settling in...

As of tomorrow, Bella and I will have been together for an entire week.  It feels really nice to finally be here and not have to worry about getting the house together, the meals together and my husband prepared for my next imminent premature departure.  I am thoroughly enjoying taking my time re-organizing our lovely little apartment, planning our meals for the week, getting reacquainted with my husband and getting more familiar with our life as a family unit.  It is sometimes awkward but always a learning/growing experience.  We are truly blessed to have this time together and I know we will always look back on it with fondness. 
Today I am focusing on getting the master bedroom organized and tidied up.  It will be a challenge to fit me and Tom's things together (especially with all those shoes!) - but with a few smart organizational tools, and my savvy regarding puzzle solving, I know it'll work out.
Well, I'd better get going - Tom will be home in 45 minutes for lunch!

SO SO SO MUCH!

As our countdown draws closer to an end it feels as though the days are getting shorter.  Ever have that happen to you?  I was at a dinner party this weekend where I heard of life described of as being like a roll of toilet paper.  That as you draw closer to the end, it seems to unravel faster.  Thats what these last few weeks have felt like, and undoubtedly will be what these next two feel like.

Bella and I had an awesome weekend which sadly ended with her waking this monday morning with a terrible sinus infection and croup cough.   Friday night we went with "Uncle Brandon" to a BBQ for a friend from high school.  Its so wonderful to see old friends and to learn that they really haven't changed much except for growing wiser and more mature.  Saturday we went to a dinner party and "Auntie Christena's" house and had a really nice time until my allergies took over.  I haven't been around cats for years and apparently have no defense against them any more.  Sunday was our usual routine which is always a blessing.  I had 14 preschoolers in my class - a new record for sure!  Then Tia, Dave, Dave's sister Stephanie and their whole brood came over for lunch with my Noni which was really nice.  Dave took some of the kids and Stephanie to Diamond Head for a hike and then greeted us on their return home with yummy malasadas!  As the night ended, Bella and I were thoroughly exhausted from our weekend activities, but happy and blessed all the same.

I am home today with her, as she is sick, and its Zack's 25th birthday!  We're supposed to go out to dinner tonight...I'll pray, but I'm not so sure with my sick little one...

T Minus 33 Days

so here I am.  33 days left until Bella and I are reunited with my husband and we can live together as a family.  FINALLY.  We are flying out sometime in the second week of June - most likely the 6th or 7th - I'll be booking our tickets this week.  The three of us are nothing less than absolutely ecstatic to be together.  But HOLY MOLY there is so much to do in the next few weeks.

• deciding what to take, what not to take? 
• getting any paperwork Bella and I might need over there together
• Registering at Ft. Bragg with ACS and CYSS
• Getting Bella set up for continuing gymnastics and starting ballet in NC
• setting up our road trip to Maine in mid-June
• notifying the appropriate people of our "hiatus' " in Hawaii : Bella's current gym, Avon, etc.
• post and sell remaining wedding items on ebay

I'm confident it will all get done - I've certainly got the motivation!  It's also looking like Bella and I will be back in Hawaii for the month of August.  Everything is so uncertain with the military that all I can do to keep my sanity is plan for the worst and hope for the best.  In planning for the worst, Bella and I would return to Hawaii for the month of August and from there plan out the rest of the year - whether that means staying in Hawaii or returning again to NC.  I know what my heart desires, I can only pray that it would be as God desires as well.

over it

Starting fresh.  Thats what I'm doing.  I've stopped taking my prescribed medications and now only pop my mulitvitamin in the mornings with my coffee.  And I feel good.  Truth be told, I don't really feel any different being off of them.  I am perpetually exhausted, but I suppose that has its own explanation as well.  So I'm turning a new leaf, starting on a fresh page, opening a new door - all of it. 

•  I will accomplish my "to-do" lists at work each day. 
•  I will walk every day at least 2 miles. 
•  I will do yoga 3-4 times a week.
•  I will drink a minimum of 60 oz of water.
• I will watch what I eat and maintain a food journal.

Thats all for today.  I also will NOT beat myself up for not being a nazi about it.  I'm still gonna have my menchies occasionally and I'm still gonna eat fast food on fridays.  So there.

planning for deployment...

Wow!  It amazes me how things can change over the course of one week!  While nothing is absolutely official yet, Tom has been informed that he will be deploying with his unit to Afghanistan in July of this year.  As Tom puts it, "Its not official 'till I'm in the bird and we're taking off."  Regardless, this is what he's been told, and therefore, what we are planning and preparing for.  What does that mean exactly?  It means that

BELLA AND I ARE GOING TO NORTH CAROLINA!!!!! 

We want to be sure that we spend some precious quality time with Tom before he leaves to serve and protect or country.  What I'm preparing for is Bella and I moving out there for 6-8 weeks prior to his departure date (which we estimate is July 1st).  And what does that mean exactly?
It means that I've got a number of bases to cover before we depart:

1) Find a temporary replacement for myself at work from May-June
Jade has graciously afforded this time off to me.  I will be coming back during the 6-8 weeks to perform some of my duties that we feel would be easier for me to return to do rather than train the temp to do.

2)Inform Bella's school that she'll be ending the year early.
Bella's school year ends on May 24th.  We would be leaving a few weeks before then which means she'll miss out on her graduation ceremony. 

3)Inform my church family of our plans and ask for prayer.
I'll have to be taken off of the preschool teaching schedule and the praise team for May, June and possibly July. 

4)Set and actual departure date and determine what stays and what goes.
Being that we'll only be gone for 2 months, its not like we'll need everything including the kitchen sink.  It might include sending a few boxes over parcel post, but who knows. 

Items 1 and 2 are already well under way.  Today I interviewed an amazing candidate that I came across through a staffing agency.  She was laid off due to the economic downturn, but the woman actually has WAY more experience than I do!  Twenty years and a degree more experience!!  I really liked her and think she would be a great fit here.  I've also talked to the director at Bella's school.  They have agreed to pro-rate the month of May and to keep her slot open for the Pre-K 4 year.
Items 3 and 4 can get underway!  I am absolutely elated to be FINALLY going to be with my husband.  I am not going to worry about what we'll do if he ends up not being deployed.  I will do as it says in Matthew 6:34:

"Therefore I say to you do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Clenched Fists and Butterfingers

You know what happens when we hold on to something too tightly?  We crush it.  Deprive it of air.  Forbid it of room to move, grow, adapt or change altogether.

You know what happens when we hold on to something to loosely?  It slips through our fingers and dissipates.  Evaporates.  Becomes nothing.  Lost forever to any opportunity to move, grow, adapt or change altogether.

My point is this:  We can't hold on to things too tightly or too loosely.  We need to cradle and uplift these "things" - whatever they may be - and hold them in such a way that will allow them to be molded by God.  Ultimately, everything is a result of His planning.  Imagine then, that as you hold up your "thing", He holds His hands gently and warmly around yours.  You can try as you might to break away from those hands, but it will always be in vain.  May as well just relax into Him, allow Him to take control and rely in the knowledge that He knows whats best for you.

Once-A-Month Cooking Day!!!

So today is my OAMC (Once-A-Month Cooking) day!  Before I begin, I have to give credit where credit is due.  This is all a result of my sister Tia's encouragement and experimentation.  I had never heard of this brilliance before she mentioned it, and would have never tried it had she not let me borrow her book the last time I went to see Tom.  Today is not the first time I've done some OAM cooking, but it is the first time I've done the WHOLE month.  When I did this for Tom, I think I only made 6 or 7 meals, whereas this time I'm making 20.  The reason for this is because my parents left last night for close to 5 weeks on the mainland which means I am left to care for all the children, pets and the household, while working full time, selling Avon, being active in the church and carting the girls to their various activities.  I don't want to have to worry about what I'm cooking for dinner each day, but instead will follow a simple schedule I've devised for each week which merely consists of thawing and reheating these pre-cooked meals.  My sister's blog Fits and Giggles of the Hawaiian Heldts has some AWESOME links and information if this is something you're interested in.  Just click on this link : OAMC Part II.
My goal for this month is to eat home-cooked meals 4 days a week, eat leftovers 2 days a week and then eat out the last day. 

Today I will be cooking:
1.  Spaghetti
2.  French Bread Pizza
3.  Meatloaf
4.  Stuffed Shells
5.  Teriyaki Burgers
6.  Chicken Broccoli Casserole
7.  Chicken Nuggets
8.  Chicken Supreme
9.  Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
10.Garlic Cheddar Chicken
11.Sour Cream Chicken
12.Ham Dinner Slices
13.Meal-on-the-Run Pork Loin
14.Stuffed Pork Chops
15.Upside-Down Fettucine Bake
16.Baked Herb Fish Fillets
17.Baked Mediterranean Cod
18.Grilled Fish
19.Orecciette with Tuna
20.Kielbasa with Saurkraut

Just as Tia said, let me know if you have any questions.  This would benefit any person in any situation: single, married - with or without children, working moms or stay-at-home!  Well, I'm off to the kitchen...