Kansas
Quantico
Kansas
Quantico

Move
Stay
Move
Stay

Oh, we’ve been back and forth for quite a while on what we’re doing this summer. And now we know.

Is it school at Fort Leavenworth?
Or is it school at Quantico, VA?

And here is how the debate ends…

…not with a whimper, but a bang.

The answer is “none of the above.”

We’re staying here, but Bill’s deferring school for a year. He will be a general’s AXO (that is just a fancy way of saying “aide”) for a bit and then he will be THE General’s AXO until it’s time for him to go to school NEXT year.

An interesting turn of events.

Yeah, this really makes me want to pack up right NOW and move to Kansas.

The hallowed ground of Arlington National Cemetery, including a glimpse of Robert E. Lee’s house:

The tomb of the Unknown Soldiers:

The Tomb, the guard, and a view of DC (not a good shot – you can see the Jefferson Memorial from that spot…and the Washington Monument is just behind that big evergreen on the left):

The changing of the guard…a “must-see” ceremony, and the whole reason we went. Did I see it? nope.

The day was very sunny and even hot. Bill got his first sunburn of the year – the earliest, I think. The father of a boy in Fritz’s cub scout den is in the Old Guard and told Bill that they were still on Winter hours and were changing the guard every half hour. I don’t know what happened between Wednesday and Saturday. We arrived at the Cemetery at the top of the hour and missed that ceremony. We got to the Tomb around 10:15 am and loitered in the area for a while before we realized that there wouldn’t be another ceremony until 11 am. I kept deferring the hungry baby, and he was quite happy in the shade, but when I tried to watch the ceremony, he just got too fussy for a rite that demanded SILENCE. So Bill watched it – for the second time – with the 3 older kids while the little ones and I sat on a bench a bit away and listened. It’s ok. The boys really liked it and Billy has been imitating the robotic movements of the guard every since.

As we were leaving, we stopped by the grave of Audie Murphy, which is the second most popular (JFK is #1). Bill was pretty disgusted that I didn’t know who Audie Murphy was. He is the most decorated WWII vet. And then he went into Hollywood.

His grave is very plain and at the end of a row near a sidewalk. There is a little sign near his grave that requests that no coins be thrown. Sure enough, there was a quarter on the grass in front of his grave. As we turned to leave, I noticed a pile of coins on the sidewalk next to his grave. I asked Bill if he knew what it was all about, and he said no. Then Billy asked why you weren’t supposed to throw coins. I said you aren’t supposed to throw coins because it makes lawn mowing difficult…but the question really is this: why would anyone WANT to throw coins?

As we left, we passed memorial after memorial. The whole way to the car, BIlly asked, “Who died here, Mom?”

“Nobody died here, Billy. This is a memorial saying that this tree is dedicated to the soldiers from this unit.”

“Oh….who died here, Mom?” At the next tree.

“Nobody, Billy. It says that THIS tree is dedicated to the soldiers from THIS unit.”

“Oh…who died HERE, Mom?” At the next tree.

It was a long walk to the car.

Even if I were a rookie parent, there’s simply no excuse for my stupidity. Every time I eat an excessive amount of dairy, Pete has a reaction. I’ve been eating a lot of cheese recently, but I thought, “Gee, Pete seems to be doing ok?” Why did I think this? Because he wasn’t spitting up, having excessive gas or having long bouts of inconsolable crying. But I also said to myself, “Oh, what is this boy’s problem? Why is he so fussy at night? I’m not getting any sleep.”

But did I add 2 and 2? Oh no. I continued to eat cheese.

And that right there is the problem, really…I mean, why did I feel the need to “test” Pete to see if he would have this reaction? Or at least, why did I have to OD on cheese for a week? Why couldn’t I just have a little bit more and see how that was and slowly introduce more dairy into my diet?

And so, this goes on for a week – me eating cheese and more cheese, and Pete being more and more miserable between 2 and 5 in the morning. And finally I asked myself, “How long has this been going on?” And I answered, “About a week.” And then I asked myself accusingly, “And how long have you been indulging in a 10 am cheese break?” “About a week,” came my sheepish reply.

So it is all my fault that I’ve been missing sleep…and will continue to miss sleep for at least 3 or 4 more nights as the proteins leave my body.

Mea culpa.

Today’s forecast: morning rain but high of 75 degrees. All weekend long we have the same forecast.

I can’t wait to open the windows!

Yes, math is best understood when one can see how it applies to your everyday life.

So, Billy’s math every so often has a series of addition problems with the answer given, but one of the addends missing. Today, they all equalled 9. Three plus what equals nine? Five plus what equals nine? Zero plus what equals nine? He has had a tough time figuring these out. I use Base Ten blocks so he can visualize it, but it really didn’t click for him.

Today, though, there was a picture of a birthday cake with nine candles on it. So I said, “Let’s suppose it’s your ninth birthday. Your mom puts six candles on the cake before she has to go and change your brother’s stinky diaper. How many candles do you need to put on your cake so it’s ready?” Amazingly, it took mere seconds for him to reply: “Three!”

Again, I said, “Let’s suppose it’s your ninth birthday. Your mom puts two candles on the cake before she has to go and break up a fight between your two sisters in the living room. How many candles do you need to put on the cake then?”

“Seven!”

“Good job! Now, you do one.”

“OK. Let’s supposes it’s my ninth birthday. My mom puts five candles on my cake before she has to go and clean up a mess that Jenny made. How many candles do I need to put on the cake? Hmmm…four! OK…It’s my ninth birthday. My mom puts three candles on my cake when…”

He got them all right.

From Catholic Exchange:

When I am able to remember these things and keep my focus, I realize that my children help me attain holiness. Perhaps, without their needs, I would be drawn towards the capital sin of sloth. Maybe, if they behaved perfectly at Mass, I would be guilty of pride. If my food was ever warm, I might fall into gluttony. The Lord knows my weaknesses. In His mercy, my kids are actually protecting me from myself!

This article could have been written by me!

Yesterday I ran 3 miles. That seems to be the new distance now – 3 to 3 1/2 miles. The best thing is that it’s not the distance that makes me stop – it’s the time. I’m very slow, so it took me 40 minutes to run 3 miles plus a cooldown walk. I had to head home to take care of my other obligations. I know if I keep it up, my speed will increase, but I’m so impatient.

And if you really want to beat your body up, here’s a site to show you how. Bill modified the routine for himself and is doing most of it (I quote: “donkey kicks are dorkey.”). And he hurts. My goal is to be able to do a dozen pushups without looking like an idiot. I can’t do even one. Bill, ever one for good ideas, suggested leaning on the staircase and gradually moving to a lower step. I’m on step 5. I am practically vertical when I do them. I did 15 normal pushups, 10 wide arm and 10 diamond – not all at once. I looked like an idiot. And I hurt, but just a little.

Ah, but the best news of all – the weight I gained from my pregnancy is off. But I never did lose 10 pounds from Jenny, so I still have work to do.

And I wonder if the dress I bought a month ago for the fancy dinner will fit me at the make-up date in 2 weeks. It’s a good thing I can sew and can shorten the spaghetti straps if necessary.

Ah, leave it to me, the non-crafty person that I am, to punish myself with an art project for the kids.

It WAS a great idea: placemats for the dinner table. Using Lenten purple construction paper and various holy images and Bible quotes to decorate it and using clear Contact paper to protect it from the elements.

The execution was poor. I am easily frustrated by my own ineptness and hence was short-tempered and impatient with the Contact paper with seems to have a mind of its own (closely resembling that of an obstinate donkey), so instead of peacefully, meditatively guiding the children in what could have been, should have been, a spiritual odyssey reflecting on the Passion of Christ, instead I was angrily fighting with this inanimate object that was thwarting my every move.

Oh, and I misjudged how much Contact paper I had/needed, so only 3 mats (out of 6) were “laminated”.

But the results are fabulous, and I’ll probably suffer through it again in a few weeks and make some for Easter. The kids had fun and will be able to enjoy the fruit of their labor for many weeks. Hopefully the pictures they covered and will see at every meal will keep them ever mindful of the season, and their sight might remind ME that a little bit of suffering bring great rewards.

Last night – 9 pm. All the kids are asleep…except Jenny. Bill and I are in the kitchen talking, cleaning up and prepping for morning. The baby monitor is on and cranked up to hear any noise above breathing. Bill might have thought that I was listening for the baby.

Oh no.

Suddenly, we heard some slight noise. I turned to Bill and said, “Now! Quick! Upstairs and get her out of the baby’s room!” He dashed up the steps and flipped on the hall light. There she stood like a deer in the headlights in the middle of the baby’s room. Pete was blissfully unaware of the impending wake-up call that had just been thwarted.

Her hands were covering her face – half because of the blinding light, half with the classic toddler logic of If-I-Can’t-See-You-Then-You-Can’t-See-Me. This saved her hide because Bill finds it to be so absolutely adorable. The old softy.

Her silently led her out of the room and back to bed where her threatened her with a tremendous spanking if she got out of bed again. She stayed put and went to sleep.