Arrived Safely

Thursday morning Lauren and I left for Albuquerque. We drove until Sweetwater until we stopped for gas and pizza, then drove to Lubbock where we picked up Skipper at the airport. He took over and drove the rest of the way. We got in just before midnight. It was an uneventful trip overall.

Lauren has been enjoying her cousin Mia, and she's had a lot of fun with her uncle Jon. Lissa made tamales yesterday for us to enjoy on Christmas day, and we're going to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Christmas Eve. I'm looking forward to Christmas morning here. I think Lauren will really have fun opening presents. She got a new pair of Christmas pajamas today to wear on Christmas Eve.

All our Christmas shopping is done, but we did go to the mall today. It was insanely busy and I'm glad we weren't pressed to get things and we could leave when we wanted to.

Lauren decided that her grandma's dog Charlie should be named Sue. That's all she'll call him. She calls all the other dogs by the right name.

Ben is doing well, we're still waiting on his internet to get up and running, hopefully it will be any day now.

Just two days until Christmas!!

Another trip to the Pediatrician

Lauren's nose started running yesterday. She has also been sneezing, but I'm not sure when that started. The first few days she was just copying me, and I didn't really notice when the change happened that it became a real sneeze instead of a mimic of mine. Last night her nose was running so much that it was interrupting both of our rest. I tried a dose of Benadryl, but it didn't do anything for her. So this morning I called in to her pediatrician's office, and we'll be going in at 1:40. I'm worried this stuff is going to cause another ear infection since she just got over the last one not long ago. Hopefully she'll prescribe a decongestant so we can get all the gooey stuff dried up and nothing is sitting in her ear.

Ben expects his internet to be up and running on Thursday, so keep your fingers crossed. And he's been getting a lot of packages this past week, so thank you to everyone who sent something. We're hoping the DSN line gets set up in the hangar soon so he'll be able to call home more often and more clearly.

As for me, I'm feeling pretty good, just gearing up for the long drive on Thursday. I have some cleaning and some packing to do, and aside from a little thing here and there we should just be able to relax at home after the appointment today.

UPDATE: Lauren doesn't have an ear infection, but the pediatrician said she could still develop one. She could tell how congested Lauren was, so she prescribed a decongestant that she can take twice a day to help her breathe better. Apparently there's a virus that's been going around and most likely that's what Lauren has that's making her nose run so much. She said to keep an eye on how she's acting and take her right back in if it she's acting like her ear is hurting. Sometimes it can take a couple of days before the infection gets to the ears. But for now, they're clear and they look great. And, as a bonus, the entire visit, from getting out of the car to getting back in, was under 12 minutes. :)


Only one week until Christmas!!

Weird weather, Ben's Bike, Goodbye Ann

We have been having really weird weather. It was in the 80s over the weekend, then down in the 40s on Sunday, warm in the upper 60's mid 70's yesterday, and cold (not even 40) and drizzly today.



I got an email from Ben with some pictures. His room is better looking than I would have imagined. Looks small, but enough room for a bed, a small couch, a dresser, a wall unit and a little fridge. He even bought a bike to ride around over there. Doesn't he look scary and intimidating on that bike? ;)

He sounds like he's doing pretty well, and packages are getting there fast. The two that I sent took about a week, and I know he's received a box from his mom already, too that only took about a week to get there. We're still waiting for the internet to get up and running in his room, it should be any day now.


Lauren and I will be watching our friend's three girls on Thursday evening for a few hours, and we're having company over on Friday. We have just about a week left until we go to New Mexico. I ordered another hand held GPS yesterday so I can feel a little more confident about the drive. I don't want to get lost on the 11 hour trek.



And I can't let this post go by without honoring a very special woman who has passed today. Ann Eldridge outlived the doctor's expectations by nearly a year before the cancer was too much. She was a lovely woman and a force that will be missed. From one pilot's wife to another, I'll miss you, Ann.

More things on my Christmas List

Picture Panel screen/room divider
Two of these curtains - 84" long
One or two of these curtains, also 84" long
A table for my entryway like this one
an inexpensive but good scanner

a 12" Moxy UglyDoll (any of the UglyDolls will do)

Mandy Moore's "Wild Hope"
Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway"

Plain White T's "Every Second Counts" (re-released with extra tracks in 2007)

Feist "The Reminder"

Faith Hill's "The Hits"

Dixie Chicks "Taking the Long Way"

Gift certificates to Kohl's, Target, Hobby Lobby, Amazon.com, or WalMart




This picture is of Lauren from when we went to the Squadron Christmas party the first weekend of December.

This weekend, we went to visit Charity in San Antonio. We had a good trip. Unfortunately, Lauren also took a spill and hit her lip on the edge of a door. It cut her bottom lip just to her left of the middle and bled. She was crying, but shortly after was playing again like nothing had happened. I think it scared her more than anything. She has a little bump now and something like a scab over it. Hopefully it will heal nicely. She's also started saying "Stop it" whenever she doesn't like something that is or isn't happening. If I don't want to go outside with her she tells me "Topit!", and if we're in the car too long, "Topit!". It's cute, but also a little annoying. :)

I've gotten to talk to Ben either on the phone or by email nearly every day. He's doing well. He was flying nights for a while, he'll go back to days for a week and then back to nights again. They are supposed to get the internet in their rooms up and running soon.

Christmas Ideas for Lauren

It's been hard for me to come up with a list for Lauren for Christmas. I looked around online and came up with a few things:

Dora the Explorer Build N Play
Little People Busy Day Home
Fisher Price Noah's Ark
The Backyardigans Pirate Uniqua
These Embossed Wood Alphabet blocks


She wears size 4 shoes and she's mostly into 18-24 month size clothes now. Her favorites are Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, The Backyardigans and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She loves music and dancing. She likes purses and shoes and clip on earrings and hats. She likes Care Bears and she has a favorite American Girl baby doll.