Last Saturday Revisited

This is the best explanation I have for last weekend! I have blanked out many details and am too embarassed to discuss others, the following is all you get:

All I can say about me being jealous is that it's all Craig's fault. He spoils me on a regular basis and makes me feel like other women don't even exist. So when we're out with a bunch of Molson Ice girls from Canada and they think he's just so darn cute and funny, I want to scratch his eyes out and pull their hair until they ask for mercy. They actually wrote on him with markers. He had a heart on his neck and "enter from the rear" written on his side. Hello, they were under his shirt!!! He, of course, thinks the whole thing is just wildly funny- jackass!

Also, he and I got into a huge fight that night. We're not fighters. We bicker incessantly, but we don't really fight. There we were, on the street outside a bar in the rain, fighting over what, I have no real clear idea. I just think all the attention he was getting that night finally reached a limit for me.

Of course, we hit every cheesy bar Great Falls has to offer and sampled all of their specialty drinks. The consensus was that nobody remembers much after we drank the "fish bowls" at the Sip and Dip. This bar is famous; it even has mermaids and mermen swimming in a tank at the bar! It was there that one of the dad's from my kids soccer team was there sans wife and when I asked about her, I lost 35 minutes of my life listening about their divorce and custody tale. Good times.

In addition to the above, I was also part of a conversation about genital piercing. One of the girls who are engaged to a guy who works with Craig has her nose pierced. I was telling her, in my amorous, drunken way how much I liked it and have always wanted to get one. She said she'd be back down in a couple of weeks and take me to get it pierced. She then proceeds to tell me that if I really want to spice things up with Craig I should get my clitoris pierced, at which time her fiancé pipes in, "You REALLY should do it, Mary! Christy comes like 4 or 5 times every time we have sex!!!" At this point I don't think there was a person in the bar that wasn't privy to our conversation. When all was said and done, I think I said I'd get both my nose and who-ha pierced when she was back in town (yeah, I don't think so)!

All in all it was a fun night, full of gross sex talk and inappropriate touching. I told Craig I wasn't up for drinking like that with that many people for a long, long, long time. He's ready to go back out to the pub crawl this weekend. I think it's much more fun to put the kids in bed have a few drinks here, have naughty, married sex and go to bed by midnight, but that's just me!

Happy Birthday!

My sweet CJ is 8 years old today! He's the greatest kid with such a big heart. He's one of the most empathetic kids I've ever met. He's always looking out for his brothers (whether they like it or not)!

The day he was born was one of the most amazing days of my life! I was surrounded by all the people I love in the world. He was born to a cacophony of cheers and a presence of utter and total love! Every child deserves the welcome he received. Every day he's in my life I'm amazed at the person he is. I am so grateful God chose me to be his Mom!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!

I'm old

So I partied with some Canadian chicks this weekend and a discovered a few things:

1) I'm too old to drink that many kinds of alcohol in one night. (A shooter called a "red-headed slut" is not as tasty as you'd think.)

2) Kids are not conducive to laying in the fetal position during a hangover.

3) I'm a jealous wife.

4) No matter what I'm doing or how old I get, when I party like a rock star I always end up with blisters on my feet. What's up with that?

5) Men in bars are bigger assholes than I remember.

6) Chicks in bars put up with more bullshit than they should.

7) People are motivated by sex more now than ever.

8) The definition of virgin is a bit skewed since the Clinton administration.

9) I must have the kind of face that says, "please tell me your sad, sad tale." I always listen and act totally enthralled when in actuality in my mind I'm stabbing the person in the eye with the paper umbrella in my drink."

10) In college, a night of binge drinking always ended up with the bodily fluids flowing, you know, fighting, crying, and usually disappointing sexual experiences. Not much has changed in that department.

The Great Continental Divide

So I had a great weekend! My friend and I decided to get a weekend away from the house, kids and drudgery and go shopping in Missoula. We were also celebrating her birthday and trying to distract me from being so homesick since I was missing my nephew's wedding this weekend. So it was just us girls. We got to go out to eat and enjoy restaurants we don't have here. We got to shop for as long as we wanted without worrying about exasperated husbands and unruly kids. We are both moms of boys, so it was nice to do girly stuff without the reticule of the y chromosomes in our lives!

I drove since my van is much more economical than her SUV. I knew we were expecting a little bit of snow over the weekend, but holy crap did I underestimate this storm system! Going wasn’t' so bad because the rain and snow was light. We arrived in Missoula in record time and proceeded to really enjoy our time away. When I talked to Craig that night he was worried about my return trip and wanted me to take extra care. Since he's not a worrier or paranoid at all, this got my attention. He told me that Great Falls had about 2-4 inches of snowfall since we left. Hmmm. Missoula was about 40 degrees with no snow. The day was partly cloudy and actually pleasant considering this is Montana. So we left Missoula at about 3 PM and we were watching for the weather.

The first half of the trip was awesome, no snow, no rain and partly cloudy. Being surrounded by the beautiful Rocky Mountains and rolling Missouri River was glorious. Then we started to see the on coming cars. They were caked in a slushy, snowy sheen of ice and snow. As we drove on we started to see some flurries, but still it was nice. And then we began to climb the pass of the Great Continental Divide. Can you say, "Scared out of my ever-lovin' mind?!?!" Holy crap! As the elevation climbed the snow got thicker, the road was packed with white. Still we climbed and climbed. The flurries got huge the road got slippery. Onward we went. As you look around your view is of massive pine trees frosted with snow, the gradure of the Rockes, the beauty of it all is breathtaking. However when I looked at the guard rail it was covered with snow that was scraped by the snow plows and beyond the guard rail is a white abyss!

We finally reach the summit and my palms are sweaty, my breathing is shallow. I am relieved at this point because I feel like I've reached the finish line, and then it dawns on me...what goes up, must come down!!! Ho-lyyyyy SHIIITTTTT!!!!!!!! Now I'm going down hill, sharply! The road is curvy, packed with snow and slick. My body is in a complete state of full blown panic attack! I think the pain in my stomach might just do me in. I'm certain that I'll hyperventilate and we'll go careening down the mountain. All I can envision is the headlines: "Military Wives Plummet to Their Death on the Great Divide!" I don't think I've ever been quite this scared. I'm almost frightened to the point of being immobile. Just when I think I can take no more, we're at the bottom of the pass!

I am so grateful that I'm incapable of any speech other than, "Thank You God!" The rest of the trip was full of snow, but certainly not as harrowing as the trek from on high! We then journeyed to the store to pick up some vittles for our families and on home we went, as if nothing much had transpired. But by the time I dropped Michelle home and made it back to my house, I was nothing but a puddle of goo!

The best thing in the whole world is to have an adventure like that and then to walk into the door to three little beasties jumping for joy, "You're home! You're home! Mom we missed you so much!" I was gone for a grand total of 34 hours and this is my homecoming! Am I lucky or what?

Later that night, after the kids went to sleep and my guy and I are snuggling, I express to him my total and utter terror of the day. I told him how deeply grateful I am that I made it down the pass alive and how good it feels to be home. He said that he was thankful that I was home too. He said that he had some prayers of thanksgiving that day. He looked around at our boys and the happy, warm home that we've built here and he gave God his thanks. He said, "We've got such a great life!" I agree.

WWJD, really?

So I'm in the middle of my morning, cleaning the kitchen, having my coffee, reading the paper while listening to Regis and Kelly when all of the sudden it all just stopped. See I came upon an article in the paper about the Catholic Church and adoption.

From reading my blog many of you know that I placed a baby for adoption almost eleven years ago. Also from reading my blog you know I was raised Catholic. So when I was looking into adoption agencies I naturally chose to use Catholic Social Services. I had a wonderful open adoption experience. I was treated with love and compassion. My social worker was a nun who was not only kind, but very knowledgeable about the legalities of adoption. I was counseled and advocated for and I felt and still feel that this was the best place for me to find a family for my daughter.

So today it saddened me so deeply to read an article that states that the Boston Archdiocese will be ending their role in adoption because of a state law allowing gays and lesbians to adopt. The archdiocese says that they encountered a "dilemma" they cannot solve. The article goes on to say that in 2003 the Vatican wrote that gay adoption was "gravely immoral" and children placed in such homes would be "deprived of the experience of either motherhood or fatherhood." I've not been a "practicing Catholic" for five years. I've really struggled with this since so much of my life and family traditions have been steeped in the churches rituals and teachings.

It's hard to let go of something that has been so much a part of my life; having said that, I really don't want to be a part of something that is so blatantly hypocritical. The churches stance on this particular subject really hits home due to my connection with adoption. It's been my experience that gay couples are less likely to discriminate against drug babies, HIV positive babies and babies of a different race. Why would the church turn there backs on those children with such a great need to be loved and couples who in turn are willing to give so much love?

I just don't understand why this whole issue is so confusing for religious. Aren't we taught to love one another? Isn't it the basics of Christianity to embrace each other in our likeness and differences? What about God is Love? There seems to be no compassion, no understanding and no willingness to be open. Part of the adoption process is to take it case by case, and here the church is just making on blanket denial based on what? One positive side to the article was that in December the 42 member board of the Boston Catholic Charities voted unanimously to continue to consider gay couples in the adoption process. In learning of the archdiocese's decision, eight members stepped down from their positions on the board to protest. Maybe there are some voices of reason in the church and they won't just blindly accept this kind of discrimination.

Religion can really test a person's faith! I've never wavered in my basic beliefs. I've always had a great relationship with God and have had total faith in His role in my life. I've missed going to church. I've missed the community of church. I've missed the sights and smells of mass. But I just feel like I have to listen to what my heart is telling me and that is that my place may not be in that church any more. I don't know where my journey will lead me at this point. I'm just not sure I feel comfortable in a place that alienates an entire section of the population that I've found to be accepting and loving.

Medicinal Happiness!

This photo is for my internet sisters who want to procure some of the over-the-counter crack I discussed in my last post. I think I purchased it at the base commisary, but I don't believe "YourLife" brand is exclusive to military bases. :-)

Embarassing Moment

How humiliating is this: my dog Jake has been hitching rides with me to take the boys to school and to pick them up. This has been so great because the kids get a kick out of him riding with us and he gets to see the world! Anyway, I'm not a morning person, I don't do well getting up early and sprucing up. I just throw on some sweats, put on my slippers and take the boys to school. Nobody sees me, I never get out of the car, and the trip is usually 10 minutes round trip tops.

Well, this morning I was braless, in my sweats and slippers and Jake the wonder dog decides to jump out with the boys and line up. Not only does he line up with them, but then proceeds to walk in the school and head straight for the office. So naturally, I have to walk in the school with all of the teachers and students preparing to start their day in halls and march to the office hair sticking up on end, boobs bouncing wildly to pick up my adventurous pooch.The only thing that has soothed my bruised ego was that Jake was a big hit. The kids all thought he was quite the celebrity! Even the school secretary who never cracks a smile was giddy with Jake joy! What a way to start the day.

On to other things...As you know I've been back to the gym and I'm trying to eat better. I even gave up red meat for Lent. Not just on Friday's either, but every day, people. I live in Montana where they have some of the best beef in the country and I'm not eating any of it! Anyway, I also started taking supplements for energy and I'm convinced there's crack in them. They're "Balanced B complex & C with Rose Hips". It claims to "spark energy and enhance the immune system", and boy does it. Maybe I'm just impressionable, I don't know, but I feel fantastic when I take them in the morning. They really seem to give me more energy and a positive outlook. Just yesterday on the way home from the gym I had a day dream of running naked in a field with my husband. Holy crap! Maybe these things are laced with Ecstasy, I don't know, but I LIKE them!

Craig and I have gotten confirmation that we'll be moving to Vandenberg AFB in the central part of California. We were there briefly for Craig's nuke training before coming here five long years ago.We're pretty excited about this endeavor because we'll be closer to family. My dad and some sibs are 4 hours to the southeast, my brother, wife and baby are 4 hours to the north and my other brother and his large clan are a couple hours east. Nobody is too close as to be knocking on my door in various states of drunkenness at all hours, and yet close enough to have visits when I want.

The other awesome deal is that Vandenberg is on the coast and we'll be able to enjoy the wonderful cuisine of the area. I'm not much of a wine person (vodka and gin are my poisons of pleasure), but I will be in the wine country of the movie Sideways. I'm really pumped to go on some tasting tours with my hubby. I didn't get to enjoy that much the first time around because my boys were babies and I didn't want to leave them to go get wasted and come home to dirty diapers and sleepless nights. Now, however I'm totally game for getting trashed and coming home to my cherubs!

So the big problem right now is that we haven't received our orders yet and we don't have our "report no later than date". I'm told that we should get the date "soon, very soon". Whatever that means! Craig requested that we report in mid July because family is coming up here to celebrate my dad's birthday in June (he has a place an hour or so from here also). So we sit and wait.

I have a house to get ready for sale and shit to purge. I don't have to do much packing because the Air Force will move us (however, recently a friend of mine had her china cabinet packed up with the china still in it), so we're also going to do what is termed a partial ditty move. I have no idea what "ditty" stands for, but in a nut shell my mom's china's coming with me! Right now I'm just in the list-making-freaking-out-about-all-the-shit-I-have-to-do phase of preparation.

Thanks for wondering, people. It's nice to know that my cyber friends want to know where we're headed. After all of the craziness subsides, I really am looking forward to getting back to California. This move will be a great thing for all of us.