Apiphobic
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Posts posted by Apiphobic
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We lived in Japan at the time. Dh had left that day to go TDY, and my mom had flown over to visit her newest grandchild for a couple of weeks. My youngest was a month old, and dc were asleep. I was online chatting with my cousin, and my mom was watching AFN (Armed Forces Network) in the living room. My cousin expressed shock about something on the news, so we signed off and I went into the living room to watch the news with my mom.
Dh's TDY was cancelled and he was back home the next day. The schools were closed, and everything went to high alert on the base. I think we were glued to the TV.
Where were you?
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To boost ratings.
People will tune in to see the new dynamics at the judges' table.
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This is wonderful to hear.
I'm so happy for you. :hurray:
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Honestly?
Starting and stopping and then trying to start again is really really really hard.
Don't stop. Keep going.
Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.
:grouphug:
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Just thought I'd add more fodder for Doran's tongue-in-cheek thread. ;)
Actually, I've always wanted to go to the Grand Canyon and am wondering what's stopping me. Instead of being lost at sea or falling over the railing into the deep blue ocean (is it even blue anymore?), maybe I'll lose my sense of direction or slip off the edge of a cliff.
Have you been there, done that? Incredible experience or overrated? North or South Rim? Spring, summer, fall, or winter? Helicopter or airplane tour? Mule tour? Day hike? River rafting? Ranger presentations? Grand Canyon Skywalk? Phantom Ranch? Havasu Canyon?
I smell a poll. But there are too many choices, so it may just be a silly one.
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I haven't read all the replies, so I hope these have not already been recommended. These were books that I read when I was younger and that have stayed with me all these years.
This was my mom's book. I started out reading a lot of her books and they were the romance novels so popular then. Well, I guess they're popular now, too, but I don't read them so much anymore.
She loved one of these by the same author, Celeste de Blasis, but I can't remember which one. Wild Swan is the first in a trilogy, and I think The Proud Breed is a standalone. I think her favorite is The Proud Breed, but I'm not positive.
This one is different. I remembered it for years and finally found it again after so long and re-read it. It was different than what I remembered, but I was glad to have found it again.
I also enjoyed the Mary Stewart Merlin series.
Good luck finding something just right, Baby Bear! ;)
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Egads, I forgot to give my big tip for handling deployments, TDYs, or dh/dw out-of-town.
Enroll dc in public school.
:lol:
Just kidding. Really.
Our decision to enroll our oldest was made before we found out about this deployment, and we even considered not doing it because of the associated move when dh returns.
I will add one thing that hasn't been mentioned here. And take this with a grain of salt, because it might work for some people and not for others. I've found that having a pet or two can actually be very comforting for dc. Okay, okay, also for myself.
Of course, for some people, having a pet might be more work for you. I mean, who usually ends up feeding and taking care of the pet/s? This is true, and sometimes I gripe about the hassles involved with four-legged furry friends in the house, but I'm also very glad to have them in our family.
I was surprised when a friend mentioned that you can get a waiver to the "no pets" rule in some housing rentals if you have a signed document from your doctor. I think she had PTSD and her cats were considered therapeutic and good for stress release. She also said something about the cats' purring being helpful somehow.
I know some people enjoy digging in their flowers beds and/or gardens and find that soothing and therapeutic. I haven't quite figured that out yet. :)
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The best thing that helps with that is putting them in a Toastmasters class.
Seriously.
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Do not read Stephen King before bed. Or watch scary movies!:D
LOL That reminds me of one of dh's earlier deployments. I had a 5 yo and two 2 yo's. No air conditioning and it's the middle of summer in Japan (read hot and humid). I'm reading a book about Ted Bundy. Our bedrooms were on the second floor and we lived on-base, so I usually left the windows open at night to let the cool air in. When I read that book, I just couldn't do it. Even though it was unbearably hot and we were probably very safe on-base, I just couldn't do it. The windows were closed and locked every night.
I 'unschooled' during the last deployment. Read a lot and we traveled quite a bit. Spent time with the grandparents. My children were 3, 4 and 8 for the last deployment so really didn't do much formal schooling to begin with.I hope dc have some wonderful memories of that time. The deployment I mentioned just above is the same one where dc and I got out and did a lot of sightseeing in Japan. I have pictures galore, but I think only my oldest remembers any of it.
I don't cook! Cold lunch type food, soup. mac & cheese, or quesadillas are frequently on the "menu."I stay home a lot. It stresses me out to take all the kids out much, so we stay home. Field trips can wait for when I have an extra set of hands. I take them to the park and that's about it, although I need to take them to the zoo & science museum soon.
My oldest watches the boys when I go to the grocery store. I love the freedom.
One deployment I went on a diet and got skinny. I don't have the energy for that this time, though.
Soon I'll start thinking about a family vacation, but he's still got 8 mths. before he comes home.
:grouphug: to you!
When my dh was deployed I would invite my boyfriends over. Almost every night.Ben and Jerry.
:D
I don't have anything constructive to add. My husband is a photographer who will sleep late with me and come home for lunch when I ask him to.I just want to say that I admire you all; the women who keep their families running while their husbands keep our country safe. Thank you. THANK YOU!!
I second that. :iagree:
In addition to all the great advice you've already gotten, I'd like to add these:Meet friends for lunch out regularly... especially places where kids can play while you talk.
Write lots of letters. Yes skype is great, but nothing beats an old fashioned letter... especially those that take a week to finish and take on more of a journal feel.
It's OK to set the kids up with breakfast & TV then go back to bed (or couch) after staying up too late writing said letters or talking on skype.
I went through 4 deployments before "d"h and I separated so :grouphug: to you.
:grouphug:
Don't feel bad about going out for dinner.Teach yourself something fun in the evenings, like crochet or knitting - get a DVD lesson or just a book.
Scale back on how much you do "homemade" -- like if you always make your own bread, don't feel so awful if you just can't do it as often. It's not going to kill you to buy it from the store.
Accept help from friends and dh's co-workers -- yard work, maintenance, etc.
It's been said before, but fill up that Netflix queue with stuff YOU want to see! Go ahead -- have a Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks romantic comedy-a-thon. It's okay!
Use that crock pot.
Get out of the house for field trips.
Utilize those twice a week free phone calls to dh.
If you are a church-goer, get into a Ladies Bible Study with some NON-MILITARY SPOUSES. It helps to get away from it sometimes. Although, having those military spouses around is awfully nice, too :)
Thank you!
Order tons of good books...the nights sometimes get long.Take a trip...I did this past weekend and boy do I feel better.
Go to an easier schedule. I reduced my school week to 4 days for the second nine-weeks. It's fall and I love to travel in the fall.
Stock the freezer with convenience food. The kids and I are eating loads of weight watcher and lean cuisine meals.
Do something fun every week. It gives you something to look forward to.
Keep a journal...I write each night before going to bed what we did that day and anything funny I want to remember to tell hubby.
Were going on month 4 of 12 here...I hope these months will pass quickly.
:grouphug: to you!
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Please list what you did during your deployment or business trips to help things go smoothly, for Apiphobic and anyone else who may need the tips.
This is awesome, you guys! Thanks so much for starting this thread, ElizabethB.
I'll start:paper plates
Reminds me of the week we had company. I had the brilliant idea of inviting a couple of my twins' friends to stay with us for a week before school started, which meant late nights and hectic days. They had a blast, so it really was worth it. These were friends they'd met at our last base and both families moved to this state, so we try to see them every few months. They live 3 1/2 hours away, so it's a long drive but great to see them. However, I am most certainly NOT used to feeding 5 growing teenagers!
tough weeks/days we just did math and phonics/spelling
Here I thought we were just starting very slowly with our school and gradually phasing in more subjects. :D
spaghettiOs and microwaved chicken nuggets for them (I had to eat a very strict allergy diet during my husband's deployment, so sadly, no quick easy food for me.)
Yes, we've definitely had many nights with simple simple SIMPLE dinners.
My mom and MIL both came for a week to help out (Yes, they are helpful! If they aren't, don't invite them.)
My mom retires in December, so my parents and my grandma have already been voluntold that they'll be spending Christmas with us.
definitely some easy food for those days you are just too tired to make dinner.we use the cheapo paper plates and I got plastic cups (I get them both at Sam's).
Netflix movies for the kids to watch- gives them an incentive to get school work done, and they have something 'new' to watch/look forward to.
keep the kids routine going (especially bed time), it really helps.
field trips that DH is not interested in (he tries to get at least a half-day off for some field trips so he can join us)
netflix movies for YOU that DH would not want to watch
private stash of treats for YOU
If you can, have someone watch the kids for you while you go grocery shopping.
audio books for bedtime stories
minimize laundry as much as possible- I got rid of clothes we didn't LOVE and that were anywhere near being outgrown- I HATE laundry taking over.
for the kids- it's great to have a video or audio recording of dad talking to them/reading to them.
for you- body pillows are GREAT if you are used to snuggling with DH
I've noticed a change in our netflix queue, but I haven't used it yet as a motivator. Hmmm, thanks for the suggestion. ;)
Oldest dd was just telling me the other day that routines weren't good because our brain doesn't function at full capacity when we fall into a rut. You just go through the motions. I don't know where she got that, but I thought it was interesting. Or do you think she was trying to pull one over on me? :tongue_smilie:
I do have a private stash of treats but, unfortunately, I often forget where I put it. :001_huh:
They all love to listen to audio CD's before bedtime. Sometimes I wonder if they'd be able to fall asleep without them.
HA! Laundry! Yes, it does seem like Mt Kilimanjaro sometimes.
I think a weeding out clothes day sounds good.
I'll have to try the body pillow. I've noticed I'm not sleeping well, but I thought it was the cats and dogs dictating their feeding schedules.
You have permission to decide that you are doing NO housework today (or whenever), you CAN catch up tomorrow.You have permission to decide it is a Teacher In-Service Day.
You have permission to decide that today's school lesson is being done at Disneyland/?? park.
You have permission to decide that today's school lesson is a social experiment where you go design a meal at the commissary.
Blue's Clues, Word Girl, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, and the like are actually beneficial to your children's education and future life..... if for no other reason than that you aren't likely to lock them (or yourself) in a closet.
You have permission to eat with paper plates, and plastic cups, and plastic spoons for weeks at a time.
You have permission to wear jammies all day long, if you feel dirty, take a shower and put on a clean pair of jammies.
Biggest thing: if you feel the need to get permission, come here and I'm sure someone will grant it!!!!
OH!! And, given the fact that you are looking at an international move in 3 months (btw, are you doing that ALONE?!?!??!!? No dh?!?!), you should continue all of the above until you actually move into your home. Which is likely to take awhile, the average Lodge stay here is 2-3 weeks.
Kris
LOL @ your permission slip!
No, we're not moving until next summer and it's not an international move. I think you have me confused with the navy lady who's moving to Yokusuka. Dh has been hinting that I could probably handle the TMO stuff, get our household goods packed up, and go to the new base to check out our housing options before he gets back. I think he might be suffering from sunstroke.
My husband just returned from a deployment. We mostly just did things that don't happen when he's around! We read books, watched movies and ate food he doesn't like. We spent hours at the library (he gets restless after twenty minutes or so). The kids camped out in the living room on Friday nights and played video games until 3:00 in the morning. We spent an entire month at my mother's. (I realize that not everyone would consider that a vacation. ;) ) I kept up my blog, and posted lots of pictures in a private section of the site. Skype is awesome (if it's available in his area)! I froze dinners in advance, and we got to know our pizza delivery guy pretty well.As for homeschooling, it's fine to just do the basics - we often stopped after math and Latin, and devoted the rest of the day to stories, chess, documentaries and messy projects. We dissected a lot of animals while my husband was away.
This sounds just like us!
And I would love to spend a month or so at my parents' house. We did that in April/May when dh was supposed to be TDY. Turned out it was canceled but we went anyway, and he joined us for the last couple of weeks.
Well, the guy at the Mexican food restaurant near our house got to know us REALLY well. He even stopped taking our order at some point and just brought us the usual. He worried about us when I went home for a month. :DOh and see my avatar? It's from the last time my husband was gone for several months. I'm drinking a Mike's in the pic. I have a matching one of me with a cupcake. I took them one night to show my hubby what I was having for dinner.
I totally agree with finding someone you can really trust and swap kids for grocery shopping. It makes life so much easier.
Make girl dates. Even if you just go to each other's houses and hang out.
Hire a yard guy.
Okay, I just started bolding the stuff that made me laugh. Otherwise I'm cutting and pasting and quoting and seeing cross-eyed.
Loved your Mike's reference. Dc were wondering if maybe I was drinking B&J sangrias a little too often these days.
Dh laughed when I mentioned the idea of hiring a yard guy. He said we have three able-bodied teens to do the yard work. (They don't mind mowing the lawn, but they hate weeding the flower beds. I personally like the weed whacker. I don't think I want to dig too deeply to discover why.)
If you can find a good babysitter - splurge for one night a week just to be alone. The bookstore is heavenly with no kids.It doesn't matter if your kids choose to sleep naked. Even the big kids. And a baby who runs around naked really cuts down on laundry.
Travel if you can. Do the fun things that dh would have no interest in or wouldn't be able to take the time to do with you.
If someone offers help - ACCEPT IT! Dh's first deployment I had a friend come over to take care of some of the kids while I took one to the er. ALL of my dirty laundry was piled in the floor of our school room. We're talking knee-deep laundry. I closed the door and told them not to open it. They did anyway and came the next day and took all of my laundry. they brought it back to me washed and folded. Pride would never have allowed me to ask for that kind of help.
School is easily done in the car on the way to visit family.
Tears are really very rejuvenating when you are at the end of your rope.
Definitely use paper plates whenever possible.
Cereal can safely be eaten for every meal for at least 3 days with no ill side effects.
Barilla makes a "pasta plus" which counts as a meat serving in my book. Add a few raw veggies and ranch and you have a very well rounded meal.
Nothing is permanent. All of the bad habits you or your children acquire while dh is gone will be fixable when he returns.
That's all I have right now. Dh just got home two weeks ago and we're still in the sleep late, do nothing, watch movies all night binge. Real life will have to begin soon, but I'm enjoying life right now.
So glad your dh is home and you're enjoying yourselves! :grouphug:
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Time of death: 7:00 am
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Well, I decided to hold off on a cruise until dh's mid-tour leave. I think I'd enjoy it more if he could be there with us.
I found out that you can get a military discount if your spouse is deployed, but only for one cabin. Every little bit helps, right? (That's on Carnival. I don't know about the other cruise lines.)
I'd never been interested in a cruise because I thought I'd prefer to get out on our own for all the sight-seeing I love to do. Plus I thought I'd feel trapped on a boat. But I kept hearing people taking this cruise or that cruise and wondered 1) how they could afford it, and 2) what the huge draw was. So I started checking into it and realized why they're becoming so popular. They can be so much cheaper than a regular vacation.
Since we can drive to Galveston, I don't have to worry about airfare. I never realized how much was included in the cost of a cruise. It covers transportation to and from several destinations, all meals and snacks (drinks beyond water, iced tea, and coffee typically cost more), all lodging (your stateroom/cabin), and all the entertainment onboard the ship.
Because the cruise price is effectively all-inclusive, it takes away the need to reserve hotels, find places to eat and activities to pass the time, and arrange transportation to and from different places. Believe me, after having planned and organized many of our vacations, this sounds like heaven to me. Having all kinds of things to do on the ship sounds lovely, too. I may have to be dragged off the boat for the on-shore excursions.
Any tips or advice from been there, done that cruise fans?
P.S. AmeliaJade and Terrie, thank you for your kind words. I appreciate it.
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We get them all the time. My dh waits till night and then sprays wasp spray onto the hive. We've had them bigger than a basketball - NASTY - attached to our house and trees!
Darn, I read that most nests die out before winter.
I'm also wondering if I should leave these wasps alone because their nest looks like that of the paper wasp, i.e., open nest with exposed cells.
I've read that paper wasps aren't as aggressive as the yellowjacket, don't swarm, and are excellent insect predators.
[shudder]Yeah, what she said.
Ok - if you have to do it - do it at night and completely cover up. I would also get wasp killer spray, not just a hose. The kind of spray that I have used can be sprayed 10 feet away. Have benadryl on hand too! Good Luck!!!!Yes, I'd planned to get a wasp spray and I was reading how I should do it at night while being completely covered.
I'm trying to decide whether or not to leave them alone now though, because I think they're paper wasps and not yellowjackets.
One of my most distinct childhood memories is of my Dad battling wasps. He would wait until dusk, until they were all settled in for the night. Then he would make a torch and hold it under the nest, letting the fumes anesthetize them. Then he would knock the nest down to the ground and set it afire. He had a can of spray handy for any escapees. There was always at least one.It was quite thriling to watch and guaranteed to draw an audience of neighbor kids.
Oh, yes, that's just what I need. An audience to watch my comedy of errors. To bee or not to bee. ;)
yup...you have to do it at night so they will all be home and sleepy. I have had to do it...not sao bad once you get the Rambo up in ya! Good luck!Faithe
Channeling Rambo. Check.
Okay - ds13 says he'll do it for you. He'll use a potato canon. Have an extra one lying around for him? He won't even charge you! ;)A potato cannon? That actually sounds like fun. A new way to make french fries and mashed potatoes?
I'm going to have bad dreams tonight. :scared:Oh, no, not bad dreams. Just think of a beautiful field of flowers and the birds, bees, and butterflies all buzzing, bustling and bumbling along.
I couldn't do it. I would pay $ to have it done. shudder.I thought about it, but then I decided I'd rather spend the money on something else. So I told myself to quit whining and just do it. I still haven't done it yet.
I'd be happy to do it for you. I enjoy hitting the little buggers with the raid spray. Do wait until dusk to spray them.I take it you've done this before. So once I bite the bullet and do it, it'll become easier?
A couple of years ago my son was on a big bug-catching kick and most afternoons he'd go out in the back yard with his little plastic tub and see what he could catch. One afternoon he came in with a whole wasp nest in there, including several live wasps. I have no idea how he managed not to get stung! I guess he found it on the treehouse, and he said "they didn't mind" when he pulled it off and put it in his tub. Well I didn't think it was a great idea to just dump them back in the yard, which is what we did with most of his captives, but I didn't want to keep them as pets either, which is the other thing we sometimes did with the critters he captured. I didn't want to open the tub enough to spray because the live wasps in there were starting to "mind" and I didn't want them getting out. So I stuck it in the freezer overnight to kill them. The next day we got out an exacto knife and some hand lenses and dissected the nest. It was pretty interesting to see the different stages of larval development. One had even died half way out of its cell. Interesting stuff.That is fascinating, and I'm glad everything went swimmingly for you.
I think I'll pass. :)
OMG!!!My neighbor had a gigantic wasp/bee (nasty looking) nest on the side of their house.
They had to call a professional to come remove it.
Wonder how much they charge?
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Mmmm, love tofu. Especially in stir fry. But sukiyaki is also good.
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Since you're apiphobic (sorry, couldn't resist) could one of your teens do it for you?
I thought for sure the hive would commiserate with me. But, no, you just jab me with your stingers. ;)
Nah, I'll do it. I just don't wanna. It's the phobia in me.
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Those poor wasps!
You're going to kill them?!
Just spray them with a little pixie dust and send them to never neverland.
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Yokosuka? Awesome! Congratulations, and I hope you love it there as much as we did.
We sold our cars before pcs'ing to Japan. We bought a used van and a used car when we got there, one from an off-base local dealer and the other from a departing service member on-base. It was no trouble selling the car when we left, and we took our van with us to England because it fit perfectly with driving on the left side of the road.
We didn't live in the towers, because we had three kids (four by the time we left) and wanted the yard space. Plenty of people lived in the towers and liked them just fine. There are playgrounds near the towers, so there's plenty of play area. We just wanted our own yard for a dog. I'm not sure they have four bedrooms in the towers anyway. Most of the families I knew that lived in towers only had one or two children. No, wait, there was one family that had three girls. Or was it four? I can't remember now.
We used the DoDDs schools because we didn't start homeschooling until after we moved to England. But we knew several families that homeschooled in Japan, so it's not difficult. Because of the smaller community at an overseas base, the schools might have a small town atmosphere. However, DoDDs schools have many of the same problems as public schools. It's a bit different because of the size though.
Best wishes to you!
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ACK! I'd make dh do it. Are you using a spray?
Normally I would, but he's not here.
Yes, I think I'll be using a spray.
Although I wish I could use one of those jet spray hoses from those do-it-yourself carwashes.
I could even do a little Karate Kid mojo: WASP ON! WASP OFF!
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Can't I just pretend they're not there and they'll go away?
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Mamagistra, I've never seen that kind before.
But I did find out that he likes these best:
Thanks, Sebastian, I didn't even know about that site. Thanks for sharing! I wrote to them, and I'll see what AAFES says. Thanks for the suggestions. Can't hurt to try. :)
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Chocolate soft-serve ice cream in a cone
or a butterscotch milkshake
Or enough money to buy Ouidad products whenever I want
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The elephant in the healthcare room
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted · Edited by Apiphobic
Are you talking about Michael Pollan's article in The New York Times?
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to link to it or not, but it's called "Big Food vs. Big Insurance."
I'm asking because your title reminded me of the line in the article: "The American way of eating has become the elephant in the room in the debate over health care."
Yes, I think it's a very valid concern. Unfortunately, I don't think we're anywhere close to where we need to be to take on the mammoth measures needed to overhaul our system. There's no simple fix, but it sure would be nice if it were sooner rather than later.
I'm just hopeful that something good will come out of the current reform measures on the table. Baby steps, I guess.