Pulling Up a Chair...

...at Wife Behind the Fire's Kitchen Table.

I think it will prove to be a really fun and interesting series!  I can't wait to see what other wives have to say.

So, to answer this week's question, how were you brought into the fire life?

Short answer:  LOVE.

Awwww.  ;)

Long answer:  My husband and I met when we were just babiesteenagers.  I was 16, he was 17.  Summer before our Senior years.  We worked together at a little independent grocery store.  I still remember his first day, when I glanced over and saw him for the first time.  I'm not really sure I believe in true LOVE at first sight, but I definitely felt a certain pull.  I had to get to know this young man.  It wasn't just that I found him to be attractive (though, absolutely, I did!).  My heart skipped a beat and then I just remember being curious.  Who is that guy?  I needed to know.

Problem was, I was SHY.  Painfully shy.  And he was OBLIVIOUS.  Painfully oblivious.  Well, painfully to ME, as a love-struck teenage girl, in any case.

So, it was kind of a slow process.  I would chat with him now and then, I'd try to arrange my schedule to coincide with his.  He was a stock and bag boy, and I was mostly a cashier.  I loved it when I'd get to go back into the aisles and stock with him, gave the perfect opportunity for small talk.

He was a volunteer firefighter/EMT.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  Go ahead, laugh!  I'll wait a second.

I should have known though, for all the times he left work to go on calls.  :)

It took months for us to get together.  I turned 17.  He asked me out once...  then cancelled on me.  I was devastated.  I asked him out once...  but I was a little too ambitious and had invited him to a concert in Philly... his mom said NO way.  I can't say that I blame her.

This was taken before we were dating.  He looks mighty comfy, if you ask me.  :)

A few months later he turned 18.  I was worried at that point that my strict parents wouldn't let me date him, given his age...but, I couldn't take it anymore, I had to tell him how I felt.  I wrote it alllll out in a Christmas card.  That I gave to him in January because I didn't know he was with his dad for Christmas in another town.  I almost chickened out... but, I had to do something.  He wasn't getting my hints, and I've since learned that he generally WON'T get them unless I hit him over the headvery plainly spell it out.  So, I handed it to him and ran off not wanting to see his face while he read it.  He called me that night.  We had our first date, January 6th, 2002.  We went to the movies.  We saw "Ali."  I reached over and grabbed his hand while we watched.  It snowed for the first time of the season, that night.  A winter wonderland and a starry night sky greeted us when we came out of the theater.  He wrapped his arm around me and helped me to the car, my boots were slipping as I walked.

When he took me home, he walked me to the door, hugged me, and I pecked him on the cheek and ran into the house.

...from then on, we were stuck to each other like glue.

I really had no idea what I was getting into.  But, I'm glad I did.

I spent many hours sitting in the car or in the firehouse waiting for him to get back from a call.  I suffered near heart attacks when those same calls were toned out while we were out together and I had to be in the car with the speed demon that he became.  Suffered more near heart attacks listening to his scanner on numerous occasions.  I don't listen anymore.  It's like nails on a chalkboard, anyway...and I don't understand half of what is said.  

After high school he worked for a private ambulance company for awhile, and then enlisted in the military.  He continued to volunteer when he could, whenever we were "home" for enough time to allow it.

We got married in 2004 (I asked him, I think it's a cute story, I'll have to tell it sometime...but are you noticing a trend here?  Haha!).  I was 19, he was 20.  We had two babies.  One in 2006, another in 2007.  Moved around to a few different states.  He took night classes to get his paramedic.  He was this.close to finishing when, well, we had to move again.  We spent a LOT of time apart for his work.  Military is good training for being a firefighter's wife, that's for sure.  I'll take a 24 or a 48 over an 8 month deployment any day.  It gave me a good perspective.  I'd also already had to learn to trust in him, his training, and his brothers and not to let myself be consumed with worry.

After he got out of the Navy, he worked as a medic while he searched and waited for his dream job as a career firefighter.  He found it.  It was always his plan, military, then firefighter.  He sweetly made sure I was on board with this while we were dating, but to be honest I wouldn't care if his dream was to be a garbage man.  I will encourage his career goals because I support HIM, and he does the same for me.  While I might get frustrated with the long hours that go along with his career and, quite often the unpredictability of the volunteer side, I love the sparkle in his eye when he talks about it.  He still gets that same excited look on his face that I remember from when he was 17.

See?  BABIES.

...and I still get that weak in the knees, flutter in the stomach feeling when I see him across a room... 12 years later.  I don't think that will ever change.

First Day of School, 2013

Where did the Summer go?!?

Hard to believe my baby is in Kindergarten!  

...and check this out...

...she has grown SO much...

Some Fun and Some Not So Fun

Last night, the husband took the girls and I to spend some time with friends.  They have a little boy who is Ava's age, and he is a trip! So fun!  Makes me want a boy.  :o)  My girls are a lot of fun too, and Charlotte is a total tom-boy at times though.  We went to Chuck E. Cheese.  I normally HATE that place because I'm all paranoid of the germs and one of the kids getting lost, and even though they're supposed to check your number stamps as you leave, I don't think they really pay that much attention to them and I have had them not even check before...so, yeah.  I mean, I watch the girls like a hawk, but I get super antsy when they want to crawl around in the tubes and aren't right by my side, haha.  I always drill it into their heads not to leave with anyone but mommy or daddy and to stay with one of us at all times.  We had fun though!  And I do like their pizza. 

After that we rushed over to gets our seats for The Lorax.  Such a cute movie!  The girls loved it, and so did hubby and I.  Ava was dissapointed that she didn't hear Taylor Swift sing in the movie, she LOVES her, haha. 

That was the highlight of our week, I guess?  I had an appointment with a new doctor on Wednesday.  He confirmed what I thought, that the doctor I saw a few weeks ago was wrong about the tissue I passed.  Since I was so unsure after that appointment, I took the tissue home and took a few pictures of it before I threw it out.  The new doctor said it was absolutely not a blood clot.  It was an endometrial/decidual cast (and that they can be very painful...no kidding! I was in tears a few times over the pain...I felt like a total wimp at the time, but now I don't feel bad at all.  He said sometimes women end up in the ER for them).  He said that the Seasonique I was on essentially made me have a D&C.  Awesome.  He also said it should have been sent to the lab because it had some spots that concerned him, even though he said cancer at my age would be extremely unlikely.  So, still bleeding, of course.  It's been since January 22nd...so 42 days now and counting.  But I'm on the last week of my current pack of Ortho-tricyclen so, yeah... I'm hoping it stops once I start the new pack, but I'm not counting on it.  New doc says it could take another 2 months for it to calm down (ugh) and if it doesn't, then I have to come back in and try something else.  He said last resort would be surgery, and there are a few we could discuss, but not until we're sure we don't want any more children.  And I'm not sure at all, as I'd really like to have at least one more.  Sooo, yeah. 

Other than that, it was Dr. Seuss week for us, and at Ava's school.  So fun! 

We have a low key weekend here at home planned...full of, not much at all, haha!  I'm going to enjoy it though.  It's gorgeous outside today, other than the wind.  I have a few windows open to let in some fresh air and the girls played outside for a little while earlier.  I still need to finish up the end tables I'm working on for Charlotte's room, and I'm hoping we can manage to get her room painted soon.  I keep planning to work on it and then not feeling well or we lose track of time on something else.  Oh well.  It's not like it's going anywhere. 

Yay!

I still haven't gotten a phone call, but they just told everyone that all of A Company is safe and sound ;o). What a relief!!

They will get to take their first hot shower in 5 months, eat a real meal (food is goooood there from what I hear, lol. Lobster and steak every Friday), and sleep without keeping one eye open.

We're winding down!!

No Naps!

It's hooooooooooot. ::whine:: I don't want to turn on the A/C yet. Girls aren't acting like they're hot so it's probably just me because I don't think it's really all that bad out today. Their cheeks usually get really red if they're at all hot and they look fine.

I'm starting to wonder about our mail service here, because something is wrong with either it or me, lol. Seriously, I swear I remember writing out checks for things, putting them in the mailbox, and then being told later I never paid something? Just yesterday we got a notice from our homeowners association about a storm repair they contracted, they paid, we paid them... it was like $40, I specifically remember writing the check, telling Mike I was paying it, and mailing it off. Waste of a stamp!! Need to go through our bank statements to make sure they didn't just make a mistake on that one. But then today, I got a notice from a tax attorney or somesuch saying that I didn't pay my per capita for 2008. Now, it's only 23.xx, but I don't NOT pay my taxes, lol. I either didn't get it, or sent it off and they didn't get it... I always write the date I wrote the check/mailed something off on the actual bill before I store it away, but of course our "filing cabinet" is really just one of those 3 drawer plastic things and papers are just thrown in...no particular order. Need to fix that... but now I get the joy of later going through every single paper until I find (or not find) that tax statement/bill/whatever. I already started (and started separating everything into like piles for a start on real organization) but then Ava kept trying to wake up Charlotte...so she finally did and now they're playing and I'm here because I have a headache and I'm procrastinating fixing dinner. Mike will hopefully be home at 6:30ish so I have a little time... and the kids ate two lunches today and plenty of snacks so they're good.

I was working on my grocery list too so that's somewhat productive I guess... heh.

Mike called me earlier and said they found a huge yard sale (yeah, great "work" guys, haha) and asked if I wanted to go check it out tomorrow. He said they both wanted to buy a wheelbarrow but didn't think they could get away with stashing them in the ambulance. They talked to the guy who was doing the selling and he said he'd be out there tomorrow to so that works.

So aside from that tomorrow I want to get some paint mixed up because I used almost all of the "house color" to paint my garden bed and we got the wood to make a smaller one for strawberries only so I'll need to paint that to match...and get the shed trim sanded and painted. And while I have the sander out hopefully sand and start painting the jelly cupboard my mom gave me...either for the garage or the kitchen... I have high hopes for tomorrow. We'll see if any of it actually gets done, lol.

I guess Saturday we are having a cook out. My mom called me the other day and said "are you having a party this weekend" "uhhh, no?" "well, you are now." LOL. Sounds good I guess. She said spread the word...but I don't really know anyone that would actually come up, especially last minute like that. I figure most people already have plans with it being a holiday weekend, so I'm just letting Mike invite who he wants. I might facebook/myspace a status about it...maybe, lol.

Uh oh, Ava's starting to try to take a nap. Must go disturb her!! LOL. No naps after 3:30pm!!

Freezing

Ava was playing in her room today, while Mike was putting Charlotte to sleep for a nap and I was folding/putting away laundry and then going to take a shower. She laid down in her bed and told me she was going to go to sleep. I didn't believe her but I encouraged it and said I hoped she had a good rest and that I was going to take a shower. When I got out of the shower she was still laying in bed with her covers on and she waved to me as I walked past her room. Five minutes later Mike looked in on her and she was asleep. In her bed. SHE WENT TO SLEEP. IN HER BED. BY HERSELF. NO PROMPTING. NO TANTRUMS. ::faints::

lol... total milestone for her! First time she's ever just gone to bed by herself. She takes naps whenever she wants (well, so long as they're not after 4pm, we don't let her then or she won't go to bed before 12, lol), but she falls asleep on the couch...and I just let her fall asleep on the couch at night and carry her upstairs... it's easier that way so she doesn't put up a fuss about going to bed and wake up Charlotte (who goes to bed around 7-8). So this was totally awesome. I hope she keeps it up but I am not counting on that for awhile, lol.


I am freeeeeeezing. I don't know why I've been so cold all day today.

I just had yummy strawberries and whipped cream with a chocolate cookie crumbled over them... so decadent... yum! I pretty much had toast for dinner...and I'm actually still hungry. We went to my parents today so my dad could try to help Mike with some lights for the Explorer...or something...I don't know... boring firefighter electrical man stuff. And the kids are bottomless pits over there. It drives me nuts because I fed them lunch right before we left and they had their bag of snacks for in the car and they still start with the "I'm hungry!" (well, Ava does, Charlotte just get into the lower food cabinets and pulls out food and asks for it, lol). But they ate dry cereal, and apples, and probably two slices of pizza each (adult size slices, lol). So they didn't really want dinner when we got home and I hadn't thawed any meat anyway so I made eggs and toast. Which they also actually did eat once I served it, lol. Bottomless! I swear you'd think I never feed them or something, lol. So I made myself eggs too but then didn't feel like eating them so I just ate my toast and maybe two bites of egg. I will probably snack again soon... lol. Carrot sticks and peanut butter maybe. If Mike didn't eat all the carrot sticks. But what I really want is this. Heh. I have an order for biscotti from my dad and an order for chocolate chip and pumpkin butterscotch cookies from my mom so I guess I'll just have a baking day sometime soon and I'll do those for myself... yep, all for me, hehe. :o) I feel bad making/eating anything with peanut butter for the most part since Charlotte can't have it yet so it's like a special treat almost, lol. Can't wait til she's two. And yet, I most definitely can. ::sigh:: She is at the age now that Ava was when I had her. Crazy. I'm all over the place, huh? lol.

I feel like we've been so busy lately... I want to have a down day tomorrow but I have to go to the grocery store for this week's "deals" and it's Wednesday so Mike's dad and Carol will probably want to come over too since they didn't today... ho hum. I finally got some primer for the bathroom upstairs so we can do the floor, hopefully, sometime this week.

I'm sleepy but I can't go to bed yet. I seriously can not sleep when he's out on a fire call (unless he leaves in the middle of the night and I don't even hear him get up, which has happened a few times...and I hear him when he comes home and climbs in bed again...and then I barely even wake up...and then I wonder how on earth I manage to hear the kids if he can get up and leave and I don't hear a thing...and believe me, he is NOT quiet, lol, even if he tries to be! longest-parenthesis-ever-the-end)... So if I go to bed when he's out on a call I just lay there and don't sleep. Or I watch tv upstairs but Charlotte deprogrammed the remote and the paper with the codes on it is lost and so I have no remote and it sucks to be stuck on one channel and to have to get out from under the snuggly warm covers to switch them around so I'd rather not. So I will just sit up and be sleepy until I can't stand it any more or he comes home. Oh what an exciting life I lead.

Did I post that I cut Charlotte's hair? And Ava's too. I can't remember...just their bangs... Ava can finally have bangs again after her little attempt at being a hair stylist. So I was cutting hers and on a whim I just did Charlotte's too... she looks so much like Ava did at her age and yet so different. It's neat. :o) I need to start taking pictures more often, I've been slacking lately so I don't think I have any with their new hair yet.

Busy..

Ava is my little sleeper in the morning...she doesn't like mornings, just like her mama. She'd easily sleep until 9-10, if Charlotte didn't wake up around 7 and make a ton of noise. Lately if Charlotte is fussing, just fussing, I won't go get her like I would when she was younger...in an effort to help her self soothe herself better and it works. If she cries and sounds upset, I'll go in. Most of the time her fussing tapers off until she's sleeping again. Anyway, this morning she was fussing and I am half asleep and all the sudden I hear Ava yell (from her room, she was still in bed) "Charlotte! You fine! Go back to sleep!"

ROFL.

Yesterday (?) she was reading The Hungry Caterpillar. It went something like this "Once upon a time, there was a very hungry caterpillar. He was very hungry and he ate very hungry food. The end."

Love that kid. She was reading it again later and I got her to do it on video. It sounds a little different every time, but still cute... I'll upload and post it...at some point, lol.

Charlotte will now say "WHAT?" when you call her name, lol. And she throws temper tantrums already. She flaps her arms in the air and throws herself on the floor if she doesn't get her way. She tries to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and it's so cute, she slowly rocks her head from side to side and in baby talk gets the tune right and some of the words. She also grabs her toes and says "WEE WEE WEE!" (this little piggie)...too cute.

Ava dressed herself today... purple pants (leggings, but capri length), a fushia (hot pinkish)/orange striped tunic, a baby pink sweater (buttoned all the way), a hot pink hat (the kind with the fluffy ball on top), and her brown mary-janes with pink flower on them. Nice. At least Charlotte matches :o) We're having a pajama day anyway really. My stomach hurts... a muscle has been bothering me for days and then yesterday I sneezed and ohhhhh my goodness it hurt so bad. Then I was feeling around and there was a bump on the muscle. Lovely... later I felt around again and it had gone down, but it still hurts...so I'm having trouble with lifting and such today. I didn't even want to move this morning.

Mike is at the firehall... again. I know he's used to working and not being home as much as he is lately, but it really bugs me when he goes on a call, misses riding anything, and still hangs out at the firehall for an hour or two or three or four just because (or when he just plain goes to hang out and takes forever). Feels like he'd rather be there than here, and well obviously he would since he does that. I don't know... he went to go work out there around 11, and called me around 2 saying he was going to hang out for another half hour and then come home. What was the point of that phone call?? Seriously, what is another half hour, after being gone for three hours already. And I don't really believe he'll actually be home until more like 3 or 4. Maybe. If they don't get a call. I mean, it's snowing...he could be playing with his kids in it or something but instead they're stuck inside since I can really be carrying Charlotte around right now (and I'm not an outdoors kinda gal anyway, but he actually is)... and I'm really annoyed that he'd just go and be gone this long when he knows my stomach is bothering me and Charlotte still does need to be picked up so often.

Got our new couches for the family room. LOVE them. I like them better than the set I got for the living room. They are so soft and comfy...and even though they take up more room, this space just looks less cluttered now, which is nice. We put the recliner upstairs in our room since I still rock Charlotte to sleep at night and for most naps.

I think I'm going to go heat up some chili for lunch now...my tummy is growling now. Then I need to get started on some baking for family gift baskets.

Snowing!

Ava just looked out the window, and shouted (girly squealy shouting) "Look, look! Mommy!!! LOOK! It's snowing! It's snowing! WOOHOO!! I'm so glad it's snowing!"

rofl.

I just finished mopping the downstairs and now I'm about to mix up some banana bread and start dinner...but I had to hop on and save that little memory.

:o)

Restless

I scrubbed a lot of things today, lol. I didn't do as much laundry as I had planned...but the kids didn't really nap (well, Ava didn't...Charlotte took one short one). My mom and Jane were both supposed to come over today to try to figure something out with Mike's car... but my mom got a ride from Eddie so he messed around with it and discovered that a cable snapped, or something like that, and that's why the hood wouldn't open. So I called Jane and let her know not to come (she was only coming b/c my mom didn't know how to charge a battery), called AAA and they came out to see if they could do anything and if not, tow it to a shop. The AAA guy was able to get it open (he just hit it really hard, lol!!) He said the latch was rusted too...fun... but anyway, the battery is now charged and hopefully it stays that way. My mom's car is still in the shop, but hopeeeefully will be done tomorrow.

My list of things to do tomorrow is...
scrub the floors with bleach (I hate hate hate our linoleum, even with mopping 1-2 times a day it still looks dirty...I just don't have the time or energy to be on hands and knees scrubbing it every day)...
Finish up the laundry
Pack for the girls and I (woo...planning outfits so I don't overpack...fun...that's 18 outfits..not counting pjs, lol, yikes)
Trying to pull weeds in the back yard if I can manage
Shampoo the family room furniture

Hmm... that's about it, lol. Doesn't seem like much but I will probably be running around like a chicken with it's head cut off since all of that is in addition to the every day stuff... and I'm so restless, I keep finding things that I think need to be done when really they're fine, lol... and when I'm nervous sometimes I chew on my tongue. Weird, I know...but yeah...well I chewed too much today and now the back of my tongue by my cheek is sore. It's my own fault but I don't realize I'm doing it until it hurts. Same goes for my legs...I'm always bouncing them but I don't even realize it until I'm like "oh, hey...my legs are tired," lol.


What the heck I keep hearing a baby crying. I'm going insane I swear, lol. The baby monitor is on but Charlotte is sleeping and it's a video monitor so I can see that she is fine.. I was hearing it earlier today too. Maybe a neighbor or something and I just have super sensitive baby-cry hearing, lol.

So Sweet

So... sweet little Ava this morning, I was cleaning the upstairs bathroom and Ava and Charlotte were playing in Ava's room. I overhear Ava telling Charlotte "Guess what?! Daddy come home SOON! Very soon! Daddy ride in airplane come see you!" Too cute.

I packed Mike's bag today. :o) I will pack the girls' and mine...soon.

Happy!

Teehee :o)

Despite sucky people, and ONE MILLION THINGS TO DO...and my nervous/emotional worry for what may or may not be no good reason...

I keep going about my business and all the sudden I just get this happiness explosion and I can't wipe the smile off my face. :D

Then it subsides... but it's guaranteed to be back again soon.


:D

Calgon, take me away!

So far today... and the day is young...

Ava brushed her hair with oatmeal. Yes, she was using a spoon. Thank you, Little Mermaid as Ava thinks all utensils are for hairbrushing.

Ava threw a toy at Charlotte's head, narrowly missing.

Charlotte has a tooth trying to break through and she's clingy and miserable.

Ava has decided to be defiant and yell "NO!!!" at everything.

Ava refused to eat lunch but wanted the cotton candy from yesterday. Nope, sorry little lady.

Ava pulled a bag of pretzels out of the pantry cupboard thing and spilled half all over the kitchen.

Jack flung poo all over the bathroom. This is a somewhat regular occurance, but annoying nonetheless.

Ava went upstairs to play in her room and just decided to throw toys down the steps instead.

Ava got ahold of a permanent marker. I forgot I left it on the table. In the one minute she had it in her sneaky little hands, she managed to color on the end table, the recliner, her caterpillar rocking horse thing, herself, and the floor. I got it off everything but the recliner and the caterpillar... I don't even know what to use on them since they're fabric.

I just got Charlotte to take a nap and Ava is chilling on the couch thankfully not getting into anything...I think she is tired...I have put myself in time out to regroup for a few minutes.

I gotta try to squeeze in a shower since my mom said she was stopping by later. I just realized I'm hungry so I need to fix myself some lunch and try to get Ava to eat again...


Oh, I think I forgot to post about it, but maybe I did...I can't remember... but on PBS tonight, there will be a show called NOW (8:30 here on WITF, but depends where you are). It's about the 24th MEU, they were embedded with Alpha and Mike said they got him on video a lot, so hopefully they used some of it and I get to see him!! And hopefully the girls cooperate and let me actually watch it, haha.

"Danny MOM!"

Ha, so you know those Tyson chicken commercials, "Here's to ___'s Mom!" Well one came on today and Ava was walking past the tv and after they said "Here's to Danny's mom!" Ava raised her arm up in the air and said "Danny MOM!" and it was just funny. :o)

My back is sunnnnburnt. We spent half the day in the back yard playing and in the pool. Ava had a blast...Charlotte wasn't too fond of it but she did play in it for a little while. As soon as she really got used to the water though Ava got out and buckled herself in the baby swing so I had to get out and unbuckle her and then Charlotte didn't want to get back in. I need to have my bathing suit altered...it doesn't fit quite right, it's a little big at the top and I feel like I'm going to fall out of it. Blah to that...nursing made my boobs SHRINK! No fair 'cause I didn't have that much to begin with. All the other women in my family are pretty well blessed in that area, but me? Nope, I missed that gene, lol.

When we finally came inside, it was like perfect timing because not a half hour later it got dark all the sudden and started to thunder. I went outside to grab the towels and blanket and as I was going back into the house it started pouring. So, yay for good timing I guess. Though it wouldn't have mattered if I got wet since I'd been in the pool anyway. I think a big pool would be nice for next summer. Mike wants one but I didn't want to deal with it this year by myself. It'd be cool to get one and dig it in to the ground a couple feet...not all the way...and build a deck around it. I need to look at the property lines and see if where our fence cuts off in the back is really the end of our property.

Exciting news though, we are half way though again!! So long as there isn't anotherrr extension... but yay! :o) I'm so excited. I can not wait for him to be home. In OUR home.