Sunday, March 29, 2009

New News

Ok, I just realized my initial post about Tommy's MOS said Air Supply Control Officer. I meant Air SUPPORT Control Officer. Those two are not the same thing so I want to be clear. Also, his school is actually 3 months in California instead of 2 1/2. BOO!! From what we can tell (we've been doing some recon) it looks like we have a 50/50 shot of going to either North Carolina or Japan. Yikes! Also, he won't be telling them when to drop the bombs. Just where to go to do it while navigating the aircraft within his region of the air space. Yeesh.

Here's an excerpt from the "official" wording from his position description, not that this helps much.

"Air support officers direct and coordinate air support missions and advise commanders on matters pertaining to the employment and control of air support."

Yes, I know... not very helpful :)

Friday, March 27, 2009

Are you Ready for Liftoff?

Because things are about to get interesting in the Parker household. Just when we had settled into a routine!!

As of today, I am now married to an Air Supply Control Officer. What is that, you ask? What a fabulous question. If someone could actually explain that to me, that would be phenomenal!

I only got the 30-second brief on the phone (no, he's still not home yet. It's only 8:30 p.m.!), so I'm not entirely too sure.

But as it was explained to me, the ASCO is the person who would communicate between the infantry on the ground and the planes in the air, primarily when the ground forces need assistance. In other words, Tommy's the guy who tells the planes when and where to drop the bomb, is my take on it.

Sweet.

Even sweeter? Tommy has a school to report to in 29 Palms, California on June 21 for two and a half months. So most likely I will not be going to Cali with him, because we preferenced East Coast and Overseas... which are not really anywhere near California, obviously. So this'll be a fun one to swing!

We should find out in a week or two where our next duty station is and when they expect us to be there. Stay tuned, sports fans!

[Insert Jeopardy Theme Song Here]

I know many of you have been checking the site for an update on Tommy's MOS (job). We should be finding out any time now. They were supposed to find out yesterday after their 12 mile hike, but apprently some didn't do well on their Orders Exam the day before so they decided not to release that information just yet. Sweet!

So I'm just sitting here waiting for word... patiently, of course ;)

Will post an update as soon as we know something!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Daycare = Day of UnCaring

Monday I had the big "conference" with Wyatt's daycare. It was supposed to be:

- me
- the Assistant Director in charge of the Pre-Toddler area
- 1-2 of his teachers
- the Training & Education Coordinator
- and, possibly, the Director of the Center

However, they "assumed" (that is a quote) I would not be attending the 4 p.m. meeting when Wyatt was out sick and cancelled the meeting with their director and two teachers. Which would have been fine, except that I fully intended to GO to the meeting and therefore did NOT call off the meeting with the daycare. Then the trainer actually told me I couldn't bring him to his classroom because I had said he had a fever at 4:30 that morning. Even though he had clearance from the doctor. Even though he was NOT contagious. This woman was definitely getting on my nerves. I said FINE, put some freakin' toys in your office and call it good. He'll be fine.

So the meeting with the Trainer & Assistant Director started on a sour note, because I was already mad about their "assumption." That's why it is called ASSUME - it makes an ASS out of U and ME! So I was already ticked off and the meeting hadn't even started. Sweet.

Anyway. We met. We discussed the same crap we'd been discussing for a week. It was not a positive encounter. This is basically how the discussion went:

I told them I wanted another person in the room to shadow the biters.
They said no.
I told them that was unacceptable.
They told me their "policy."
I told them MY policy and asked who I needed to talk to in the chain of command to make this happen.
And magically, we came to an understanding:

I understand that they are short-staffed and have just hired 3 new staff members. I also DO NOT CARE (thus, part of the Day of UnCaring).

They understand that I am not going to let this go. So the Assistant Director and Trainer agreed to be in the room as an extra set of hands during times of transition and when there is only one caregiver in the room, even when they are within ratio (1 caregiver: 5 children) because this is when biting is most likely to happen. They are providing a schedule of the times in writing to me of when they will be in the room.

They also understand that I will be doing drop-in visits to ensure this is, in fact, happening. They also understand that if Wyatt gets bit again, I expect a copy of the videotape upon my arrival to pick up my child, and they better be sure that everything in their power had been done to prevent that bite from happening.

I am having major mommy guilt over this whole thing. Especially after having spent the last 2 days at home with Wyatt. Especially after fighting traffic this morning on the way to work and driving only 4 miles in 53 minutes. Why, why, why did I ever think this was a good idea???

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Her Day in the Sun

Apparently Tenga (one my two cats) had a free-for-all yesterday! If you know my cat at all, you will understand why this story is hilarious to me. This cat is a cat that Tommy picked out for me when she was 6 weeks old from the Humane Society. And this cat LOVES me. Just not so much other people. Tenga is.... well, she's Tenga. She's just not very nice. And therefore most people (except me), think she is the devil.

Tenga is forever trying to escape our house and get outside. When we lived in our house in Iowa, it was not uncommon to see me chasing her halfway down the street or running through neighbor's yards 3-4 houses away to retrieve my cat.

So yesterday was the first beautiful, sunshine-y day we've had in a week. I come home from work and notice our back door is ajar. Although our backyard is fenced, there are areas where she could easily escape. Panic seizes me. My heart literally stopped in my chest. I drop everything I'm carrying and sprint up the stairs to our bedroom, yelling for Tenga and simultaneously sending a silent prayer, "Please God, let my cat be here..."

If my cat was gone this week I seriously do not know what I would do. Tommy is in the field all week so I'm flying solo, and this, coupled with the biting situation and everything else we have going on right now would probably put me over the edge. This is not a problem that drinking wine could help me with.

But to my surprise, when I reach the bedroom I see both Tenga and Peaches there. Peaches is stretching, and Tenga is yawning, and they are both looking at me like, "What's all the fuss about?"

I am sort of dumbfounded. I mean, this was her one opportunity to escape, to see the world. And she's sitting here in this dark room sleeping?

Thankful, I count my blessings and strap Wyatt into the stroller to go for a walk. Some of my neighbors were outside talking, and I join them. After awhile I ask my neighbor Holly if she noticed our back door open today. She says no, and I tell her about Tenga and how I can't believe she was still in the house. Holly pauses and says... "Well... that's so funny, because earlier today we came outside, and I noticed your cat sitting outside by Amanda's house, just soaking up the sun, and I thought it was strange..."

I just BURST out laughing. Apparently Tenga HAD escaped! I could just picture her lounging around outside all day thinking she's the cat's meow, then dragging her sorry butt back inside, knowing I'd be home soon. HILARIOUS! I guess every dog has it's day, right?

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Bite Me.

ETA (Edited to Add):
Let me just clarify that I DO have empathy for the parents of the biter. This is a just a phase kids go through, and it's hard to stop the biting. No one wants their kid to be the biter. So I don't actually want to beat up the parents or child, and I do feel bad for them too. My main concern right now is with the daycare and how they are handling the situation. I have given them two options: A) relocate the biter or Wyatt to another room until the biting has subsided, or B) have an additional staff member or the trainer in the room shadowing the biter until the biting has subsided. I should know more today and will post an update when I do!

Original Post:
I might as well send Wyatt to school with that sign around his neck. Because he keeps getting bit.

He's gotten bitten 3 times in 2 weeks. 3 out of the last 9 times he has been there. That's 1/3 of the time! I have no idea if it's the same kid or not because they won't tell me, as per their "policy," but I suspect it is. Sweet. You want to know MY policy? Three bites, you're out. You bite my kid three times, I take your mom out to the playground and we settle it there. Because I'm not taking my kid somewhere he gets bitten all the time!!!

I understand biting happens. Most kids, at some point, are either the biter or the bite-ee. When Wyatt started biting Tommy and I (this was like a year ago), we bit him back. End of problem. I know some of you out there are GASPING at the thought of this. But my 65-year old pediatrician and his nurse both recommended it. And it worked.

The daycare staff is having a "meeting" about the issue today. As if it's MY issue, because I am the one addressing the problem. Okay - maybe I am overreacting to the meeting. But seriously - why does it take me complaining about it for them to address the problem? What I need is for my kid to stop coming home with bite marks on his arm, telling me "Bite," "ouch," and "not nice." How would THEY like to come to work every day and have ME bite them when I get there???

I don't care if they have to relocate the biter (or Wyatt) to another room for awhile. I don't care if they have to hire another person or keep the trainer in the room to personally shadow the biter all day. And I don't care if they have to tape the kid's mouth shut. Just make him stop biting my kid.

That's all. Momma Bear is signing off now.

Monday, March 16, 2009

You Know You've Been Trapped in the House Too Long When....

- Your toddler has figured out all the babyproofing mechanisms and they are now pointless.
- The cat is constantly meowing at you.
- You don't think 40 degrees sounds too bad and attend an outdoor Hawaiian luau in your neighborhood donning a winter coat and gloves. And it's raining.
- The cat is standing at the door pawing it so fast it looks like she's running on the treadmill.
- You wish they had served hot chocolate at the Hawaiian luau.
- You think you might throw anything Elmo-related out the upstairs window.
- Your son is now sick from having attended the Hawaiian luau.
- The cat is so annoyed by your toddler it bites/scratches him.
- Your toddler relocates the step stool to various points in the house, climbs up onto other furniture and starts to "jump" off it.
- Said cat beats the crap out of your other cat for no apparent reason.
- Your toddler spends more time in Time Out than Time In.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Letter to the (Tax) Man

Dear Federal, Virginia, and Iowa Governments:

In an effort to reduce the rage felt by millions of Americans each year during tax time and reduce the National debt, while supplementing State budgets in a time of economic crisis, please consider the following proposal.

I would gladly let you keep the several thousand dollar refund our family receives every year just so that I would no longer have to endure the "process" we call filing our taxes. In fact, I would actually pay you significantly MORE money if I could be exempt from this process altogether. I hate it. That. Bad.

Think about it, tax man. You ask me 4-5 standard questions about income and dependents and determine I am a regular, run-of-the-mill person who will likely receive a few thousand dollars back from the government. You get to keep my refund. In addition, I pay you an additional $1,000 to opt out of the filing process. So you've just made yourself a pretty little penny and helped pull the nation out of debt.

And I get to keep my nice, new pen looking shiny and bright as opposed to wiping the blood off it that normally otherwise would have occured from gouging my eyes out with it while doing my taxes. I also get about 20 hours (the total amount of time I've spent so far) of my life back each March.

A hell of a deal, right? A win-win for everyone. Please consider at your earliest convenience.

Respectfully,

The Parkers

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Calling all moms of little ones

This deal is too good to pass up. Wyatt doesn't even wear Huggies, but he will be now! Or, someone will be getting diapers for a baby shower gift real soon :) Go to www.coupons.com and there are two coupons on there - one for $5 off, and one for $3 off any package. If you combine that with a sale you should get a pretty good deal! Oh, and you can print each coupon twice!

Embracing the Change

I'm getting antsy. Which is probably an understatement. But I can't help it. This morning I was in a central staff meeting at work and they wanted us to sign up for something that's happening in a couple months. Well, that would be great, but I don't even know what city/state/country I'll be living in in a couple of months!

A friend here invited me to train with her for this crazy thing they do here in June called the "Run Amuck." Kind of alike a 7k + crawling through mud and obstacles. Another friend invited me to train for a 5k with her this summer. Which would be great, except I don't know if I'll be living here in a couple of months!

We have two weddings in Iowa for friends getting married over Memorial Day and then in June. Tommy's class will be over, so we'd like to make plans to attend at least one. Except that we don't know where we'll be living then!

I just think it's funny. I mean, someone invites me to do something, and my response is, "Sure, I'd love to. Let me just check with the U.S. Government and see if they want me to move to Japan first. I'll get back to you in a few."

Tommy doesn't even know his MOS (read: job) yet, and isn't scheduled to for at least a few more weeks. Which means we won't know what state/country we'll be living in until at least early April. Have I mentioned Tommy graduates this class on May 14?? That's two months from next Friday. We could potentially be moving as early as end-of-May. Freaking out just a little bit here.

The planner in me wants to plan my life. I want to start looking at jobs. I want to plan a vacation so I can see my husband while he's conscious. I'd like to spend some time before the move with my family in Iowa. And, oh yeah, I'd like to plan the move itself, like finding a place for me, my husband, my kid, and my two cats to freakin' live!

Today I basically received a "nice try" response from a, "Can you hack it as a military wife?" Quiz that I took on Facebook. Apparently I'm not up to snuff in that department! No freakin' kidding.

Taking deep breaths. Calming the mind. Embracing the change. Love, love, love it.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Snow Day!

We haven't really had any snow yet this year that's amounted to much. An inch here, a couple inches there, but nothing really to speak of. Which was perfectly fine with me. But then we just got dumped on! I'm not really sure how much we "officially" got, but by looking at the table on our patio, it looks like somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 inches. The base opened "late" at 9 a.m. George Mason opened at 12:30, which at that point is silly for me to try to go in, so I just stayed home :)

Tommy and I cooked breakfast and he got to spend a couple hours with Wyatt, which was nice since he had homework to do all day yesterday. Then he went off to work. They are supposed to have their final in land navigation tonight. Nothing like trying to find a bunch of boxes in miles of woods in 8+ inches of snow!

Wyatt and I hung out for awhile and played in beteween Wyatt's "time outs." Yes, my friends, the poor choices he is making concerning his behavior have continued. Meal time is, for the most part, fine, but now it's other stuff, like kicking the cat. Last night he kicked her, then chased after her and pulled her tail. Tenga warned him, but he started laughing at her and petting/hitting her, and she scratched him a little bit on the finger. At which point he started crying hysterically in between bouts shaking his finger at her, screaming, "NOT NICE!" "NOT NICE!"

Ahh..... but I digress. So I finally decided to take Wyatt outside to burn some energy off. He thinks snow is the greatest thing ever! Except he calls it "nows," pronounced like "snow" but with the "s" at the end. We woke up this morning and he said, "nows! nows!"

He's sleeping now. A beautiful thing for mothers across the land :) I guess the "nows" wore him out.