Just call me Mrs. Gumby

Merriam-Webster defines flexible as

: characterized by a ready capability to adapt to new, different, or changing requirements <a flexible foreign policy> <a flexible schedule>.

If I had to describe a military wife in one word, that word would be flexible. We might not enter into our marriage being this way, but you can bet the military will "train you up" to be that way in no time at all, whether you want to be or not :)

And this weekend I had the privilege of being flexible on more than one occasion, thanks to the Army :0) 

Yesterday evening G.I.Joe received a call letting him know that he had staff duty on Saturday, starting at 0900 until Sunday at 0900. (Staff duty is a 24hr "gig" where he gets to sit at a desk with 1-2 other soldiers and do what ever staff duty does, but is not allowed to sleep for the 24 hrs nor leave the building. Then he will come home and sleep for about half the day)." So our whole weekend is pretty much shot.", is what I say to him after he gets off the call. "But, at least we have Sunday dinner", is what G.I Joe says back to me. And all I wanted to do was scream "what about our plans?" and to throw a temper tantrum like our 15 month old does. Of course none of this would have done any good, since duty to the job is a BIG part of the military life and any good military wife knows this. So I just grinned and said "yay!!" and went about my not so merry way.

 Nothing like a last minute call from the Army to just throw your whole life upside down, even if it is just for a day.

 I had no idea what I was going to do with the kids today. But, as the good Army wife I am, I knew that it was my job to come up with something to keep them entertained and but, also to keep myself from ending up in the nut house. All while still being available for my soldier to run him things that he just happened to "forget" while he was leaving for work this morning. Or, in this case, to bring him and his colleague lunch :).
  
 This morning I got to spend some time with G.I Joe before he left for work.
It was one of the few times when all 3 of the kids were actually still sleeping, so it was just me, him and my coffee.

my other love

 

G.I.Joe putting on his boots for work

 As soon as he had left I heard the boys playing upstairs in their room so I went to go get Ian from his crib.
Instead I walked in on the cutest thing I have ever seen.
Gabriel had climbed into Ian's crib and they were both just having a grand time hanging out and playing.
I had only cracked the door a little so I was able to run back down and grab my camera and take a picture.
Was to adorable of a shot to miss and who knew when I would get the chance again. ( of course they both saw me with the camera)

Ian and Gabriel , brotherly love :)

 Then I went and checked on Sasha, thinking that maybe she would be awake at 0830. NOPE!!
 So I just HAD TO take one of her. ( I might tell her one day :0)

Sasha

Once I got Ian and Gabriel down stairs and settled with cartoons I decided to be nice and make then regular blueberry muffins, which is a treat around our house, while I also made some GF banana bread from a gluten filled recipe that I love, Love, LOVE, but adapted to be GF for me .

the mix, yes I cheated :P

they smelled so wonderful, but not for me :(

my ingredients for my GF banana bread

even the batter is pretty. look at all the banana pieces

now this, this IS for ME!!

After we had all eaten and Sasha had cleaned up the kitchen, I let them all watch t.v. or play on the computer while I got my Turbo Jam on.

this stuff is so much fun

While I was working out G.I Joe sent me a text asking if I would get him and his friend Boyd ( who just happened to be working staff duty with him , hmmm coincidence?  I wonder :) lunch , since they could not leave. And Boyd's wife had lent her care to another solider for the weekend, so had no way to get them lunch.


I saw the text after I was done with my work out, and by then it was already after 1130, so I had to quickly get the boys washed up and dressed while Sasha got herself showered and dressed. Once she was done I jumped into the shower myself.
Needless to say I have never seen us all move so fast before or the kids be so cooperative. ( maybe there is something to be said about this staff duty after all).

Once we were all "dressed and pressed" as G.I. Joe likes to say, we headed to a local Chinese place in town to pick up lunch for the guys and then it was off to Sonic for drinks. Cause man can not live on water or Rip its alone Dede don't you know this??!!! 

Once I had the food and drinks I then headed back to Polk to deliver the "goods" and spend a few moments with G.I Joe.
By time I left G.I Joe it was already after 2p and the kids and I had not had lunch yet, when I asked them what they wanted , of course, it had to be Chinese and not the one in Leesville , NO Way Mom that would be to easy , it had to be the one in DeRidder which is a good 20 miles from Fort Polk.  
And of course I took them, but only because Ian was asleep and I knew that a longer drive would enable him to get more sleep. 

where the kids and I went

the Sushi plate Sasha and I shared

Sasha

Gabriel working on his second plate

Me ( Sasha said I needed to be in a picture too)

my own personal plate

Ian taking a break from eating

I like going to this particular restaurant the it is always clean and the staff there is friendly and because of their Sushi. It is always fresh and they have a great variety of it. Plus they have a good selection of GF food, which is always a good thing.

As we were leaving G.I Joe sends me a text asking if I could run by the house and bring him a few items. Sure I say as soon as we are done at Walmart I will be there, should be no more than an hour.

 

 After we leave the restaurant I decided to go to the Walmart in Leesville instead of DeRidder, since I am more familiar with the layout there, to pick up a few items that the commissary does not carry. Which means I have to drive 25 miles back to Leesville and go right past Polk. ( I am so smart at times, I kill myself LOL)

 

Well my in and out for a few items turns into a little over an hour . How could I resist the pleading and begging of my adorable hoodlum , aka children, when they ask to go look at the toys or the make-up or the cameras. Please, Please Mom.

By the time we left Walmart , get to our house,  pick up the items that G.I.Joe wanted, take them to him and get home it is already after 8p and we had been gone from the house for 7 hours.

 It was time to rest and chill for the rest of the evening before bed time.

So I let the older two do there thing while I bathed Ian, put him down and work on my blog.

how they like to chill

how I like to chill :))

Over all I think the day went pretty well. We had a good time and enjoyed ourselves, even with out me planning every step of the way.

Yearly eye doctor visit

On Wednesday the older two and myself had our yearly Optometrist appointment. In the past, before we moved to Fort Polk, I used to loath going to the eye doctor. It was not everything about the eye exam that I did not like, it was just the machine that blows the air into your eyes.

 Getting set up for the first eye is not to bad, but once that blast of air hits your eye and the stream of tears starts to flow, trying to get situated for the second eye is nearly impossible for me. So much so that I have actually been sent back out into the waiting room so that the assistant could move on to the next patient, since I was not able to get into the " right frame of mind" to get the second eye air blast completed.

But, now I actually look forward to going to the Optometrist. Thomas Vision Center is the place that we go to here in Louisiana, and I love it. The center is sheek, the staff is courteous and friendly and the equipment is very modern ( which means no air in the eye ). I love how they make you feel welcome from the moment you walk in and are ready to answer any questions you might have and how they are able to explain things to you in a way that you can understand. But, most of all, I love how they treat my children.

Making then feel comfortable, welcome and most importantly at ease with the whole experience. There is even a little room set up with toys, books, a t.v., and pillows. How the staff  takes their time to explain each step of the exam process, making sure that no matter what age the kids are, that they understand what is being done and what to expect.
And for this reason alone I will miss this place when we leave/PCS from Fort Polk ( when ever that maybe).

Gabriel and Ian in the kids waiting area

Me and Sasha waiting ; By G.I. Joe

the boys playing; by G.I. Joe

Gabriel after dilation; by G.I.Joe

Sasha after dilation; by G.I.Joe

The results were much better than I thought for all 3 of us, and Sasha still is the only one in the family who does not need glass ( at this time :0).

After the Optometrist G.I.Joe decided to treat us all to a slush from Sonic, Yum!

Sasha and Gabriel showing off the sun glasses they got from the eye doctor

Ian sleeping 

the kids enjoying their drinks and the popcorn chicken they begged for :)

Sonic drinks and popcorn chicken, what a great way to start your day.

Thanks, G.I.Joe :)

2 more for dinner

On Sunday we decided to invite two of G.I Joe's soldiers over to grill and just hang out while we enjoy the nice weather that has come to Fort Polk.

He uses this time to bond with his soldiers and to also strengthen the platoon . Normally he would have all 7 of them over , but everyone else was either working or had plans already. ( which was fine with me since I like these two the best :))

Marcum and Cawley hanging with Gabriel

G.I. Joe manning the grill

G.I.Joe cooked up some turkey burgers, chicken, bratwurst, and corn on the cob. We also had some homemade potato salad, home made mac and cheese and fresh watermelon. YUM!!!

is it done yet???   

the secret "sauce"

We actually made enough food to feed an Army LOL! ( could not resist ). Well at least enough for dinner on Monday, after Sasha's softball game and for lunch for G.I.Joe today.

my plate

After dinner the guys went out back to have a beer and talk "guy" talk while I cleaned up the kitchen and made milk shakes and Dr.Pepper floats, which I forgot to take pictures of, sorry.

male bonding

In the end it was a great way to end our weekend and start our week.

Thank You to Local Soldier

Today I want to say thank you to a soldier, Sgt. J. Laughery.
Sgt. Laughery received a Silver Star today, for his selfless act during his deployment to Afghanistan.

Here are a few video clips and news articles about what he did and why he more than deserves this award.
2-4IN Dco Soldier awarded Silver Star

Texas Hero awarded Silver Star

Fort Polk Hero