Clearly I’m out of it. Anyone else notice I used the same picture on 2 recent posts? Wow. Yeah. You should all be worried about my mental state. I know I am!

Gabe got sick. 104.2 degree kind of sick and we ended up in the ER. So he is on Tamiflu, and is improving. Maggie is still getting over it. Jonas is better. Chris and I are somehow still healthy. I’m waiting on h1N1 results, and frankly, I hope that is what it is just so I can know we’ve already done it and can just stop worrying about it. Because finding out that they all have weakened immune systems and are now even more susceptible would make me extra nervous. We had a child in our area die last week- Jonas’ age. So very, very sad. And very, very frightening.

The Air Force has officially gotten back to us, and their big, official answer is. . .

Wait for it. . .

We go nowhere. Travis AFB, CA will continue to be Home Sweet Home. On the up side, I like my house, my children are happy in their schools and now I’m going to do some serious decorating. On the down side, will we ever leave? EVER? What’s it going to take? I really hope it is not another 4 years before I get to go home again.

So, my winner is:

I would say with the way things have been…that they are going to keep you there but I truly HOPE that you go to your #1 spot or Utah!

Comment by Casey Lu — October 17, 2009

The only pessimist in the bunch, You win! I really wanted to send the person who said I would get to go overseas a present. Hee! Casey, shoot me your mailing address and I will send you somethin’.

I was asked to help spread the word about thus new Infant Nutrition site. It is very informative and if you are looking for some ideas on how to better serve your child’s nutritional needs, this is a good resource!

My favorite part was the video, and all the fun facts to think on, and the complex scientific break down of a baby’s nutrition needs. Did you know that in comparison, if a grown man was to have an infants calorie needs, he would need 9000 calories per day? Fascinating! Check it out.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Mead Johnson. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Gabe loves our new Frigidaire Affinity Washer and Dryer.

And I admit, that occasionally, when I want to get something done. . .I take advantage of that love.

And he gets to watch the dryer dry.

Or the washer spin.

And I get a significant amount of free time.

So, the More Me Time campaign they are running? It doesn’t mention this as an added benefit. It tells you about the great cycle settings and the even wash/dry time and the efficiency. But today- THIS is my favorite benefit.

Hi.

My kids are puking. And feverish. Well, the older two are, I have kept the baby at arms length of the virus that is likely the much talked about H1N1. I am not the type to drag anyone to the doctor unless they really need it, and so far this is your typical flu, only very respiratory system involved.

Anyway. Kinda busy with the vomit and the two day migraine going on in my own body. So! Much! Fun!

Hmm so what is up at my place. . .

Air Force: has given us their FOURTH deadline on when they let us know if/where we move. This means that three times they have said they would do their job and didn’t. I am not holding my breath for the “by the 30th, at the latest!” Aw, heck, maybe they’ll surprise me. And then I can draw a winner!

I am re-evaluating my time and my work and my list of commitments. Going to make changes. I’m realizing that I no longer want the things I used to want, and that there are “fun” things that I don’t need any more. And I have decided this is not post partum depression or anxiety talking, it’s me, and I ought to listen. Change will be good.

I am also hyper focusing on Christmas. I did this last year as well, and think I need to chill just a wee bit. However, a broad fact has come to light over the past year. My family will be celebrating holidays on our own more often than not for the next many, many years. This has a lot to do with being military and is also personal choice. But this being the case, I really want to continue to develop the traditions that will be just ours, and not the larger family’s. I also want to make sure that I can provide the kind of pretty, festive, holidays that I grew up with, and that is hard! I grew up with a ton of extended family cooking and planning and baking and decorating- and this being alone means it’s all on me.

I know you can have a lovely Christmas with no presents or tree or table decor, but I am starting to make goals of investing in these decorations and traditions for my own little unit. I used to want to be with family. Now I want to be with MY little family (even if they’re all pukey and whiney right now). Which is good, because I am going to be with my family whether I like it or not ha!

So, last year we bought a few new Christmas items, and this year I am planning to do the same. As much as I am awestruck by the beauty that is a Pottery Barn catalog, I can’t just look at a table setting and buy the whole page. (Will I ever get to buy a page from that catalog? Can I put that on the bucket list? Right next to Ride in a Hot Air Balloon and See Norway?)

Anyway (boy I’m rambley tonight- so very sleep deprived, my readers, so tired) I’ve decided that since Gabe is here, we will get cute stockings this year. I also want to buy something to make my wonderfully pre-dinged table look like we could actually eat a holiday dinner there. . .some sort of centerpiece or table runner or ummm, placemats? Confession: I have almost no skill in the decor department. Confession #2: I have incredibly expensive taste. It has nothing to do with the price tag. Show me a room full of stuff and I will gravitate to the item with the largest price tag. Case in point? I was trying to find a tree skirt I like (I’ve tried for about four Christmases now). I was searching the web, and scrolling through page after page on Amazon when something finally caught my eye. It was a gorgeous tree skirt and a steal at only $1300. You can buy matching stockings for $300. Each. What do you put in a $300 stocking?

Like I said. Expensive taste.

It bites me in the butt.

Must tend to sick kid.

Have a good day, gentle readers.

The Air Force isn’t getting back to us on the BOP thing. We hit the 7 week mark and I asked Chris to call. They said it had been reviewed on Sept 6th and “gee, someone should have gotten back to you on that”. But no one has. So they said, “we’ll flag this and someone will get back to you in 3 duty days.

That came and went as well.

For an institution whose core value is “Integrity First”, you’d think they could at least play by their own rules, no?

So that just bites.

I have no idea when we’ll hear. In fact, if we don’t hear in a few more weeks I will probably just tell Chris to cancel the dang request and go back to the usual not having any idea whether or not the Air Force plans to move us any time soon. The amplified, hopeful version is enough to make your head explode. Imagine waiting for pregnancy test results. Now do that for two months.

That’s where I’m at.

My Middlest Child

So, I wasn’t going to blog it until I had actual news, but. . .

We’ve been at this base for over five years. It will be six years next April. This is a very long time for a military family to be anywhere. We have requested orders many times. We have begged to be sent overseas, we have volunteered for odd assignments that very few people want. We’ve prayed. And here we sit.

So, after being here we have earned what is known as Base of Preference or BOP. This means that we select our top 8 bases (stateside, nothing outside of the lower 48), and we say, “look, we’re done here. We’ve paid our dues and then some. Please send us to one of these preferred locations.”

The Air Force looks it over and is supposed to do its darnedest to get us to one of these places. They figure out which of these places has the highest need for a person of my husband’s skills and rank, and they make a spot for us there. Or, if they can’t do that they say, “Tough luck, loser, you’re stuck where you are because we just need you here so badly.” They are supposed to not use the Tough Luck, Loser option very often.

So, we submitted BOP in January.

And they lost the paperwork.

Yeah. I know.

So, we had a baby, adapted to that and then on September 29th, submitted BOP again through their new electronic system where, in theory, our paperwork can’t get lost.

I read the official release on this new system and it said SIX WEEKS to get back to us.

So I tried not to think about it. It didn’t work very well.

And then today after not hearing and not hearing. . .I did the math.

49 days exactly.

Which is SEVEN WEEKS EXACTLY.

I facebooked:

7 WEEKS!!!! SEVEN WEEKS!!!! 7! 7! 7! I NEED TO KNOW NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This excessive use of the exclamation point brought to you today by the US Air Force and their not getting back to us about Base Of Preference and whether or not I’m MOVING and WHERE to. I’M GOING INSANE!!!!!!! CAN’T TAKE THE SUSPENSE ANY LONGER!!!!!

And I am. Going crazy that is.

I hate not knowing if I’m coming or going. At this point I just want to know. If I’m staying- I’ll buy curtains for my dining room and make it look like a real room. I’ll switch the kids and the bedroom around. If I’m going I’ll start hyperventilating and making uncertain plans and cleaning out the house in a HUGE way. Either way, furniture will be moved. Either way, I will cry about it at some point.

So, I texted Chris today and begged him to make a phone call to investigate this. It doesn’t look like the papers are lost because the website has us listed as pending.

Gahhhhhhh.

So- lets play a game.

We’ll call it. . .Which Way Is Up. You can all guess where we are going, or if we are not going or if Chris will get some totally random, crazy assignment we don’t expect. Whenever we find out, I will draw a winner from the group of persons guessing correct, and send them a present.

If my memory serves me, we requested South Dakota as our #1 spot. North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Utah- all on the list. there were others, hmmmm. I know we stayed mostly Midwest. No Southern bases were requested at all. I think Washington state and Ohio might be on the list- they are on our “we like those places” lists, but I really can’t remember what we put when we entered this crap shoot.

So - go ahead. Make a guess. Maybe you’ll win a prize.

My Scrapbook Nook October Kit.