A letter from the USS Nimitz

It's been 7 1/2 weeks since Jerry has been gone...

We got an envelope on May 5th from Jerry.  I had a letter, Zuhro got a letter, and Carson got a letter.  Carson was so excited that his Daddy wrote to him and sent a patch.  He wouldn't let me read it because it was for him not me.  He read it in the kitchen, then he quietly walked to his room.  I heard sniffling so i peeked down the hallway and found him face down crying in his arm on his bean bag with the letter and patch in his hand.  I walked in and sat beside him.  He said, "I just miss him so much."  I told him that it was OK to cry because we miss someone, but I was always there to talk and give hugs whenever he needed them. I then suggested we write a letter tomorrow and maybe draw a picture or something to go with it.

 

We put a box together to send to Jerry and mailed it off on May 1st. I was curious to see how long it would take for the box to get to him; two weeks was all it took.  I plan on sending another in a week with the hope that it gets there before Father's Day.

 

  My AP Biology class took their AP Exam on Monday May 13th. I was worried for them since it was the first time any group of students took the newly designed exam.  They said it was difficult and they needed more time.  At least, my students weren't the only ones that said that.  The AP Biology community website has complaints from all the other teachers reporting that their students said the same. 

One Month Closer!

I haven't had time to post this past week so I'm either late on this one or early for the next.  It's been a really busy week and a half!

One month (4.5 weeks) down and we are all still alive, including the dog!  Time to take a look at my Deployment Bucket List.

1. Start a journal or blog and continue until deployment is over.
2. Lose weight (I think this is on most people's to do list anyways) - I've lost 25 lbs so far!
3. Join a dance or exercise class... and actually go!
4. Finish scrapbooks for the kids
5. Make a digital scrapbook
6. Clean out the closets... all of them! -
7. Clean out the garage - just need to load boxes into the moving truck
8. Take a road trip - Looks like our road trip will be moving to Oklahoma
9. Sell the house - Hopefully soon
10. Move to Oklahoma (two kids, myself, a Great Dane, two cats, two turtles, all of our stuff plus Jerry's) - Just added to the list

All of this accomplished in one month; I'm sure I can finish off the rest before he comes home anywhere between October and February.

Our house officially went on the market last Friday (http://www.londonproperties.com/search/detail/443471).  
If you have ever sold or bought a house with a Power of Attorney, you know how horrible it is.  If not, here's a little bit of the pain and agony... So besides signing my own name and initials on the places I have to sign, I also have to sign Jerry's full name and sign my name once again, along with the words as his attorney in fact.  I had to do this traumatic signing of the paperwork when we sold the condo in Port Hueneme and bought this house.  I told Jerry over and over that next time it was going to be me that leaves him with a Power of Attorney.  I guess the pain of doing all that is nothing compared to the stress and hardships I deal with when he is gone and not having family around.   

As much as I want it to sell, I hate keeping it SUPER clean.  With two mini tornadoes (Cooper and Carson), I feel that I am constantly walking behind them cleaning up.  Its not so fun.  This week we have spent the little time we spend at home outside.  I figured it is easier to hose a patio off than clean up the house. The weather is definitely cooperating with my plan.  We have been in the pool and playing in the sprinklers every day the past two weeks.  Of course all this outside time and keeping the house clean doesn't come without a price.  I actually like cooking but between work, keeping the house clean and the kids activity schedules (track practices and karate) I simply don't have time or the energy.  We've eaten lots of Lean Cuisines, frozen grilled chicken sandwiches, and sandwiches.  I can't wait until I have time to cook dinner again.

Kevin's Pizza Oven

So we put the house on the market last Friday.  I was able to take the day off from work to completely clean and organize the house to make it presentable to potential buyers. I got a call saying people were going to look at it that night.  Fortunately, for us we got invited by some awesome friends (Brandy and Kevin) to come have dinner at their house.  Dinner at their house is always amazing.  Kevin built a pizza oven and makes absolutely amazing pizza including dessert pizza.  They have two kids one is Carson's age, in fact, they go to school together and that is how we met.  Their daughter will be three this month.  Visiting them is such a treat for my family.  I barely notice the kids are there, I actually relax a little and, again, the pizza is delicious!

Bacon Flavored syrup. Why? 

On Sunday we went shopping for Zuhro's prom shoes and to waste time since buyers were going to be walking through our house that day.  We went to World Market in Visalia first.  I found this bottle of Torani syrup and had to take picture and send it to Jerry.  The cashier said its great in milkshakes and smoothies.  Gross. I was able to buy a bunch of stuff for Jerry's care package.  I'll take a picture and describe that when it is complete.

We continued our journey to discover that Visalia does not have a different selection of Formal dress shoes than Hanford.

So this week in karate, Carson got to use nunchuks!  He was pretty excited and so was Jerry when he found out.  Cooper learned a new trick, also, this week.  he has always sucked his middle two fingers on his right hand.  So it looks like he is rockin' out or giving the I love you sign.  Well, he took it a step further this week.  He figured out that he had a convenient place to put his index finger... his nose.

For me, school is just work.  I love my students, but I am just ready for the school year to end.  I'm tired.  Cooper had a stomach bug Sunday night that got me up twice to clean up the mess, but by morning time he seemed fine.  Then, you guessed it, Carson got it on Wednesday.  I was up at 1am completely changing sheets.  He said he was feeling well enough to go to school, so I dropped him off at daycare, but I got a call 30 minutes later because he had an accident...  Carson's explanation, "I just thought I had to fart."  Such a boy.  I had to wrangle up subs for the rest of the day because his tummy was still having issues and he couldn't go to school.  He is much better now though, thankfully.  

OK, that sums of the last week and a half.  Hopefully, I have great news about my house in the next post.  Also, my mom and dad are coming soon to help start the move!

What's Jerry up to?
Nimitz Strike Group Enters 7th Fleet AOR | Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet