Kat's Arbitrary Thought Processes

2009 was insane. I know. I really didn’t blog much at all for the last half of the year, but it’s not for lack of material.  Seriously, I think I probably had a frillion posts all written in my head. Unfortunately, by the time I had time to sit and write, I had no energy or drive to do so!  So… let’s just do a quick rundown, shall we?  Strap yourselves in… this is gonna be a long one. 🙂

January – BigBoy turned 4, and the month passed way too fast for my liking.

February – DH deployed for 6 months, his first time deploying on a boat in 19+ years with the Navy.  Yes, he’s been extremely lucky like that.

March – March was a very difficult month.  I started a downhill slide into a deep depression.  I wasn’t sleeping well, I missed my husband, I was stressed to the max, and July, when DH was due home, seemed like a lifetime away.

April – Easter was good, though we missed DH.  I finally accepted that I wasn’t just going to “snap out of it” and got some help.  Those little pink “happy” pills made all the difference, and suddenly life was not just bearable, but even enjoyable again.

May – Apparently I didn’t blog at all.  I did take some photos, though I didn’t upload them all. We upgraded our cell plan to allow me to txt to DH’s email from anywhere.  An unfortunate side effect was that I took more photos with the crappy cell phone cam then I did with my real camera.  I also began reading up on wedding photography again, in preparation for my sister’s upcoming wedding.  The TXT’ing, combined with the self-applied pressure led to a bloggy block.  There was just nothing left to type at the end of the day.  But so much happened in May!

The kids took swimming lessons. Oh, the drama.  Let’s just say that I did not get along with the original swim instructor.  We got into it a few times.  But I did find a wonderful woman who is brilliant with kids and swim lessons.  If we ever get a chance to do lessons again, I want her to be their instructor.  We even discovered a cheap option for year ’round swimming.  May not have been able to take advantage of it, but it’s nice to know its there.

Also in May, my sister-in-law came for a visit with her two little cuties.  BigBoy had a blast with his Tio because he finally had a guy he could really let loose and jump all over.

GeekBoy learned how to climb the tree out front.  He helped me change the home air filter and the wiper blades.  He pitched in around the house and helped take out the trash.  Big Boy learned to swing, all by himself. He had the best time out there pumping his legs and getting the swing higher and higher. thePinkDiva got bit by something at a church picnic, and wound up with a case of cellulitis in her arm.

May was also the month that made me realize that maybe testing the kids for Learning Disabilities, ADHD, et al, was not a bad thing.  I’d been resisting the testing, figuring that I already had some solid ideas on what each kid needed in the way of help.  But my experience with anti-depressants in April, plus some other factors, made me rethink my position a bit.  So GeekBoy’s testing was scheduled for the first week of June.

June – Again, I didn’t blog at all.  Not many photos either.  I was stressing out over my role as photographer for my little sister’s wedding.  GeekBoy’s testing was scheduled, and my good friend Renee was a great help.  She willingly babysat the younger kids every time I had to take GeekBoy in.  We also went to Busch Gardens a few times, had a blast in the new Sesame Street area.  Then Gramma came over for a visit, to help out for a weekend and try to give me a break, and the kids actually talked her into riding the Grover Coaster. A great time was had by all!

July – I posted a grand total of one time, about the Fourth of July.

July 11, Nani & NinjaPenguin were finally tying the knot.  The 4 hour drive to my mom’s house was tricky in itself, because it is next to impossible for me to drive that long of a distance without falling asleep.  Arrangements had to be made, careful planning and strategy had to be employed to get us all there in one piece.  We made it.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful.  Geekboy was a videographer, thePinkDiva was the flower girl, and BigBoy was the ring bearer.  The three of them put on quite a show throughout the ceremony.  None of them were disruptive, but they all supplied some comedic relief.  Then it was over, as was the easy part of my job as photographer.  After more careful planning we made it back home and I began stage two of wedding photography – photo editing.  I was intent on getting the job done in 2 weeks.  Not because my sister or mother wanted it done that fast, but because I wanted to have the job over with before my husband was due home at the end of the month.  The kids were fabulous, and well-behaved, and very helpful around the house as I worked on photos.

I started making my plans for the next homeschool year, doing my research,  making curriculum choices and lesson plans.  The kids and I started working on homecoming plans.  DH and I also started coordinating his retirement ceremony via email, as he was due to retire about a week after he got home.  My Sister-In-Law pitched in, and was fabulous as the family travel agent, arranging flights and such for DH’s parents to be able to come to the ceremony.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, GeekBoy’s testing results came back.  I was informed that we have an ADHD, LD Aspie.  Even though I had suspected everything the results said, it was still a bit of an over whelming shock to see my suspicions confirmed by a medical professional.  I knew about the Dysgraphia, and the ADHD.  The Processing disorder caught me off guard a bit, but I had suspected the Asperger’s Syndrome for a while.  He’s still the same, amazing kid he has always been, but at least now we have a greater understanding of why he acts the way he does.  We have chosen to not medicate at this point.  Homeschooling is now not just a choice, but doctor recommended, as the perfect method of teaching this wonderfully creative boy.

Then, the day came.  July 30th we drove to the base and staked out some spots in the parking lot.  Renee and her kids showed up and parked next to us, and the kids had a blast out in the parking lot while we waited.  And waited.  and waited.  My 3 kids and her 4 kids had fun playing together between and in both cars with the books and toys we’d brought.  Then finally the boat pulled in! Oh! the excitement!  Daddy was soooo close!  A few more hours of waiting for ceremonial stuff to be done and the guys to be let off, and we had him!  Daddy was home!

August – We no sooner had DH home, then family started flying in and driving down from all across the country.  At one point, we had 11 people in our small, 4 bedroom home.  It was cramped, but wonderful! We hadn’t seen DH’s side of the family in years.  It was so much fun to be able to play host and show off the house and all the hard work we’d put into it.

DH’s retirement ceremony was held on board the carrier.  He did it that way so that our kids would get a chance to get on board and see where he’d been living for the last six months, and this was the only way the 4 year old would be allowed on board.  It was a wonderful, touching ceremony.  At one point, DH’s Chief told me, “We’ve had him for 20 years, now it’s your turn.”  One of the poems read was called “The Watch“.  I was absolutely in tears when I heard the last line:

Shipmate you stand relieved.. we have the watch.

After the ceremony, we all headed back to the house for a party! I had made the Carne Asada in advance, but my mother-in-law helped with the rest of the food.  Chili, Mexican Rice, Beans, all that stuff this gringa hasn’t a clue how to make! *S* We had 16 people squished into the house that day.  Thankfully it was a nice day and we were able to use the deck out back.  The cousins (my 3, and SIL’s 2) had a great time playing in the yard.  Then my kids tried to beat their 2 teenage cousins on the Wii, and actually did a pretty good job of it.  It was so much fun, and everyone got along for at least one day.

The next day, my sister-in-law, her munchkins, my father-in-law & his brother, DH’s Tio & his boys, and my mom all left.  Since my Mother-in-law and her boyfriend were staying at a hotel up the road, we had the house to ourselves for the first time, pretty much since DH got home.  The next week we spent plenty of time with DH’s mom, and visited the Aquarium and the zoo.  All too soon the time had come, and they were gone. The rest of August passed in a blur of relief as the weariness took over and we just relaxed and enjoyed the time together.  DH was home, all was right with the world.

September – DH began his job search, and the boys’ soccer season started.  We began working on lessons again, and the kids started taking lessons at the local Cultural Arts Center.  They got classes in Art, Theater/Music, and Martial Arts/Dance, and loved it. We all made a few new friends, and really enjoyed the atmosphere.   One day, around the middle of the month, a huge branch just fell out of the tree out front.  No apparent reason for it either.  Luckily, no one was hurt, and there was no damage done as it fell into the empty street.  DH rented a chainsaw and we added to our firewood pile.  Weekends were consumed with soccer games, and weekdays passed in a blur of Math, Reading, Phonics, and more.  Then a storm hit, and even more of the tree fell, again, into the street.  This time the only casualties were about 10 birds, who had sought refuge from the storm in the tree and never had a chance. 🙁 Such a huge part fell, that we felt it prudent to call in a professional, and the tree was removed.

October – DH was still looking for a new job, and feeling the pressure because his Terminal Leave would be over at the end of the month.  We took a field trip to Jamestown, continued classes at the Cultural Arts Center, and played a lot of soccer, even though we got rained out a few times.  DH was baptized in the middle of the month. Halloween came around, and we made Sugar Skulls, sort of.

November – GeekBoy completed his math book, 3 months ahead of schedule.  The classes at the Cultural Art Center ended, and we got tickets to see Avner the Eccentric.  Great show, btw.  Our Thanksgiving plans to go up to my mom’s house were changed because DH got a job! He’s now working for JC Penney, on the replenishment team and loves it.  The soccer season ended abruptly when the last game of the year was flooded out.  Did I say flood?  Because, oh yes. It rained soooo much that the local area was flooded! We were lucky, having been smart enough to pay attention to the flood plains when buying our home, but many others have been underwater since Thanksgiving.  Every time the water starts to recede, we get more rain!

December – GeekBoy turned 9 years old.  Wow.  Where did the time go?  As I began to feel guilty about my lack of blogging and all the little details that were quickly escaping my memory, GeekBoy put things into perspective for me.  We baked & ate a lot of cookies.  I found an ingenious way to keep the gingerbread house from falling apart.  GeekBoy ripped through book 1 of the Harry Potter series in 24 hours.  BigBoy kicked all our butts at Wii Bowling.  We got a tiny smattering of snowflakes and Geekboy instantly tried to scrape whatever he could together to throw at people.  Gramma came down to visit for Christmas.  Christmas was small, but good, and the kids just loved all the Bionicles they got.

So that was 2009.  I’d say “in a nutshell” but this post is way too long for that.  Of course, that’s what happens when you quit blogging for almost 6 months!  So here’s to 2010.  Hopefully I’ll be better at keeping up with the blogging, and the photos, and the scrapbooking, etc….  but…. I wouldn’t count on it. 🙂