One very happy lady

Last night, some friends invited us over for dinner. A good time was had by all as we discussed conversations that never would have been allowed at the table (or ever) growing up. It's really surprising we made it through dinner in the first place as there were several bursts of laughing through out the meal. I hear my phone ring in my purse (on the floor) and was about to ignore it until I realized that it was Derek's ringtone-- the Mario Brothers song. Dada, da, dada, da!

I'm sure I've never moved as fast in my life as when I jumped up from the table, shouting "That's Derek's ringtone!!" digging in my purse, and saying "Hiiiiii!!!!" in like two seconds flat. It was such a surprise. I'm still a little bit giddy over the whole thing. DS Hosea (the guy who runs the facebook group) had mentioned the boys have earned the privilege to use their phones on Sundays. Derek did call on Sunday, but because of an incident involving one of the soldiers attempting to purchase candy, the guys only had 5 minutes to power up the phones, talk, and have their phones back in the box. Needless to say, it was a VERY short conversation. But last night-- we talked for an entire 12 minutes and it was fabulous!!

Jackson was close by so I put the phone on speaker, and when Jackson heard Derek's voice, his eyes lit up and said, "Dada!!!!!". He said "Hi, Dad" and waved to the phone before getting distracted by matchbox cars. I was so glad to realize that Jackson hasn't forgotten him!

Later in the evening, after Jackson was in bed, Linda (my mother-in-law) came over and we purchased our plane tickets and made our travel plans for Derek's graduation in October. I'm quite giddy about that too. We are flying into Atlanta, driving south to Columbus (Fort Benning) where we'll stay for a couple days, driving over to Augusta (Fort Gordon) to stay a night before we drop Derek off at his AIT training, and then we're gonna party it up in Atlanta for a few days and have a mini-vacation. It's gonna be so much fun. What's even cooler, is that I finally was brave enough to use the Name Your Own Price gadget on Priceline and got Derek and I a 3 1/2 hotel for $79 (yes, that is half price). Check out our place:

Meet the Augusta Marriott Hotel

Check out the gorgeous lobby!!

Okay, this isn't the room we booked, but I'm thinkin' of trying

"This is the one night my hubby and I have together before I have to send him off for five more months of training"

card to see if we might get an upgrade. Things like that always happen in the movies. So, it's bound to work in real life!

I am so excited to get to see the hubs. Just to get to talk in person, hang out, relax!! I know I shouldn't be so excited yet because it's still six weeks away, but that also means, "It's only six weeks away!!" It's been exactly one month today since dropped him off and it's gone by so fast that I just know the next six weeks are going to fly by!

We went shopping today

This morning, Jackson and I accompanied Grammy and Aunt Ashley (pronounced Ash-Ah) to JC Penny's. He had a lot of fun running around in circles around the clothes, trying on hats, shopping for shoes, and chatting on the phone.

(these are cell phone pics, so they're a little fuzzy)

I promise to schedule some man-time this week so his dad won't freak out and wonder what his happening to his little boy while he's gone!

Wanna know what I got today??

I got a new toy. And it happens to be pink. Yes, it is indeed the first pink Android phone. And she's mine. Don't tell Derek. He'll be insanely jealous (not about the pink, but about the phone).

I was sort of bummed my family was switching from Verizon to Sprint only because I just really liked my old phone, the Samsung Rouge. I found her sister phone. It's a lot more features, apps, and all sorts of bells and whistles. I just have to figure it all out. Even better- they bought my old back from me so it was basically 40% off. How awesome!

I even found Jackson some shorts for next summer at Target for only $2.50 a pair. That was pretty exciting.

And more exciting than any of this... I GOT A LETTER FROM DEREK!! Two actually. Since last Sunday, I've only received a quick three minute phone call and I he told me he mailed these letters and I have been impatiently waiting for these guys ever since Wednesday night!! The best part is that I finally have an address for him so I can start sending him letters and pictures. That is... once I can decipher the chicken scratch his handwriting. He's been writing really fast so he can finish the letter in the little free time he gets and it just makes it that much more difficult to read! But I am more than up for the challenge.

The gist of basic training so far- lots of push ups, lots of screaming, not a lot of sleep. He said he's making friends and having a good time. And that is so good to hear. I miss the guy, I really do. These past two weeks have gone by pretty fast, so here's hoping the next 33 go just as quickly!

One month and counting....

One month from today we will say good-bye to Derek while he leaves to go off to basic training. I am realizing that the closer it gets to his departure, the more emotional I am becoming about the whole thing. I know there's no turning back, but I'm less confident in myself to manage everything while he's gone. But I know we will be okay- I'll get the bills paid, lawn mowed, and trash to the curb, but I am still gonna miss him!!

We will write lots of letters. Jackson will color him a picture and I will print off photos to send. Maybe he'll get a few phone privileges every once in awhile. Totally not counting on that, but I can hope, right? I know people deal with worse- single moms who don't have a husband to return home in eight months, wives who send their husbands off to war. I'm only sending mine to Georgia. And I am so supportive and proud of his commitment to serve our country.

This is his drill weekend (so I don't feel guilty about spending the weekend in Chicago) and he's actually on his way to Ft. Leonard Wood right now. It's a longer weekend drill than normal, but hopefully he'll get to do some cool stuff. He really enjoys the Army stuff.

I seriously need to get to work on my list. Either that, or just come to terms that it's not going to get done before he leaves. It's just the house to-do's that aren't getting done, but the stuff like the Power of Attorney (we need to sign and get it notarized) and enrolling in Tri-care is well under way.

I would have more pictures to post of him in his uniform and pictures for the photobook, but I have lots my SD card, as well. Why do they make those things so tiny anyway?! Ugh! I have yet to find my phone. And my backup phone failed on me this morning. But there's good news!! Derek's Aunt and Uncle have Verizon too and they have an extra phone for me to use. Thank goodness! They don't have SIM cards like AT&T, but my contacts are backed up online everyday, so I'll even have all of my numbers-- how cool!! Granted, I'd still love to have my phone, but this is great news!

My sister and I will board the MegaBus tonight at 8:30 and ride through the night up to Chicago. Here's hoping I get enough sleep to function as a tourist tomorrow!

Where is my cell phone?!?!?!

I'm a little grumpy. I have a paper that is due tonight and it is just not going well. I have another icky headache and I just want to crawl into bed. But the biggest reason for my grouchiness is about my son turning my phone off and then leaving it God know where misplaced my phone. It has been gone since yesterday and it was the second day in a row that it happened.

I have searched the couches high and low, dug through his toy chest and all of the hiding places in each toy, trekked through the dangerous terrain of his bedroom and I have had no luck. I keep asking him where my phone is and he say, "hello! hello!" And then he acts like he is going to look for it and I get my hopes up, but then he gets distracted by some other toy and forgets.

I'm not even someone who is so completely attached to my phone. I didn't even know it was missing until four or five hours after I last knew he had it. And I don't normally let him play with my phone, but there was some major thunder going on  yesterday and playing with my phone was helping him deal (instead of running into my arms at every loud clap). And I wouldn't be a big deal if I weren't leaving for Chicago tomorrow. Aaagghhh!

Fortunately Jackson will get to spend a very fun filled few days with Grammy and Papa (and he can destroy play with their phones) while I enjoy taking a trip with my sister to see some family. At least I have an old back up that I can reactivate if needed to take with me.

Where are some of the strange places you've found items that your kids misplaced?

Does anyone else think this is an ironic post after my last one was about positive attitudes and such??