McIntyre Family

McIntyre Family

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

SAM & CHRISTMAS!!!

We are enjoying having Sam home for the holidays. It has been a wonderful week for the McIntyre family. Currently we are in Ohio with my parents and my sister Bethany, who has a daughter that is Mary's age.  It has been such fun being able to play in the snow and enjoy each of the many presents that we received this Christmas.  We are staying at my folks house and the kids love exploring each nook of this wonderful old home.  My parents adopted a cat named Max and Mary has fallen in love with Max. She simply adores watching him do just about anything.
We return to Florida tomorrow and Jonathan and Mary will start school again on Monday.  Sam will head back to work and we shall slowly phase back into normal life once again.  Sam and I may run a 5k race together in the spring.  It'll be fun to train for something together before he has to deploy once again.
Sam came back from war quite tired but excited to see his family and his own bed.  He also came home with a new hairdo! His hair is much longer now! He looks handsome no matter how his hair is!  I couldn't be more proud of him for all of his accomplishments. He is truly a hero and deserves our gratitude.
We have had a wonderful homecoming and a fantastic Christmas. The best gift was having Sam return home safely from Afghanistan.  God has blessed us so very much. 

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

CHAOS & Sam's imminent return...

I had quite a day.
The garbage disposal broke. The car was in the shop with $1200 worth of repairs.  The kids were quite energetic and wanting my attention the entire day.  The dishwasher leaked.   I had a lot of errands. I had to make a million phone calls to our bank and kept getting my calls disconnected.  While the kids demanded more and more and more..... Yay!!! It was a fun day. *snort*
I try and find the humor in things but sometimes it is just not funny right at the heat of the moment... 
IT's the end of the deployment... well almost. Sam is on his way home and is supposed to arrive in 2 days but we shall see if the weather and the plane agree that he will be home that day.  I am concerned about the ice in Europe and I am worried as we are set to leave as a family on Christmas Eve for Ohio. 
The fun part of this day came this evening as I got to have adult time with 2 friends. We had our nails done and went out to eat!! It was great to feel grown up again!!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Pictures



Here are some more of Jill for my family...

Traveling

Well it's been nearly 2 weeks on the road.  We have had so much fun traveling from Florida to Texas. We stayed at my sister's house in San Antonio for more than a week and now we are in College Station, Texas.  We are staying with my in-laws here in College Station.  We leave Friday for Florida.  We will have been gone for exactly 2 weeks! whew!
In San Antonio, we went to a Spurs basketball game and sat in box seats.  Ooh lah lah! It was wonderful! Boy did Jonathan like watching the cheerleaders! We also enjoyed the weather and frequented the local parks and Jonathan went with his cousins to their karate classes and swim class. We had a great time meeting my new niece, Jill.  She is a beautiful little girl that was adopted from Korea.   She loves her big brothers and was such a joy to be around.
Mary

Mary and James

Jill!

James, Paul, Jill, Mary, and Jonathan really enjoyed themselves.  Everyone had a wonderful time keeping busy indoors and out.  It was a wonderful trip and I can't wait to go back to my sister's house to visit again soon.  I love them!
Paul

James, Jonathan, and Paul at the game

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Daddy Dolls and Packing Up



Well tonight I used my new bloggie camera/camcorder. I don't know if I am actually doing well with it so far. It is a very small camera about the size of a cell phone.  It is also a touch screen, which I find very intimidating. Nevertheless, I tried it out tonight and here are some photos of the kids with their Daddy Doll. They have 3 of them but just 1 was found for the photo session.  Jonathan of course had to dress up when he heard the camera was being used! I will never be a photographer. Sam and I always note that I have no "eye" for good photography.  Just not one of my talents!
Here is Jonathan with his nerf guns, vest, and bullets, plus a compass and a sword.  If we get attacked, we'll be fine.  ha!  By the way, he looks JUST like his dad in this photo!!!!

And this is the end of the photo session. Jonathan grumpy, Mary having a last burst of energy before promptly falling asleep....
So now I have two kids in bed at 7:20!!! I am so proud of myself! And, I have to clean the house and PACK (or start at least) because we leave on Friday for San Antonio. We will be visiting my sister and her family for a week and then heading to College Station to see Sam's folks!!! Two weeks of not having to clean my house or cook a meal!! Whoot!  I love Thanksgiving and it is going to be so exciting to meet my new niece, Jill! 

Saturday, November 6, 2010

It's Cold Out There

It was warm and sunny last week. On Halloween we were warm enough to wear short sleeves while out getting candy from the neighbors.  Then overnight things changed and now it is in the 30s and 40s. What on earth happened? I thought it would be more gradual. I slept with the heat blasting all night long.  Boy do I wish we had a fireplace.  I guess that would be pretty ridiculous in sunny Florida, but I would just keep the A/C cranked full blast the rest of the year so I could justify the use of the fireplace!

We are headed to a birthday party tomorrow for a friend of Jonathan but today is cleaning day at the house. We are going to tidy up the house and make it feel like a home once again.  During the week things are crazy and hectic and the laundry piles up but today is that day. The dreaded cleaning day. I better get to it!

Don't forget to change clocks back tonight!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Saturday

Today we had a soccer game. Jonathan scored 2 goals and did so very well. He was so aggressive. The other team didn't stand a chance. It was interesting to see how well our team did this time around. We had played this other team one time before and lost but this time the kids really showed so much improvement.  Jonathan hustled despite having his ankle stepped on and a welt on his leg from stopping the ball. This was definately not pee wee soccer. The kids were running fast and furious and trying their best.  Jonathan made me proud. He worked hard and did his best and I see the work he has been doing at practice is paying off.

Jonathan is reading well and is already on the 10th book of the set since starting in September.  He really enjoys being able to read words now while we're out and about, whether at the gas station or the CVS.  (Anyone know what that stands for, by the way?)

Tonight is trick or treat on base.  I am going to walk around with Dr. Mary and Commando Jonathan and hopefully sneak some candy for myself!

Sam will have been gone 2 weeks on Monday.  Is that all?!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Running

I have been running in the mornings, usually averaging 2 miles and then walking 1.  It isn't far at all. In fact, it's awfully embarressing considering I use to run cross country and track.  I want to enter some 5K races in the next month or two, once I work up to 3 miles again.  This humidity is just about killing me. I hate running in humidity so thick you feel like you are in a sauna.  Doesn't Florida know it is nearly November? We're all running around in shorts still and play outside in the evening as opposed to the afternoon.  Running allows me to sweat out some stress and have some ME time.  No kids to chase or feed.  For an hour I am free to enjoy the breeze and my thoughts. 

Friday, October 22, 2010

Mary's first real haircut

So I cut Mary's hair. It was just tooooooo long. Looked like a cat fell asleep whenever she woke up or played.   I cut the bangs and the back.  I think it looks really good, and makes her look like she is 3, not 2.  I do not think it is perfectly straight, but nobody has noticed yet and she doesn't care, so I think we'll be alright.

Montessori Halloween Party Fun

 
Who doesn't love Halloween? This time of year is always so wonderful. Today was our annual Montessori Halloween Festival.  Jonathan dressed up, as you can see, as an Army Commando, while Mary dressed up as a doctor. Both looked quite adorable I might say.
You can see Jonathan smiling as he got ready for a magician to come and perform some tricks.  It was a fun performance.  The kids really had a great time tonight.  It was chaotic to have 45 children running around eating candy but it was so enjoyable to see their smiling faces.  Jonathan told me he had a wonderful time and loved it "sooooooo much."  The great thing is, he gets to wear his awesome costume next weekend for Halloween!!! He's super excited.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Sam is gone .....

Sam departed this morning for yet another deployment.   I am truly sad to see him go and yet so proud at the same time.  Sam is headed to Afghanistan until late December.  (Or perhaps early January?!)  This deployment schedule is actually more grueling than we anticipated. Although the deployments are only 65 days a piece, he is home for the same amount of time in between each cycle.  During his time home, he works on his master's degree and juggles his office job at the squadron while staying current on his flying hours.  We also have to deal with the occasional trips (TDY) that they send him on around the country.  Sometimes I really do feel like a single mom.  I fantasize about the day when he works a more normal job that allows him to be home.  I love him so much and miss him already.  I held myself together quite well when we dropped him off at the airport today.  Only one tear was shed since both children were present.  I was careful to keep my true emotions locked away so that they saw their mommy handling the situation with poise.  

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Zumba

I actually tried out the exercise class known as Zumba. I can't believe I actually did it! My friend Shannon talked me into it and once I agreed, I couldn't back out.  After experiencing a flooded toilet upon waking, I decided that I'd try and take the class seriously -- breaking a sweat is such a great stress reliever.  So upon my arrival to the gym, I was not sure what to expect.  The class was full of other uncoordinated women, to my relief.  Everyone had the dazed and confused look as the music blared Latin/Salsa music for our exercising pleasure.  I have never gyrated my hips as much as I did in that class. The teacher was obviously from another gene pool as she spun, jumped, danced, and bended uncontrollably. By the way, I think she thought we could all do it too. Ha.  Anyhow, the class was an hour of dancing, mainly salsa and what I like to call booty shaking.  I felt so idiotic shaking my rump but I did it as best I could.  The teacher told us to spin around while moving our shoulders back and forth as rapidly as possible.  I wanted to raise my hand and ask her if she was serious, but I didn't have time -- the class was so quick that I didn't have time to say anything. I did what the instructor told me to do, albeit with an aching back and sweaty brow.
Next week, we're trying Yoga, and I am pretty excited about contorting my body in weird ways.  Can't be any weirder than the experience I had today. 

Sunday, October 10, 2010

pictures from atlanta



A few Atlanta pictures...

Atlanta

Just got back from Atlanta.  Loved the Children's Museum and the Aquarium.  The Aquarium was extremely expensive but we really enjoyed it.  They said it wasn't busy that day but it felt extremely crowded.  There were more strollers there than I could count and more kids melting down than I would have liked.  (For once, my two did NOT melt down in public!!)  The city itself was amazing. We loved walking around and enjoying the local parks.  We stayed at two different Embassy Suites in the city and both were fantastic.  The kids loved seeing Grandmother and "G" and enjoyed getting to run around in the hotel.   At the second Embassy Suites, the breakfast was served at the Ruth Chris steak house downstairs.  Oh yeah.  It was as delicious as it sounds.
  As for the dreaded drive... It took us 6 hours to drive to Atlanta on Friday and about 5 hours to drive home today. The kids did not sleep at all in the car, which made for a long trip in the truck.  Yes, the truck. As in, the truck with the tiny cab -- the 2 door truck!!!  We survived, but I don't think I want to get into that car again. Ever. 

Friday, October 8, 2010

Atlanta

Well we made it to Atlanta. I can hardly believe we made it in one piece. You see, we took Sam's truck. His 2 door tiny little truck with the suicide doors. We did not want to put the miles on my Pathfinder, you see, so we thought this would be a better alternative.  Well, it took us 6 hours to get here and we only made one stop.  It was a long trip.  Sam's parents are here also. They are spending time with us since Sam is deploying again so soon.  The kids are so happy to see them, and to see their dad again.  Tomorrow we are headed to either the zoo or the aquarium.  I have heard they are both great.  As long as I don't have to be in the car too long, I am happy.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

A few of my favorite pictures...

Getting Ready

Sam deploys (again) in about a week.  This is our second deployment here in Florida and our seventh since being married.  (Do I get a gold star yet?!)  It is amazing how much time Sam has spent deployed since we had Jonathan.  Getting ready for Sam to leave is always a headache.  It's amazing how many little details you have to consider, such as updating your Will, getting a power of attorney, assuring bills are in order, and maintaining all records.  It's a bit depressing to think about but necessary.  You'd think we'd be really good at the whole process already but we're still getting it together.  I know Jonathan is really going to miss having Daddy watch his soccer games.  Mary will miss her "Big Horse" rides that he provides. (By the way, she really likes using her heels to make the horse go faster.)  I will miss the companionship and movie date nights that we have here at home.  Watching a funny movie is never more enjoyable than with the person you love. Plus, Sam doesn't mind if I snort out loud.

The Interweb and other Changes

I probably could win some type of award for my lack of internet skills.  Even doing this blog is pushing it for me.  I didn't even begin to text message until a year ago and I did it only out of necessity.                              I miss the days of writing letters. I remember writing notes in college and picking out pretty stationary and licking the stamps.  Nowadays everything is so fast and furious and whatever is easiet.  Forget even writing out a word entirely.  Text messaging has allowed us to forgo human interaction in favor of ridiculous acronyms such as c-ya l8r.  *head hitting desk*  I will continue to write out words entirely.  I am and will be the crotchety old lady who refuses to accept change and waves her finger at this new fangled technology.    Heck, if I had it my way, we'd still use floppy disks.  I thought they were great. 

Soccer

I find it hilarious that I am a soccer mom.   I take the title seriously. I get to practice early (most of the time) and yell from the sidelines, especially if the other team is too rough. I love every moment of seeing Big J run up and down the field going for that ball! He is actually really good and scored his first goal last game.  The pride I felt was enormous.  The funny thing is, after he scored, he decided to take a break and sit down.  On the field.  Must love Kindergarten soccer.

First Post

So I have decided to start blogging. Not too sure if I will be "followed" by too many people, but hoping that I can at least add some fun and whimsy to readers' day.