Cry Baby

Today I was doing really well until Sunday School when the teacher asked if we would like to share a conference talk that has personally touched us. I recalled the night when Mario told me about his deployment. I had trouble sleeping that night. During that short time I did sleep, I had a dream that I needed to read Ann Dibbs' (President Monson's daughter) talk titled "Hold On." I knew in my sleep that her talk would bring me comfort. It also brought me even greater peace because that showed me that Heavenly Father was well aware of me and that he loved me and would help me through this.

I shared this with the class and before I knew it I was crying like a big baby. I finally regained my composure and went to Relief Society where the first person I saw said, "Hi, I heard your husband was leaving for awhile." I don't think this would normally make me cry, but because I had just been crying in Sunday School, it started my tears again.

I again regained my composure and was fine until my phone rang after church. It was a brother from the ward that I had never met before. He was calling to say to please call him if I needed anything at all. He has deployed twice and his wife received a lot of help while he was gone. Now he was looking for an opportunity to pay that back. I hung up the phone and thanked Heavenly Father for looking out for our family.

Zachary's shower

Zachary has been playing games on his new camera all day. Finally this evening I told him that he needed a shower. He refused and I told him that he couldn't play with his camera until he was done with his shower. He quickly ran upstairs and within a minute or two he was back downstairs with slightly wet hair. I asked him if he had taken a shower and although he wanted to lie, he told me no. I asked him if he just wet his hair and he admitted to wetting his hair but he was proud to say he wet his feet too.

I was glad he told the truth, but disappointed that he was trying to pull a fast one on me. I am going to have to keep my eye on that boy.

6th Birthday

Horse pinata(they chose a horse because Erin loves them so much)

Picture taken with Zach's camera

Another picture with Zach's camera

Zach's new camera

Nathan and Zachary were waiting for us to return from our shopping trip so they could open their birthday presents. For some reason we always let the kids open their gifts first thing in the morning. I got Zachary a new camera (to replace that piece of junk from the other day.) This one was a lot more money and it doesn't take good quality pictures, but at least it works (and plays cool games too.) I gave Nathan the remote control helicopter that I picked up for half price at Toys R Us. He was thrilled. Normally I get the twins identical gifts. It makes it much easier that way. But now they are starting to develop different likes/dislikes. Erin got Nathan a lego set and Zachary a Bakugan.

We spent the late morning playing and eating at Chuck E. Cheese. Then home to break the pinata and eat Mario's yummy ice cream cake.

It has been a good day, but we will all be sad to say goodbye to Mario tomorrow when he has to fly out to Norway for 2 weeks. Mario was told today that he will be the General's Aid in Afghanistan. He wasn't thrilled with the news, but he said I should be. Now he will have the General's security also. I was hoping he wouldn't ever have to leave the NATO compound. But at least he will be traveling by helicopter instead of jeeps. Mario will be extremely busy, but it is better he does this job when the family isn't with him and he can work 18 hour days if he has to. This job may change (as with everything else in the Air Force.) So we won't really know until he gets there. But that's what he has been assigned to do.

OK, I Lied

I said I was sleeping in for Black Friday and I really intended to. But then Eric found a great deal on a Lego set at Toys R Us that he really wanted to get for Nathan (he drew his name in our Christmas exchange.) So Eric and Erin begged me to take them to stand in line so we could be there when they open at midnight. I am not a night person (and neither are they) so I said no. But I am a morning person so I agreed to get up at 4 and take them. I ended up waking at 3 am so I shopped for some Black Friday deals online.

First stop, Old Navy. We stood in line for at least 30 minutes to buy 2 pairs of jeans and a t-shirt. I was thinking that this was definitely not worth getting up at 4. Next stop, Target...we left after standing in line for about 2 minutes. The line was wrapped around the entire store and it wasn't worth standing there for a $17 scooter. Then we decided to go to Toys R Us even though we knew the Lego set would be long gone. Since we got there 6 hours after it opened, the crowds were gone. We immediately checked the Lego aisle and walked away disappointed. But then I went to check scooter prices and while over in the bike/scooter aisle, Eric spotted the Lego set on a shelf by the scooters. Someone must have tried to hide it to come back for it later. Eric was so excited. The only problem being that Eric was buying the set for Nathan but he really wanted it for himself. I figured he will get to help Nathan put it together (it's over 1,000 pieces.) But who knows, Nathan is getting really good at Legos. We found the scooter for $20 and I happily paid the extra $3 and didn't have to stand in line at Target. We also found a remote control helicopter for half price.

Next stop, Walmart. We looked around and enjoyed watching the crowd pick up nice, big televisions. I was a little sad to see so many people picking up big ticket items knowing that most of them were probably going into debt to buy them (I am really big on sticking to a budget lately and paying cash for everything...thanks Dave Ramsey!) The crowds was much worse than Target and so we left. We finished off our trip at Michaels and Sports Authority.

I was so happy that we found what we wanted at Toys R Us. I was glad that I didn't regret my decision to get up early today. But now I probably have 2 big kids that are going to want to go out every Black Friday.

Quote of the Day

I really should keep a journal and write down the quote of the day in my house. Today that honor would go to Zachary.

Mario leaves on Saturday for 2 weeks to Norway. So we decided to celebrate the boys birthday on Friday before he leaves. They have been talking about Chuck E. Cheese so I said we could go there if they want. They asked Mario to make them ice cream cake for their birthday. So I told them we could have ice cream cake on Friday after Chuck E. Cheese and then I would make them homemade ice cream on December 1 for their real birthday. All the plans were set and I thought everyone was happy until Zach came into where I was running this morning (at 5:00 am-why in the world was he awake at that time?) and started asking when he could hand out birthday invitations to his friends. So as I ran, I tried to explain that we were having a family birthday party this year and that we had a friend birthday party last year. We can't have friend parties every year. Needless to say, he didn't take this news well. It reminded me of a previous blog from March 4th where I posted letters that Zach wrote in school last year about how I always say no. In fact one says, "Its my birthday my mom says I can't have friends over."

On to the quote...so in the car as we were driving home from picking up candy for the pinata and the ingredients to make ice cream cake, Zachary said that I didn't care about his birthday and "it seems like my birthday is just air." I have to admit, I did feel a little bad. But not bad enough to throw together a big party.

Black Friday

I have been looking forward to Black Friday for a couple weeks now. I have been checking out all the leaked ads online and planning my shopping trip.

I changed my mind today...

Zach has been begging for a digital camera for months. I suggested he wait till his birthday or Christmas, but that seemed so far away. Finally today I saw that starting at 3 pm Toys R Us would have one for ten dollars. I asked Zach if he would like to do some extra chores around the house to earn the few extra dollars he needed. Of course he did everything I asked him and earned the money. Then I checked out the reviews on the camera (my fault, I should have done this before telling Zachary about the camera). It got horrible reviews so I tried to talk Zach into saving up his money to buy one with better reviews. He couldn't wait. So we drove all the way across town for this $10 camera. I knew we were in trouble when it was hard to find a parking spot. The store was packed and nothing in the ad was left. Customers were lined up at noon to purchase things at 3 pm when they went on sale. I was so upset. I thought we were in a recession!

Anyway, we finally found a $15 camera and I told him I would throw in the extra $5 since we had already driven all this way. But I did try to tell him it was cheap and wouldn't last so he would be better to save his $10. Long story short, the camera didn't even last an hour before Zach was crying. Now I have to make the long trip back to return the piece of junk (Not a surprise at all...I even told the kids to be careful opening the package because it was probably going to be returned.)

While at Toys R Us, I decided no sale was worth the frustration I felt today (and it wasn't even Black Friday.) So goodbye Black Friday...I am sleeping in.

Mario's New Digs

We used to feel so sorry for the locals in Guam who lived in containers. We would scare Eric and tell him that is why it is important to go to college and get a good job. Mario's been to college, but now we have to explain to the kids why he has to live in a container. Fortunately for him, he will have heat, AC, and hopefully internet access. He will probably have a roommate or two (which means he'll only have half or a third of a container.)

Nathan

I was reading with Nathan this morning when he told me that he wants me to have more babies so he can be a big brother. Before I could say anything, he continued that he wants me to have a baby boy, no 2 baby boys. Then he started counting how many people would be in our family. He said 2 girls and 6 boys. Then he laughed his cute little laugh.

I told him that he is a big brother to Zachary. It may only be by 13 minutes, but Zach uses that 13 minutes to his advantage. Nathan may as well too.

Then after school, Nathan told me that he wishes I wasn't his mom because I am mean. I started to feel a little sad until he finished his thought..."I want a mom that will do my homework for me."

More Bad News

Just when I think it can't get any worse, I found out today that not only will Mario be gone for 6 months to Afghanistan, but he will have to go to Norway for 2 weeks in late November and then to Wyoming for 2 weeks in January. His report date to Afghanistan is Feb. 13. So he will probably have to leave a week ahead of that to get there in time. I think he has to spend a few days in a country (that I have never heard of) nearby until he can catch a flight into Afghanistan. Plus Mario wants to stay a couple weeks longer in Afghanistan so he will get a year's remote credit out of the trip.

Unfortunately Mario has to cancel his trip with Nathan to visit Abuela December 2. Nathan isn't going to take that news well. I feel so bad for him. Plus Mario will miss the twins birthday, but I guess that is only fair since he will miss mine, Eric, and Erin's next year.

I am excited (and jealous) that he gets to go to Norway. That sounds pretty awesome. Wyoming, we've already seen that state once driving through. Wyoming in January doesn't sound the least bit fun. Maybe that is true for Norway in December too.

Now I get to see what life is like for all my Navy, Army, and Marine friends. I have tremendous respect for the wives who handle their husbands being gone all the time. They will be my inspiration. I just have to tell myself, if they can do it, so can I. Saying it will be easy, but believing it will be the challenge. Thank goodness for 4 awesome kids to keep me company.

Kindergarten Spelling Bee

Nathan came home yesterday and told me he had won the spelling bee in class. I thought he was making up the story since I didn't think they would have a spelling bee in kindergarten. But Nathan's story was confirmed when I asked Zach about the spelling bee. He was all bent out of shape because he said his word was "said" and he spelled it "said" but his teacher told him it had a "y" in it. I think he must have misheard the word, maybe "says" instead of "said."

Anyway, I was proud of Nathan. He is an excellent speller. It is hard having twins because when you congratulate one, it makes the other feel like they aren't as good. We all have our different strengths. Right now, Zach is excelling at reading and Nathan at spelling. I wish they could just be happy for each other.

Nathan gets to move on to the next round in December for the spelling bee. Since this is the first I have heard of it, I am guessing that he will be going up against other kindergarten classes.

Found Money

Since Mario got home early from his trip to Dominican, Eric asked if they could go help with road cleanup early this morning. He is looking for service hours for Boy Scouts. Before leaving, the kids were discussing what would happen if Mario found $20 while cleaning up the trash. Mario said, I guess I could take the family out to lunch.

Two hours later, Mario came home with a crisp $50 bill. Now we get lunch and a few extra bucks for Christmas shopping. How cool is that?!

It is not the first time someone in our ward has found something while doing road clean up. My 68 year old neighbor, Sister Park, found an assault rifle once. There had been a robbery and the robbers were running from the police. They threw their gun out the window and then several hours later, Sister Park found what the police had been searching for. She says that she found the gun and just put it in a bag and continued picking up trash. Then the police pulled up a few minutes later and asked if she had found anything unusual.

Loose Tooth

Erin has had a loose tooth for at least 11 days now, but she won't pull it out. This morning I noticed that her teeth looked dirty even though she had already brushed them. I took her into the bathroom so I could clean them. Turns out she doesn't brush the teeth around the loose one in fear that she might accidentally bump it and then it might fall out. I am trying to figure out why she won't just pull the darn thing out. Maybe it has to do with getting braces. The ortho won't put braces on her until she has lost her baby teeth. She doesn't want braces and so she is trying to hang on to them as long as possible. (Unfortunately for her, I am sure they will all fall out before she is 18 and leaves home.)

A couple weeks ago she had a loose one that was bleeding but she refused to pull it out. In the church bathroom, when she wasn't expecting it, I flicked it and it fell right out. Is it any wonder my kids don't trust me?!

So my question is, do I force her to let me take this one out? I don't want the teeth around it to suffer. Or do I let her try to hold on to this baby tooth until she is out of the house and married and she won't have to get braces. Option #2 would be the cheapest for Mario and I. It is such a toss up. What should we do?

This whole incident reminds me of taking Erin to get shots several months ago. Maybe I already blogged about it, I am not sure. But I took her in and she refused to get a mandatory shot (not something like the flu shot). She was wearing a hoodie and so I had to wrestle with her (in front of the nurse) to get her hoodie off. She was kicking and screaming and not letting the nurse give her the shot. I wasn't strong enough to hold her down. Finally the nurse called for back up and another nurse came in to help me hold her down. I was so embarrassed for Erin. I wish Eric would have pulled out the cell phone to get video of the whole thing. I think he thought of it but was afraid I would yell at him if he did.

I told Erin that Mario will have to take her for all her upcoming shots. Erin has zero tolerance for pain. The drs will have to knock her out for childbirth. I already told her that I won't be there in the room.

Update: Erin came home wearing a strange shirt today. She said her shirt had blood all over it. She was playing a game at recess and a boy accidentally elbowed her in the mouth today knocking that loose tooth out. I should go pay that boy a couple bucks tomorrow. He saved me a lot of trouble.

Rubix Cube

Eric has been begging for a Rubix cube for the last month. I didn't even know that they were popular again. Well, the wait finally ended today. I was nervous when he started messing up the cube. I said, "That will be the last time you see it in that perfect state." He was pretty discouraged when he started trying to solve it. He thought it would be easier. I told him when I was a kid, I would change the stickers:) But now for 99 cents you can buy an ipod app that will solve it for you. So in 20 moves, his Rubix cube was back to being perfect. I wish they had those around when I was a kid. I am excited to see my kids enjoy the classic games. I saw this funny poll:

When someone gives you a rubix cube to solve, you reach for..

a. a stopwatch

b. a screwdriver

c. a garbage disposal

d. an emergency exit

Trial Run

This week is our trial run for Mario's deployment because he is in Dominican Republic for 5 days. I failed miserably on Monday. I got upset with Erin for eating dessert without eating her dinner. Then as I was cleaning up from dinner, Zachary started whining about working the DVD player upstairs. I lost my temper.

But I assessed the situation and determined how I could do better with the nighttime routine . That is when I usually get upset the most with the kids. I always tell them I am off duty at 6 pm. Well that works well with Mario home, but not so well when he is not. So I guess I am going to have to stay on duty until at least 8 pm when Erin goes to bed. Eric is pretty much a non-issue. He just does his thing and stays out of trouble.

Last night went much smoother. I made dinner and had the kids clean up. Then we called Mario and had scripture study and prayer with him on speaker phone. Then I read Nate and Zach a couple stories before putting them to bed in their favorite spots-Zach in my bed, Nate in Erin's bed. I took Eric to YM and Erin and I watched a sappy love story.

I am hoping tonight will go as smoothly even though we will get home a little late from karate.

Gratitude Lists

Zach gave our FHE lesson last night. He chose a story from the Friend magazine about showing gratitude. Then he had us make our own gratitude lists. Zach very much likes to be in charge. I can imagine him being a CEO one day. I asked him if he wants to be the boss where he works when he grows up. He asked me if the veterinarian is the boss at the clinic. I assured him that he would be the boss if he had his own clinic. He was very bossy about who read what last night and how much they read and what order we read in. I had to laugh. He likes power.

Anyway, here is Nathan's gratitude list. I think he worked the hardest on his. The other kids' papers were scribbled on or torn up so I couldn't scan them. And in case you are wondering, I did list the military as something I am grateful for. I am grateful that Mario has a good job and that we are blessed to live in this free country.

Deployment Part 3

Well, I may as well delete that last post about Mario's new calling as YM President. He will no longer be around to serve in that calling. He came home last night and sat me down to tell me he has been non-volunteered into a deployment to Kabul, Afghanistan working with NATO. He would leave in late February. I must admit, I cried pretty hard for about an hour. But after the initial shock I calmed down a bit and now I only cry occasionally when I think about it.

In the 11.5 years he has been in the military, he has never deployed. He hasn't avoided deployments but has never been in the position to deploy. We were in Guam when the terrorists attacks happened. He was in the process of getting his first Masters and so his commander didn't deploy him. In Hawaii, he taught ROTC so he was not deployable for those 3 years. In Illinois, a deployment came up to Cuba and he asked for it but was turned down because it wasn't for his unit. He was finally tasked with one to Africa but he was accepted into a Masters program in Monterey, so he couldn't go on that one either.

We knew that his turn was coming up and now it is here. I admit, I would rather him go to Latin America but I guess this is where the Lord wants him to go. He prayed about a deployment to Ecuador and didn't feel that it was the Lord's will to volunteer for it. After being told that he would get this Afghanistan deployment, Mario said he felt comfortable with this one. He assures me that he will live and work in a large protected compound. It is comforting to me that we can talk almost everyday and also email and Skype. That should make this so much easier.

I don't know how much sleep I will get between now and late August when he returns. I hope that I can have more faith that he will be safe and the kids and I will survive without him for 6 months. I am also comforted that we have been sealed in the Temple. Mario assures me that his work on this earth isn't done and he will be fine. I pray he is right.

New Calling

Last night we got a visit from the entire Bishopric. To make a long story short, Mario will be the new YM President in our ward. Now I get to practice a lot of patience and sacrifice. Two things I am not good at, but I will have to learn.

I am excited for Mario and I think he will do an great job. He knows first hand what a difference good YM leaders can do for a boy's future. I am so thankful for YM leaders and great Bishops that Mario had when he was a youth, because I know if it weren't for them, Mario would probably have never served a mission and we wouldn't be married now.

I have to laugh because Mario's current calling is Teacher's Quorum advisor. He recently saw some needs in Scouting and started aggressively attacking some issues. I told him that I thought he may be a little too assertive (the military officer in him was coming out) and may step on some toes of the leaders in YM. Well, I guess he doesn't have to worry about that anymore. I feel for his counselors when Mario shows up to meetings with his long "to do lists." There's work to be done and a lot of weight on Mario's shoulders.

Flu

Looks like the Perez household may be hit by the flu. Eric is down with a wheezing cough, headache, and very tired. Mario has been complaining that he is having a hard time recovering from Fast Sunday. Every once in a while I feel a little stomach ache. I am wondering if we are all getting sick....

I shouldn't have been quick to brag that our family has been so healthy (except Eric's migraines) since moving to Arizona.

Update....Turns out that Eric just had a cold and the rest of us stayed well. At least for now.