Poop, Paxil, and Pageantry

Clint is now in Iraq. He did not stay in Kuwait as long as I had hoped. I would have liked the entire deployment to have been in Kuwait. He will be apparently traveling all over Iraq, including Bagdad. Man, I hate this shit. I really wouldlike for him to just sit at a desk and push papers. I know he will see some incredible things and will meet some wonderful people, but I want him to be as safe as possible. Traveling around Iraq....not so safe. He will be flying in a blackhawk which makes me feel a lot better....no IEDs in the sky but still not totally safe. Of course he isn't totally safe driving a car in rush hour, but I think you know what I am trying to say. I got to IM with Jack Army some this morning and then dootie called. Not for him, for me. The shit was stinkin' up the room. Sacrifices must be made. I have a week until the big move. I am ready to go. I have a dining room full of boxes. The house is all packed, the stuff we are taking in the trailer is all in rubberm...

Well, the playroom is now full of boxes. the house is packed. I will finish cleaning tomorrow. That leaves me two weeks where I need something to do to beat the "missing Clint" blues. My friends here have been so great. Shhhhhhhhhhh....don't tell them though. I can not sleep. I miss Clint. I knew I would miss him, but it hurts my chest I miss him so much. He is doing good and I know we are blessed being able to chat everyday or nearly everyday on the computer. they did not have that kind of luxury in wars past. I watch the news and I am afraid. I am afraid of all the caos and what that will mean to my family. I know that sounds selfish, but My family is my "A" #1 priority. Now if you have made past all the wah wah whiney shit, you get to hear some funny vagina stories. So, my children have not yet been taught to be embarassed by their bodies and have no clue that vaginas and penises really aren't for everyone to see or discuss. Okay, so the stories.... first...

Let me tell ou what I have been doing since the love of my life left. Now, as I tell you all I have done, keep in mind I do not move until the 5th and since I was Deputy mayor I will have a free cleaning team. I have plugged all the holes in the playroom, touched up the paint, scrubbed the walls, cleaned the blinds and shampooed the carpets. Oh and yes, I will have the carpets shampooed by a professional before I can leave. But I did it anyways. Now the playroom is storing boxes and garage sale items. I have the entire house packed except for a few things in the kitchen and the shed. I have of course organized all the things we are taking to Texas with us. I am now in the process of shampooing the downstairs carpet and scrubbing those walls. What am I going to do when I am done? I need about tree week more of work to do.

I wonder if I could dedicate an entire page to all the places Emily has peed in public. This is at a city park at her friends birthday party. I suppose you can take the family out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the family.

I have posted this before: Thank You to Military Spouses My husband wrote this commentary for the Ft Carson Paper back in December. With all the soldiers leaving our mountain post I thought it appropriate to revisit.Commentary by Pfc. Clint Stein Mountaineer staff Many people have heard the old saying “there are only two things that are certain in life, death and taxes,” but for those in the military there is a third — sacrifices. During recent and past years we have heard so much about the sacrifices made by men and women serving in our military, but what we don’t seem to hear a lot about are the sacrifices made by theirspouses. Behind every married servicemember there is a spouse who provides an equal or even greater service. They are the support system of the family. They are an intricate part of what holds their military familytogether. They are the backbone. More than half of military servicemembers are married and with that brings sacrifices, especiallyduring deployments. No one ...

I am not sure if any of you have ever really done any research about what stress can do to you physically, but I have a perfect example. Before Clint Left After only a week

When I went to the ER right before Clint left (I couldn't breath and felt like someone had dropped an elephant on my chest) they did a shit load of tests. Appparently it is anxiety? What the fuck?!?!?! I don't have anxiety......well, they gave me some kalonopin. No more chest pains. Now here is the shit kicker of the Army. My Docotr will not give me any kind of refill.....not even on my paxill....that I have been on for all eternity inless I go see my terapist. Okay, have you ever taken three children to a therapists office? I will be causing many undue mental breakdowns. Fucker!!!! Emily has said" Daddy has been gone along time", poor baby....it's only been a week. Steven is obssessed with Clint getting a gun and shooting bad guys. I am not sure where this comes from. We do not let them watch adult shows and are picky about the kids shows they watch. I think he is just nucking futz!!!! Ethan......he only wants Daddy when he is in trouble. Of course we are talkin...

So, I have decided to get some part time work when I get home....okay, not really. I just have that damn song from the movie in my head "twenty-five miles until we get to heaven". I have less then a month until I go to Texas. I think it will really make a big impact on the kids and I having so many people around. You know like..... uhm they will not get drowned in the bathtub, they will not be covered in cigarette burns and bruises....you know it's the small things that make a difference in different parenting styles. Well, how about another view of our trip...... MaMaw and PaPaw had a HUGE pile of dirt. Well, there is nothing better to a bunch of kids then either a way to royally annoy their parents or a way to get ridiculously filthy. Our three decided on this day that filthy was the way to go. "WOW....I bet you can't even imagine how much dirt is in my ass crack at the moment." " UHM guys....are you sure this isn't a huge pile of shit?" ...

As we prepared for our travels to and from Texas, I decided to bring the "potty chair". It turned out to be a great plan. There were several spots along the way that it came in handy. Three year olds have little bladders and when they say they have to go, they have to go. Even if it is only 45 minutes away from home and the bathroom at the gas station is out of order. And wouldn't you know it, pebble poop. We waited on her for 15 minutes.

Here is our sweet little family before Daddy left. Oh man, it sucked giant donkey dicks having him leave. My hat goes off to those spouses who seem to hold it together. I cried all the way home like a little baby.

Well, Clint heads out today. We had a great night last night. My friend Amy had offered to keep the kids, but Clint and I decided tohave a big slumber party with the kids. We watched movies, ate junk food and cuddled. (I really appreciate the offer Amy). We are going to take Clint to the airport this morning and then I am thinking of coming home and having a garage sale. Oh, We finally got some pictures downloaded to the computer. I will post them whenI get home.

So, as I am typing the title to this post I started singing that song by Europe...I think. Anyone know what I am talking about? Oh, they sang that song Superstitious also. You know...."Well, I'm not superstitious, I have no doubt...." . So, Clint leaves in less then a week. We have been busy making final preparations and (shhhhhhhh)It's a secret, I have decided to go home for the six months. I am just going to throw all our shit in storage and get the hell out of dodge. Clint will have about a month before he starts terminal leave when he returns from Iraq, so we will just stay in a wee little furnished apartment, just like we did when we first moved up here and had to wait for housing. Here are the plans, I am having a big garage sale on the 20th to sell all the stuff we do not want to keep or that we got at garage sales for cheap cheap cheap and really do not want to store. I will be listing chingos of stuff on craigslist and freecycle. Don't tell the kids but I...