Merry Christmas

Zachary, 11; Edward, 7, and Michael, 4 weeks, in front of the Christmas tree in the home we just moved into five weeks ago. Although JG and I have skyped since he deployed about three weeks ago the connection has been unreliable. Imagine my joy when skyped was crystal clear as JG was able to join us Christmas morning when the boys opened their presents! Even better, that night (the following day for JG) he received his first care package from home.

JG is very sneaky. On Christmas Eve he sent Zachary to the basement to bring up the gifts he bought and hid. I know that made him feel good and it made me feel special. :)

For Christmas dinner we hosted folks from the office. We hardly made a dent in the rib eye roast (the boys and I had steak and eggs for breakfast this morning). It was nice to have company - it made the day pass by quicker and I always love to feed people. There was one big lesson learned: a 16 pound roast does NOT take 4.5 hours to cook. Only about half the time! Although it was yummy and juicy I would have liked it more rare.

The boys have another week of winter vacation. They've been really helpful with Michael. Zachary is getting really good at giving him a bottle. Edward is able to feed Michael if the baby is sitting in his car seat or vibrating chair. Michael is already trying to launch himself forward with his feet and he's doing a great job holding his head up. His abs are also becoming more stable. I predict he'll be crawling before JG gets home.

I keep thinking about JG's homecoming. I know it's early for this but I just can't help myself. I miss him so badly.

Milestones Begin

JG has been gone for 18 days, but it feels like months. Maybe it's because Michael is changing so much it makes the time seem like it's passing faster than it actually is. The boys and I got the Christmas tree up today - but now that they're older they put many of the ornaments on the tree before I have the chance to remissness. It did warm my heart to unwrap and display our bride and groom ornament.

Michael has arrived

This is Michael Luke Buzanowski. He was born on JG's birthday. This is the camera JG was packing for his deployment. He left yesterday. By the time JG returns home, Baby Michael will be six months old and will no longer fit in a camera bag.

I can't tell you how busy and stressful the last few weeks have been for us. JG was TDY for combat skills training in Wyoming and the day he got back we had new keys for our new home on base. We spend that next week moving and the Saturday following Thanksgiving Michael was induced. A week and three days later I dropped JG off at the airport. His mom, Martha, arrived Thursday and she's staying through the weekend to help out as we get the rest of the house settled.

I'm convinced I can "do this" if I can just get more than an hour of sleep at a time. :)

Abbot's Roll of Honor

These are photos my father sent from a new Roll of Honor that was added to the veteran's memorial in the center of my home town of Abbot Village, Maine. In this first photo, you can see the main road to the right, which is actually Route 15. Between the guard rail you see and the white pickup truck is the Piscataquis River. The store that vehicles are parked in is called Trafton's. The road that passes directly behind the memorial is actually Monument Road - it makes a sharp corner then runs just about parallel to Route 15. That's the road I grew up on. The monument with the statue has been there ever since my family moved to Maine in the early 1980s. The American flag display and the Roll of Honor are new.

Below is a photo of my grandfather, Joseph A. Auger. I'm not sure when this photo was taken. Although my grandfather lives in Massachusetts he visits my dad in Maine several times a year.  

My maiden name is Jennifer Auger. I was deployed to Balad Air Base, Iraq, from January - April 2007. During my time there I traveled to Camp Victory and Sather Air Base. I wear one campaign star on my Iraq Campaign Medal. One of the most exciting stories I wrote at the time was about the battle of An Najaf. The name of my unit was the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, namesake of the Tuskegee Airmen lineage. It was at this unit where I met Chief Master Sgt. Rudy Lopez for the first time. He was the chief enlisted manager for the medical group. The most media attention we received at Balad, both American and International, was about the theater hospital. In 2007, the hospital was literally a bunch of tents connected together - but the care our wounded military members (and even Iraqis and the occasional terrorist) was second to none. Fast forward three years later and Chief Lopez is now the command chief master sergeant here at Fairchild AFB, Wash., where JG and I are stationed now. The Air Force gets smaller each and every day! 

Here's a photo of the front of the Roll of Honor that begins with honoring veterans from the Civil War.

1 cm

This is JG's second trip away from home in the last month and the boys decided they need to test me yet again. I had two appointments downtown yesterday afternoon and finally got back to the base just after 3:30 p.m. - I had just enough time to pick Edward up from the youth center and Zachary up from home and bring them to the clinic for their flu shots before they closed at 4. Zachary was really excited - it was the first time he wasn't afraid of getting a shot. Normally, it would be Edward who wouldn't have a problem with shots and would show up his brother. Not yesterday. Edward SCREAMED AND CRIED so loud. I was so embarrassed. It took three of us to hold him down. That set the tone for the evening. Edward was fine through dinner until he wanted seconds on applesauce. I told him to grab it out of the fridge - it was on the top shelf and when he reached up with the arm that got the shot it hurt - and Edward had a meltdown. The evening routine of homework then shower was like pulling teeth. Luckily I was able to talk with JG and he was able to talk to Edward. After his shower he was finally pleasant and we watched two episodes of The Avatar on netflix. Edward was tucked in by 7. He needed the extra sleep. I'm one centimeter dilated and fifty percent effaced. I don't believe the baby will come before JG gets home, but I'm stressed thinking about the possibility. And, if that's not enough, we're only two weekends away from picking up keys to a new home on base. Work wakes me up in the middle of the night - I dry run the next day and go over the to-do list - only to be haunted the next day by what I didn't get done or discovering other responsibilities I own that I have to figure out. I dislike IMMENSELY not being the expert and not having the answers. My Ju-Ju girl, loyal K9 of about 13 years is showing signs of aging. I'm in denial of her graying muzzle - but it's harder to ignore a large lump between her two front legs. I need to get her to vet. Last weekend the dryer died, this weekend the washing machine died. JG earned another gazillion reward zone points at Best Buy. They delivered the set yesterday and I was excited, for once, to do laundry. Except, the water spouts where the washer hoses hook up decided to leak - even shut completely off there's a slow drip. It will be fixed today, hopefully. Time for a nap.

My eyeball hurts

My left eye is killing me. I saw the optometrist today instead of going to my OB doctor. I was sure my eyeball was rotting out of my head it was hurting so badly. I have a bunch of irritated cells on my cornea and the doc expects it's from a viral cold. The cool drops they give for numbing and antibacterial he didn't prescribe me, you know, being pregnant and all pretty much the only remedies available are Tums and Tylenol. Go letter T! So I'm on quarters until Friday afternoon - the entire left face and head feels like it's been struck by a mallet. I had booked Edward a doctor's appointment for tomorrow, but I may have to cancel if I still can't drive. He has a wart and he's also been complaining of stomach pains. JG is in San Antonio this week as a guest instructor for the Air Force Communicators' Workshop. I'm so jealous. That was my baby in 2009, I was deployed for it in 2010 and I was way too pregnant to travel this year. One of the Airman from our office went as an attendee - I can't wait to hear all about it. I am missing JG. Mainly because he's warmer than I am, but I'm sure he's getting better sleep not being woken up by me going pee every two hours and tossing and turning all night.

No nest to nest

The baby items are piling up in the baby's room, but nothing has been put away - or put together. We haven't even bought a crib yet. Thanksgiving - the week the baby is due (on JG's birthday) is also the same week JG returns from combat skills training for deployment and the same week we pick up keys to move into senior NCO housing, just a couple blocks from here. So, you can see there's no real sense in "getting ready."

We didn't expect to move homes this year - so in preparation for the baby we moved Edward into Zachary's room where he inherited Zachary's new bedroom furniture from last year. Zachary went downstairs into the basement, in the room Aunt Heather used to stay. He's been sleeping on the trundle, though, in the 'nursery' since we found out about the new house. It's at least 10 degrees colder downstairs all the time.

Last night Zachary forgot to take his nighttime insulin - so today he's been on the higher end of his target blood sugar range. He's come a long way in just two months - he's even giving himself nearly every shot he needs to take. His insulin doses are about half of what they initially were to regulate him.

Angry Birds

About a month ago, JG and I got new phones. Our first smart phones. I had some growing pains with mine. Who knew if you ran Angry Birds in the background it would completely drain the battery overnight? Angry Birds is actually the only game I've downloaded. I only let the kids play the levels I get stuck on - and they get a kick out of helping me. Halloween is JG's favorite holiday - and to beat the rush we bought the kid's Halloween costumes early. Zachary will be the Joker and Edward will be Bumblebee. I'll be eight months pregnant by the time the last day of the month rolls around. JG showed me a catalog that came in the mail with Angry Birds costumes. I broke down and ordered one yesterday. The boys picked out the black bomb bird. Over the weekend we had four of our girlfriend's children at our house Saturday night. I could not imagine having six children. Ever. JG says that should cure me of talking about having a fourth. HA! It felt really good to return the favor to our friend, Heather, who took our boys for two nights when JG and I were in Virginia a few weeks ago. Our kids play together very well and all of us participated in the American Diabetes Association “Step Out" Walk and then we visited four different farms in Green Bluff. We all brought home apples that were so delicious! I was finally able to get in touch with my film class instructor to make up the work for my online class this summer - I'm writing two final papers to secure a passing grade instead of the current incomplete on my transcript. I really wish I knew what I was missing when it comes to time management - I struggled taking one class, I know there are other people who take multiple classes and are still able to maintain work and family commitments. I am not that talented.

Lost in September

I thought the older you get the easier life becomes. Life has consistently been proving me wrong - especially as of late. By this time in December I will be getting ready to celebrate Zachary's 11th birthday, I'll be on maternity leave with the baby and JG will be deployed, again, and I'll finally get to have an MRI done on my knee . JG and I are both hot for one-year remote tours and I'm wondering if next year will be the year for one of us.

We have yet to order our wedding photos - there always seem to be a greater need dipping into emergency funds. The latest was the boys' trip to visit two sets of grandparents in New England - we didn't count on me flying home on the heels of the call that Zachary was hospitalized. And, we have yet to celebrate our second anniversary - his mother flew in to watch the boys for us so we could spend a weekend away - but duty in Japan called JG away.

Crazy summer

A lot has happened since June. We discovered Zachary has Type 1 Diabetes, the baby we're expecting in November will be a boy, and I'm razor close to failing my first real college class. JG also has a deployment this winter and I'll be putting on another stripe and assuming more responsibility at work. Life just seems a bit overwhelming at the moment.

But, to mark recent successes, I bought a gigantic can of crushed tomatoes at Costco and didn't get grief for it. Crushed tomatoes = homemade pasta sauce, usually with beef ribs slow cooked for eight hours. Mmmmm. Zachary moved into the basement, Edward inherited Zachary's new furniture we bought last year along with his old room, and the soon-to-be nursery is coming along. Four sleeper sacks, two gowns, baby over-boots, socks, and hooded towel are the only signs in the house we have a baby on the way.

The "flat daddy" of JG (life-sized poster from waist up mounted on foam board) is leaning up against the nursery wall. JG had this made right before he left for Japan earlier this year. Edward left some of his artwork on the walls for his little brother - though I think he forgot about his hot wheels holder that's mounted to the back of his door.

We toured the hospital where I'm going to deliver. I can't believe in just three short months we're going to have a baby in the house!

College Girl

I started my FIRST college class this week and had to laugh when a fellow student revealed they felt "behind the power curve" about starting classes so late - he's a decade my junior.

In other news, JG signed for his deployment tasking in December.

Bad Dream

Last week JG and I went to the OB orientation on Fairchild where we got a list of DO's and DON'Ts. The weird ones that I don't remember from the first two times around were no herbal pills or tea and no deli lunch meat. Those two 'minor' things made me even more paranoid about the Vicodin I started to take just one day prior to being reunited with JG. Then I got even more worried when I realized I could have been pregnant before we even left Colorado Springs - at the height of my Vicodin use.

With all of that weighing on the back of my mind I had a dream last night that we went to my first OB appointment. I was telling the doctor about my concern and the nurse pulled out a model of a fetus in a test tube - the baby was missing its entire right arm and had a chunk missing out of its skull. "This is what you've done to your baby," she said. 

I hate bad dreams. 

Baby!

The negative pregnancy test before JG left for Japan made me cry. Why was the world against us? But March 30, with JG on the phone, First Response said positive and the blood test confirmed it. The week has been filled with calling family and friends - not wanting those closest to us finding out on Facebook. The projected due date is Dec. 23. Zachary, whose birthday is the 22nd, said "I don't want to share my birthday!" while laughing. Edward and Zachary say they want a brother. Quite honestly, it would be nice to buy pink for a change. Every baby shower I've attended to welcome a baby girl my gift is clothes for that very reason.

A little Buzzling on the way …

Jennifer’s pregnant.

Wow.

I honestly didn’t think it would be this much of a shock. After all, we’ve been trying for a while now. And really, the most surprising thing is that we were actually in the same time zone, let alone the same room, for long enough to actually GET pregnant. But hey, there it is …

The current batch of minions is doing really well with it too. Edward bought a book from Barnes and Noble to read to the baby. Zachary is excited about having a new baby brother to take care of. As long as it’s a baby brother. I may have scarred them about having baby sisters. I feel justified in this …

Nevertheless, Jennifer really wants a baby girl. So does her friend Martha, also known as her mother-in-law. Really though, we won’t even find out the gender til later this summer. For my money, that means there’s not a whole lot of preplanning we can do. For Jennifer’s money, however, and apparently, it seems to be all hers, we need to look at cribs, clothes, strollers, swings, walkers, car seats, diapers and diaper genies. What kind of wishes do diaper genies grant?

At the very least, at this premature stage, I’m willing to entertain names. Jennifer, on the other hand, finds my names entertaining. I don’t feel like she’s taking me seriously, as she keeps vetoing all my suggestions:

Boba Fett Buzanowski

Tax Deduction Buzanowski

James Tiberius Buzanowski

Megatron Buzanowski

Darth Bacon Buzanowski (since she also vetoed my wanting a bulldog)

Chun Li Buzanowski

Indiana Jones Buzanowski

Should she break the embryo and have a boy and girl twins, we WILL be naming them Luke and Leia. That sound you hear is me putting my foot down …

We expect her to be due around Dec. 23. Zachary’s birthday is the 22 and he’s decided he will NOT be sharing his birthday. I agree. Even if New Baby Buzz is born on the 25th, at least then they’ll share a birthday with Annie Lennox. Sweet Dreams, indeed …

But we’ve wanted to add to our family for a while now, so we’re both pretty excited about it. I can’t wait to celebrate. Of course, that will have to wait at least another week while I’m in Japan helping with tsunami and earthquake relief. Is it too soon to bring home a katana to hang over the crib?

Whether we have a boy or a girl, though, we’re just thrilled to have another little minion to add to the mix. Now to try and convince Jennifer that Mets Buzanowski is perfectly acceptable name …

Normal, Here I Come!

JG left for Japan today. A week ago I started a blog post that didn't quite finish that I'll share with you now (see below) then I'll fill you in on how JG's adventure came about.

FROM MARCH 9TH: So I've been home from my adventures in Colorado for 2.5 weeks now. The knee injury was a bad sprain so my time at home has mostly been spent visiting physical therapy, studying for promotion and cooking. Two weekends ago JG, the boys and I visited my grandmother, Ginger, and my Great Aunt Brenda at my Aunt Daphne's house. It was nice to take advantage of visiting East Coast family while they were house sitting.

This summer the boys will be flying to visit family in New England. They are so excited. Since leaving Virginia the boys are now enjoying a traditional school calendar instead of a year-round schedule. So, the grandparents want to take full advantage. I have no idea what I'm going to do with all the free time. 

Between now and summer vacation we have guests coming to visit us here. JG's mother is visiting us the first week of April. The boys will be on spring vacation and it's also the week of our second wedding anniversary - so JG and I are planning to have a two-night getaway to celebrate. Martha's birthday is also in the month of March so we'll be able to celebrate the occasion while she's here. JG's best man, Mike, is coming here the first week of July with the twins who are now 15. BBQ, fireworks, camping, hiking maybe some boating - it should be fun.

Zachary, Edward and I dropped JG off at the airport this morning on our way to make Zach's morning appointment at Sylvan Learning Center. Surprisingly I didn't cry. I knew it could be worse - so I was thankful of his destination. JG is in his deployment rotation, so if it wasn't Japan for an unknown amount of time it would surely be another six month tasking for the Middle East.

The big joke, since we're trying to have a baby, is that JG needs to wear some groin protection. The other joke is that JG will come home with superpowers. Neither are funny. I take getting pregnant very seriously - so if JG came back with superpowers from a mutation our third child would be even more of a handful.

I need to pick the boys up from their new karate school - they had a parents' night out that they were excited about attending. They wanted to only attend half of the event so they could stay up for a little bit once we're home. 'Super Mom' out. :)

Mile-High Writer's Club

So, we’re in the air. During take-off JG and I discussed the incident at ticketing. But, I left off at Macy’s 50% off luggage sale. We bought two new large suitcases with four wheels each. Black, of course. They barely fit in the Prius with all the other luggage. I checked three suitcases on my way down – plus I had the backpack. JG had checked two suitcases and carried on his laptop case.  As you can imagine it was a tight fit. We decided we’d repack the luggage at the rental drop off.

We were still about 10 miles or so from the airport when we stopped to get gas. I was bored and pulled out the instruction manual for the car. The futuristic control panel had a fancy display for the ‘hybrid system’ but it wouldn’t really explain where the bars needed to be to show that you were driving ‘eco-groovy.’ I was trying to figure out if we were going to burn too much gas in those last 10 miles and would need to fill up again. For a hybrid we had for four days I was shocked we went through an entire tank of gas.

I discovered we were only using the ‘hybrid’ features if the box above the meter read “ECO” – please note this word never came on between there and the airport. I found out the prius has an 11.9 gallon tank. A few miles into the drive back to the airport I got so annoyed “ECO” didn’t show up on the control panel – if it’s a hybrid how come it isn’t doing it’s eco groovy cheer? So, I thought that if the cruise control were activated it would do it automatically. Upon my insistence, JG tried using cruise control but it was broken.

JG was annoyed I was only interested in the car a few minutes before we turned it in.

So, we get to the rental car place, cleared the car and began the repacking process. It took longer than I thought it was. We ended up leaving two of the old suitcases next to the trash can. We timed it just right to catch the shuttle before it departed. I turned back with a bag in each hand to tell JG that my crutches were on the chair. He didn’t hear me. This comes after me telling him in the car that we could leave them , that if I needed then again they’d give me new ones. I guess JG didn’t hear me because at the airport he asked where they were.

So we get to the airport. There’s a line of ten people. There are at least three electronic check-in terminals open. No one is moving; they are oblivious. I swoop in at the one on the end. JG and the dude behind the counter give me a hard time for cutting. (We ended up getting in line … eyeroll.) The conversation JG and I just had on the plane ended with me saying “I’d rather be rude than stupid.”

His bottom line? “The people in line were waiting to be called. And you cut.”

Granted, they probably were, however, each attendant was working two terminals. It’s not like they were being pro-active in the middle of checking one person’s bags to make sure maximum efficiency was achieved by having the next customer get their boarding pass.

Besides, the next person in line was a gaggle of 10 young people traveling together. The amoeba was ruining it for everyone else.

JG got me a wheelchair. That was fun. I got rammed into the doorway of the elevator, a woman’s bag rammed into my bad leg as she entered the train, and I got felt up by security because JG insisted I ride the chair through security instead of walking the few steps through the scanner.

I’m sure another eventful something will happen before we make it through the front door. Tomorrow morning will be an early morning for us. Zachary has his first tutoring session at sylvan. Edward is getting a free evaluation.

Aunt Heather was nice enough to watch the boys while JG came to Colorado Springs for my graduation. He got in the day after I injured my knee. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The graduation ceremony last night was a killer though, up down-up down-up down without being able to put my leg up. Both times I used the restroom I sat for a few minutes in the power room with my legs up in an ottoman.

JG looked handsome in his mess dress. The last time he wore it was for the wedding. Speaking of, we got a call yesterday from the best man. He and his kids are coming out in July to visit for a week. I’m really looking forward to hanging out with other people who like to camp and hike as much as I do. JG has already warned me we’ll be playing a 24-hour session of a Star Wars role playing game.

There -  I think we have it all covered now – the French toast, the Air Force Academy and the Crutches.  

French Toast, Academy and Crutches

"You can start with 'I didn't get sent down the escalator in the wheelchair, but I was real close,'" said JG after he asked what I was chucking about.

About 15 seconds prior I was laughing, "there are just so many ways I can start this blog entry."

This morning we ate breakfast and Gunter Toody's - we split a strawberry smoothie and the French toast and the 'Big Rascal' - ham, bacon, sausage, pancake, eggs and hash browns. Then we went to the Air Force Academy - JG has now seen each of the military service's Academies. He was shocked I had never seen a photo of the chapel. It looked like it was going to transform in an F-22 any second.

After a few minutes admiring the beauty of the stained glass and gorgeous mural inside the chapel, we walked to the ledge that was about 50 feet above, looking over the parade field. More than a dozen flights in formation were waiting for something to happen. JG was ready to head back to the car but curiosity got the better of me. "I want to see what happens." 

After the band played the Air Force Song (trivia: the Air Force does not own the Air Force Song, I think we should buy it) a loud horn sounded and all the cadets in flights wearing BDUs (the old-school cammies) and yellow ball caps charged a little hill in the middle of the parade grounds. Then, as they left the ground the other flights, wearing ABUs, were marched towards the band.

Still wearing a leg brace and taking pain meds and really pushing myself, JG had asked a security forces Airman to drive me to our vehicle a few hundred yards away. When JG got into the car he said he had a helped a man in an electric wheelchair up the hill because his batter way dying. This wasn't the first time JG would be pushing a wheelchair today.

We met his friend Tammy for lunch in Denver. We ate at a really good barbecue place. It was fun listening to JG and Tammy talk about the adjustment to being in a relationship with someone who has kids. Tammy is a former lieutenant in the Air Force who worked at the AF Academy after she was force shaped. After we described the excitement on the parade field she said they only "take the hill" five six times a year. (I'd still like to know more about it if anyone would like to leave a comment.)

So then, we went to the nearest Barnes and Noble that was part of an outdoor mall. After we parked in a parking garage we surfaced to a chocolate shop. I got dark chocolate-covered strawberries decorated with white chocolate stripes. JG got the English Toffee covered with dark chocolate and nuts. We spent the next two hours at the bookstore catching up on email from the last few days.

On the way to the airport we passed a gorgeous shopping area - JG wanted to stop and buy a new suitcase as two we had traveled with were on their last legs and there were still a bunch of miscellaneous loose items inside the rental. Lucky for us there was a 50% off luggage sale at Macy's. 

Oh ... we're boarding now for Spokane. I'll finish this later ...

A Valentine's Day to Remember

Yesterday while showering I had my foot propped up on the soap dish to wash my leg and out of the blue the entire soap dish fell into the tub. I should have know then that that omen was going to set the pace for the entire day.

I failed my Unit Manager Test with a 60 - by one question. The practice test I had scored at 78, but still joined two study groups over the weekend. I was bummed. Especially after getting perfect scores on my two writing assignments - bullets and a memo. It felt good giving the 'wood chucks' a run for their money - but the failure "red-lined" me from any academic awards. When I announced I failed to the class they didn't believe me. Shortly after Rick asked if I needed a hug. I said yes, but it actually came from Brett. Matt said he wanted to write a memo that said I didn't deserve to fail. I shook it off. There was a competition later that afternoon that I KNEW we were going to win to turn around the day.

Then we watched a POW documentary - and I'd get a little choked up each time retired Brig. Gen. Risner spoke. A great man who I had the privilege of interviewing way back when I was an Airman First Class.

During the Flight Challenge at the gym our flight made it into the finals ... and we finished first in the relay of crazy exercises - both heats. Between competitions Jen said encouraging words that made me smile. In the second round after running in a circle around a piece of paper I sprinted has hard and as fast as I could and one step before the finish line my right knee bent the not-right way as my right foot struck the ground. Because I was going so fast I had to come down on that same leg one more time to try and stop - then I collapse in pain on the aerobic step pushed up against the wall.

"Are you okay?" said one of the instructors. "No," I said fighting back tears.

So the fire department responded. And wouldn't you know it, the same Airman who debriefed me after the popcorn incident (read previous blog entry) was the one who arrived on scene. Despite a pedicure polish gone bad and an overdue wax job needed on my legs I ended up smirking. "I know you," I said. "You do?" said the Airman who looked 16. "Yep. We met last weekend. I was the one who burnt the popcorn."

They splinted my leg and called the ambulance. I had started shivering before the fire department got there and they made me lay down. First Jen was my pillow, and when she got up to get my backpack from the locker room my instructor Sergeant Bradley replaced her. Ezekiel rode in the front of the ambulance. Both Jen and Manny drove their vehicles behind me on the way to the hospital. Kory called my husband. Joel said if I needed a fireman all I had to do was ask. Everyone stayed until I was wheeled away.

Dan, the paramedic who attended to me in the back, gave me synthetic morphine. It was good stuff - I figured I had better take the pain meds while I could get them - no telling what I'd be sent home with. His fiancée just got a job at Yellowstone National Park so the Colorado Springs native will be leaving the area. "They need paramedics everywhere," I said cheerfully. "You can't have any more of that - it dropped your blood pressure too much."

The x-rays hurt like a son-of-a-gun. And luckily when I was over I got Morphine, Motrin and Vicodin. They even sent me on my with a Vicodin prescription. So, I'll be able to tough out the next few days with my leg brace and crutches. I have lots of experience with crutches. :)

After we were done at the hospital we met most of the rest of the flight at Old Chicago where I built a $22 personal pizza. I wanted olives (all three kinds), mushrooms, spinach, tomato, garlic, broccoli and basil. Only the first three toppings are free. I ate half, then just picked out the veggies. Afterwards I realized what I really wanted was a salad.

I'm starved his morning and took my last dose of meds about ten hours ago - I can't take 'em on an empty stomach. I need to hurry up and get ready for the day. JG flies in to Denver in just a couple hours. His timing couldn't have been more perfect.

The Microwave Hates Me

As of tonight, there's only nine more days until graduation. But, that's not the important countdown. JG is flying here in seven days. Valentine's Day he's actually testing for promotion, which is what I'll be studying for myself once I'm home while finishing the R&R I was owed after my deployment that I still have left to take.

JG and I skyped most of Super Bowl Sunday - we did some online shopping together at Best Buy and Fredericks. I ate a good breakfast at Cracker Barrel that morning and ate my leftover pancake and some leftover chicken from Friday night as a late lunch. Well, I got hungry and decided to heat a "mini" bag of popcorn in my microwave on the popcorn setting.

About three minutes and thirty seconds later smoke was rolling out of the microwave. I hit stop, opened the window, turned on the fan and opened my door and began fanning air into my room. I took the popcorn out of the microwave and threw it in my trash. I was waiting for the alarm to go off. After about 15 minutes of waiting I believed the coast was clear..I was wrong.

On a side note, I wonder how many blogs will be researched decades from now by historians. Just my facebook status alone from Sunday have painted an accurate picture of my day:

is waiting for an open washing machine.
Sunday at 1:23pm (PST)

just went online shopping with JG via skype. :)
Sunday at 4:58pm

wow - my FB friends tore UP the half time show and then spewed it all over their walls. Napkins?
Sunday at 6:11pm

**Insert text message from JG "you okay?" as the skype session abruptly ended**

had a lovely visit with the fire fighters and security forces. 15 minutes before the excitement I sent an email with the sarcastic remark "I just burnt a mini bag of popcorn waiting for the fire alarm to go off." I have the power of jinx.
Sunday at 9:27pm

BINGO Bonus!
Jennifer scored a BINGO in SCRABBLE with the word NEITHER worth 71 points!
BINGO is a play in which you use all 7 tiles in the rack. A bonus of 50 extra points is added to your score.
Sunday at 10:24pm via SCRABBLE

At least the game was over before the alarm went off. And, you can see, my day ended on a high note because I very rarely get bingos during Scrabble.

State of the Union

While I was in Kyrgyzstan I rarely followed, or cared, about American politics. JG and I have very different political views. I'm a registered Republican, he's a registered Democrat. (Though he'll argue that I'm actually a Libertarian.) We rarely talk about politics, but we did tonight.

I listened unbiased and, overall, I thought the State of the Union address was well done. I was most impressed with his reiterating of parents' responsibility for their children's education and how we need to foster more respect for teachers. Likewise, when it comes time to visit family on the East Coast, how much more appealing would travel by high-speed rail be? America is most innovative when it's driven by incentive. When the stakes are most high, Americans have dug deep and pulled off the seemingly impossible. The sentiment of his speech was well-timed and I hope fostered renewed commitment for compromise across the aisle. Also, I absolutely loved how the President publicly called out educational institutions who have continued to ban ROTC programs and military recruiters after reiterating his promise of the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' Also, his salmon joke expressing how there are too many government agencies involved in similar missions was pretty clever. (One when it's in fresh water, another when it's in the ocean, and yet another after it's smoked.)

Now the ugly. His analogy -- an overloaded plane flying without an engine that will eventually crash -- used to illustrate how useless slashing a budget is if the wrong spending cuts are made, was very hard to swallow. Any time I visualize a plane crash, in any context, I see the second plane hitting the Twin Towers live. Fair? Probably not, but I'm sure I'm not the only American who feels this way. Additionally, the President went out of his way talking about budget cuts to point out the Department of Defense would not be immune to fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, the President did this without clarifying our Nation's security will not be jeopardized. This comes just days after learning China most likely developed its most capable fighter with U.S. stealth technology - one piece of F-117 scrap at a time from the fields of Balkan farmers in 1999. Then later the President said the military needed to have the best possible equipment to do its mission ... begs the question: Is that possible if our budget is cut too?

All the talk about future and budget has made me wonder if we're doing everything possible to maximize our family's wealth by spending and saving wisely. Last year, I would have felt funny using the word 'wealth,' but after six months as a guest in Kyrgyzstan I can argue that the poorest of Americans are wealthy in comparison.

33 Down

All day long the birthday wishes on my Facebook page kept flooding in. Childhood friends, family, colleagues, new friends, it made me feel very special. The other sergeants in my flight made it a point to tell wait staff at restaurants it was my birthday all weekend long. I even have a souvenir hat decorated with fancy letters drawn in crayon and lipstick kisses from this morning's breakfast. I have to say it was the first time I've ever seen waitresses command the attention of the entire restaurant to turn and look as I did the twist. "Are you serious?" I asked as they told me I needed to do it. "Yes, we made you a hat." The hat said: 'Happy Birthday Jennifer, 21 all over again, I shook my booty at Gunther Toody's.'

Edward and Zachary sang 'Happy Birthday' to me on the phone. It made me miss them even more. My beautiful flower arrangement JG sent me got even more breathtaking as the flowers started to open up. The Facebook status from Saturday morning: "woke up to the beautiful flowers J.G. Buzanowski sent yesterday. Daffodils, my favorite flower because it reminds me of home - we used to have them growing around the house; tulips, one of the featured flowers at our wedding; and eucalyptus, it reminded me of one family vacation when we got eucalyptus oil to help steam out Zach's congestion. Peach lilies and roses - just gorgeous! Thank you, Darling!"

I'm in disbelief I am 33. Mainly because I feel strongly about wanting to get pregnant before age 35. With JG's upcoming deployment I feel like we're in a "now or never" situation. I was actually a little disappointed I didn't find out I was pregnant while being here for a course in Colorado Springs. JG says if I get pregnant in February the baby would likely be born in October - then all five of us would have birthdays one month after another beginning with Edward's in September.

After dinner tonight we stopped at Walgreens. I was thankful. My head cold from last week re-attacked today. Mucinex D was added to my regiment of Zicam and Day/Night Quils. I even bought NeilMed sinus rinse on the recommendation of a classmate. I think I did it wrong, tho. It seemed more of the liquid was coming out the back of my throat instead of out the other nostril. Gross, eh?

As long as I'm better before JG flies down. I'm so excited! Not only is he coming for my graduation night, he's flying in two days early! We'll even be flying home on the same flight!

Weekends

When I was deployed, I couldn't even imagine what having a two-day weekend was like. What would I do with all that extra time? I had one weekend at home before I left the following weekend for NCO Academy at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs.

After trying to get settled back into my kitchen my first weekend home I reported to work Jan. 3 to get the rest of my return-from-deployment checklist done. That's when I found out I'd be leaving for the Academy in six days. In that time we managed to fit in getting new brakes on the truck, two trips to military clothing sales, a trip to the tailor, two nights at an indoor water park with adjoining arcade, the best spaghetti sauce I ever made, a hearty chili made with roast, a board game night and a visit with my Aunt Daphne & family.

During that week I met three awesome NCOs. The newly-promoted staff sergeant in our finance office who helped me with my return travel voucher who knows everything there is to know about military travel, pay and benefits; the technical sergeant photographer who just returned from a one-year remote deployment to Afghanistan who you can tell cares about the job and the people he works with including me and I had only known the gentleman for five minutes; and the staff sergeant serving as the command chief's aide who made it possible for another chief on base to give us our NCO Academy pre-pep-talk Jan. 3 as to not interfere with our family's planned mini-vacation.

There are, I think, nine other NCOs from Fairchild AFB here in Colorado Springs. I've met more Fairchild members here and on my deployment combined versus actual people at Fairchild. Crazy, huh?

I'm still adjusting to the time change which is making afternoons difficult to stay awake so I usually drink coffee all day - but I'm dehydrated, I can tell. We're also at a high elevation here and the instructors have been warning us about how we'll feel it when we exercise this week at PT.

Attending the Academy right away is really the best thing for my family and my office. I couldn't imagine being settled and in the grove for two months then come here in March like I was originally scheduled - disrupting whatever routines and responsibilities I would have adjusted to and/or taken over.

The only real disappointment with timing was that the second-row concert tickets I bought JG for his birthday to see Sarah McLachlan the first week of February I'll miss and JG says he doesn't want to go without me. I'm trying to convince him otherwise - we'll see what happens.

JG is planning to fly down to my NCO Academy graduation. I can't wait to see him again. Although we've been spending a lot of quality time on skype this weekend, it's just not the same as actually being there.

As far as the Academy goes I figured I could just blend right in and be under the radar for the next six weeks as I readjusted to being back in the U.S. Well, first day of class they made me the "flight commander" of our 14-person flight based on my date of rank - Dec. 1, 2006. I was very surprised they didn't give the yellow rope to people with line numbers for higher rank of master sergeant.

This weekend was busy - mostly catching up on rest and fun. Friday night I went out with some flight members - Chipotle, Green Hornet and out for drinks; Saturday was the headache reminding me I had too much; Sunday was Panera, waxing, nails and a haircut to ensure my hair fits properly under my flight cap for Tuesday's inspection. And, today, I'm getting my uniform ready and completing two writing assignments.

I plan to take a week of leave when I get home to study for promotion and then again when JG's mom flies out the first week of April. JG and I will be able to do an overnight trip somewhere to celebrate our anniversary. I can't wait! That's probably the best thing about being at the Academy now is that we are assured spending that special day together.

Cookie Sheet

I've been home six days. The longer I'm home, the longer I feel I've been gone. The last few days have been trying. The boys have been wonderful - and other than having to raise my voice only a couple times transitioning with them has been easy. JG and I are fumbling through the motions. Right now, I know he's upset with me because there wasn't any cuddling before bed.

We had Sunday breakfast at Frank's Diner. The boys were really excited to take me and the food was amazing. We sat at the bar and we watched all the food being cooked. Everything was delicious. Nothing could have been cooked better than what it was. We all had a great time.

Then we went to the commissary where I used great restraint - pardoning the produce aisle. I was rushing as quick as I could, knowing JG wanted to get home to the Giants game. Sometimes being and aisle or two ahead of the cart. I kept brushing off the annoyance of not having a place to put my picks, and we were finally at the end of the aisles. A baby whole turkey into the basket, then I trod down the outside meat row and JG disappears. The kids had been sent in time out at the front of the store while we finished up and for ten minutes I was holding three packs of meat pacing butcher's row looking up the aisles for a glimpse of JG.

When we finally joined again I lost it, in the line, in the checkout, in the truck, in my kitchen. We were discussing what went wrong and why at the commissary in the middle of me cleaning out and washing the inside of the fridge and washing the fruits and veggies we just purchased. I had thick cuts of blade steak to marinade for dinner and I couldn't find my cookie sheet. This wasn't just any cookie sheet. Practically, this is *the* cookie sheet in my kitchen. Restaurant quality. About a quarter of an inch thick with a one-inch lip ... steel. I got it from my girlfriend, Cheryl, who at the time had teenage sons, told me that I had to burp Zachary when he was a baby. Not one baby class I went to as a mom to be said I had to burb the baby. Well, it's missing. I sobbed and I sobbed and I sobbed to the point that JG took me to Williams Sonoma to buy a new cookie sheet. A wok, a wok utensil, a cutting board and mineral oil later I came home and made Yakisoba - the sauce from stratch. It was yum, tho, I've never had Yakisoba so i don't know how close it is to the real thing. In the store, JG asked me if the cookie sheet missing bothered me so much because it had sentimental value and I said yes.

Me blowing up like TNT about missing each other at the commissary really upset JG. I don't blame him. Despite being upset with me he was wonderful to dropped his game and show me the understanding and kindness to replace a kitchen necessity for me even though I had harped on all the negative things about the commissary shopping trip. JG said he'd be 'over it' in the morning. I hope so. I'd like to make it up to him.

I'm home!

It's before 5 a.m. of day three at home. JG is on his way to take Mike (the broadcaster) to the airport and Nate (the photographer) is still stuck in Kyrgyzstan. The white and red roses JG handed me after our first December kiss are showing the signs of being in a vase on my kitchen counter. It's only five hours to the new year in Bishkek. Luckily the time change means procrastination and I have all day to figure out what I want to cook for dinner tonight. I got the initial cooking itch out my first day home, but we'll get back to that.

First, I love American internet. This morning I just took Facebook Scrabble turns. Outside the U.S. or Canada you're not allowed - now I can appreciate the copyright issues having previous experience as a trademark and licensing special for the Air Force (JG brought me the Gillette razor to show me the end result of all the negotiations I had with their company and gave Edward an Air Force monster truck for Christmas.)

I love Scrabble. One of the things I was really excited about doing before I left Manas was helping my friend Karly break in the Chapel's new Scrabble board. And, JG got me a scrabble shirt for Christmas. It's very clever because there's no "Scrabble" anywhere, just the alphabet with their point value for the game. "Z-10" looked funny in print and for a minute I doubted that was the value of the letter. I was corrected.

So, if you have Scrabble games in the works on Facebook they fortiet you after 60 days of non-play. But, Heather started a Scrabble game while I was gone and you can't forfiet a game you don't start so I had one Scrabble turn on Facebook waiting for me - a four-way game with her, JG and my mother-in-law.

If I haven't mentioned it yet, JG had a patch made on his last deployment to look like a Scrabble tile and had it sewn on the microfiber towel to cover an Army trademark. (No Air Force license at that time.) It was a "J" to represent the first letter of our names - 8 points if you were wondering.

I had debated on whether or not I wanted to take a shower before I left Kyrgyzstan. I knew the KC-135 would be cold (story coming on that too, wait for it) but at the same time I didn't want to look like an unprofessional dirt bag so I did shower the morning we left - it was a Tuesday. I was careful not to put the towel in my bag - I just folded it and put it in the pouch and carried it separately to the truck. The morning we left.

Nate was nice enough to bring Mike and I to 'Ops Town' at 0500 and when we pulled up to the operations group building I realized I dropped my towel when I got into the truck. By this time I had already a lump in my throat at the thought of saying goodbye to Nate. The night before I had to say goodbye to Karly - I cried when I hugged her, I cried on the walk to Shooters (a recreation center at the Transit Center) and tears were still streaming down my face as Super Troopers played. I told Nate this on the way back to Ops Town and he said not to worry because I won't be crying when I said goodbye to him. I said that I had a lump in my throat all morning, he protested and I said "don't fuck with me" as the tears started.

Nate and I butted heads a couple times on the deployment - despite that we became really good friends. So, you can understand me saying "I hate you" while crying giving him a hug goodbye conveyed more than any other phrase. If I had to fight my way out of a dark alley Nate would be a close-second to Batman if I got to pick backup.

So - Mike and I end up on the KC-135 with more than a dozen other folks wanting to get home. For some their final destination was RAF (Royal Air Force) Mildenhall where the aircrew would take their crew rest for the night before flying into Fairchild Air Force Base. What we didn't know was that Spokane was going to receive nine more inches of snow while we were crew resting. Mike was expecting to fly out the next day - getting back to his family before his originally-scheduled flight leaving Manas. Since we had offered to bring him to the airport we just had him crash at the house - Heather was kind enough to give up her bedroom downstairs and spend the night at a friends.

The kids had wanted to wait to have Christmas when I got home. My first obstacle was getting through the inprocessing line with the maintainers who flew home. While waiting to get my blood drawn I sent JG, the boys, Heather and Mike home until I was finished - which only ended up being ten minutes after they left. As antsy as I was I decided to start walking home. I almost slipped and fell a few times and I waved off three motorists who stopped to ask if I needed a ride. The plow trucks hadn't caught up with the new snowfall. JG asked me if I was crazy for walking home. We parked for a few minutes and I got my second December kiss.  The roads were horrible and thankful to be done with the mile drive. Then Mike realizes he left a bag behind so JG ended up making three trips to the deployment reception center. After we had our family Christmas with a special guest photographer Heather left to give Mike space to decompress. I cooked mashed potatoes and roasted chicken with carrots and gravy - and became increasingly frustrated with how the kitchen morphed into a place that I couldn't find anything in. The same reality followed me when making bacon, omelets and blueberry pancakes the next day.

We got Mike off to the airport without incident. I gave him a quick, teary hug at the truck and was thankful Edward distracted me from further tears while I tried to help him find a toy lost in the back seat. Then Zach and JG come back out to the curb .... with Mike's luggage. His flight was postponed until 0600 the next day. I felt so badly for his family who was counting on him being home in less than 12 hours and it was heartbreaking listening to Mike break the news as we fought our way out of the airport craziness. Defeated, we went to have hot chocolate at Starbucks then visited Walmart and later met Heather and the Airman JG supervises and her Mom for dinner then went back to our house to play Apples to Apples. JG made mojitos and white Russians. I had three and right after Heather and the ladies left I crashed for the night. The next morning JG took Mike to the airport at 0430 - and a second goodbye hug proved easier than the first. If I had known this I would have said goodbye to Karly and Nate on two occasions before actually leaving.

As I've written the blog this morning I made baked spaghetti for breakfast and declared needing a break from my missed hobby. JG treated me to lunch today at Red Lobster. Cheddar biscuits rock. And, I'm continuing the theme of eating seafood and fish that I've lacked eating the last six months. At Rusty Moose last night i had seared ahi tuna salad and today for lunch i had lobster bisque, lobster stuffed mushrooms and salmon, steak and shrimp. I watched over-cooked lobster tails being served every Sunday and had refrained so today was a victory in having perfectly cooked lobster meat. Also, I haven't had fresh mushrooms in six months either - not even the pizza hut on manas served fresh mushrooms. So, lots of boxes checked.

We returned a camera lens, picked up comic book boxes and visited a 'First Night' Spokane festival on the way home. The kids walked away with cardboard dinosaurs, some paper rodent on a skate board and a festive hat from the crafting stations. I was nodding off in the truck on the way home and went to bed right away - like before 6 p.m. with JG laying next to me reading comics. We both woke up to a Happy New Year text from his sister Julie who lives on the East Coast and realized the kids were still awake and we needed to get them settled. About an hour left to the new year in our time zone. I'll be able to make it now. Maybe I'll even get 'lucky.'