list of care package contents thus far for deployed honey

i thought i might record the type of things i've been sending out in the flat rate military boxes provided by the US postal service. i've been averaging about one box a week. captain j has asked specifically for different things, but i've also included things that he might miss from home.

• cards, drawings my noah, messages on post its with little notes telling him we miss him (he read my blogs, and there's email so there's no need to write a whole lot of detail)
• packages of chips
• packages of trail mix
• protein and granola bars he likes
• bottles of his favorite soap and shampoo (although he's told me that he's moved to a place with a PX now so he can get these himself)
• little korean soy milk boxes (they look like kid juice boxes)
• little packets of keem 
• packages of nuts (trader joes has these individually packaged nuts that are portioned into perfect snack sizes)
• oreos
• chocolate bars and other packages of candy he likes
• an internet antenna (because although they have wireless internet, captain j doesn't seem to be able to get on without this.  i bought it off of amazon and sent it in the box along with an extra extension USB which i thought he could use to move the antenna all around the room.  of course, he has a mac and the antenna works with windows.  sigh.  i feel dumb.  but i swear i asked the best buy guy and he said that it would service both so i didn't even check.  i'm heading to the apple store sometime this week to try again.)
• instant korean noodles where he just has to add hot water.
• choco pies
• japanese rice crackers
• men's health and sports illustrated type magazines
• books (just a couple, just in case he might actually want to read one)
• rubber slippers (for the shower)
• a little album partially filled with some 4x6 pictures of us, with a promise to send more so he can fill up the album while he's there.
• binder clips of various sizes
• disinfecting wipes
• multiple gum packets
• deodorizing foot lotion (found a good one at bath and body)

that's been it, so far.  in the next package he's asked for more soy milk boxes, the correct antenna and more pictures to put in the album. whenever i'm packing one up it makes me feel good because i'm actually doing something concrete for him instead of just thinking about him or praying for him.

we've also run into our first tricky challenge during captain j's absence.  noah's school is hosting an event for dads and their children.  noah won't have his dad here to attend.  sad.  my dad is planning to attend instead, but i'm interested to see how much not having his actual dad here will affect him.  maybe he won't even notice.  maybe he will.

Day 110

oh how they grow

natalie is now walking more than crawling.  the change really came when she could finally get into the standing position without the aid of a person or furniture.  i officially have a toddler now who toddles everywhere. the quiet smiley baby is turning into a distant memory because the current natalie is a gregarious constant moving bundle of fun.  

she's especially good at getting things open (packages, ziplocs, purses, chap sticks, boxes...aiya) which helps her during her favorite activity of generally moving around the house poking here and there and exploring/finding things.  she's found candy, unwrapped it and eaten it this way.  who knows where that candy was, but i can tell you that when i finally caught up with her sucking away happily on a piece of hard candy she had utter joy written all over her face.  she was in heaven with the discovery of such a treat.  and to think that noah didn't get any until he was past the age of 2.  

and noah is now speaking korean 50% of the time in spontaneous fashion.  he's into the Konglish stage where he'll start a sentence in one language and finish off with the other.  it's actually quite cute with phrases like "mommy, the baby ohla ga (went up)." and "i don't want to dah muh guh (eat it all)."  he's so much better too, at playing with other kids than even a few months ago.  a year ago, i had to constantly hover because who knew when he'd just decide to push someone over with his massive weight to get what he wanted.  but now, he's pretty good at negotiating and can be trusted to come to me if there's a problem.  that change alone makes my life SO much easier.

and my special joy from them in recent days is the fact that they are now PLAYING together.  it's so seriously touching that it makes my heart stop when i see their heads bent together over something, or laughing together over something.  oh my goodness, it's just the best.  they don't fight too often yet.  it's mostly noah not wanting natalie to have something, or natalie wanting to have something his brother has.  but it usually ends with whatever it is in noah's hands, and natalie kind of forlornly looking on.  are the fights still yet to come?  is this the calm before the storm?  we shall see.

Day 98

i got my buttered popcorn

my parents have tuesdays off. before moving here, i imagined that that would mean i would have tuesdays off too. that they'd take the kids for a bit and i'd get out and actually get to do stuff for myself. but every tuesday since i've been here, there's been something. they either have to get their car fixed or they have to head downtown to pick up some supplies for their business, or they have a doctor's appointment or a dentist appointment or a friend appointment. so actually, tuesday ended up being a difficult day because i'd actually have the two kiddos myself and i'd have to be flexible to my parent's desires for the afternoon and dinner. not that it wasn't fun to have some variety. it just wasn't relaxing.

and now that i think of it, i guess it was pretty selfish for me to think that on their ONE day off, they would spend it taking care of my children so i could have some lala time. but still.

oh wait. i did have one tuesday a couple of weeks ago when my mom agreed to take nat for me for a few hours. you know what i did with that time? i went to the dentist and got a root canal done. not fun.

what would i do with such time if i had it? i'd get my hair done. it's a mess right now, and i'm really unhappy with it. i'd also get my toe nails done. it's sandals season again, after all. i'd leisurely browse at the mall. i'd leisurely browse in a bookstore sipping on an iced coffee (sweetened). i'd have a lunch or dinner out with friends without asking for a highchair. but probably the thing i've been wanting to do the most is to watch a movie while i munch on a tub of buttery fresh popcorn and take big sips from a large icy cold coca cola.

well, a couple of nights ago, the tuesday was winding down. my mom was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner and i was rolling around on the floor with the kids. my dad was around too. C stopped by because she's on spring break. i was talking to her, when suddenly i kind of looked around and realized that FINALLY it may be a decent time to ask for some time to do something i want. i quickly decided that a movie rather than dinner would be the way to go in the precious couple of hours i had before the kids would need to go to sleep (no one else has been successful in getting nat to sleep. she still kind of needs a working boob for that.) i could eat while i watched the movie. AND...my mind raced....i could eat BUTTERED POPCORN!!

up like a flash, i checked movie times. i didn't care what movie it was, but C did. she doesn't like watching anything scary or intense. so Knowing, and that Haunting in Connecticut movie were out. God must have truly had pity on me because i found a showing of DUPLICITY starting in 20 minutes. perfect.

and it was. i settled into that movie seat with a pretty big bag of popcorn (buttered in the middle and on top, thank you very much) and an equally big cup of coke with lots of ice. i munched through the previews and probably halfway through the movie. i wouldn't call the movie oscar material, but it was very entertaining. it's definitely better to watch a movie all the way through in one sitting (something that doesn't happen too often for me anymore, as i watch my netflix requests in piecemeal fashion whenever natalie is napping and i've done all the other stuff i need to get done.)

thanks for the wonderful date C. i hope i didn't scare you off with my scary popcorn eating, and that we can do it again soon.

happy.

Day 88