A new little blogger

Apparently Hunter got into my blog. He even managed to publish his post. Great job, Hunter! LOL!!

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Budding Artists

Thursday's "successful" playgroup led us to a paint your own ceramics shop in the nearby town. One side of the shop was filled with ceramic pieces to glaze, and then the shop would fire it for you. There were dishes and picture frames and figurines. All very cute and tempting, but all a tad more than what I had in my wallet. The other side of the shop had plaster figures, signs, picture frames, that sort of thing. You paint them with permanent paint and you can take them home right away. Each piece, no matter what it was, cost about $10. Having three kids to pick out a piece and paint, we had to go with the plaster. We are definitely going back to do the ceramic pieces some day, though. I already have gifts picked out for future birthdays and Christmases!
Hunter saw a low shelf with several different shaped kitties on it. He ran over with great enthusiasm shouting, "Kitty kitty, kitty kitty," and meowing at them. There were puppy figures on the shelf, too, and he barked at them all, but in the end chose a small kitten to paint. Hunter was one of only two little ones who actually painted anything. The rest either played in a playroom or sat in their strollers being too little to really paint much. Several of the mommies put their baby's feet and hands on plates and picture frames, though. They all turned out very cute.
There were cups of brushes on the table and a cup of water. Since the paint was permanent, the lady who worked there told us to use one brush per color, then stick it in the water and take a clean brush for the next color. Hunter thought that meant he could paint one stripe, stick the brush in the water, grab a new one and paint another stripe. He used up the whole cup of brushes. All 40 of them.
Drew chose a bigger cat that he affectionately named Marissa. When he was finished painting, he got to add glitter. The lady who worked there took Drew outside and they added the glitter. I think Drew fell in love. Not only was she very cute and sweet, she took the time to listen to him. And anyone who knows him can attest to the fact that he's never quiet. He has a million stories to tell and he tells them all to everyone he meets. This girl was very nice to sit and chat with him for as long as she did. Drew also got to add the glitter to Hunter's kitty.
Louisa had a hard time choosing. She always takes a long time when she needs to make a decision. Especially one as important as which figure to paint. She's very particular. She needs to have a vision of how it will turn out before she'll choose. Louisa ended up choosing an Indian Princess head. Right away she knew what she wanted to do with it. It turned out great and she had the admiration of the whole shop by the time she was finished. She is extremely proud of what an awesome job she did.
The playgroup ladies are already planning a mom's night only to the ceramics shop. It was so much fun, and I think it would be nice to go when we can all paint something just for ourselves without little ones crying and running around the store.

Successful Playgroup Meeting... kind of!

I think I finally had a successful playgroup meeting. Now, I know you're asking, "You THINK?" Yes, I think! We were scheduled to go to the zoo yesterday. It's about an hour drive, so we were all supposed to meet at the on post gas station and then go from there. When I got there and parked, two ladies rolled down their window and asked if I was in the playgroup. (it's that obvious?) I said yes, introduced myself and peeked into their backseat to see what little cuties were sitting back there. Empty. I looked at them funny and they both giggled and told me they don't have any kids yet. They are both pregnant, one due in August, one in September. I thought that was kinda silly, but yet, smart. A good idea to join a playgroup when you're a first time mom, even if the baby isn't here yet.
A few minutes later another lady showed up with her little one and she said we should go because everyone else was meeting us at the zoo.
We drive off, and about halfway there the car with the pregnant ladies stops and turns around. I got kind of worried. When we got to the zoo my playgroup friend told me they called her cell phone and one of them had started leaking fluid so they turned around. I hope she's okay.
We enter the zoo and kind of look around to see if anyone is waiting for us. Nope. So we start to walk and look at... well... zoo stuff. My kids are so into animals. Zoos, even small ones like this, are great excitement for them. Drew, now that he can read so well, likes to read all the signs. He thoroughly impressed our playgroup friend with how well he could read.
We wizzed through the zoo in record time. I think the kids could have probably stopped and looked at some of the animals more, but when you're walking and talking you don't realize that you're passing stuff by.
At the end of the zoo our playgroup friend's son was pretty tired so she went home. We stayed to ride the train. Of course, you have to ride the train when you're at the zoo.
I think it was a successful playgroup meeting, even if there were only two of us.

The Half-Way Point

Today is husband's 10 year anniversary. 10 years in the army, that is. He's given 10 years to one of the toughest jobs anyone can do, and he's half-way to retirement. Retirement at age 38 is very enticing, espeically when he's only got 10 years left.
Although I was best friends with husband's sister, I didn't really know him the day he raised his right hand, took the Oath of Enlistment, and hopped on the airplane headed toward Ft. Benning, GA. I can only imagine how excited he must have been for this new challenge as he arrived at basic training.
Ten years later, he's a completely different person. He has a wife, three kids, and he's 5 ranks higher. He looks older than he is, he has wrinkles around his eyes, he has fractures in his shins from running on concrete every day, he has sore knees from jumping out of airplanes. He's a 28 year old man in a 41 year old's body. But he rarely complains, he takes his job in stride, and in the end he knows that retiring at 38 sounds very sweet!
Tomorrow he is going in to re-enlist for pretty much another 10 years. After he gets back from the next Iraq deployment that is scheduled, he'll have 12 years in the army anyway. And now that a nice sized re-enlistment bonus has been dumped in his lap, it makes the deal all that sweeter.