Busy as Bees

Holy Moly I had no idea that I had taken so long to write...All I can tell you is that it is the same old excuse.  I have been so flippin' busy and things don't look like they are going to slow down for some time.

So let's see....Madie is doing spectacular in school.  She has learned to do diaramas, she LOVES them.  She did one over Little Red Ridding Hood, and then one at school over Elephants.  She had to do all the research and everything.  This summer while we are in TX she is going to do another one, complete with research and all.  Keep her mind a working.  Two weeks ago the Nation celebrated Take Your Child to Work Day.  Well amazingly enough the base CO approved everyone to participate.  So Alan had Madie come to the hospital.  Mind you I was off island at the time for a check up.  Anyway, Alan arranged it so that Madie could spend about an hour with a number of different woman at the hospital.  Madie spent time with the XO of the hospital CPTN Kinney-Gutshall- who is a nurse and second in charge of the entire hospital.  She then spent an hour with CPTN Nunely- the nurse directorate, the person in charge of all nurses, they toured the ward together and visited with patients.  She spent time with LT St Clair our internalist and got to take her Dad's vitals.  And to top the day off she spent time with LT CMDR Griffin, the lab directorate.  She had a great day and she and Alan came home and made a presentation banner for the class.  AMAZING.  Alan never told me he was planning all this, so when I found out that he did all this and to top it off made sure she spent time with WOMEN...lots of bonus points for that man I assure you.

As for Adam he is having a bit of a hard time.  The boys in the neighborhood have gotten out of control and been mean lately so he hasn't been venturing outside very much. But he does seem to be doing pretty well despite not romping out of doors.  School is going great for him, and he is loving it.  His reading has gotten better, not the best, but not the worst.  So we are going to focus on reading this summer to get him a little stronger on that front.

As for Maegan, she is doing well.  She is a bit bored being at home with me and would like to start school, or have the kids home all the time.  That said she and I are working hard on her letters and she is getting so good. 

So during the kids Spring Break I took them to the pool everyday.  While we were there one of the lifegaurds stopped me and asked me why Maegan and Adam were in life vests.  I explained that despite numerous swim classes for each of them, they refused to actually swim.  He looked at me and told me in his Jamiacan accent that if I enrolled the kids in his swim class, which lasts two weeks, that he would garauntee that they would be swimming like fish by the end of class.  So I enrolled all three of them and have spent the last two weeks running from school, to swim class, to the hospital to get Alan and back in time to eat and get to meetings.  INSANE, but THEY SWIM now.  Both Maegan and Adam are swimming un-aided and doing great.  Adam is swimming the width of the pool and having a ball, and Maegan is swimming a bit from the side of the pool into my arms and back.  At any rate I am amazed at what they have accomplished and that being such, I will be enrolling them once again next week for another two week period.  They will finish the classes just in the nick of time, we will be leaving for TX two days after their last class.  Bring on the fun in TX.

Alan is doing better.  He is getting very excited about his vacation coming up.  The fact that he hasn't had a day off in almost a year combined with the fact that we get to go HOME, he is thrilled. 

As for me.  Shoot I am doing so much my head seems to be swimming.  Let's start off with my trip back to VA.  I saw the doc who told me that my vitamin D was was low, so I have supplements to take now.  Since my D was so low I have been very lethargic and out of sorts, but now that I am taking the supplemnets I seem to be doing much better.  Anyway, I have lost a total of 155lbs as of the end of March and am only 35% BMI instead of 62%.  He told me that I am doing great and for the size I was compared to now, he is amazed.  He doesn't think I will be losing too much more, but I assured him that I wasn't going to stop losing the weight, although it is much more difficult now.  I can tolerate sugar again, which is a bad thing, because ever sinceI had the surgery sugar seems to be the only thing I want to eat ALL the TIME!! So now I have to deal with cravings and I have gotten my hunger pains back.  I am trying to combat all of this with staying as active as possible.  I am hoping to be just as active when we hit the TX border...
Okay so I am doing well in the weight area, although I seem to have pissed off my family by not posting any pics of myself.  I am wanting to have a big reveal dang it and since I have had to work my ass off for this, I plan on enjoying myself....
As for what else I have been doing.  Let's see, I am the Secretary for the PTO and although being secretary shouldn't require alot of my time, it does.  And I seem to have about three thousand activities I am involved in.  How about I just give you a run down of what we have to get done BEFORE we leave for the states in three short weeks
First up this week tonight I have a PTO meeting as well as a spouses club meeting,TUE- Adam is due for a check-up before we leave the island.  His pediatrician will be gone by the time we come back from the states so Brian, his doc, wants to go over Adam's meds and stuff before we leave.  We are getting the car checked up, no air at this point.  And then the mom's of all the first communionites will be here to help me finish making their banners.  The church didn't plan on banners, but three of us mother's decided we needed them, and the church graciously gave us royal blue and royal purple felt. Now mind you, we don't have a Walmart or a Michael's so we have had to just use what we have.  I have it all.  Alan says I am a craft supply hoarder because I don't like to part with what I have.  He is right, but it is for projects like these that I hoard.  Needless to say I had plenty of ribbon and material to make great banners.  And we will be finishing them up tomorrow.  Then Wed is our slow day with only coupon clipping in the morning and then parish council in the evening.  On Thurs Madie is making her First Confession and all the parents have been asked to make a confession as well.  Our new priest is really into confession.  We shall see what happens there.  Madie says she isn't nervous, but assures me that she will be crying because "that's just what I do Mom!" We also have Brownie rehersal for the bridging and investitiure ceremony.  So then Friday is here and we have Feild Day in the morning and then Madie has her Brownie Ceremony.  Sat has us practicing for her First Communion and something else I just can't remember what it is. And then finally Sunday will see us celebrating Madie and her First Communion.  We are having a reception afterward in the Fellowship Hall, but us mother's are in charge of not only decorating the hall but making the food.  And then after Madie is communionized we will go home and I am hoping that I will finally be able to nap.
That brings us to the following week, which starts swim classes again as well as getting ready for Little Flowers Girl's Club.  It is coming to a close and it ends with a luncheon and a final bestowing of patches on the girls. I am helping get the luncheon together, and on the same day the girls will be doing the May Crowing of Mary at mass.  Our house will also be celebrating Father's Day since we won't be with Dad for Father's Day. 

Then to top all that activity I am planning a huge goodbye Bon Fire for all the residents that will be heading off to greener pastures this summer. We are losing A TON of our friends while we are off island this summer and the kids and I wanted to have a party for each one of them. So instead we decided to have  huge bon fire.  A lot of my friends have pitched in and have helped me get this together.  So come the 14th we will be hanging out at the beach and enjoying each other for the last time.  I figured a good time was better than heading to the pier and crying my ass off as people leave.

And then we have our big trip off island. The Chronister Clan is heading to TX and OK for a few months.  Alan only gets to be with us for three weeks, but three weeks is so much better than nothing.  I can't wait to see the family and the kids are about to bust a gut waiting.  Today in fact I have all the stuff we have been saving for gifts stacked up in the living room and hope to get them in a box and mailed off tomorrow.

So I hope that you forgive me for my lack of communication.  I hope to get better while we are off island.  But knowing my family I will be just as busy back home. That and at least here we operate on island time.  I am both excited and worried about our trip back home.  I mean home is HOME, but island life is so...I can't explain it.  It is is chaotic here but everyone and thing is so relaxed that it is hard to get stressed about anything....

okay the kids will be walking through the door any minute and I am getting typers cramps...so until we meet again, I send you my love
Oh and I apologize for the spelling.  Still haven't found the spell check!