Week 4 school done.. Hello Half Term

So the weekend did not go as planned.  Too much work for Mat to do so things got postponed and cancelled.

If anyone thought the 421 took their men away from their families.. try Alconbury.  Sometimes we get lost in the moment and think that we have it bad when our husbands are working long classes and have to be at work late for a couple weeks but we are in month 2 and I think I saw Mat twice as much when we were in New Jersey than I do now and that is considering his times on the weekends where he was gone hunting.  Yes I do get to see him at the end of the day but that might be over dinner and then he is studying for a little bit until he crashes because he is exhausted from the day and has to be up again at 3:30am.  We rarely get to chat without interruptions because people are calling from the moment he gets off work until he goes to bed.  Weekends have been much the same.  He is up.. he is home.. but he is on the phone working constantly.  I am waiting for things to get in order and slow down for him with work.  But when you have to  be on top of several Airmen it does not seem to end.  He just called me and told me he has to work tomorrow.  NICE.. Which means he can not even spend Halloween trick or treating with his kids.  I am guessing that this will be a short Trick or treating session since I have no clue where I am going in Base Housing and do not want to get lost along the way.  Sigh... back to being the wife of a man that works flight.  ( Done with the grump session)

But we did get the accent wall painted... Or I should say... I got the accent wall painted.

So Monday went well... I had a conference with Paige's teacher that went well.  She is very nice and very interested in getting Paige into the right place in the class.  I think she is still trying to figure out where she is in regards to math and writing.  Paige has told her that she did not learn how to connect letters together ( cursive writing)  I think Paige did not understand what she was talking about because Paige learned cursive and knows how to use it.  She also said we were on the right path with Literacy and her papers.  I was concerned but now I am not.  I am pushing her where she needs to be pushed and that makes me feel good. Mathematics she still needs to work on her multiplication.  I have been trying to do it with her but this girl does not want to work on it.  She thinks she can fly by the seat of her pants and not have to memorize them. Which is what her teacher wants.  She has her on the lowest Math worksheet for homework so I asked her to  send the middle level sheet home with her as well so that she can work on it and see if she can be lifted to the next level.  It does not seem to me to be much different so I am sure she would be fine with the middle level. Reading she is doing well with but in school they sit with an aide and read chapters to them and she said her presentation of what she is reading is strong at first but then dwindles down as she gets into reading more.   She has a good group of friends she said as well.  Katie is her best friend now but she has assured me that she doesn't just play with Katie.  She had Girl Scouts Monday night as well so we met Mat at the base.  I filled up my little puddle jumper and headed to CAC where the girls meet.  Mat was waiting there for us.  We ran some errands while she was in there and then went back to pick her up.  Saturday they have a First Aide thing at the Red Cross over in Lakenheath.  Then tour of the Hospital there.

Tuesday was a typical day but we added the fact that it was also Picture Day at school. Then came the cleaning, dinner, reading, and bed.  The kids seem to be doing well with the routine but Paige sometimes thinks she can change up the rules and decide bedtime was supposed to be later.  We have had a few nights of that.  When is it the right time to make bedtime later?  What time do most Elementary school kids go to bed?  I may be a stickler but I think they need their sleep and if I can get them into bed at a decent time, that allows them the sleep they need.  Paige is usually up until 8 reading and Mathew crashes within 15 minutes of being put to bed.  Only a few times do we have issues with the up and down the stairs before bed.

Wednesday morning happened like every Wednesday.  Lunches packed, kids to school, house cleaned, coffee and relaxation for a little bit before more cleaning.  Worked on Paige's blanket some.  Picked up kids from school, made dinner.  Mat came home... which he was not supposed to yet... He was supposed to run to Cambridge to pick up shelves I had found on Gumtree.com.  The family was selling 2 for £10 a piece.  I thought they were a good deal.  I am glad that I found them because they worked perfectly for the office and all my craft things.  They are much thicker than I thought that they would be so that makes me happy.  I thought they might be the cheap thin pressed wood we have in the states.  They still are the pressed wood but they are so much sturdier than that.  Wednesday was also Mat's brother Mike's birthday.  I can't believe it has been 3 years since he passed away.  It truly feels like yesterday.  The kids find it sad to talk about it and whenever Mathew brings Mikey's name up Paige says, lets not talk about it.  It makes me sad.  I wish Mikey would have had time to meet Mathew.  But I think he lives in Mathew because Mathew is such a CRAZY kid!  (Almost forgot... Mathew got to bring the stuffed bunny Courtney home with him Wednesday because he did well on his patterns and so he had to have photos taken with Courtney playing in with his toys and other places in the house.)

Thursday was the last day of school before Half Term.  The children in the UK have more of a year around type schedule where they have have a month summer break and then several small breaks throughout the year.  This makes it nice for us since it might not be the best times for us to travel during summer times.  So I spent the day organizing the office and removed the kids computer into their study area.  I like it much better there because now I can keep an eye on everything they are doing while on the computer and also my office... is MY OFFICE. = )  It still needs a bit of work as does most of the house but it is coming along.  I really wish I could figure out how to hang things on the walls in this house.  I hate the walls here!  I also managed to get new photos into my frames... gooooo meeeee... it was about time since I had ones of everyone that were atleast 3-4 yrs old in there.  So now... the pictures are all less than a year old.

Today, we are having a bum day.  The kids are still in PJs as am I and we have had movie time, craft time, and now they are off and playing.  We are about to have lunch so I guess I should  get a move on it.

So now we are planning half term activities.  Too bad Mat has to work!

Week 3 of School

        Friday night the kids went to their first dance- the Disco.  Paige and Mathew both picked out their outfits for the night.  My little guy got all handsome in his pinstriped suit and Paige decided that she would use one of her barbie dresses and create a flower out of it for her hair.  She was very creative.  I felt bad leaving them at the school.    Is that normal?  I guess I am overprotective with them.  It is hard to let go and let them grow.  I was worried about Mathew but he said he danced so much that his legs hurt and he had to sit down.   Paige was still dancing when I arrived to pick them up.  I had left them with money so they could get snacks and drinks and guess what... there was change left when I got there!!  WOW!

 Friday and Saturday, Mat took the trip to Germany.  It was a fast trip but it was an important one.  He Received his 4th Degree in the Knights of Columbus.  For those that do not know what that is, it is the male service fraternity for the Catholic Church.  They hold different fundraising events for charities as well as serving throughout the communities volunteering their time and services.  For not growing up Catholic, he has sure jumped in and gotten involved in the church as much as he has time for.  I am very proud of him and he sets a great example to our kids.

On Sunday we went to church meeting Mat there.  He had flown early in the morning and made it back to base an hour before Mass started.  We attended Mass, took the kids to Sunday School, stopped at Mat's work since the Commissary did not open until 11 and then went to the commissary.  We picked the kids up and headed home.  We did not do much that day as Mat was exhausted from his trip.

Monday the kiddos went to school.  A typical week started.  I did some cleaning and picking up from the weekend.  Got all the laundry done, cleaned kids rooms and made beds, and cleaned the bathrooms.  I then started working on a blanket for Paige.  I am going to try to finish it by Christmas but I am going to have to figure out how to get more yarn in the colors I need.  I am not sure if I can find a store here or if I will have to order it from Joann's and have it delivered to me... in that case I am not sure if it will make it in time for me to finish the blanket before christmas.  I want to also make one for Mathew but I ll have to work on one at a time.  His will be Ohio state colors to match his room.  I can't wait to make that one!  Paige had girl scouts that night so Mat took her because gas was low in my car and he was going to fill it up on base.  Well on the way there, he hit 2 pheasants with my car.  UGH!!!  The gas station was closed and to top it off... he hit a badger on the way home!  HELLO... the Silver bullet was out to kill that night!

Tuesday I did my daily checklist of cleaning.  Kitchen and dining room scrub down!  Luckily it does not always take me that long to do these things because I have made it a habit to do the kitchen and dining room wipe down after dinner.  It is more of getting the floors scrubbed up and looking nice that takes a bit more time.  Also a bit of dusting and a scrubbing of the fixtures and cabinets. I worked more on the blanket but it seems that I do not have much time to get it done especially when it is a big blanket.  If it were for a baby it would not take so long but it has to be big enough for a grown girl to cover up with it and I would like for it to fit her bed if possible.

Wednesday, School and then Office clean up. A bit more crocheting. Nothing fabulous.

Thursday, Took the kiddos to school (had copies of my passport, visa, and DL made at the school so we could start the background check process so I could help out at the school) and then cleaned up the living room... DVD and bluerays put in their proper spots.. dusting, sweeping, floor  cleaning, and getting the couches all put together where they belong.  With wood floors these couches travel easily.. and they split apart when they are not supposed to.  Thursday night I had a conference with Mathew's teacher.  She gave him a great report and said that he has melted into the classroom wonderfully.  He is working hard at school and trying his best with reading and writing.  His blending of sounds are going well... She said here in the UK they teach the alphabet more as sounds and not so much as letters so when they start writing and reading they associate the letters to the sounds and it helps them to do it much easier... HELLO AMERICA... we need to do this!  We focus so much on what each letter is that when learning to read it is not as easy.  If we focused on the sounds from the start the kids would be reading much faster!  She also said that after half term, the kids would start having spelling tests... EEEEKKKKK... 5 words a week.  I think this momma and boy are going to be a bit stressed for a while.  She did say that she thinks by the end of the year, he will be at the same level as the other kids and not be behind at all.  That is a great thing.  He is picking up things fast there.

This morning I was woken up by Mat at 3:30 and again at 6.  He left for work and on his way to work he hit a deer.  Those little dog type deer that they have here hide in the bushes and jump out when they get startled.  He has to yank it from under the truck because it had gotten stuck under there.  YUCK!  So he was home at 6 to take a shower and wash off all the yuckies!  NICE!  Mathew heard him home and woke up and after Mat left out the door, Paige woke up and came down saying she saw dad leave.  After getting dressed and ready for school,  Mathew was telling me about how he was learning about the ear and that there is a cochlea inside of our ear... he ran to the conservatory and grabbed his snail shell, brought it to me, and said this is what the cochlea looks like in your inner ear and there is a nerve that takes the sound to your brain.  What a smarty pants.  I can not believe they are going that in depth with 5 and 6 yr olds.  I do not believe we learned that under we were a lot older.. if we did, I do not remember it!!  After taking the kids to school, I went and grabbed a movie for tonights movie night and headed to lunch with Mat.  It was nice to sit and chat and then guess who shows up, Father from church.  I think we run into him all the time.  He is a very nice guy and enjoys hunting so of course Mat had to tell him about his week.  He is headed back to the states soon to hunt and is really looking forward to it.  He is also pinning Major on and having a party at his house with home brewed beer. LOL.

Tomorrow we will probably head to Lakenheath since Mat has a Knights meeting and the kids and I will stay with Erin and let the kids play.  I will be searching for a pumpkin patch to take the kids to hopefully so they can enjoy the holiday coming up.

Sickness and Paint

After my last post, we had a bit of an eventful time.  I picked the children up from school on Friday and Mathew said he was not feeling very well.  He did not look like he was feeling great either.  Once we got home both kids went to the living room but only a few minutes later Mathew was standing in front of me in the kitchen vomiting.  UGH!  The flooring in the kitchen is not the best to puke or spill anything on.  The wood floors have some large gaps in them that everything gets stuck in so when he vomited all over the floor he did it good.  To make matters worse, I had to cook soon after this and cleaning up vomit and the smell of it still lingering did not make for a great cooking experience.  So needless to say, Friday he was on the couch in the living room until Saturday morning.

Saturday morning, he was feeling much better in the morning which I was happy about but did not have a great appetite.  We had some errands to run so that we could get started with Painting the house.  I had done the entrance but needed a second coat on the top and had run out of the Lovely Green color I needed. So we went to B&Q in Peterborough to get some more.  While we were there, we looked for a color for the living area.  We knew we wanted to get rid of the yellow color but we were not sure on what beige color we wanted.  Beige is always the go to when we have a home because it always goes with all our decor.  We chose a color and of course they did not have 4 -2.5L containers of it... so we moved on to another to see if we could come close to what we had decided.  We finally found Toasted Almond.  It was a deeper beige color and I thought it would look nice on the walls.  So we grabbed up 4 cans hoping it would be enough to do the living space!

Morning Fog

Sunday we had church and then fellowship followed.  It was a nice service and the food was delicious afterwards.  We always like to take some time out of our Sundays and get to know people from church at functions like this.  This is why we liked Fort Dix Chapel before it all changed over.  It was nice to just sit, relax and enjoy company there.  Once we left, Paige said she was not feeling well.. UH OH.... We came home and she was on the couch.  She said she could feel her tummy was just not right.  She did not vomit but she seemed as she might.  I was really hoping we could get past her being sick but I guess not.  So Sunday was a pretty lazy day for us.  Mathew of course is always on his bike.

Monday was Mat and I's only day off together without kids but of course Paige woke up not feeling well and so I kept her home.  It was a not what we had planned but heck... when does it ever go as planned when you have kiddos.  She was confined to my bedroom and only out when she needed a bite to eat or needed to use the bathroom.  She tried several times to come out but I refused to play that game.  You are sick, you are in the bed!  I finished painting the entrance and then started on the living room. UGH!  I do not like edging or painting anymore!  It was a paint in the booty to get to done and took 3 days to complete.  I felt like I got into a good rhythm and then had to stop to do something else.  Cleaning was put on hold for the most part on Monday.

Tuesday both kids were well and so off to school they went.  More painting done and some breaks to get cleaning done as well.  Time goes so fast during the day.  The kids came home from school and then Mat.  We had dinner and then decided to take the kids to the Tops In Blues concert at RAF Molesworth.  The concert was great but it got late and so we had to leave before it was over.  The performers did a wonderful job keeping everyone interested and kept the energy up.  We arrived home and the kiddos were off to bed as were Mat and I.

Wednesday was another day of school.  The kids were a bit hard to get moving but that is expected from the late night at the concert.  Paige had a play date that night so we were getting everything ready for that as well as school.  Mathew was sad that he was not able to go over to someone house but he doesn't realize that you can not just go to other peoples' houses and that you must be invited.  He also feels that at 5 he should have friends like Paige and that parents should be ok with their children coming over to play.  Not everyone is at ease with that as I am leery because at 5 you are not as aware as you are at 9... even though still at 9 it is hard for me to let go of control of Paige.  There are too many bad things that can happen.  After school Paige walked home with her friend and we headed back to the house.  We waited for Mat to get home and then Mat, Mathew and I went for an exploration at the Great Fen.  What a BEAUTIFUL place!  It is very natural and we were able to catch site of some Deer there.  Too bad I could not get a clear photo since they were in the distance.  After that we headed to pick up Paige.  Her friends house is pretty close to ours so it was easy to find.  The family is super nice and very inviting.  They have 3 girls and each girl had a playmate over for the evening.  It was hard to pull Paige from her friend but we managed after about 30 minutes.  It is nice that she can have such a great friend with a wonderful family.

Thursday was an eventful  day.  We woke and there was a gorgeous sunrise.  Many mornings we wake and are able to see the sun as it comes up.  This morning the colors were amazing!  I got the kids ready and headed to the school.  Moments after arriving home and grabbing my coffee, I received a call from Mat that he needed me to head to base.  Not too many details were given but when he says he needs me, it is obviously important so I headed out.  I was not too far from the house when he called and said nevermind but I continued and we decided to have lunch together.  He filled me in on the situation that was going on while I was on the phone and when we got to lunch, he received several calls and it turns out that I was needed.  One of the troops had a family emergency and were at the hospital.  They have 2 young children, 1 and 3, and the wife's sister wanted to go to the hospital to be with them.  So I went over with Mat and grabbed the kiddos up and placed them into the car.  What I did not know before arriving at the house was that this family is spanish speaking and only speak a little English.  The children do not speak it at all.  So there was going to be a big language barrier for me but I knew we would work through it.  I felt horrible that I could not understand the little girl but she seemed to understand me and we used pointing and signing to make it through the day.  Mom and Dad returned home around the time I had to pick up the kids from school so I took the kiddos to pick up my kids and then once we got back home, Mat took the little ones back to base to be with their parents.  I do not want to go into many details of the families situation but they do need some prayers so if you could say a few for comfort, they would be appreciated.  Once we were home it was time to get dinner together.  Mat's buddy Ross was headed over because they were headed to Germany for their Knights Of Columbus ceremonies.  Mat will come back a 4th degree knight as well as Ross.  It is a big event.  I wish we could have went but it was not possible this time.

Today, we woke and I WAS EXHAUSTED and my body aches.  I did not sleep well at all and so I was up half the night.  Mathew was up with Mat and Paige was in my bed when I woke... so they too did not sleep well.  Maybe it was the weather.  It rained all night and was windy.  Now I sit here trying to relax and get this body in order to clean house before the kids come home.  I am enjoying the quiet day right now and just relaxing.