Blogging Goal, Poem of the Month

Been thinking bout this blog of mine, blog of mine.
Indeed it's been on my mind
For some time.

There are readers out there, readers out there
Who come to see what I share
Even if I swear.

Setting some goals I am, goals I am:
Know these readers, is my plan.
Is your name Sam?

If you have a blog I don't know, I don't know,
Well... please let me know!
Email me your link, yo!  


..................


Another goal I've set is to start back with the "Poem of the Month."  Pretty much really enjoyed doing it.  So... I should do that. YES!

Been thinking about my childhood and the authors that influenced my life and love of the written word.    I was not a great reader or speller, which kept me shy about really diving into stuff.  Reading was so laboring, but I loved it!  I've always been able to, if I have the time, disappear into a book/story.

Shel Silverstein really drew me in.  Not only was his writing easy and funny to read, but he had great drawings!  As a childhood artist, I loved him.  So very, very much.


So I'm just going to flip open one of the books I own of his, and see what I'm going to share...
... Okay.  Got it.  Here it is:


Thumb Face
By Shel Silverstein

There is a face upon my thumb--
I did not paint it there--
With pointy ears and winky eyes
And greenish bristly hair.
I keep it hidden from my friends
So that they will not stare.
It has a little twisty mouth,
And yellow teethes, too.
It snickers when I hold my fork,
It giggles when I'm blue,
And laughs and laughs and laughs
At everything I try to do.

[A Light in the Attic, p. 55]


Wow, so that was a lot deeper than what I was anticipating.
Isn't it always the case?  There is some blemish/characteristic of ourselves that we are embarrassed about--which makes us feel so weak--and we do our best not to show our friends.  And in our darkest moments our insecurities come out and mock us.

Okay, everyone!  Lift your head!  Everyone has an awful thumb, so let's not let the ugly thumb drag us down.  

Peach and Love to everyone.

Surprise! Father's Day in January!

With Matt leaving next month,  we've been thinking a lot of all he'll miss this year.  Like all the boys' birthdays, Easter, Isaac starting 1st grade, Eli starting pre-K, and possibly Thanksgiving... Just to name a few.  

But what struck me was Father's Day.  This will be the 3rd Father's Day in a row me and the boys haven't been with Matt on "his day".  Darn, I had to do something!  After a month of pondering it, I decided to commit to surprising Matt with a Father's Day--and it all worked out! 

Saturday night Matt and I put the kids to bed.  We do an Insanity video together, and then pass-out in bed.  But my cough acts up, so I say, "I'll just sleep on the couch tonight."   He mumbles and continues to sleep, I go in overdrive.  

I make a large batch of his favorite chocolate chip muffins (which happen to be the spinach whole wheat ones),

I set up a Mt. Dew tower,

and I transcribe questions I asked the boys onto cute survey forms.  

It's 1:30am.  I can't find his present from the boys.  I look EVERYWHERE.  I finally decide to sneak into the bedroom and look under the bed.  

Matt wakes up, in a daze.  

I'm like, "Oh, hi."

He's like, "Why are you on the ground."

I'm like, "Well... my cough... you see?  Needed to get on the ground for it to stop... ??" 

He's like, "Okay.  I need to pee."

Wow, I dodged a bullet.  I go back to trying to find the present.  And I don't find it, so I go to bed hoping to find it in the morning. 

At 6:30am I wake up to Titus running down the hall.  I jump out of bed, steer Titus to the playroom, and get to work on the bacon.  Goodness, so much bacon.  

Everything is together, I get the two other boys up, and we head to Matt with goodies in hand.  

"Happy Father's Day to You," wakes Matt up, in a really confused state.  But he starts to get what's going on, and is really surprised and happy.  Even if it is 6:50am in the morning.     

After having a good fill, we head to the kitchen, and see all the other goodies! 

And I found the boys' present, and able to give it to him!  He's our "Hulk Man Guy," for sure! 

Isaac's own LEGO gun creation.  It even has movable parts. 

Yup, Eli loves bacon.  So much.  

Titus followed Isaac's lead, and headed for the LEGOs.  He made his own gun.  

The rest of the day was really great.  Lots of good family time, and lots of good food.

Matt thought it was really good day, too.  He said it really felt like Father's Day.  Yes!
I had let both sides of our families know that I was doing this, so the whole day he was getting Father's Day messages.  Awesome.

Matt's a great dad, and he deserved a proper celebration.

Big, Important Family Announcement:

First, we got a trampoline!!   I'll get to that at the end of this post. 

Second, Matt is leaving for Afghanistan.  Soon.   

Let's do some Q's and A's about it:

1.  Q:  When will he leave?  

     A:  I'm not supposed to say an exact date here in public/social media, but we're like a month out. 

2.  Q:  Where will he be going?

     A:  I'm not supposed to say an exact location here in public/social media, but it's in Afghanistan. 

3.  Q:  How long will he be gone?

     A:  No more than 9 months.  He will not be getting a 2 week leave during this deployment.

4.  Q:  Does he have a "safe" job?

     A:  Yup!  And super busy.  Lots of men to look over and make sure all their stuff is in line.  

5.  Q:  How many deployments has he had?

     A:  This is his second.  And compared to his first, I'm not worried about him at all.  No 18 month deployment, no guard duty, no foot street patrols, no IED sweeps, no ambushes, no "gotta help Special Forces out raids," no 13+ hours convoys.  And he'll be getting fed 3 times a day!  So no losing 20 pounds!

6.  Q:  How will you keep in touch with him?

     A:  There is pretty reliable wifi.  We've heard that Apple product's "FaceTime" is by far the best way of communication.  Skype and Google+ are good, just a bit sketchy.  And FB chat is great.  

So I'm doing well with all of this, I promise.  Don't worry, I'll have my break downs, crap days, curse-the-world moments.  Matt's a great dad, and such an awesome support.  He's a better parent than me, truly.  

I really feel bad for the boys.  They love him so much.  They seem to know what's going on... Well, maybe just Isaac.  Eli is a bit freaked out when ever Matt is gone--for work, etc.  "I miss my dad!"  is something that I hear everyday.  Least we forget the: "I not love you [me, Shannon], I love Dad!"  Oh boy.  I don't think the 5.5 months apart last year (2012) helped this boy's nerves, at all.  I had a friend tell me that age 3 is the hardest time for separation.  During this deployment I'll have 2 three year olds.  Eli will be 3 till April, then Titus will be 3 in June.  Perfect timing, right?    

Anyway, we'll find out grove.  (If anybody has any insight in how to help children cope with parental separation, please let me know!)

Matt has been getting his gear together, and the boys really love it! 

This is his bullet proof vest, and really heavy.  Cracked us all up when the boys tried to stay up-right in it! 

(And don't mind all the cords and decoration mess.  We're in the middle of getting all the house together!)

Even after all this time (a year and a half), when I see his pink lips, I get really happy.  Healthy "heart baby," baby!

Now, the moment we've all been waiting for...
... The Trampoline!

Holy Hannah, one of the best purchases ever made.  Matt's been worried about us, and he's trying to make sure all the things that he needs to do before he leaves gets done.  Including buying and putting together a trampoline.   He got it it at 5 in the afternoon, and was out till 7 putting it together.

PS, Love the safety net!

The boys practicing their jumps:

Sometimes the "putting the trampoline together" got boring.  They decided to run around the yard instead:

Or play in the 4runner:

First jumps!

First jumps!

First jumps!

First jumps!

After a yummy dinner, the boys were able to go out and enjoy some night jumping with the net!

Email me, and we can figure out ways to get you more info about the deployment if you want it.  I don't mind, really.