Charity's Crazy Beautiful Life

No rest for the weary

I woke this morning to this.  Luckily, Daziel and I both woke up feeling much better today.  So we got up and headed to swim practice (we leave the house at 6am).  On the drive there, we saw so many trees down, basketball hoops and garbage cans blown over-- lots more destruction than what my little patio got.  Thankfully for me, but somebody's gonna have to clean that all up too.  Although, I guess, I get my fair share.  Daz and I are on our first day of feeling well, but Allyssa crawled out of the pool this morning limping.  She hurt her knee.  She was actually complaining a little this weekend that it hurt, so we've got an appointment today to get it looked at.  I want to make sure that, if it's injured, she doesn't do more damage.

It's kind of funny.  Me and a few other military wives were just joking about that's how it works when your husband is deployed.  Your car breaks down right before you're planning a road trip.  Or, all of your kids get sick at once.  You brave a storm and then wake up to see that life is still rolling along, just as if it hadn't happened, and no one says to you, "Slow down, take it easy, I know you were up all night with scared kids and don't have help.  Go get some sleep."  And luckily for me, this deployment, we don't have much of an agenda.  Accept swimming every morning at 6am.  But other than that, we're coming and going and sleeping (well, napping) and reading to our hearts content.  So I'm not complaining.  Just saying, this is how it all works.  But I guess the same can be said for a single mom, or a mom dealing with an ailment, or a terminally ill child.  So I'll gladly play my deck and not ask for another hand, please God.

Ok, gotta go get that patio cleaned off.  Have a great day!

  

Stay Tuned

I just wanted to let you all know that we're having bad storms down here today.  I've been trying to ward off (somewhat unsuccessfully) a migraine for the past week or so, and now Daz seems to have a stomach thing going on.  Please forgive my absence from the blog, but it may take a day or two (or ten, who knows) to regroup.  I'll post more when I'm feeling better, am not running to a bed side with a towel and a bowl, and feel that it's safer to stay on the computer without threat of being electrocuted.  Happy Happy Joy Joy in the Zaleski Abode!!

And just so  we're not that big of a summer bummer, I had to share a swimming picture.

(Colby and Allyssa at their first swim meet -- both getting ready to tag off on their relay.  They don't compete against each other, but there were enough lanes in the pool, that they were swimming at the same time.  There will be more swim pictures soon, because my kids have totally gotten into it.  The boys both asked for "jammers", which are the boys Speedo swim trunks that look like bike shorts and Allyssa even wears a swim cap now.  They are too funny!  And so into it.  I love it!)

And something we are all excited about...

Olympic Trials Television Schedule
Airdate	Time	Network
Sunday, June 29	7:00-8:00 pm CT	NBC
Monday, June 30	7:00-8:00 pm CT	USA
Tuesday, July 1	7:00-8:00 pm CT	USA
Wednesday, July 2	7:00-8:00 pm CT	USA
Thursday, July 3	7:00-8:00 pm CT	USA
Friday, July 4	7:00-8:00 pm CT	NBC
Saturday, July 5	7:00-8:00 pm CT	NBC
Sunday, July 6	7:00-8:00 pm CT	NBC

 

 

Ten on Tuesday

1.  We were really only at Pensacola Beach in Florida for two days -- but then -- you know, life. I wish, as some of you thought, that we were really at the beach for a whole week! Oh, how I misled you.  But, oh, how that sounds like such a good idea!

2.  Colby is either a hit or a miss with organized, group photos.  He's either for it, or really, really against it.  I'm sure you can tell which one he was here.

3.  Sometimes, when the kids say "Mom, wanna help us..." it really means, "Mom, wanna do this for us", which was the case for this sandcastle.  They loved watching Kelly and I do all the work.  The funny thing, I think Kelly and I enjoyed it too. I haven't built a sandcastle in soo long!

4.  My kids learned how to do the Jelly Fish Shuffle.  And then, got kind of weirded out and scared to go in the water when we actually started seeing a few. 

5.  Colby told me the other day, "Mom, you should take a picture of my stomach.  Because it looks like Daddy's.  It has those six thingies."  I had to laugh, and tell him I wasn't taking a picture of his six pack abs.  But then, I found this...and can you believe him?  Only five!  Yikers!  I know, I know, I'll have a tough time in about ten years!

6.  All of the kiddos are getting so fit this summer.  I signed them up for the swim team on base.  They are having a blast!  We actually had our second swim meet tonight and they are all enjoying it SO very much!  And so am I! I love the water, I love to swim, and I love to take pictures of them doing what they love.  So, it's a good combination.  Be forewarned, I'm sure you'll hear more about this in the upcoming weeks!  Here's a picture of Daziel doing his freestyle -- can't you tell?  (Swim Meet Pictures are a little tricky, and I haven't mastered them...yet.)

7.  While Kelly was here, she was interested in doing all kinds of touristy type things.  Which was right down our alley, because in the three years we've lived in Montgomery, we have yet to do many of the fantastic, historic things this city has to offer.  So, we used the two weeks Miss Kelly was here to check off many of the things we wanted to do and see this summer. Like the Rosa Parks Museum, The Capital Building, and Old Alabama Town, just to name a few.  We'll definitely have a cool little scrapbook to show for these last two weeks!  Can you believe these are the same steps that Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have A Dream" speech on?  I asked my kids that, and there were fascinated.

8.  We are nerds, and we are proud!  Not many kids would spend a good two weeks sprinkled with lots of sight seeing, museum hopping, and be excited about it.  By my kids were, and for that I'm thankful!  And very proud.  They learned alot in the last two weeks about the South and the history of this fantastic city that we call home - - for now.  We enjoyed it, are glad to have done it, and are happy to have shared it with Miss Kelly while she was here!

9.  I miss Craig!  I have spent the last two nights going through all the letters and cards and emails that we exchanged during the first six months we "knew" each other...before we actually met.  I think it started when Allyssa asked me how we met.  It's actually a pretty neat story.  I think I need to write it down so it'll be preserved.  And I'm so happy that Craig and I both saved those precious, first letters and notes and emails for times like now, when I need to hold onto those memories dearly and keep them close to my heart.

10.  I'm going to bed to finish another one of my summer reads.  Because its 10:45 and my summer wake-up time is 5:30.  The kids swim from 6:30-8:00 every morning.  I know, can you believe it?  Me, Charity, choosing to get up so early all summer long?   And I have been working on my summer book list and will share it with you, as well as my opinions on the ones I've devoured so far.

So from my quiet little house on a lovely, Tuesday summer's night...Good Night y'all!

FLORIDA or BUST!

Yeah, yipee, hurray, on the spur of the moment we're packing up the kids and heading to the beach for two nights.  I hope you're all planning on having a fabulous few days, because we will be!  See you on the flip side with some more fabulous beach pictures.

A Summer of Visits -- Part 2 -- MISS KELLY

First, I have to say that I am so thrilled and excited to have so many people who we love and care about want to come visit us this summer.  I know, in part, alot of them are coming because they wanted to be here for my graduation, but the summer works better for them.  I also know that many of them are making the time to visit because they know Craig is gone this summer, and are trying to help make this summer a good one for me and the kids.  And guess what?  It's working!

Yesterday, the kids and I went to pick up a good friend of mine from the Atlanta Airport -- Miss Kelly! We are all so excited she's here!!  Kelly and I used to "work together" back when we both had our own home daycares when we were stationed at Fairchild.  Kelly and I went through the same daycare training classes and became very good friends.  We worked so well together that we decided to be "partners in crime"...I was always at her house or she was at mine with all of our daycare kids.  And it was amazing, because you'd think with twelve little ones packed into a base house there would be chaos. Not with Kelly and I.  We are two peas in a pod and we had those kids on a schedule, organized, and it was smooth sailing!  Play, create, laugh, sing, make lunch...OR, we were off on some grand field trip together.  We both always had a full load of kids (meaning, we were at max occupancy) and were always planning something wonderful and fun to do together.  A backyard circus for the parents, a trip to the lake to swim and go on a nature walk, a trek downtown to the children's museum, or a day of carnival games and bike rides.  One of my most favorite moments when Kelly and I did daycare together was, after September 11th, we got our kids to do a mini-concert for all of their parents. We did it after work on a Friday: we did patriotic songs, had them dress in red, white and blue, and even had a flag cake for dessert.  It was so precious!  Kelly and I loved to do the same things with the kids, we loved to keep them busy, and we loved to do it together.

So, even though Kelly and I didn't technically "work together", we did work together...we had this kind of synergy, we both loved what we did, and doing it together made it that much better..  Have you ever had the kind of relationship where things seemed seamless, like a well oiled machine?  Well, that was me and Kelly, and we basically spent almost every working day together for...almost three years. Wow!  Now that I think about it, that was alot of time together!  And in that time, we did many circle times, family style lunches, craft times, and our favorite (of course) nap times...because then Kelly and I could sit and plan menus and talk and giggle.  And working with Kelly while doing one of the hardest and most taxing of jobs (daycare is definitely that, especially doing it by the military standards...and I'll tell you stories of that another day), was such an amazing gift! 

I am so thankful that Kelly and I have kept in touch! Our families now live miles apart, we are both very busy with kids and military spouses, but we still have made time to stay close.  And even if we don't get to talk but a few times a year, we can pick up and keep going like it was just yesterday that we used to spend every day together.  We've had two very fun and jammed packed days so far, with Miss Kelly here to visit, and are looking forward to what the rest of the week has in store!  The kids and I are all so excited to be spending more fun-filled days with our dear friend!  Thanks for coming to visit us, Miss Kelly!!!