So Excited, Just Can't hide it!

Brian is coming home tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I am not one to overuse exclamation points. Occasionally (almost rarely) I will use two, but never more than that. I believe that right now the sentence, "Brian is coming home tomorrow," deserves all the exclamation points it can get.

It has been almost three weeks since his last visit, and of course, that visit was only two days long. Tomorrow he finishes up his rotation at the VA hospital at the Madigan Air Force base, so he has all of next week off. He'll be home for nine whole days! (That actually deserves a whole ton of exclamation points, but that would make this a really, really long post.)

I am so excited to see him. It's been hard having him gone for so long. The Proclamation on the Family says that a family needs a father and a mother. I've always believed that, but until now I've never experienced anything different than that, so I've never had cause to question it. Believe me, it is so true. Not just because it's an extra person to help with the dishes and take care of the kids, but more that both the husband and the wife bring different dynamics to the family, which creates the family atmosphere. If you take the husband or the wife away, things obviously change. We miss Brian so much. We miss him as a person - we miss him - but we also miss having a husband and a father in our home. It's very different without him.

Three months ago, if someone were to ask me why I'm excited for graduation, I would have said I'm excited because we'd be able to get a job, start making money, pay off school loans, settle down, etc. Now I'm so excited for Brian to graduate, because it will mean that he'll be back with us for good.

This decision to be apart like this was a very hard one to make, and so far (even though it's difficult) it has worked very well. I'm thankful that the kids and I are settled, and Alyssa doesn't have to change schools every three months. Brian was lucky to be able to rent a room from a bishop that lives there, so he hasn't been coming home to an empty, lonely apartment every night. He calls me every morning on his way to the hospital, sometimes at lunch time, and then when he's done for the day. We talk on the computer at night time, after the kids have gone to bed. Sometimes we just turn the cameras on so we can see and hear each other, but then we just do our own thing. Last night he was reading, and I was sewing. We'd say something to each other now and again, but really it was just nice knowing that we were both there, with each other...kind of. Actually, since he's been away, we've been talking more than ever. But all the talking in the world isn't worth anything if you can't hug your husband every now and again.

I am so excited for him to come tomorrow, and I'm very excited to have one more rotation done with and be one step closer to graduation and getting my husband back for ever, not just for a couple of days.

Kickin' it Slow on a Sunday

Alyssa wasn't feeling well on Saturday, and all three of my kids woke up Sunday morning, running green snot from their noses. So we decided to stay home from church, drug up on Tylenol Cold and Cough, and try to kick the cold virus right out of our house.

Alyssa watched Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat a couple times, the boys played with trucks in the basement, and I finished up the kids' Halloween costumes.

After lunch we straightened up the house, then played "Disney's Scene It" that we're borrowing from our friends. At first we tried to use the game board and dice, but the boys weren't exactly up to moving their game piece without either driving it all over the table or stuffing it in their mouth. (I don't know why Alyssa gave Marcus his own game piece.) So we turned the DVD on to Party Play and had a great time watching clips of Disney movies, and answering questions. (If you blow up the picture, you can see Marcus trying to drink root beer from an empty can. Apparently we didn't clean well enough.)

Brian's parents were nice enough to bring us dinner, since we missed going to their house. We had roast and potatoes, and I didn't have to cook a thing!

After Dan and Diane left, we ate dinner, cleaned up, started some chocolate chip cookie dough, had baths and a shower, and got in our clean, warm pajamas. Then we turned the love seat around so it faced the computer, baked the cookies, and did one of the best things you can do in October: watch The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.


I was a little worried that the kids might be afraid at parts, but Alyssa thought that Ichabod Crane being raced down by the Headless Horseman was the most hilarious thing she'd ever seen. Ethan took cues from her on when to laugh, but he did seem to be concerned about Ichabod's safety. Marcus was just happy to have a cookie.

That Darn Cat

The other night, just after I went to bed, I heard "scuffle, scuffle, scuffle," then a loud "meow"come from the hallway. I ignored it, but then there came another "meow," even louder.

"Callie, shhh," I said, hoping the noise wouldn't wake the kids. But once Callie knew I was listening to her, she started meowing nonstop until I dragged myself out of bed and walked to the hallway. There she sat, guarding her kill, looking at me with a proud gleam in her eyes. It was dark in the hallway, and all I could see of her prey was a small gray lump, with buggy eyes, staring right up at me. Although I suspected what it was, I didn't want to pick it up until I knew for certain.

I turned on the light, and found a crocheted octopus finger puppet, lying helplessly on the floor. And once again, Callie looked up at me, waiting for praise. "Good job," I said while picking up the puppet and tossing it on my dresser. I tried to get Callie to come to bed with me, but she wouldn't budge from her protective post in front of the kids' room. And I went to sleep happily, knowing that my children were protected from any kind of finger puppet that might try to attack them during the night.

This is actually the bear she killed the next morning.

Getting Prepared

Went to Winco yesterday and got a ton of flour, sugar, oats, rice, honey, corn meal, powdered milk, jams, peanut butter, canola oil, shortening...um, the list goes on and on. We're getting our food storage together, and it's so exciting!

Our costumes

Brooke was the one who came the closest to guessing all of our costumes, so she'll be getting "It's Halloween" in the mail, hopefully before Halloween next week. I'm really excited to share that book - it's a great one!

So here are the answers to what the Jacks family is going to be for Halloween this year, along with some pictures of the costumes as they are now.



















Clue:
1. Marcus and me - (we go together) Boston, 1830, Thomas Edison

Marcus and I are going to be Mary and her Little Lamb. Originally, we were going to be Little Bo Peep and a sheep, but I didn't really like the fact that Bo loses the sheep. I know, it's silly, but it kept bothering me. When I was googling costume ideas, I came across the poem "Mary Had a Little Lamb," which would be the same costumes with a different title.

I really like this, because I found out while researching that the last stanza of the poem goes:

"Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
The eager children cry;
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,"
The teacher did reply.

And I think that's pretty cool, 'cause I love Marcus, and he loves me.

The clues make sense, because the poem was written in Boston in 1830. Then Thomas Edison recited the first stanza of this poem to test his invention of the phonograph in 1877, being the second audio recording to be successfully made and played back.


Clue:
2. Alyssa - Friendly version of a royal novel

Alyssa is going to be a clown. We got the idea when she had Crazy Hair Day at cheerleading, and we're going to do a more elaborate version of the hair-do she had for that. I'm so excited that her hair is long enough now to do cool things with!

Her clue eludes to the clown from "It," the book by Steven King. I haven't read the book, but I watched the movie when I was younger.


Clue:
3. Ethan - "The Jaws that bite, the claws that catch!" but he's not a Jaberwock. When you ask Ethan what he wants to be for Halloween, he says "Duh - duhs -doh."

It's pretty obvious now that Ethan is a dinosaur. He and Brian picked out his fabric, and he's been very interested in the process of putting the costume together.


Clue:
4. Brian - Brian doesn't even know what he's going to be yet. I haven't told him. But what Brian is going to be scares some people who eat dairy products sitting down.

As far as we know so far, Brian is going to be a spider, but the way things are looking, we might change it to something easier. It kind of depends on when he'll be home and how much of Halloween he'll be able to participate in.

Little Miss Muffet, who sat on her tuffet, was eating curds and whey when she was startled away by a spider. Curds and whey, is cottage cheese, thus....dairy product.

Tie Breaker

Brooke and Arin are in the lead with two correct guesses each. I'm posting a tie breaker crossword puzzle to determine the winner.

Brooke knows who Marcus and I are (remember? We count as one) and who Ethan is, and Arin knows who Ethan and Brian are. So that just leaves Alyssa. I didn't think she'd be that hard to come to, but then again, I'm looking at it from the side that knows the answers. Here are the hints I've given so far about Alyssa:

1. Friendly version of a royal novel.
2. The novel was made into a movie in 1990. Alyssa is a nice version of one of the characters.

Here is the link to the crossword puzzle. Alyssa's costume is in the puzzle, but it's not listed on the side with the rest of the words. Let's see who can find it first. I'm trying not to give another hint, because I don't want to make it too easy. Brooke lives on the East Coast, so she's a few hours ahead of Arin. (I don't want to make it so easy that it's a first come, first served type of thing.) So let me know if you guys are still having trouble, but I hope that you can find her costume in the crossword.

Clarifications

Here's a couple more hints for the ones people are having trouble with:

1. Marcus and me - We're not one of Thomas Edison's inventions. The inspiration for our costumes was used on one of his inventions.
2. Alyssa - The novel was made into a movie in 1990. Alyssa is a nice version of one of the characters.

For the Love of Halloween (Giveaway)

It's Halloween! It's Halloween!

The moon is full and bright
And we shall see what can't be seen
On any other night.

Skeletons and ghosts and ghouls,
Grinning goblins fighting duels,
Werewolves rising from their tombs,
Witches on their magic brooms.

In masks and gowns we haunt the street
And knock on doors for trick or treat.
Tonight we are the king and queen,
For oh, tonight it's HALLOWEEN!

Halloween is just two weeks away, and I am so excited! It may be silly and childish, but I absolutely love to dress up for Halloween. I've been working on Ethan's and Alyssa's costumes, and I've got the material sitting downstairs, waiting for me to sew Marcus's and mine. Brian's costume is just floating around in the back of my mind for a while - Halloween is his last day of this rotation, and we don't know if he'll make it in time to go trick-or-treating with us yet. I sure hope he can!

The poem above was written by Jack Prelutsky, and can be found in his book, (surprise, surprise) "It's Halloween." We had this book growing up, and it was one of my favorites! Ever since I left home, I've been wanting to buy this book so I can share it with my children. This is the year that this book will be purchased, and I plan on snuggling up with my children to read it to them very soon. I think Alyssa will love it - she's very in to "spooky ookey" this year. (I'd like to thank Playhouse Disney for that term.)

Whoever can be the first to guess what my family is going to be for Halloween this year, will receive their very own copy of "It's Halloween" to share with their family. Competition is limited to those that I haven't already told what we're going to be. (Sorry guys) Mom, you definitely can't guess, because you were the one who gave me the idea for Brian's costume...and no one's allowed to call my mother for hints. I'm hoping that these clues are a bit difficult, so if you think you're on the right track, but don't want to give up your guesses as hints for the others, you can email me at carrielynnjacks@gmail.com instead of leaving comments. If they're not that difficult, humor me, and tell me that they are. I will give more clues to those who are trying, if it's needed.

Here's some hints about what we're going to be:

1. Marcus and me - (we go together) Boston, 1830, Thomas Edison
2. Alyssa - Friendly version of a royal novel
3. Ethan - "The Jaws that bite, the claws that catch!" but he's not a Jaberwock. When you ask Ethan what he wants to be for Halloween, he says "Duh - duhs -doh."
4. Brian - Brian doesn't even know what he's going to be yet. I haven't told him. But what Brian is going to be scares some people who eat dairy products sitting down.

Alyssa's Second First Day of Kindergarten

So I went to the meeting on Thursday. Wednesday evening, and Thursday morning I was feeling quite protective of my daughter, and I was ready to put her in a different school if anyone said anything that wasn't to my liking. And I was very, very nervous.

Everything went great, though. It was a huge meeting: the principal, school counselor, reading teacher, someone in the school district board, the district behavioral specialist, Alyssa's teacher, the student teacher, and me. But everyone seemed to come into the meeting with the attitude let's do what's best for Alyssa.

We talked about the problems she's been having, and at the end of the meeting we came to the conclusion that she just wasn't ready for first grade yet. She was having a hard time staying focused all day long, she was having a hard time sitting still, etc. So we signed her up for kindergarten, and she started today.

She didn't seem to mind much when I told her. Her main concerns were missing lunch at school (she loved that!) and being the tallest in her class (she's not even close). We talked all weekend long about how excited we were that should could go to kindergarten, and how much fun it would be. She was really excited to go, so after lunch we walked her to school to meet her teacher, Mrs. Tolrud.

Alyssa had a great time looking around the classroom and finding her spot at a table. Then she went outside to play with the other kids, before class started. That's when I made sure she wasn't the tallest, and I watched her play with the other kids. She just seemed to fit in better than she did with the first graders. I think things are going to work out a lot better now.

She is 79, Going on 80

Brian's grandma is turning 80 this week, so to celebrate, all of her kids came into town and threw her a special birthday dinner. We had prime rib and potatoes, along with several salads and jell-o's. Every one ate too much. I especially ate too much cake. It was great to visit with everyone and to celebrate such a sweet lady.

Here are all three daughters (left to right: Suzie, Karen, Diane) lighting 80 candles.

The birthday girl, making a wish.

It Must Be Autumn

I've decided to make a new tradition. We'll see if it actually becomes a tradition or not next year, but I would sure like it to. Last night, for Family Home Evening, the kids and I had orange colored sugar cookies (I would really have liked them to be pumpkin shaped cookies that the kids could decorate like jack 0'lanterns, but that just didn't work out) and went to Winco to pick out our Halloween pumpkins. The kids and I had a blast! I let Alyssa and Ethan pick which ever pumpkin they wanted, and I was able to pick out Marcus's. Ethan's just getting to the age where he's able to show us his preference, and he loves being able to have a choice. Marcus was just in a giddy mood, and he laughed and talked the entire time. When we got home, I also let the kids pick out where (on the porch) they would put their pumpkin. Alyssa wanted to put hers in the toy room, then her bedroom, the dressing room - that's why we had the front porch stipulation. Once Ethan's pumpkin was placed, he sat down right beside it. He was so proud of his pumpkin! Alyssa took a while deciding where hers would go, but she ended up picking a wonderful spot. This whole time, while I was unloading the older kids' pumpkins and putting them on the proch, Marcus was just sitting in his car seat in the van, laughing and singing. Then I went and picked up Marcus, picked up his pumpkin, and very carefully carried them both to the porch. I at least wanted Marcus to be there while we placed his pumpkin.

My Sanctuary....nice

A few weeks after we moved into this house, after spending 24/7 with my kids, without having a husband coming home every night for me to have grown up conversations with (if you can actually call conversations with Brian, "grown up"), I decided that I wanted my/our bedroom to be nice. I wanted it to be a grown up room. I wanted it to be a place where I can read a book after the kids go to bed, or where I could call Brian each evening, where I could go to be by myself and fee like an adult.

Every other time I've decorated Brian's and my bedroom, I made curtains out of unused flat sheets, and used things we already had to decorate. There's nothing wrong with that, but this time I wanted it to be just a little bit nicer. I already loved the black dressers that I painted a few years ago. I finished the headboard and footboard last spring. (Well, finished isn't quite right. Hurriedly finished is more like it. I want to sand them down a bit more and give them a better paint job next spring.) The headboard and footboard are made out of two doors from one of Brian's parent's rentals, and I love them!

So I already had a great starting place. I found the quilt set at Walmart, and was surprised to find that it was only $3.50 during check out. I searched the Tri-Cities for the right curtains (this is my first experience buying curtains, too) and found them at Target. I also got the sheets at Target, and they're red. I love that. I painted the room in one morning - I was quite impressed with myself. Although I was also impressed with Marcus's ability to crawl over the laundry basket barrier I put in the doorway. The pictures and other decorations I found for real cheap at Big Lots. And the "Together is a wonderful place to be," I got from my sister-in-law, Claire.

Anyway, now I've got a place to go that's just for me and Brian. It's worked out wonderfully. I really do feel like a grown up when I'm in my bedroom, and I don't feel like a grown up very often. Last week it helped, too, because when Brian was close to arriving home the house was still messy, and I could think, "At least our bedroom is clean and nice."

And I just might head up there right now, just for a second. I've got two boys trying to crawl on my lap. Marcus keeps hitting his head on the keyboard tray, and Ethan keps patting my arm with sticky fingers. So I'm going to give them some good loving, make Alyssa's lunch for school, then go take a look at my beautiful bedroom for just a moment. It'll be nice.

A Good Cry

I think I ruined Brian's birthday yesterday. I feel bad for him; he's away from his family, and his birthday was just like any other day of the week. I had plans to make it special for him - to make up a package with goodies inside, to make a recording of the kids getting tucked in at night and other aspects of every day life that he's missing out on, but all of those plans fell through and never happened. Then yesterday his mom gave me the idea of ordering a pizza for his birthday dinner. It's something, right? So I was halfway through filling out the online order form with Dominoes and one of the kids knocked the plug out of the outlet and the computer died. That wasn't really the act that made me lose it, but it's about the time that I lost it.

Okay, here's a little background. Alyssa has had a very hard time adjusting to first grade. She's having a hard time sitting still through the whole day, especially during her one-on-one reading time. She's stealing things (like candy from the treasure box, buttons from the science kit, a sweater (?!?), etc.) and apparently she's hitting and pushing other students. I haven't been able to go observe her at school, so I don't know how or in what way these things are happening. Is she hitting out of anger? She's not a violent person. She can play hard, but she doesn't just hit people. The stories I get from Alyssa are that she bumped into So-and-so when they were lining up, and So-and-so said, "Teacher, Alyssa hit me!" Who knows if that's the truth or not? It's probably somewhere in the middle of both extremes. One time she got in trouble for hitting her friend, and I called her friends mom to confirm Alyssa's story. That time her friend had been swishing her hair back and forth, and Alyssa put her hand out to keep the hair from getting in her eyes, accidentally hit the other girls head, and then another student told on her for hitting.

I went in to go talk with her teachers, and they seemed very grateful that I was willing to help. We talked a little about the things that have been happening, and I told them about things at home. I told them about just moving (twice) and about Brian being gone, but mostly I told them that she has been wonderful at home. She's been waking up and making her bed and saying her prayers in the morning. She likes to help me make her lunches. Just yesterday I noticed that she had made Ethan's and Marcus's bed, along with her own. "Yep," she said, "I even said their prayers for them." I asked her if they were in the room at the time, and she said that they weren't. So right now I'm really confused at how she can be so good at home, but not good at school.

So the morning that I went to talk with her teacher, they said that a behavioral specialist was coming to observe Alyssa that day, and she could help us know what to do. This was last Monday. We still haven't heard from the specialist yet, but I learned that there will be a meeting discussing Alyssa next Thursday (next Thursday!) and here's the kicker: I'm not invited. I sent an email telling them that I needed to be at the meeting, and we'll see what they say, and what will happen after that.

I've been thinking that maybe Alyssa's just not ready for first grade. Her birthday is in August. She just turned 6. There have already been multiple birthdays in her class, and her classmates are turning 7. She's a whole year younger than those kids, and when you're young, a year makes a big difference in maturity level. Add to that, that Alyssa is already a busy and energetic child, and it's easy to come to the conclusion that she might not be ready for first grade yet. I'd really like to either be able to watch her in class myself, or see what the behavioral specialist says before we make any decisions.

Tuesday was really rough on Alyssa. So rough that I received a phone call during the day, telling me about the future meeting, and I talked to Alyssa, who was crying while talking to me. So I kept her home yesterday so she could just take a break from everything and hopefully regroup for a good day today. But keeping her home made it rough on me. She was bored and wanted to watch movies all day. The boys kept getting in to things. My husband was celebrating a birthday alone. And then the computer died.

I mentioned a couple times to Christina that morning that I wished life could just stop for a little while so I could catch up. I didn't want to have to worry about Alyssa. I didn't want to worry about the dishes on the counter or the pile of clean laundry that has been sitting in the middle of the dressing room for two weeks. So that's when I decided that we were going to make life stop for just a bit. We were going to make a surprise birthday visit to Brian. I called my mom and told her to pick up a cake from the store for me, and I got the kids in the bath. While the kids were in the tub, getting clean and splashing water about like nobody's business (more on this later) I called Madigan Medical Center in Tacoma, hoping to possibly arrange for Brian to have the next day (today) off from work so we could enjoy our visit with him. I was actually able to talk to the attending doctor over him, and I made a complete fool of myself, and he wasn't able to give Brian any time off. They were completely booked. So after thanking him, and feeling very foolish, I saw that it was Brian's lunch time, so I gave him a call.

This is when I noticed the lake of water covering our bathroom floor and heard Alyssa saying, "Mom, there's water on the ceiling!" This is when Brian's brother knocked on the door and all three kids came down the stairs, naked, to answer the door before I could get to it. This is when I ruined my husbands already (probably) lousy birthday by going to the basement, telling him about everything, and crying uncontrollably.

It was a good cry, though. Over the past while, when things were crazy and I was feeling down, sometimes I would think, "If only I could cry, that would help me feel better." And I did feel better afterward. I don't know why crying helps, but once I was done I felt like I could handle things again.

I went back upstairs, and Eric was getting the kids dressed for me - an easy thing to do with all those clean clothes laying around, so accessible. I got Marcus down for a nap, and when he woke up I met my sisters at the park so the kids could all play together. I called the gymnastics center and signed Alyssa up for cheerleading (another outlet for all her energy, and another way to practice listening to a teacher). We went to happy hour at Sonics for strawberry shushes, and then went to cheerleading. Alyssa loved it! She stood on her little yellow dot, made cinnamon roll hands, and jumped in the air, over and over and over again. She listened to the teachers, and wasn't any more busy than the other girls that were there. I don't get it, but we're gonig to figure all this out soon, and hopefully there won't be any more crying involved.

32 Things About Brian (in no particular order)

1. He was born on October 1, 1976.

2. He is 6 feet, 4 and ¾ inches tall.

3. One of his favorite desserts is one that his Grandma Orton makes, which has a walnutty crust, chocolate pudding, a cream cheesey layer, and whipped cream on the top.

4. He graduated from BYU in August of 2004 with a degree in Zoology. No, that doesn’t mean he knows how to raise elephants, giraffes, or zebras. And snakes aren’t allowed in our house, so we won’t even talk about them.

5. He has blue eyes.

6. He is lucky. If he plays a game of chance, or enters a contest with a random winner, he will most likely win.

7. He prefers to sleep in the very dark.

8. He was born in Heidelberg, Baden Wuerttemberg, Germany.

9. He enjoys fishing with his dad.

10. He likes to read old books, and he reads very fast. He’s read the entire Tarzan series, along with all the other books written by the same author. He’s also read The Count of Monte Cristo multiple times (and maybe once in German?) and a whole ton of other classics.

11. He wears a US size 12 mens shoe.

12. His favorite soda pop is root beer. He likes A & W, Henry Weinharts,ABC (?), etc.

13. He is not a morning person…definitely a night owl.

14. He looks cute when he laughs really hard and the skin around his eyes crinkles.

15. He graduated from Richland High School in 1995.

16. He loves to take his family to Disneyland, or at least he lets his wife believe that he does.

17. He moved to the United States when he was two years old. His mother gave him some medicine to help him sleep on the flight, but it had the opposite effect on him, and he wore out his poor mother during the journey.

18. He has flat feet. The man at the shoe store says that his ankles/feet are pronate.

19. He married Carrie Lynn Lewis on February 16, 2001 in the LDS temple in Salt Lake City.

20. His attending doctors from his first preceptorship said that his strongest area for serving optometric patients is pediatrics.

21. He likes nice (and usually expensive) knives. He has an Atwood that was custom made just for him, and I have to admit that it's a beautiful knife.

22. He became a father on August 9, 2002 when he was 25 years old. His father was also 25 when he was born.

23. He is very generous with material possessions. He is not stingy at all.

24. He has very dry skin.

25. He received his endowments in the LDS church on October 14, 1995 in the Seattle temple.

26. He likes to eat meat: steak, prime rib, cow tongue, brisket, ribs, etc.

27. He has a sister (Erin) and a brother (Eric). When he was little, and his mother would go on errands, he asked her why she couldn’t go on Brians, too.

28. He has dark brown hair. (sometimes I say black, but he always corrects me. dark brown)

29. He served as a faithful and hard working missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Leipzig, Germany mission from 1995-1997.

30. He ran cross country in high school.

31. He makes wonderfully yummy caramels.

32. He is a wonderful husband and father, and he is dang good looking.

Happy birthday, Honey!