Accidental Hiatus

Hi.  My name is Faith. (You respond: Hi, Faith).  It has been almost two weeks since my last blog, for this apologize.  This blog has been an afterthought to everything that has been going on.  Every night, I say to myself, “You have to type a blog tonight”.  So apparently it takes, 10 days, 3 work days at home (more on that later), and waiting on hold with UPS to track a package, to get the motivation or the stubbornness to actually sit down and type.  Quite honestly, I can’t even use the excuse “I haven’t had that much time on the computer” because I am always on it.  I think it had more to do with having both hands to do something, maybe some peace and quiet, or maybe I have been so exhausted that I can’t keep anything straight!  Either way….I am back.  So to get you caught up on everything, I am going to take an idea from Liz and bullet all of the stuff…it is the fastest way to go over all that has been going on.  So first up, and most importantly…..

• MATT GOT PROMOTED!!!!!!!!  That is right folks, after 5 years of being “promotable,” Matt is FINALLY a Staff Sergeant!  I am so incredibly proud of him.  He never gave up and continued to move forward.   

                Before the ceremony!  Still a SGT…not for long!!!!!

Gracie got to stick on pin on his rank.  That wasn’t exactly the plan, but we made it work.  That’s right folks, I put on my big girl panties, swallowed my frustration when things didn’t go to plan, and enjoyed the moment!  Take that New Year’s Resolution!!!!!I am just so proud of him!!! 

Officially a SSG!  I love this picture…although you can tell that we are all faking it until we make it.  It was SO cold!!!!  You will hear more about this momentarily…just wait…it’s a doozy!

• For those mom’s out there….do you want to know what question(s) are worse then Why?  Seriously, I am not kidding.  First of all, let me give you the answer to the inevitable question of Why?  Are you ready for it?  I am telling you, it works, at least for us.  BECAUSE I SAID SO!!!  Those magic words…or so I thought.  It stopped “Why?”  but led to and encouraged “What?” and “But how?”  Oh my my my.  There have been a lot a few times where I have seriously considered taking her to the doctor to get Gracie’s hearing checked.  I am so not kidding.  Then I whisper, I am not say it again and she giggles and moves on with life.  SERIOUSLY?  Then there is the “but how?”  Oh the but how…everything I ask her or tell her I hear “but how mommy?”  So then I tell her, and she asks…wait for it….”but how mommy?”  Oh MY WORD!!!!  I just take a breathe and ask her “what do you think?”  Then she typically has an answer, a long one, not kidding. The joys of motherhood!!!!!!  Can you believe this happy face?  Gracie loves to draw!  She does such a great job!!!

 

• El Paso Freeze…ok, maybe I should be a bit more dramatic. DOT.DOT.DOT.  So, do you know what happens to a desert area when they have a artic blast come through?  The whole town shuts down. Literally.  I mean, we didn’t go to work on Wednesday or Thursday.  This is not me being dramatic either. The lowest the temp hit was –3 or –4 and that is the temp not the wind chill.  We also got about (wait for it) 2 inches of snow!  Anyway, so you want to know what happens when El Paso gets real winter weather? Let me just list what happens:
• We have rolling blackouts because the electric company can’t compensate for the extra consumption.
• We are advised to stay to the “major” roads for 3 inches of snow.  No seriously, I am not kidding.
• You better hope you have stocked up on groceries because one of two things can happen.  1. They are out of groceries because the whole town has stock piled all supplies. 2.  You find a new time to go shopping because everyone refuses to expose themselves to the weather.
• You better hope you don’t get sick, because it’s useless to even think about going to the doctor unless you plan on going to the ER…that was not happening.
• They will continue to say the whole weather forecast over and over again until they actual believe that temps are below zero.
• The worst part about the whole freeze thing…I was sick, Gracie was sick, and Matt was sick.  Yep, you counted right, all 3 of us.  I took Gracie to the doctor today and she has an ear infection and a viral infection.  I am pretty sure I am the one that gave her the viral infection.  At least she could get some antibiotics for the ear infection.  Having a sick 3 year old is never fun.  I have not been back to work since Tuesday, I am feeling a little cooped up in the house.  Can you tell?  I am not for sure…I have been told I ramble when that happens! Ha!

I honestly think that is all for now.  I am sure I am missing something, but I will be sure to blog about it later.  We are having a promotion party for Matt tomorrow so I know I will have pictures for that.  I have a few surprises up my sleeve for him too.  But just in case he reads this before tomorrow night, I am not going to talk about them….sneaky sneaky!

I will once again apologize for my hiatus.  As you can see, it has been a crazy couple of days.  I promise I will try to do better in the future!