Taking things down and packing things up

A lot of things have been happening in the Kilbride household this summer...We took our first family vacation, Brendan is making great strides in becoming a walker, the boys moved into Big Boy beds, Rory went to Kindergarten camp to get ready for her first day of Big Kid school and Bryan started the task of packing up his gear for yet another tour to the sandbox.

Taking the boys cribs down was a bittersweet moment.  It was so exciting to have them graduate of the baby cribs and move into big boy beds, but as we looked at the dismantled crib it was an incredible reminder of how quickly time passes.  I remember Bryan putting the crib together in Rory's room in Colorado, I remember putting her in it for the first time.  I remember taking it apart for the move to Texas, and then having a fit when all of the screws were not with it when it got to Texas!!!  I remember taking it apart and putting it in the attic of our Texas house when Rory moved into her big girl bed, and I remember taking it out again and assembling it for Brendan's arrival.  I remember putting Brendan in it for the first time, and how special that was because we didn't think he would ever make it into that crib.  I remember when we added a crib to the room, officially making it "The boys room". I remember moving them from Texas to Kansas, and then again in Kansas.  I remember walking into Brendan's room to get him from a nap and seeing him standing there in his crib for the first time.  I remember every morning walking in to get them and seeing the smiles on both of their faces, so happy to see each other again!

Now, there they were....

...and all I can think about it how incredibly fast 5 years has gone by.

Now, looking at this...

...all I can think about is, how fast is this deployment going to go by?

No, this is not our first deployment, yes his last deployment wasn't that long, but it was by far more stressful than any other deployment.  This one just needs to get started.  We are both dreading it, far more than any other one.  The last one we both knew that he needed to go, Brendan was home and doing well, Bryan needed to go and be with his troops.  There had been casualties of his own men and of his friends, and Iraq is where is head was and now the rest of him had to be there. 

This time is just different, we have 3 kids now (just in case you didn't know that!) and for the first time Bryan was home for the first 18 months of one of kids lives, and now he knows what he missed and he knows some of what he is going to miss, and still more of what is going to go on without him physically being here for it.  Yes, this happens all the time with military families, I am not whining or complaining about it, we just need to get day 1 of this thing under our belts so we can all get to our new "normal" for the next year.

All I ask is that you keep Bryan, and all military personnel and their families in your thoughts and prayers....

Our First Family Vacation .... Watch Out St. Louis!!!

The time had finally come, we are taking our first family vacation....just the 5 of us. Yes, there is something incredible different about taking a trip home to see friends and family and going to a hotel to a place you have never been before...and let me tell you, this isn't as easy as Bryan and I thought it was going to be. I think it all started when we got a little too relaxed because we didn't have a plane that we had to catch at some ridiculous hour of the morning, we were just going to get in the car and drive, and it was all good..until Thursday morning arrived and we were nowhere ready to just jump in the car and go, but you know what, it really didn't matter because we were on our way and whatever we forgot, there were stores and we could buy them!

We made it to st. Louis at about the time that we had planned and checked into our hotel, which I think was the highlight for Rory, and Brendan and Jack were thrilled to have new places to explore, and Bryan and I were quickly doing some baby proofing!

Our first full day of vacation in st. Louis had arrived and it was hot hot hot and humid humid humid, and it was the coolest day in the forecast for our trip so we headed out early to the zoo! The place was huge and thankfully very shady. Jack had a horrible reaction to some plant at our first stop in the zoo, so he wasn't happy about being in the stroller in the heat and having his poor little eyeys and nose running. We powered through and saw all kinds of animals, like the elephants and rhino and the hippo, which I thought was pretty cool! We took a ride on the carousel and the cute little train, which is where Brendan and Jack lost a great battle to the over tiredness and passed out on the train ride. So that is how we ended the day at the zoo.

Our next day adventure was to see the Nick jr. Live show, which was a total surprise for the kids. When www cam around the cornerr to the theatre and rory saw the sign with the wonder pets and a backyardigans and Dora, she was over the moon! We got inside the beautiful theatre and had to wait a little bit for the show to start and rory couldn't sit still she was so excited. We had no idea how the boys would react, but we we ere both ready to scoop them up and walk out if we had too so that a the other could stay with rory. Well, as soon as the lights dimmed and the music started and moose from Nick jr came out, all three of the kids faces lit up

Fancy Nancy strikes again!

We spent Saturday in the backyard just hanging out, kids playing in the pool, and just enjoying some much needed family time.  Rory brought out her Fancy Nancy "Ooh La La, it's Beauty Day" book and decided that she needed a foot soak.  The pictures below need no description, except to say, Fancy Nancy has another little fan.

Happy Birthday America!!

4th of July!!  How did this sneak up on us??  Rory just finished school last week, at least that's how it feels.  It has been a very crazy month or so in our house, hard to believe, right?  Since Bryan graduated from SAMS (School of Advanced Military Studies) he has been traveling back and forth to the Pentagon working on the confirmation of GEN Austin for the post of Commander US Forces-Iraq.  (You can find more information about it here and also a video of the hearing, but Bryan wasn't in the room for the hearing, so you won't see him, but it's interesting nonetheless.)  So we've been missing Daddy a lot around here, so it was great to get him home Friday night, and he's home for a while without much work planned...YEAH!!!

We had a great family day celebrating the 4th at Uncle Kevin's house with Kevin, his kids, Bryan's mom and our wonderful neighbors the Kranc's, or as Rory refers to them, Ms. Molly, Mr. Ryan and our neighbors, meaning their kids Molly and Ben.  The kids had such a great time, not one fuss the entire afternoon, and considering it was 8 kids ranging in age from 7 to 17 months, that is quite a big deal!  The kids ran around, blew bubbles and played a little baseball. 

We managed to dodge the raindrops all afternoon, and then unfortunately the skies opened up just as we were getting ready for the fireworks.

Now, you should know that where we live on Fort Leavenworth, we have prime location to watch the fireworks from the comfort of our backyard.  This is beyond fabulous for many reasons; 1. no fighting with crowds or traffic, 2. the boys can be put to bed and stay there, 3. Rory loves fireworks, but really hates the noise of them, 4. we can watch them in our pajamas!!  So when the skies started to pour down Rory began sobbing, "Rain and thunder please go away, I want to see the fireworks" and there is no point in trying explain what a raindate is!  I kept checking the facebook page of Fort Leavenworth page that had the fireworks info, and they said they were still on, but then the thunder started...oh lord!  So in an effort to stop the sobbing I took out the little popper streamer things and we had fun with those for a while, but there were clearly not fireworks.

Well, finally there was news, and indeed they were going to have the fireworks, I'm pretty sure it was because because the weather for the next night was going to be worse.  So off we went into the backyard, umbrellas and raincoats, and our neighbors braved the rain to come and stand in the rain for show. 

Rory was thrilled when the started, but then they started to fade away as dancing in the rain became the thing to do....oh well!

It was a wonderful day and the kids had tons of fun, and that's all that really matters!

Happy Birthday America!

My Little Fancy Nancy

For awhile now Rory has had a love affair with Fancy Nancy.  We have almost every Fancy Nancy book there is (thank you Mammy!) and we read one at bedtime every night.  If you've never read one, you really have too, it's quite a good laugh!

Well, the other morning Rory was having quite a fit about not wanting to eat breakfast, so I suggested that she have a "Yogurt Parfait" just like Fancy Nancy made for her mom in the latest book we read.  Well, didn't I seem like the smartest person when her response was, "Great idea Mom, very fancy!"  So I got down a little glass bowl, emptied some yogurt in it and topped it off with some dry Dora cereal, as that can double as granola, at least in our house!  She was delighted and ate every bite of it, and even asked for more....drama avoided!

Fancy Nancy also believes that "even little frilly toothpicks make everything taste better."  Rory also thinks the same thing.  We always seem to have a battle over lunch, but Fancy Nancy has given her whole life a new perspective, and has made things a little easier too....a little Fancy Nancy pressure makes my life easier!  Rory ran to her room and wheeled out her play Wal-Mart shopping cart, which is now the home to her Fancy Nancy library (a reference library on wheels if you will) and she grabbed the very first Fancy Nancy book and turned to the page out how toothpicks make everything taste better.  Well, I tried my luck with the toothpicks I had on hand, and I Fanc-i-fied them...sure enough, Rory ate every crumb of that sandwich!

If you are laughing out loud now, and if you really think I have fallen off my rocker, just wait....today we had a Fancy Nancy tea party!  Since the boys we are daycare today, Rory thought that it would be a good idea for Rory and Mommy to go to the store and use her credit card (you might call it a gift card) and buy the Fancy Nancy doll that she has been wanting for a while.....so off we went!

When we got home, Rory cleaned her room without any complaint and actual put things where they belonged....now tell me that Fancy Nancy doesn't have magical powers!  After cleaning her room we were finally able to release Fancy Nancy from her box! (insert heavenly music here).  Now Rory told me that we should have a Fancy Nancy tea party, and we had to wear fancy clothes....OK.  So off she went to change and prepare her room for the party.  Out she came in a skirt, a pink shirt with diamonds around the neckline, a stunning cardigan and her patent leather shoes.  Now she had to go and look for some Fancy clothes for me!  She chose a long black dress with "diamonds" on it and shiny shoes.  I would have had a bag to go with the outfit, but they were too high!  I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story....

Pinky Up!

We had a lot of fun today, and even though I think I am a little wacky, Rory thinks I'm pretty fabulous, and that's pretty cool with me!

Goodbyes stink....

One of the great things about being a military family is that you get to go places that you would probably have never experienced otherwise, and you meet so many people that touch your lives, and touch your hearts.  The bad part of being a military family is that you pack up and move so often that you always leave great friends, and places and you wonder when and where you will meet up again. 

Today was one of those days that being a military family stinks.  We had to say goodbye dear wonderful friends who are on their way to California.  We have been so fortunate to be at the same duty stations 3 times, and trust me that's pretty rare.  Kate was one of my very first "Army Wives" friends, and they don't get much better than her.  Together, her and I and Bryan and John watched our kids be born and grow up together, we made it through deployments, and during some of our darkest days we were there. 

We all have family who are always there for us no matter what, a phone call or a plane ride away.  They know us inside and out, and now the Perrines have forever become a part of our family, for better or for worse!

I am so lucky to add Kate as another sister from another mother, just like Becky, and my sister Kath from our actual mother!  While I am so blessed I am also so sad, but looking forward and never forgetting.

It happend....she really is 5!

It really is hard to believe how fast time flies, especially when you take time to reflect on the passing and you can remember times when you said "This will only last for so long, and then things get easier."

I can't believe that 5 years ago today I became a Mom, I really had no clue as to what I was in for, really.  I remember the night that my mom and I went into the hospital to start in the induction process and I was so good and ready to have this child out of my belly!  My original due date was May 1, and the night of the induction was May 11....so 10 days extra was plenty for me, I was huge and uncomfortable and just longed to be not pregnant anymore.  Then I remember getting my bag and getting ready to take the last few pictures with a very pregnant belly, and I burst into tears.  For the first time it hit me, Bryan really wasn't going to be here to see our baby come into this world.  Now you should know I was very prepared for Bryan not being there, we had talked and talked about the timing of starting our family and we knew that with the world that we were living in that Bryan was going to deploy from our next duty station, no matter where we went from Fort Sill.  Really, there is no such thing as "the right time" to start a family, anyone who says that is completely kidding themselves.


So there we were, Mom and I getting into the car to go to hospital to get this kid out......yeah, not really that easy.  I  had heard from everyone with an opinion about anything, that first time labors are going to take a long time, but I thought, hey I've already suffered enough carrying this kid around for all this extra time...HA! (That's God laughing at me)  36 hours of labor, many many many phone calls from Iraq, a mom and a dad who proved that night that they are saints, and out came Rory.  I admit that I was sooo tired and drained from the labor, and the complications that happened after delivery, that when Bryan called just in time to hear her first cries, I asked him to tell my parents what name we had chosen for our baby girl.  Now, I would like to say that I did this to give him a special moment since he couldn't be there, but honestly I couldn't remember what we had finally settled on for a first name!

Fast forward to today, and my first born baby is 5.  During those first 9 months of her life, when I was a single parent I can vividly remember saying at many different times "She is going to get past this phase of screaming at night" or "I can't wait until I don't have to get up and feed her in the middle of the night".  I miss those days, as tired and as stressed out as I was, those were the easy days, the ones that I long for now from a 5 year old.

Thankfully Rory does love a good snuggle, and will always throw out a "I love you Mommy" just because.  So 5 years down, and many many more years to go to see what amazing things that Rory Ann has in store.