So last week was crazy to say the least. Crazy in the sense that I was losing my mind not knowing what our future would hold. My every thought was consumed by when we would get orders, when we would have to execute them, where we would go, if we would stay, how much money we would be losing a month with the reduced housing allowance, how I could make up the extra money, how much preschool would cost, how much we could rent the house for if we do move, etc. In a nutshell, I was physically present but mentally gone.
Thursday started out as normal with speech and then swimming lessons. Lincoln can offically swim on his back by himself, but his feet still tend to sink a bit.
After swimming we came home for lunch and then had a property management company come look at the house in case we have to rent it. The good news is that he doubts it would ever sit empty because it is so nice and doesn't look like a rental. The bad news is that just because it is a nice home doesn't mean that the general public has any extra money to spend--we still can't charge an arm and a leg to rent it out. Bummer!
With the news on renting the house, 29 Palms was becoming more and more appealing. However, it still meant that we would be taking a $900 a month pay cut. So my mind began running wild on how to make extra money fast.
Friday was pretty uneventful. My time and energy went into job searches, toying with the idea of watching kids at our house, and selling handmade goodies on Etsy.
Saturday morning Lincoln enjoyed his introduction to flag football. He loves the idea that "tag" is incorporated into the game. That kid could run for hours and hours and still have energy for more.
The only major problem with flag football is that Lincoln is skinny. He flag falls off as he runs without anyone ever pulling on it.
Then Corinne did a bit of modeling for me so I could get my Etsy shop up and running.
Dropped them in a shallow plate of water...
And watched them bloom!
On Monday evening we ate dinner and worked on some floor puzzles.
On Tuesday we met our friend Ann at the park with her 3 kids. They already have orders to 29 Palms so I thought the two of us could get together and pick each other's brains on how to save money and make the two hour commute doable for our boys. Brittany also met us there with her 2 rugrats. Brittany lent me Ellie for an impromptu photo session for my Etsy tutus and hair accessories. The kids had a blast, but left the park with itchy skin and tiny cuts all over themselves from rolling down the hill and playing in the grass. I left the park still a little anxious on what was yet to come, but confident that we might be able to make 29 Palms work for our family.
I came home and ran upstairs to send Nathan an email on the latest news about 29 Palms. What I found was an email from the monitor (the guy in charge of dishing out orders) saying, "We gave you orders to Yuma. We need you there by July 15." I literally lost my breath. I was so shocked that I accidently responded to the monitor saying "Okay, call me please!" It was meant for Nathan, but in my confusion I just hit respond instead of sending a new email to Nathan. I was stunned. I didn't even know Yuma, AZ was on the list and to be honest I sort of forgot that it existed all together. I mean who gets stationed at Yuma? Then I remembered that Warren had done a few years out there in his previous job field. I tried to call Warren--no answer. Who else would know anything about Yuma? I'll tell you who else--no one. No one knows anything else because no one ever gets stationed out there. No one gets stationed out there because the base is smaller than my neighborhood if you don't count the air strip. As my mind was running wild about the great unknown, I couldn't help but think about the old Watson's commercials that played all over Indy when I grew up. Their marketing campaign must have been successful because here I am 20 years later still thinking in my head, "It's hot and you need a pool!" That's right we are going to roast out there.
After the initial panic was over, I started to calm down a bit. For one, at least we have an end in sight. There was no more guessing. We have orders, we have a must move by date, and we have a destination that is not on the East Coast---so we can't get stuck out there forever. On the upside, Nathan has always wanted to live in Arizona (granted he had Phoenix or Tucson in mind), and this would be one more adventure that we never would have tackled on our own. Part of me feels like the commute to 29 would have taken a major toll on our family life and at least we can all be together at Yuma (together out in the middle of nowhere, but at least we will be together). To top it off we are only going to be 3.5 hours from our current home, so we can still meet up with the friends that we love for long weekends. Plus the position is non-deployable. This will also give me the chance to keep Lincoln home from school one more year so that he is at the top end of the age range for his class instead of being the youngest---a luxury that we would not have been able to afford had we stayed at our current home because I would have to go back to work and putting both kids in private preschool would have been out of the question.
Jenn messaged me Tuesday night asking if the kids wanted to bounce tomorrow at Pump It Up. I enthusiastically said yes, knowing that they could definitely use some active playtime since it was supposed to rain and that tired out kids would allow me to do more extensive research on what will be our new home.
Here is the crazy gang during a fruit snack break.
Corinne took a few trips down the slide.
And this is what 1.5 hours of constant bouncing does to a kid.
This week was a rollercoaster ride to say the least. So many of the things I had on my "To Do" list could now be crossed out. No reason to register Lincoln for school. No need to look for jobs in Murrieta. No need to call and schedule my next dentist appointment because in just a few weeks I will be collecting all of our medical records and prepping for our next adventure. It's nice to check things off of my list, the downside is that my list just grew exponentially and the scramble is on to get our life back in line. But at least we have a focus now. I know we can have a good life out in Arizona. Duty stations are always what you make of them, and I am bound and determined to make this one fun. In the meantime I need to get over my fear of fresh water and dive into a love of lakes, rivers, and camping. I suppose that this beach bum will slowly get used to the feeling of mud squishing between my toes instead of sand--well maybe not, but I can always buy a nice raft to push off from shore with until I am too deep to touch the bottom of the icky muck! It's also about time for me to brush up on my Spanglish. Hasta luego California. Buenvenidos Arizona!
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Quote 1: After a huge sneeze that sent snot all over his hands and face.
Lincoln: "I think I just had a bless you blast!"
Clever boy!
Quote 2: While doing the United States map puzzle.
Lincoln: "Louisianna! That is where Aunt Terri wants to go for her birthday next year!"
later, after the puzzle was complete.
Lincoln: "See this line right here. This is where a long river runs from these lakes all the way down to the ocean. It's a really long one you know!" Points to where the Mississippi River would flow.
This kid remembers everything! Their brains really are like sponges.
Quote 3: After bouncing.
Corinne: "I love you mom. I had so much fun at Pump a Dump!"
I am sure all that bouncing does get the bowels moving.
Quote 4: While talking to Nathan on the phone.
Nathan: "Are you excited to move to Arizona?"
Lincoln: "Yes, but I am not super-duper excited because they have rattle snakes there!"
No comments:
Post a Comment