There is something wrong with this....

Johnny has been expressing himself the past couple weeks by acting out at school. Now he has always been a very active boy who has a lot of energy and has an answer for everything. The other day when he hit someone it was because "they were being the bad guy" which make sense but that is not an answer the teacher wants to hear. We have tried all types of punishment for bad behavior and rewarding good behavior and honestly different things work at different times. One thing that always happens on a bad day no matter what is time out.

Well with all the other stress going on I really don't want to be upset with Johnny too. So I decided we will take it one day at a time with little incentives every day for good behavior and something big for a good week. Some would call this bribery I like to think if it as setting a goal and trying to reach it. LOL (what ever makes you sleep better at night right?) So the daily incentives have been things like go to the new library, go to his baseball party, have a special dessert - nothing too crazy. And for his good week I told him he can pick any toy out he wants. I was very curious what this sneaky boy was going to think up he wanted, what he wanted so bad that he would be a good boy for five days in a row. Well sure enough he knew exactly what he wanted and he earned it. On Friday after school we were on a search for a slingshot! (a water balloon slingshot) Rewarding him for being good with a weapon, awesome - ha.

Let The Coundown Beguin

John is officially on his way to Arramadi, Iraq. Im not sure if its the fact that he is out of the U.S. so it will take longer for him to get back or that I just havnt seen him in a week but Im missing him more. I got to talk to him yesterday when he got to Dubai, form there he was headed to Baghdad then Arramadi. I am just ready for him to get to where he is going and get set up and I am praying he will be allowed to have a computer. They already took his cell phone away and they are not allowed to have cameras, GPS systems, or other electronical devises. I dont know what I will do if we cant Skype! He looked good, well nervous and tired but good. It has been flight after flight for him without a break. Hopefully I will hear from him again soon. Johnny is doing ok, he has had a few moments that have broken my heart and he really dosnt like to talk to John on skype. Johnny told me he cant because he just misses him too much. We have been trying to stay as busy as possible and doing pretty good at it. (Thanks to awesome friends and family) So to try and help it all make a little more sence to him we made a countdown chain. Like the ones we did in school counting down to the last days. John dosnt know exactly when he will be able to come home yet but we are trying for Johnny's Birthday, Sept 23. So we made the chain according to that. Now I havnt found a place in our house for this colorful chain but everyday Johnny can tear a strip off and know it is one day closer to see dada.

The Soundtrack To Our Life

Music is a necessity in the Blue house. There is a weekly jam session with John on the guitar and Johnny rocking out some good lyrics or bustin a move. I know all of us are going to miss that! It seems we can really express ourselves through music, and we turn to it for fun or to get us through the day. Its funny how much Johnny really loves it too. Right now this is a song that fits where we are with everything, I will be singing it every night to myself and my baby. (It is two of our Favorites, Jack Johnson and Matt Costa)

Things to Learn List

Day one of me and Johnny's new routine. The alarm went off at the normal time of 4:30 I got up and made myself beautiful - lol and then got started on Johnny. Needless to say I was a bit anxious of how all of this would go but to my surprise Johnny woke up in a good mood ready to go to school. He was excited about being the first one there (I was sure his teacher would love it too. ha) Got him dressed, teeth brushed, animals fed and ready to walk out the door by quarter to six. I was feeling pretty good, see I can do this. Pulled out of the driveway and heard an awful noise, one I have heard before. So like any crazed mother who has a lot to do and is in a hurry I kept driving, I was in denial, nothing was wrong everything is still going smooth. In fact I remembered what Dory said "just keep swimming, just keep swimming". I knew it was time to pull over when Johnny said to me, "that noise dosnt sound too good mama". He was right, I got out and looked and my fear was confirmed I had a flat tire! Seriously? I quickly pulled my car up a little to make sure it was flat on all sides, I have been known to make it pretty far on a flat tire. It was a slap in the face, like already you need your husband. I know that while John is gone I will have obstacles and tests but come on, already? Really? At that point I realized two things, 1. I have been taking John's handyman skills for granite all this time and 2. I don't know how to change a flat. Now I'm not sayin that if I could change it I would have right then and there but why didn't I know how? I have seen it done so many times but never tried to do it myself, so I decided I am making a to do list of things I need to learn. I have a feeling this will be a very long list, and I have so much free time whats one more thing.

There was really only one thing we could do, we were taking the truck. Which was a challenge in itself seeing as the side mirror is just a piece of aluminum foil. I really don't know how John has been driving around like that for so long without an accident. (Fix mirror needs to be put on a list too) But Johnny did get to school, I got to work and AAA sent out a guy straight from the 80's named BL with a sweet mullet to change my tire. (Even though Johnny informed me he didn't want some new guy to come to his house but he was alright when I explained it was just the tire man). For some reason I didn't feel right learning my tire changing skills from BL I think I will wait for John, so I started my list.

Up, Up and Away

The countdown was on to John's departure. Leading up to Sunday we had tried to fit as much quality time in as we could.

Picking strawberries, climbing a mountain, going to the park and getting as much hugs and kisses in as possible. But when it came time for him to get on the plane it still didn't seem like enough. I don't think it is ever easy to say good buy to someone or watch them walk away especially knowing it will be a while before you see them again. It was a quick good buy and I tried to walk away first. Johnny on the other hand was so excited to be in the airport and see all the planes! You would think he had never seen one before. His disappointment came when he realized he didn't have a ticket to get on one. Now he has been begging to ride on an airplane. (Something he will have to do with daddy!)

After an emotional weekend we needed something fun, something to distract us for the rest of the day our first adventure. Then I remembered the minor league team, Gwinnett Braves baseball tickets were in my purse. 3 of them, I had bought as a fundraiser for Jr's baseball team and who better to take the third ticket Aunt Jenny. Well it sounded like a great idea but it was hot, and crowded and I forgot the attention span of a 3 year old isn't that great. Once Johnny got to go on a bouncy jumpy thing fighting for survival amongst the older kids (which scared me to death) the excitement wore off. I think we made it 2 innings. I knew it was time to leave once Johnny started asking if they were done yet. I don't think we will be going back to one of those games for a while.