Another week over!!

Well, Robbie and I made it through another week of babysitting and work! Robbie is always so glad to see me when I go to Suzanne’s for lunch and after work! Of course, today Ryan picked Robbie up as I had a gig in the late afternoon. We had jazz band rehearsal this morning for a gig coming up in December. We’ll be playing all the old swing standards for that, and that’s the kind of jazz I enjoy playing! This morning’s rehearsal was lots of fun. Oh – PT this morning wasn’t PT though. We had a full-unit urinalysis and I ended up being one of the female observers (yes, we have to be watched when we pee) so I didn’t have much time at home afterwards – enough to change uniforms (PT’s to BDU’s) and get dinner going in the crockpot. I ate breakfast in my van on the way back to work.

After dinner, Ryan and I just relaxed and watched TV and I stitched and Ryan played with Robbie on the floor. He loves to play “roll over”!! We put him on his tummy and he loves to roll from his tummy to his back – he’s been rolling over that way since he was about 3 weeks old! He’s so much fun to watch.

Oops! I guess it’s been a while. . .

I’m almost done with my second week back to work. Things are going well. Robbie has been a good boy for Suzanne during the days, but he’s always happy to see me at lunch and at the end of the day! This week was a pretty busy one at work, but not as busy as they’re going to get. I had to start going back to PT formations on Monday morning, so that made for an EARLY day – alarm went off at 4:45 a.m. Yes, there ARE two 4:45’s in a day! LOL After I had been accounted for, I was released to go do my own thing so I went to the gym and got on the treadmill. I ran/walked 2.75 miles in 35 minutes. I’ve still got quite a ways to go before I can pass a PT test, but it sure felt good to be working out again!! Monday was also my first day of concert band and it didn’t go too bad. I’m playing 2nd and 3rd parts, so I don’t have to worry about my lack of high range too much. It is starting to come back, though. In the afternoon we had drill band (marching band) because the parade the band did on Thursday for Veterans’ Day didn’t go very well, I guess. I wasn’t on that job since my Dress Blue uniform doesn’t fit me yet. Tuesday I did a lot of work in the Training office, and will be spending more time in there than I used to. I have a new supervisor in there and he’s much better than my old one! I really enjoy working for him.

Wednesday was PT again and then more concert band. We’re getting ready for our Holiday Concert on 3 December. After lunch, I did a bit of work in training and then we had a trombone sectional. We worked on our memorized marches that we use for parades and stuff. I barely know my parts, and it was a good refresher for the other 2 in my section. We were supposed to have drill band again, but First Sergeant cancelled it and told us to do details and go home! That was nice of her. Yes, we have a female First Sergeant – she also plays trombone! Today was a very productive day. I counted the money we’ve taken in from snack/beverage sales in the past couple of weeks or so and prepared a shopping list to restock the snacks and sodas. I also conducted vehicle inspections for my squad in preparation of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday next week. After lunch, my new Unit Fund assistant and I went to Sam’s Club to take care of our shopping! We bought over $200 worth of snacks (candy, chips, cookies, beef jerky, string cheese, and apples) and beverages (sodas and water), but we’ll make that back and more within a couple of weeks. After getting everything put away and the snack table and refrigerator restocked, I went to do some more work in the training office. We’re redoing several things and trying to organize the office, so I’ll be spending quite a bit of time in there. I don’t mind though – it helps the days go by faster. When I got home, I cooked a nice dinner of chicken (in my electric frying pan) and rice (chicken flavored with other stuff in it). It turned out really good even though I’d never cooked chicken like that before!

Back to work. . .

I went back to work today after having been off for over 9 weeks. Robbie is being watched by Suzanne, the wife of one of my coworkers. She’s really nice and has 2 boys of her own. We got ready to go this morning and headed out the door. Of course, I did my share of crying. I cuddled Robbie for a bit before I left Suzanne’s for work, and cried a bit more, but I made it out the door. It was good to be back at work and everyone seemed glad to see me again, but it wasn’t easy at first. And then I got into working – I have a new supervisor in the training office and we had a meeting with him and me and the other guy that work in there to talk about stuff and start reorganzing the office. Things were easier then as I was thinking about work and not Robbie. Before I knew it, it was almost time for lunch! I went back to Suzanne’s to feed Robbie his lunch – I’m glad I get an hour and a half and I’ll be able to go spend lunch with him most days. I ate my lunch that I had packed and then spent some time with Robbie. After lunch, the afternoon got a little long, but again, once I got into doing stuff it wasn’t so bad. Since it was the first work day of the week (yesterday was a comp day for the band since they worked over the weekend), we had to do our outside raking/cleanup details. I helped pick up the piles of leaves and pine needles. When we were done outside, I went inside to supervise the daily indoor cleaning details and after inspecting my platoon’s area, I left for Suzanne’s to pick up Robbie. He was happy to see me! We beat Ryan home and had an afternoon snack. Then when Ryan got home, we walked and got the mail and settled in for the evening. I made spaghetti for dinner per Ryan’s request and then we watched a bit of our Tivo’ed shows from while we were gone.

Time to go pack tomorrow’s lunches. . .

Myrtle Beach & Cross Stitch

Thursday morning I headed to Myrtle Beach, SC, for the 7th annual Cross Stitch Pals convention. This was my 4th year attending. I stopped in Camden, SC, on my way to drop off Ryan’s equipment for his living history event he had this weekend. I arrived in MB around 2 and found my friends Jenn, Nola, and Eva. Jenn & Nola were staying in one room and Robbie and I were staying with Eva in another. They were all glad to see me and meet Robbie in person! Thursday afternoon and evening was spent seeing more old friends and meeting a few new ones. There was also an ice cream party Thursday evening. That was fun, as always!

Friday morning brought a trip to the Counting House for some cross stitch shopping. I stitch models for them and get store credit, so I used up some of that. After lunch and Robbie’s nap, I went to the hospitality house where lots of ladies were stitching. I didn’t get to stitch – Robbie wanted to be moving so I kept walking and bouncing him in his Snugli. After the pizza party for dinner, we moved to the convention center and had an evening of fun and games. The most fun was the grab bag exchange, and I got a lunch box that was full of wonderful cross stitch stuff! That ended about 11 or so, and after I put Robbie to bed, Eva and I stayed up and stitched for about another hour or so.

Saturday morning I taught a class on how to lace a finished cross stitch project to a mounting board to prepare it for framing. I had 4 students, and the class went very well. Robbie got a little fussy during it, but Eva and Jenn took turns walking with him. After his nap in the afternoon, he and I and Eva went for a walk on the beach. We even got a couple of seashells for Robbie! It was a beautiful day and a very enjoyable walk. Saturday evening was more fun and games and the highlight was presenting the guy from the Make-A-Wish Foundation in SC with our donation for the year. We raise money all year long for the MAWF, and this year we set and surpassed a goal. Cross Stitch Pals raised $10,198.32!!!!!!!!! Each year we have raised more money than the previous year. After everything was over, we took a group picture and said our goodbyes until next year.

Sunday morning I got all packed up and headed home after sad good-byes. You see, Eva is from Luxembourg (yes, the one in Europe), and I only get to see her this one time a year. Of course, there are many others I only get to see once a year, but Eva is one of my best friends. At least we get to chat online and the occasional phone call. But back to Sunday. . . I got the van loaded up and Robbie fed and we were on our way back to Camden. We spent the day with Ryan watching him do his thing. He got to play a VC soldier for one of the things they did during the air show. Of course, he was the first one killed, but he had lots of fun! His event was done about 4 and he got all his stuffed loaded into the van and we headed home. We stopped for dinner at McDonald’s and got home about 7 or so. Overall it was a very good weekend, but it’s always nice to come home to your own bed.

He’s been shot!!

LOL – don’t panic! Robbie had his 2-month well-baby exam today and he is very healthy and growing! He weighed in at 13 pounds and was 23 inches long! After the doctor was done looking him over, we went to the Immunization clinic for his first 5 shots. He did very well with them and only cried a little bit. Of course, thanks to Mom’s help, I gave him a dose of Infant Tylenol BEFORE we went for the shots!
NOTE: Don’t go out for dinner with your infant if said infant had shots earlier in the day. Ryan and I went to Famous Dave’s BBQ for dinner – our first time there. The service and food were both awesome, but Robbie started getting fussy (he usually sleeps through dinner when we go out). Ryan took him outside and I got a couple of to-go boxes and paid for our meal. I did manage to eat most of the rest of mine before Ryan came back in, but we took about 1/2 of Ryan’s home. He’ll take it for lunch tomorrow.
I hope everyone remembered to vote today! If you didn’t – oh well. It’s too late now – unless you’re on the west coast. . .

Before I forget, here are links to a few pictures from Halloween:
Me and Robbie in our Devil costumes, Ryan in his Vietnam uniform holding Robbie, Robbie and his jack-o’lantern Ryan carved, and Our pumpkin on our front step.

Happy November!!

I saw an Army doctor yesterday morning and got another extension on my maternity leave – one more week home with Robbie!! YAY!! I’ll be going back to work next Monday, Nov. 8. Happy November to everyone – although it doesn’t feel like November here. It got up to 85 yesterday and is supposed to be almost as warm today. WHEN IS FALL GONNA GET HERE??????????? I’d love to be home in MI right now with the nice cool fall weather and changing leave colors and everything. And yes, even the snow! Only a month and a half until I go home for 2 weeks at Christmas. . . I can’t wait!

I went to my first EGA meeting since I’ve had Robbie. Of course, I took him with me as I knew all the ladies would want to see him and hold him and everything. He was a really good boy during the meeting and enjoyed all the attention before and after! I think he’s going to be an outgoing & social little boy. Oh, if you don’t know what EGA is, it stands for Embroiderer’s Guild of America.