Where Is She Now?

No, not Jodie Sweetin from Full House or Shannon Doherty from Beverly Hills 90210... but me, Bri, from Iowa or Washington or wherever I was the last time you came across this blog.

The last time I posted here, my husband was in the beginning of his deployment. It was a short deployment, only 7 months. It was by far the craziest one we have dealt with yet. We were having some hard times as a couple, I was having some hard times being a single mom again and I am pretty sure the kids were on a mission to drive me absolutely bat-shit crazy. Things calmed down a bit when he got back from deployment though. Things were going pretty well, the kids were starting to behave better and we were finally getting back into our family routine.

Then all hell broke loose. Things went from good, to okay, to bad, to worse in what feels like the blink of an eye. My marriage was broken. We were divorcing. We were working it out. We were separating. We were moving to Hawaii... what?!

Yeah, the Army really has a way of throwing a wrench into things. We knew we were going to be leaving Washington but we had NO IDEA that they would be sending us to Hawaii. Although, in the Army's defense, we did put it on our list... however, it was #15!!! There were 14 other places higher on our list that we would have gladly taken. Ok, Army, lesson learned.

By the time he got his official orders to Hawaii, we were on the path to working things out but we still weren't sure if we were making the right decisions. We told the kids we were going to Hawaii. Then we told the kids Daddy was going to Hawaii and we were moving back home to Ohio. Then we told the kids we were staying in Washington while Daddy went to Hawaii. Now the kids were just as confused as we were. Another lesson learned... keep your mouth shut until you've actually made a decision.

And then one day I did. Out of the blue it came to me like some sort of epiphany. I knew what I had to do and I was going to Hawaii with my husband, our 5 kids and just one of our dogs {if you have never taken a pet to Hawaii, it is a big, big hassle... especially if you have less than 120 days before you have to be there}. I called about a couple of houses, something we had yet to do since finding out we were headed to the middle of the Pacific Ocean and I found the perfect house. I was under the impression she was offering us the house but it turned out when she said, "I will be sending you the lease agreement," it really meant that she had other possible tenants and that she would get back to me. In the end we didn't end up with that house and were back to square one with the house hunting.

We arrived on the Island of Oahu just shy of 3 months ago... dammit, 2 months, 2 months! I suck at math LoL We spent the next two weeks shacked up in a hotel, driving back and forth from Waikiki (where we were staying) to Ewa Beach (where we were looking to live). We put in applications for housing on post to find out the wait time was at least a year for a family our size and considering we only had 60 days authorized in a hotel, we started looking even harder for an off post rental.

School started shortly after arriving and without an address, I had no idea where my kids were going to be going to school. Not only did I not know where they were going to school, I didn't know what kind of supplies they would need or if they would need uniforms or if the school was even worth sending them to. I strongly considered homeschooling but now was not the right time and luckily we found a house just days before school started.

I am still considering homeschooling, however I am giving the schools a chance. Lexi really likes her school and I think the classroom is the best place for her. Jacob is a very trying child and does very well in a structured environment. He gets way too stressed at home with his siblings around. The younger three, I think they would flourish being homeschooled but again, now is not the time. We still aren't quite settled. Yes, after 3 months I am still a hot mess from the move LoL

My van finally arrived in the middle of August which meant I could finally stop paying out of my ears for a rental car. We had a Ford Flex when we first arrived. It was an awkward vehicle to drive but it fit us all. We kept that car until we moved into the house and then I rented a Chevy... a Dodge... crap, I can't remember. Anyway, it was a cute little black car with a moon roof and only seated 5 but John's Jeep was already here and if we needed to go anywhere we would just drive separately. I loved that car! Which is a bit ironic seeing as I can't even remember what kind of car it was. Probably blocked it out since I won't ever be able to get one. I was so glad when I got MY CAR back though! As much as I loved the Chevy/Dodge... I am a total soccer mom and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Odyssey. The new one is on my wish list ;)

The unpacking and organizing has gone slowly but smoothly since our household goods arrived. I am doing pretty well keeping up with the laundry and the dishes and the sweeping (and not scratching) of 1200sf of hardwood floors (the upstairs is all carpet) and the boys are keeping their room clean (the girls, not so much). I still don't have all of our pictures on the walls but it will eventually get done as long as I can stop breaking them.

Well, to be honest, I haven't broken any picture frames {knock on wood}, but the kids have and the movers have. But I have broken several glasses {one of them was one of my favorites that I use for my raspberry iced tea, sniff - sniff}. It has officially been dubbed the year of broken glass. And that year can be over at any time now.

Not only have we been dealing with broken glass since moving in, we have also had one rotten thing after another. John's Jeep didn't pass inspection which led to us having to shell out $230 for a new windshield and reflector light on his bumper. Then I was bit by a dog... no, not bit... attacked. This little fucker {yes, little. It wasn't a big dog. More like medium sized.} sunk his vampire teeth into my calf. It hurt like a bitch. It instantly bruised and I spent the afternoon in the ER. It's healing nicely and doesn't hurt anymore, aside from the tenderness of the swollen muscle and I am pretty sure I am not going to die... nor do I wish the stupid dog any harm either. From my understanding though, the Humane Society is investigating and there was a police report in regards to the incident. On a less dramatic note, one of my son's broke his glasses... the other son had a little boy knock his glasses off and rub them in the dirt, scratching them to hell. The first pair of glasses was replaced at no cost because it was just the frames... this second pair I am thinking is going to cost what I paid for the lenses ($79, transitions). The mom of the little boy did offer to foot the bill and was pretty pissed. Yay for parents that actually take responsibility for their kids' actions instead of playing it off or defending him. Thankfully we are not strapped for cash though like we were a couple weeks ago and I am not distraught over the glasses issues... it happens. Sometimes kids are just dumb and don't think. We all have had our share of that. In other boy issues, Jacob woke up with a swollen eye and missed school due to the possibility of pink eye. Turns out it was a pretty big and painful sty under his eyelid. He is fine now, aside from his glasses being scratched to hell from the above little boy. And Adam, he woke up with a nasty looking bump on his shoulder. I think it was a spider bite. John cleaned it up and put a band-aid on it and it has all but gone away now. Then yesterday I had a headache from Satan himself. It started out as a stabbing pain, then turned into a dull, all around, whole head throbbing. Naproxen didn't help, Tylenol didn't help, Ibuprofen helped a little. I was in bed by 9pm and woke up again with a slight headache. Not sure what is going on but here is hoping it's just PMS related and nothing more serious, like a brain tumor {kidding, I always joke that I have a tumor to which my husband replies in his best Arnold voice... "It's not a tumah!"}

So yeah, that leads me to today. Just another scorching day in my hot and humid house where I refuse to use the A/C because it would double my electric bill. I've got mouths to feed and sports to fund. We can sweat it out a little bit. Oh, and it's Wednesday... kids get out early. Thanks to Megan {the BFF from Boston with no kids} for reminding me to not forget them ;)

Eventually things will start getting better again, right??? Just nod and agree, nod and agree :)