Traveling

In the photo above are all the cousins on the Kalbach side of the family minus Mason. Top from left, cousins: Betina (4), Jake (4), Ella (3), Brody (2), Rudy (19.5 mo), Ava (4), Braxton (almost 1.5), Alessandro (11 mo.) 
This is a picture of Jon (if you can't recognize him) in full gear.....I guess he is flying the plane. Take a close close close look at his upper lip.  Yep, that's not a caterpillar.  Awww..... I love him!  

First off, the kids and myself are in California right now and have been here for just about two weeks.  Mary Ann (my AWESOME mother-in-law)  came to VA for two weeks while I finished up my Anatomy and Physiology II class and traveled with me out here.  It has been busy and relaxing all at the same time.  

While we were all in VA Jon's grandpa Jim's health took a sharp turn downhill and quickly after we arrived in CA he passed away.  It was quick and peaceful.  A journey to be with our Lord that he was very ready for.  Jim Ledgerwood lived 94 amazing years.  67 of those married to his beloved Rita.  He molded 4 children and 6 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren during his life.  He was an amazing man whose legacy will live forever.  He and Jon were such good buddies it has been very difficult for Jon to not be here with his family during this time.Both of Jon's grandfathers are a binding reason why Jon is living his life dream as a pilot and doing what he loves.   He has been sad but has been very thankful to have talked with his grandparents many times via webcam while he was in Bahrain this deployment.  Technology sure is a wonderful thing.   

Like I said we are in CA for about 3 weeks total.  It has been great to be here and spend time with Grandma and Papa Dave, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Tim and loads of cousins while watching Ella and Rudy play and get to know everyone again.  We were able to celebrate the birthdays of Ava and Betina and Brody who are just a few of our cousin's kids here!   Such a special time for us to be able to celebrate with the families.   Not something we ever get to take part in being so far away so it was really neat for me.  Exhausting too but nonetheless I loved it.   We also celebrated my 31st birthday for which I was given a wonderful princess party!   Ella picked it of course!  

Being here has made the deployment time tick faster.  We have a mere 69 days (or so) to go!  I plan to head home sometime next week and at the end of June/ beginning of July head to Ohio with the kids and dog for 3 weeks or so.  By the time I get home Jon will be about 1 week away from returning!  It's hard to believe, the time has gone fast yet slow.  When he left it was still winter and when he returns the summer heat will be in full bloom!  

Rudy who was barely saying "dada" when Jon left is now saying just about anything you ask him to and spouting out things on his own as well.  He amazes me everyday and growing like a weed .  Ella too, only Ella is spouting out ideas and exposing her intricate imagination.  She is just a sweet and good child. She certainly has her moments (try cutting her toenails....yikes!  I have to remember to shut the windows when I do that)    Ella is very independent and is willing to do everything on her own.  It is sweet that she wants to, sad when she tries and can't, and exciting when she does what she needs to do the way it needs to be done and eliminates work from my hands and allows me freedoms.  Ahhh......

Anyone interested in a road trip to Ohio?   Seriously.........I'm desperately looking for some help on the drive..........not so much the driving part, but the logistical parts including potty breaks with two kids and dog...... guess maybe I'll need two takers for the to and fro trips.  Anybody interested in volunteering before I call you and start to beg?   

Easter Weekend

Dance party

OH NO YOU DI INT!

Drama drama drama..... it's funny.  In my life it's not so much the people that create the drama, but the house, the cars, the dog....

UGH. 

There are three things about my house that I really dislike and they are all things that I personally can not change without lots of help.  #1 the attic..... I HATE going up there.  It's HUGE and DIRTY and in the summer there are these tiny, tiny, little spiders everywhere.  If you know me, you know how I feel about spiders.  #2, the basement, ditto the attic, plus the fact that it is dark and it is only about 1/4 the size of the house, the other 3/4 is crawl space that is dark and dirty etc.  It also has a mucky sump pump pit that has DARK water..... I do not do dark water just as I do not do spiders which makes the basement I guess twice as bad as the attic.  #3, the English Ivy growing all around our house.  Again, everyone knows why you don't walk in ivy, spiders and snakes!   Everyone also knows that you can't kill ivy.  (Watch me) 

So in the past week I decided to get everything in and out of the attic and basement that I am going to need between now and the time Jon gets home.  I have a hard time carrying stuff up the drop down staircase into and out of the attic so when I go up there I have to "mingle" and dig in the boxes and throw down what I want and take things up one by one.  The stairs are awkward for one and also I fear falling down and hurting myself severely while home alone with the kids.  While up there the other day I noticed a board in ceiling of the attic (aka the ROOF) that was darker than the rest of the wood..... perhaps wet?  Moisture in the wood of the roof...... not good.  

So the basement...... good news is the sump pump works.  Bad news is, it's just wet down there.  Wet as all wet!  The water is just seeping in from God knows where........ it's creeping, finding it's way via the random cracks and crevices that a house 97 years old has......

GOSH DARN FRIGGIN CRACKS........ and the GOSH DARN IVY!    

Neuticles

2 weeks ago I took Rudder to be neutered by our family vet.  This was a negotiation I have had with Jon for a few years now as Rudder is reaching his 5th birthday.   After our near dog attack a couple months back I decided that Jon's rationalization was null and I was fixing our dog so that at the very least, there would be one less un-neutered dog in our neighbor "hood" for another crazy un-neutered dog to want to attack while I'm walking all our children.  (Actually Jon really couldn't argue that.  )

In understanding Jon's sensitivity to the issue I didn't talk much about the surgery until right before it was to happen.   With Jon being away there was nothing he could do, but out of fairness I did not want to send our dog into surgery and under anesthesia with out Jon knowing for fear of something bad happening and Jon having no warning. ( Rudder has a history of allergies to MANY drugs which is one of the main reasons he had never been neutered)  Jon's one request was to "seriously" have prosthetic testicles put in.........

We arrived at the vet two Fridays ago and they had me filling out paperwork and giving me instructions etc.  All I was thinking about was "Holy crap this is going to end up costing an arm and a leg, maybe I should have just taken him to PETA on Saturday, really what are the odds he's going to have a reaction to the drugs they give him?.....oh yeah, like 60%."   With my anxiety I almost forgot about the prosthetic testicles.  So at the last minute I asked the front desk lady.  She literally looked at me with a tilted head and I know she was thinking "you've got to be f-ing kidding me right?" so I quickly explained to her Jon's concerns.  She went on back and asked the Dr. for me. 

Dr. Johnson came out looking as if he had just said out loud "you've got to be f-ing kidding me right?" and chuckling to himself.  He informed me that they do in fact make prosthetic testicles for dogs, that they are called Neuticles, and we would need to order them, but out of principle he would have to refuse to put them in Rudder.  I'm pretty sure I turned 26 shades of red.  I explained to him why I was asking, my hesitation to ask, and certainly my embarrassment.  He understood of course and felt terrible that he was doing this to Rudder with Jon gone.  But assured me Ru would be fine and the empty sac of skin would eventually shrink up and hardly be noticeable.  

I could not remember the name of the faux testicles and finally tonight after being disturbed by the amount of extra skin between Rudder's hind legs, I remembered to google it and found the website.  I thought I would share it just in case your dog or a dog you know would like some.  Or better yet you might know someone who would like some neuticle earrings...... yes they sell them on the website too.   

I have to say though, if the skin left between Rudder's legs does not shrink up like Dr. Johnson says it will, I may actually drop $149 plus S&H for a pair of Neuticles and find a vet who will perform cosmetic surgery for our 1st born child, as it is quite an unpleasant sight.  

Poor Rudder..... he is doing fine and recovering nicely.  I am pretty sure that he did have a reaction to the pain narcotic that they gave him post surgery as he was very itchy and throwing himself up against the coffee table and rubbing his face and back anywhere he could.  I really could have taken him to PETA on Saturday and saved a few hundred dollars BUT he's our biggest boy and like I said, our first born.  We could never be safe enough.  I hope the Obama family gets a Portuguese Water Dog as awesome as ours..... I don't think it's possible though.  Our little Jam Master Rudder Bear is the best! 

www.neuticles.com

 

Jon's Deployment

Today we said our goodbyes to Jon as he left for his 5 month (150ish days) deployment to Bahrain.  We got up this morning and went to the early service at church, drove him to the squadron and hung out in the ready room with the rest of the guys and some wives while they prepared to walk to the plane.  

We left him a little before noon as their take off time was around 1.  On our way home we stopped by "McDonut's" (Ella's name for McDonald's) by request for a treat for Ella, we came home and waited and listened for the sound of a C-2 to fly over.  Sure enough right after 1PM we heard Jon coming.  Ella and I (Rudy was sleeping) ran outside and waved goodbye to daddy through the clouds wishing him safe travels across the world to Bahrain. 

He will be traveling to Bahrain for about 2-3 weeks stopping in wonderful places such as Souda Bay/Crete, (in Greece-- have you seen the movie "Mama Mia" yeah, THERE!!) some wonderful place in France, Spain and Italy, and probably other places too.  

Ella and Rudy do not grasp the concept of time so the question of "where's daddy" happens over and over and over again as they know something is different or we wouldn't be trying to explain this departure as much.  At this point Jon's absence for me is accompanied by sadness for him in his missing the kids and them not understanding why he is gone.  I've got the single parent thing down, and feel confident in a routine with the kids.  We've got a great Navy family here who provide the support to meet any need that should arise.  I have the best Aunt and Uncle ever to live so close by that help out in so many ways too, and can't forget my neighbors all up and down my street so kind and helpful as well.    

There are a few things on my agenda to do while Jon is gone such as HIRE a painter, and possibly surprise him with a new stove when he gets home? (he he he)    With my class, the YMCA, church and keeping social with my friends and other fellow wives who's husbands are deployed we will make this time fly by.   

We feel so fortunate to have the ability to talk with Jon almost every day via phone and webcam.   Most military families do not have this option but because of the nature of Jon's deployments and his somewhat "civilian" lifestyle in Bahrain this is true for us.  I feel guilty telling my friends this who only hope to get an email everyday and a phone call from the ship once every two weeks.  Jon's next deployment could quite possibly 180 degrees from this so we will relish in his freedoms for now.   

 Please keep Jon in your thoughts and in your prayers as he lands his big fat old airplane on a tiny little aircraft carrier almost daily for the next 5 months! 

Standing on the sidewalk facing across the street from Jim's old house.  

We think Jim's house was to the right, in the lot before the playground.