If she had the proper words to say,

The boys all arrived home around 1:30am last night. They took MSgt. Jones home first, and then Philip drove his truck with the boys back to our house. He left it in the driveway for Jones to retrieve this morning when sober. :-)

The boys bathed immediately, and we tucked them into bed right at 2am. Philip and I chatted until about 3am while lounging on the couches, and then we headed up to bed at 3am. We all slept in like crazy. Jack woke up at 11:20, and when he turned the TV on in the living room, A.J. heard it and woke up. We woke up at 12:20 when Heather called. Everyone was very well rested, and it's been a low-key day.

I took the boys to get haircuts while Philip did some paperwork at the squadron for his upcoming training. After haircuts, we stopped at the library to return the last of the books and get a new stash. A.J. read seven smaller books while there, and Jack finished up nine short ones. I didn't get any reading done myself, as I was constantly finding interesting reads for them, and then returning them to the shelves in the proper place once they finished the books! They both checked out a hefty stack of new books, as well as each picked another wrapped "treasure" book (concealed in paper to be a surprise until they've left the building). Jack devoured one of his Magic Tree House books the moment we were home, and I also affixed a couple reading tattoos the librarian gave him to his cheeks. Then they went out to play, and they've been out ever since.

Dinner (Chicken Stuffing Bake, spinach, and fresh corn-on-the-cob) will be ready in about 5 minutes, and I've just mixed up two batches of cookie dough. I'll bake the cookies tonight for the next two orders, and then I'll begin decorating them tomorrow. I will have 1/2 batch of dough leftover, so I think I'll pop it in the freezer in case anyone else needs some quick cookies in the next week.

Philip and I are really enjoying Jason Lee's new crime drama, Memphis Beat, as well as the police series Rookie Blue. The former comes on tonight (the third episode), and I'm excited to tuck in and watch it with him. :-)

The Corned Beef and Cabbage verdict:

Me - eh, not so much
A.J. - edible, but loved the brisket
Jack - HECK YES, WHEN CAN I GET THIRDS OF EVERYTHING?!

I don't think I did anything wrong, I just wasn't really in the mood for it after smelling it cook all day long. Since I'd never made it before, I didn't know how that might affect me. In addition, I haven't had a good appetite all week either, and that might have been part of it.

The rolls and the mint chocolate cheesecake were phenomenal. Even the cheesecake, though, I only ate three bites of and put the rest of the slice in the fridge for later. My tummy's just not quite right. I do have pics, but they'll be posted some other time.

I fell asleep while A.J. was in the shower tonight, and then again the second Jack was done with his bath and had given me a kiss goodnight. I napped for almost two hours on the couch before I woke up. Then I was all, "ACK! I have to do the dishes and start that load of laundry!" *zing!*

Now it's time for a chapter or two of my book (The Last Song) and bed for reals.

Aaaaaand, I'm awake.

A couple nights ago, once "Boy Bedtime" was complete, Philip and I snuggled in to watch the latest episode of CSI: Miami on the DVR, followed by a movie. We chose Year One, and it was predictable Jack Black/Michael Cera humor. We chuckled and had a good time. After a couple weeks of insane bedtimes, I was struggling to see the very, very end of it though, so I headed on to bed afterwards (around 12:30am or so). Philip came to bed around 3am.

The next night, we were going to watch a movie again, but I just couldn't - I was so tired. I fell into bed by 11pm. Yesterday, I was awake by 7:15, and I laid there for a bit before finally getting out of bed at 7:45am. Jack woke up within 5 minutes, and then he and A.J. were both "up at at 'em" a full 20 minutes before we'd normally have woken them for school. They watched a bit of cartoons after breakfast then, before donning all their snowgear for school.

Last night, I fell asleep during the opening credits of Zombieland at 10pm exactly. Within minutes, I decided to head to bed, and Philip then finished the movie himself. Today, I woke up by 5:45.

Philip works midnight shifts, so he leaves at 4pm, and he gets home in the mornings between 6:30-7am. He usually takes an hour or so to unwind and snack before coming to bed. These last few weeks, I've stayed up later and later, and several times I've still been awake when he arrives home. This week, it seems to have caught up with me. On his days off, he keeps more of a "swing-shift" routine, going to bed usually in the neighborhood of 2-3am, so that he can still function with the rest of us during the daytime. He's had the last three days off, he works tonight, and then - as luck would have it - he has the next three days off, too. :-)

Speaking of time off, he has 64 days of tax-free, combat-zone leave left to use up by September 30th of this year. In the eight months left from February-September, that works out to be eight days/month. On Friday, we'll sit down and look at our calendars, planning for big chunks of time he will put in for to use it up. In addition to that, he has 57 days of regular leave (he always has huge amounts of leave built-up, as Offutt was always so critically-manned that he could hardly ever get time off to use his leave). In other words, he could essentially take the next FOUR MONTHS off, not going back to work until June. He won't, of course, but that's how much leave time he has built-up right now.

From the moment I was awake, I was salivating over the idea of a banana and a glass of milk. I have this now in front of me, and it is yummy. I think I'm going to whip up some blueberry muffins in a few minutes to have fresh and warm for the boys' breakfasts in an hour or so. I'm sure I'll be ready for a nap later on today, too. *wink*

Philip woke early this morning, and he ran to the Shoppette to get a copy of the base newspaper**.

**Side tangent: the base paper is an awesome one here. It reminds me of the hey-days of the great paper at Elmendorf AFB in Alaska. It's chock-full of stories, happenings on base, etc. It even has a TV guide in it for the upcoming week!

/tangent

He got a copy of the paper, and he also picked up some grape and apple juice for breakfast. We looked at the church directory, and we decided on a Lutheran church (Missouri Synod). Services started at 11am, and so I went back to snoozeville while the boys ate breakfast and Philip showered. Once he was out, we all got ready for church.

We left in plenty of time, and thank goodness for that! Philip had thought it would be about six minutes away, but it ended up being closer to sixteen. He dropped me and the boys off at the door, and we walked in at 11 on the nose. I noticed a guest book to sign, but as soon as I picked up the pen, the organ began playing. I told the boys we'd sign it afterwards, and I ushered them inside... down to the first few rows. You know, folks always joke that Baptists sit in the back, but let me tell you - those Lutherans had left 3-4 rows empty at the front of each of the three sections, too! We sat in the third row, and Philip joined us a moment later.

The church was much larger than we'd imagined, and they were presenting their childrens' program today. It was cute, and the congregation sang along here and there. Jack got a kick out of using a hymnal again (we usually attended the Contemporary service in Nebraska), and I enjoyed singing the alto harmonies of several of my favorite Christmas hymns. The church was extensively and beautifully decorated, and I couldn't help commenting on it. A very nice couple then introduced themselves, and we chatted with them for over an HOUR after the service...

... but that was because today was Jesus's birthday party, too! The fellowship hall of the church had been decorated with balloon centerpieces on every table, and each child received a birthday goodie bag. The younger children received red plastic mugs, and the older children received white stone mugs. They were filled with cocoa, candy, and stickers, and everyone munched on cupcakes, frosted brownies, and ice cream. The couple we had been talking with in the sanctuary introduced us to many, many folks (there is no way I can remember all those names correctly!), and one of the youth directors joked with A.J. for a while. He was grinning from ear-to-ear, and then she introduced him to a handful of other sixth graders, too.

It was a wonderful experience, and now we'll have to decide whether we want to try a few more churches, or go ahead and commit to this warm, welcoming congregation. Even if we don't end up joining this church, I feel very blessed that God has led us to what will be a wonderful congregation to share our Christmas Eve together.

After leaving the church around 1pm, we grabbed a bite for lunch. We stopped at Barnes&Noble for a quick return, and then we headed home. With a full tummy and in the warm car, I was dozing before we reached the base again. Once home, Philip set up the air mattress for me, and I was down for a nap (around 3:30 or so).

I didn't wake until 6:30! Baby kitty had joined me for sleeps, and I think we both needed it. We had easy dinners tonight, and then after the boys went to bed, I began the wrap-fest of Christmas presents. I had intended to do it tomorrow, but I got a jump on it instead tonight. I'll run some errands tomorrow instead because I ended up finishing all the wrapping in one go - yay!

And now, it's 2am, and I'm back to bed. Here's hoping we hear from our moving company about our household goods tomorrow... *fingers crossed*

Jack just fell asleep in the tub. Sound asleep, deep breathing and all. He was OUT. I called Philip in to see, and then we tried to rouse him. He would NOT wake up, and when he finally stirred, he turned to his left to "snuggle" into his covers (as he would in bed), only to then get a mouth and nose full of water!

SO FUNNY!

I'm tired. And I can find no place to sneak in a nap today.

I went into the bedroom last night around 9pm. Philip was watching wrestling in our room, and I crawled beneath the covers with him. I tried to watch for a while, but eventually, the mindnumbing reality that is wrestling won over me. I turned to my side, away from the TV, set my alarm for the morning, and took off my glasses.

It was 9:43pm. I was asleep within moments, and I don't remember another thing at all until my alarm went off at 7:00am.

Last night, about 9:15-ish, we learned there would be no school today. Why? Because the temperature is to be so low - with windchill advisory - and it is unsafe for kids that wait for buses. Hey, that works for me, as we were already finagling a way for Philip to go to work at 5am, then come home and take the boys at 8, then go back to work (so I wouldn't have to drive at all).

Extreme cold kicks my asthma into high gear. Wind makes it bad too, even when the temps aren't so frigid. But the forecast was calling for -25°, and it didn't sound lung-friendly at ALL.

Philip wanted to watch Rush Hour 3 together, and he put it in. My coughing had gotten so bad that not a full minute passed without a new attack, and after thirty minutes, I finally had to leave the room. I told him to finish it without me, and I shut myself in the humid bathroom and sucked down one more cough drop. :-(

Speaking of, I only have two cough drops left. That worries me. We also have only about 1" of milk left in the gallon... which would have been fine if it were just me home today (the only milk I planned on needing was a splash in my oatmeal), but now that the boys are home with me all day, I don't know how we'll manage. They love their milk.

I'm really going to miss Philip today. He has been wonderful this weekend and these past two days, taking care of my needs before I even fully anticipated them. He's brought me soup from all over, he's picked up my meds, bought more tissues, and he even surprised me with more Cadbury bunnies. (Like sweet tea, chocolate feels sooooo soothing on my throat.) He's taken the boys with him anytime he's run errands, and when we're all at home, he's kept both of them quiet so I could rest. He's done a couple loads of laundry, fed the kitties, and he even cleaned the litter for me ("well, I know how the litter dust makes your asthma act up, so...")

I'm gonna miss him. :-(

I'm also going to spend the day wearing my mask, I'm sure. I wore it for a large chunk of yesterday, and the house will feel even drier today. The humidistat is set as "wet" as it can be, and I don't like boiling pots of water on the stove (it leaves a ring in my cookware). So I just walk around in my pseudo-Vader mask, breathing in the sweet relief that comes from looking utterly stupid.

I was lamenting last night that I really, really didn't want to miss church tonight - especially the Lenten service. And the dinner at church was to be Sloppy Joes - a favorite. But I'm thinking that we won't actually miss church now, as the church follows the Bellevue Public Schools: when the schools shut down, the church is closed as well. I suppose that's a silver lining, right?

This entry is rambly and all over the place. Chalk that up to a middle-of-the-night coughing/sweating fit that tore me from my bed. :-/

Remember when I was hardly posting anymore? Yeah, I bet you all miss that now. *wink*

I feel like death, but I'm either so miserably hot or so freakin' cold that I can't go to sleep. I laid down last night at 6:15am, and I was up at 8:30 in time to shower and get Jack to soccer. I thought I'd take a nap or something later today, but then I never did. I've been wondering why sleep isn't coming, and I just figured it out.

The tea.

Here I've been basically caffeine-free for months and months, and now I've had 1.25 gallons of caffeinated tea in about 24 hours. No wonder I can't settle down!

*zurg*

I'm headed to bed now, and I'm going to toss and turn until sleep finally finds me. I hope it's a decent sleep, but I'm sure I'll be up every other hour, either freezing or burning up. *sigh*

I refresh my page often at this time of the morning, but there are still very few new entries popping up. I suppose most folks have something better to do at this hour - sleep.

Back to bed with myself for a few more hours before it's time to wake the boys for school.