Busy Hands....gather no moss

Or something similar. What Grandma J is trying to say is she's been busy.

Now that September is here, October is on the horizon...and that's a busy month on so many fronts.

Here's a rundown, give or take any unknown minor adjustments:




*Sgt John is coming home on leave from Iraq with just enough time to take grandma J to all the dinners and casino trips he promised over the last several months....and she has the emails to prove it.


*While Sgt John is home, grandma J's granddaughter his daughter is having her tonsils out, and he wants to be with her because under the best of circumstances, she always cries for her daddy.


*Sgt John thinks he'll have time for a quick three day weekend getaway to Las Vegas with his bride...and Grandma J will entertain the grandchildren and JJ while they're gone.




*Once Grandma J has had her fill of Sgt John and his bride gets back from Las Vegas, Grandma J is hitting the road for So. CA. Yep, a 1,400 road trip, each way, with an itinerary that would knock your socks off. More about that in a post of it's own.

I know what you're thinking....who cares about October? September is just starting, and October is eons away, so how busy can you be?

Well, I'll tell you. A-Ron went with Grandma J to the fabric store after his three hour baseball practice. She wanted him to help her pick out fleece to make some more blankets for the children in the pediatric oncology ward for Christmas. He goes with Grandma J to distribute them and we need at least twenty. Right now? We only have six.

I figured I'd let A-Ron pick out the fabrics that he thinks an older kid would like. Here they are:

Yeah, good choice! SpongeBob SquarePants with Patrick. The one thing that really irritates me is the price of licensed fabric. Not only is it twice as much, but you have several wasted inches of fabric with their warning on it. In this case.....thank you Viacom.



Oh, and SpongeBob...was this really necessary?

This was A-Ron's second choice! Ummm, maybe Uncle Michael would like this one. Once again, Thank you, Twentieth Century Fox.

Now, I thought maybe A-Ron could find something a bit softer....something a girl would like. He claims he doesn't go there!

But, I finally got him to pick this out. It's some kind of Disney stuff that has nothing to do with princesses or pirates. Once again, we paid through the teeth for the Disney name.

And who notice that Grandma J took these pictures on her stripped down bed? Yeah, it's because she doesn't neglect her chores, even when she's having fun. Nope....she's airing out her mattress while her sheets are in the dryer.

A-Ron Turns 13 Today

And he will pitch for Texas Tribe. Then the team and some other friends are having a pizza party at A-Ron's!

Update on the rumble...both boys had their suspension reduced to one game...which took place yesterday.

Grandma J attended A-Ron's fourth birthday in Germany. He had a Scooby Doo Cake, and got a talking stuffed Scooby Doo.

We spent a week a Davey Crockett's Ranch at Disney Paris. The Disney resort that sells real fur hats and toy guns that don't glow in the dark. A-Ron ended up getting the buckskin vest too. The Heineken is not A-Ron's.

He still loves to cuddle with his sister........she's not too keen about it lately.

I love this picture of A-Ron with his mom. And she knows this picture is one of my favorites....and I've got even better ones!

He makes his dad, Sgt. John proud of him with his academics as well as his sports. A-Ron is the man of the family when his dad is deployed.

A-Ron is still a cuddler. JJ is one of his favorites, and so is Grandma J.


You knew this was coming, didn't you? Phillip Johnny Bob went over to cuddle with A-Ron when he had three teeth pulled to make room for his braces.

Happy Birthday, A-Ron. I love you!!

Special Moments Like This....





........are just about the only thing that can make the rest of the world fade into the background...even if you are at a ball game, and you are supposed to be keeping the score book, and your son is pitching, and you also happen to be A-Ron's Mommy.


Or maybe it's not too late to reconsider the size of your family. Or maybe your husband has been in Iraq too long, and too many times. But........




These special moments are even more special when you know you can hand the baby back to his real mommy because you have teenagers, and you've survived so far.

One Silver, One Gold

The Silver was for the Long Jump, The Gold is for the 200 meter.

Grandma J's granddaughter...OK, so it's really JJ's sister, participated in the Texas A&M Consolidated Track Meet, District 12 AAAAA Division, last week. Since it's a three hour ride each way, and Grandma's can't ride on the team bus and we had torrential rain forecast here in Central Texas, we missed it.

Today, I went over to get a few pictures to send to 1SGT John in Iraq. I don't have any stats, but two years ago in 7th grade, Grandma J's granddaughter jumped 16' 4" and broke the middle school record. Now she's on the JV team in HS. Unfortunately the papers only put Varsity stats, and some athletes when questioned say, "I don't know", as a standard answer to grandmothers.

OK, that's enough pictures!

Then A-Ron jumps in and says "One more!"


So one more it is!

BYE BYE, FLAT CAROLINE



Sunday Grandma J's daughter took Mr. triple extraction A-Roid and a buddy to the Outlet Mall in Austin. Because he had a ton of money from the tooth fairy to spend.

My granddaughter and I decided to take Flat Caroline to a landmark here in Central Texas. Maybe a Mesquite tree, or a field full of cattle...ummm, nah, we did it one step better....




We took Flat Caroline to the main gate of Fort Hood Army Post. Fort Hood is 340 sq. miles of rolling hills and plains, with a population of 71,000, and the largest active duty armored post in the United States. It's also the post that 1Sgt John deployed to Iraq from with the 1st Cavalry.




Foot Hood has played an important role in the life of my granddaughter, and she wanted to share it with Flat Caroline. My granddaughter came to Killeen Texas in 2002, when she was in the 2nd grade, just like Flat Caroline. In seven years her father has been deployed to Iraq three times, and Korea twice. Each tour of duty is at least one year in length. If you do the math, it's easy to see that the families of our active duty military make huge sacrifices, just like their parents who serve our Nation. Grandma J's granddaughter is now 15 and in the 9th grade...boy does time fly!




We stopped and bought a post card of Texas, and printed out these pictures to send to Flat Caroline's teacher and classmates.





Bye bye, Sweet Caroline, good times never seemed so good......


and she's off to faraway lands....like Florida!!

Spring Break On The Home Front

Yesterday Grandma J spent time with the girls who didn't go to Cancun, or Cabo San Lucas to lay on the beach and party at night. They didn't want to hang out at a ski resort, taking to the slopes by day, soaking in hot tubs under the stars at night.

That's right, while other pretty girls were frolicking in the surf, these beauties were baking and decorating cupcakes and mini cupcakes for Easter!


That's because tomorrow they are sending an Easter Basket to SGT John in Iraq. Some of you are wondering why I would take a picture with the pantry door open...showing all the Mac & Cheese, chips, and other good stuff like Chees-Its. Well, the door was closed...

But remember these dudes? The ones who accused Grandma J of trying to poison them with her homemade fortune cookies? Yeah, these boys were hiding in the pantry and came running out...not wanting to be involved in any of Grandma J's baking extravaganzas ever again.

The Highs and Lows.....

....or the winners and losers of Valentine's Day 2009.

In the world of Grandma J, Valentine's Day isn't a particularly eventful day.

What I mean is it's a holiday without much in the way of change in my schedule. There are a few things I won't do on Valentine's Day

1. I won't go to the movies...which is why I missed my Friday Matinee this week. I know Friday was the 13th, but please...do you really think all teenagers waited until the 14th to go celebrate? NO...otherwise I wouldn't have gotten a call to deliver flowers to a certain boy at a certain high school on behalf of a certain granddaughter this past Friday. Oh, and don't try to call a florist on Friday before Valentine's Day....they don't answer or actually have recordings telling you they won't answer

2. I won't go out to dinner either.....it's bad enough on a regular Friday. I do tell those that I love "Happy Valentines Day" just like I say "Happy Chinese New Year".

For the WINNER (of winners and losers).....


One person I sent an email to was my son-in-law 1SG John. If you've visited my blog in the past, you know all about my SIL.....and that he's now serving his third deployment in Iraq. I want to share with you his response to my e-mail. Just click on the picture of the email to enlarge it.



Sgt John has often said the difference in Iraq since his first deployment is like night and day. I have offered to send him whatever he wants and basically he said there is nothing they can't get right there in Iraq. So, while it's surf and turf every Friday not a picnic , it sure is a far cry from just a few years ago.



And, it's appropriate to honor 1SG John during 2009 - The US Army Year Of The NCO.

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Now for the LOSER (of winners and losers)...

Papa John's Pizza!




They had the nerve to send me this Loser E-mail...offering me a deal on a heart shaped pizza..... at 11 a.m. the day after Valentine's Day. Just click on the picture!

Was your day perfect? Was your pizza cold?

AMERICA'S FIRST TEAM

Today was a cloudy day in Central Texas, as 1st Sgt. John, along with other members of

The First Cavalry Division deployed from Fort Hood, Texas to Iraq.

Last night we celebrated with BBQ

The family is used to deployments. This is John's third tour in Iraq, with two tours of duty in Korea sandwiched in between. That would be over five years out of the last seven away from his wife and kids.

My middle daughter will be OK

And the kids will too......because

They are close, and....

Know how to love, laugh and act silly...

I'm sure today was a day of both pride and sadness as they had their private, personal and formal good-byes. I spent the day with JJ.

Stay safe soldier, and thank you for your service, and keeping America safe and free.