Ahhhh........

Today, my "valentine" is relaxation.

After a rough day yesterday, and having been feeling a bit "blah" with our normal routine lately, I changed things up today. We ate breakfast as usual (although Island Boy did have a muffin tin breakfast, which is out of the norm for us....more on that Monday, though). But then I decided to take the kids to one of my favorite places, Infusion Coffee & Tea. Island Boy gets to have a smoothie when we go there, so he did not complain one bit. He happily sipped his strawberry/blueberry drink, Island Girl drank/played with her water, and I enjoyed my blended mocha frap, all while enjoying being out of the house and at a pace that was in no way frenetic. To be honest? It was wonderful!

Then we went to the mall. Normally, malls aren't relaxing. But our mall has MIMO (apparently otherwise known as Pelota Pagoda). Both of my children would happily sit and watch this sculpture for hours on end if I let them. Even though I won't let them stay all day, it does easily kill half an hour, watching the balls go, trying to piece together how it all works (and, I'll admit, I watch raptly, too). We also did some window shopping and got lunch at the awesome food court (no sarcasm here, promise). And then it was nap time!

I came away from our adventures today feeling rejuvenated. Exactly what I needed at the end of a patience-trying week.

Laughter

Today, my "valentine" is laughter. Laughter is so, SO important in getting through days with small children and, indeed, in getting through life in general. It definitely makes everything more fun!

At lunch this afternoon, as Island Boy was trying to get down from his chair, he accidentally tipped the chair over backwards in an attempt to push away from the table. He was scared, but just fine. Thankfully, his fall had been somewhat broken when the chair hit a very kind airman's leg (the airman wasn't hurt, and was more worried about Island Boy). I picked Island Boy up as he started sobbing. I hushed him, and then, slowly, as he calmed down, the sobs turned to chuckles of "that was so silly!" At not quite three, somehow, this child has already learned the amazing ability to laugh at himself (when he's truly ok, obviously, it would have been  a different situation had he been injured).

It's something I'm still working on, not taking myself too seriously. Realizing, though, that the Island Kids are both learning such things by watching me is ever so important! Watching Island Boy laugh at his own accident/mistake helped me out not even an hour later when I had a moment (the details of which I will not get into) that left me wondering "How in the heck did I manage that?" Only to be chuckling at myself once I had figured out that everything would be just fine.

And, of course, there are very very few things that Island Girl's laughter can't make better, even though she's not embarrassed by anything (yet). Something about hearing babies giggle just makes me want to join in!

Creativity

My "valentine" for today is creativity, both my kids's and my own. Due to a flat tire (and an almost equally flat spare tire) on our van, the Island Kids and I have been stuck at home today. Adding insult to injury, it rained almost all morning. It did clear off after Island Girl's nap, so we could go out and take a walk. But this still left me with significant amounts of time to fill, when normally we would be out of the house, doing something fun.

First, I introduced my kids to Here We Go, Steelers, and we danced around a while. Then Island Girl was ready for her nap, so Island Boy and I broke out the paints. He had a GREAT time!!

SO pleased with himself!

Hard at work. Who could possibly resist that face?

Modeling his apron and paint brush.

Island Girl wanted to get in on the action with a crayon. Then she tried to eat it.

Obviously, Island Girl woke up sometime in there. As you can see, she thought she was feeling creative, as well....until the mean ol' Island Mom took it away after Island Girl put the crayon in her mouth and bit it!

After painting, we had a nice walk outside, and then I got to get creative with a Muffin Tin lunch, more of which will appear on Monday :-D

Through a Tourist's Eyes

We are all healthy here again, thankfully! My turn arrived on Friday, and I spent all of Friday, and a good part of Saturday feeling pretty crummy. But, I'm back to full steam now. Yay!

My parents (Island Nanny and Island Grandpa) and brother (Island Uncle 1) arrived on Friday. Island Grandpa has, unfortunately, already picked up the stomach bug. Thankfully, we know it passes quickly.

Before he got sick, though, we were keeping pretty busy, seeing our island through the eyes of tourists. Saturday, Island Dad and Island Uncle 1 went out geocaching and explored Pagat Cave.

Island Dad inside the cave
(photo credit: Island Dad)

Island Uncle 1 checking things out

Island Uncle 1 going cliff-jumping 

They had a great time, and I was truly sad to have missed the experience. Island Girl has been clingy lately, so I was definitely needed at home.

The following day, we took them to Ritidian Beach. This is one of our very favorite spots on The Island.

Because of changing trade winds and currents, the waves were absolutely HUGE while we were there. They break very far from shore, so it's still swimmable. The waves were supremely awesome, though. Island Boy tolerated them quite well, and even squealed with delight when they would "tickle" his toes. Island Girl, being all about mimicking lately, also started squealing along with her brother. Island Nanny and Island Grandpa had a great time playing with the kids, and Island Grandpa in particular had a grand time showing Island Boy how to use a turtle-shaped sand mold. 

Today, Island Girl and I ran some errands in the morning. Island Boy has wanted no one's company besides Island Nanny these past few days, so he stayed home with her. After our errands were done, we picked up Island Boy and Island Nanny and visited K-Mart and Home Depot. It's noteworthy that this was only my second trip to K-Mart (here), but that we frequent Home Depot.

Otherwise, it was an easy, relaxing day. The rest of the week will hold other adventures, as well, while Island Uncle 1 is here, and we'll find other ways to occupy ourselves during the remaining week-plus that Island Nanny and Island Grandpa are here.

Muffin Tins and Nutrition

Here we are at yet another Muffin Tin Monday! This week's theme was the Food Pyramid.

The theme actually provided me with a good opportunity to consider what exactly Island Boy eats on a regular basis, what he needs more of, and where he's lacking altogether. He really does pretty well with grains, dairy, and fruits. He will devour fruit before just about anything else. He also loves all things carbohydrate based. Luckily for him, we tend to stick mainly with whole grains, so he's doing very well there. It is only on rare occasions (and not in our house that I can recall) that he's had just plain old white bread. He does alright with dairy, too. He loves his milk, and yogurt is a favorite of his, as well.

Proteins are a bit more of a challenge for him. He'll eat them, he just would rather eat the bread and fruit parts of meals first. But I've found that if we cut out his afternoon snack, he will devour literally just about anything we put in front of him for dinner. He INHALED some chicken enchiladas I made the other night. Faster than he's eaten anything. Ever.

Where we really hurt are vegetables. And I don't just mean Island Boy. The whole Island Family (well, maybe not Island Girl, as she will eat anything she can get to her mouth with her own two hands these days) needs to work on eating more vegetables. It's not that Island Dad and I don't like vegetables....I just somehow tend to forget to work them into my meal plan. I'm trying, though. I really am. But this is why Island Boy doesn't much care for them. He also claims to prefer them "not crunchy." This is the complete and utter opposite of me. With the exceptions of broccoli and green beans, I always prefer the raw veggies over cooked ones.

On to the meal!

Top Row (l-r): Raspberries, Heart- and Star-shaped toasted turkey and cheese sandwiches, steamed carrots
Bottom row (l-r): Plain yogurt with red sprinkles, cucumbers in ranch dip, watermelon.

Island Boy, enjoying his lunch (diving into the sandwiches).

He immediately dove into the "your-gurt," as he calls it. This surprised me, since it was, after all, plain yogurt. But the sprinkles were just enough, and he loved it! Raspberries were second. He loved the sandwiches as well. It did surprise me that he saved the watermelon for fourth. The carrots and cucumber, despite MUCH coaxing and assurance that neither were crunchy, remained uneaten. *sigh* He'll learn. Right?

Another great thing is that Island Girl has hit 8 months now, and as such, can have protein. Unfortunately, we discovered (after MTM day) that dairy might not so much agree with her. So we're back to holding off on cheese for now. But she did love the turkey and cheese sandwich bits, as well as the steamed carrot bites. So at least one of my kids loves the carrots!

Island Girl enjoying the "extras" from Island Boy's lunch.

Hats of a Mom

Today as I was enforcing naptime for Island Boy, it occurred to me just how many different roles I take on during a typical day (discounting the days when Island Dad is gone for work-related things, which means many more roles for me to take on).

To name a few:

Wife - Self-explanatory. I do my part to run the household, and maintain our marriage. Most of my other roles fall under this one in the "chain." I will go on to explain, though, that I feel like in many capacities, this one is far and away the most important role I take on. First, while I adore my kids and would give life and limb for them, I'm not at all cut out for single parenting. Were it not for being a wife, the "Mommy" title would have driven me to the psychiatric ward awhile ago (some days more quickly than others). Second, most of my other roles wouldn't likely exist (in my case) were it not for this one.

Mommy - I make sure that the kids are happy, healthy, well-behaved, well-adjusted, and generally refrain from hurting themselves or each other.

Jungle Gym - What can I say? My kids love to climb on, jump on, and tackle me. Often randomly and without warning.

Teething Toy - Island Girl finds fingers (often other people's) particularly appealing for teething soothers. She is also not opposed to using hair, shirts, arms, knees, or anything else that is easy to reach and grab on someone else.

Naptime Enforcer - It's not really "naptime" for Island Boy anymore, but I still enforce quiet time for him. A lot of days this means having to go back into his room when he asks for a drink, but having to leave him whining when he wants to come out of his room again after only 20 minutes of "quiet" time. For Island Girl, it means I go in and replace the binky that she continually throws BEHIND her crib.

Children's Librarian - We have a fairly extensive collection of kids books. Island Boy loves being read to. He also loves pulling books off of the shelf. I am not only the one reading to him, but often also the one ensuring that the books get put back where they belong.

iPod - Island Boy has been known to request songs to be sung at random times. And the songs are never what would make sense for the location (i.e. quiet songs in a quiet department store). I try to play along when I can.

Teacher - What mom doesn't take on this role? Especially while your kids are still in the infant/toddler stage.

I'm sure if I think about it, there are many many more jobs I take on in a day. Generally speaking, I love each of them.

Kids and Muffin Tin Meals

We've been busy again! Once Island Dad is back (10 days!!) I should be able to update a bit more. Mostly, we've just been up to the same old routine, but that takes a fair amount of our time!

I got brave and took both kids to the beach again yesterday. The beach we went to was one that we've only been to once before. It's less protected than the one we've been frequenting lately, and so has more waves. Island Boy, who usually is part fish, wanted absolutely nothing at all to do with the waves, and was perfectly content to play in the sand the whole time! We had fun, he learned how to bury feet, and Island Girl spent some time chewing on a sand toy (that did not have any sand in it).

Island Girl has been making developments in all areas lately. She's going great guns with self-feeding. She still loses a fair amount of it, but her pincer grasp is getting better daily. She is not crawling on her hands yet, but is pushing up on them more and more. She is babbling a lot more instead of just shrieking at the top of her lungs. And, thankfully, the pitch of the babbling has come down some lately, too. It was getting pretty ear-splitting.

On to our muffin tin meal for the week! Lately, the meals have been Sunday night dinner, instead of Monday lunch. Between playgroup and other errands on Mondays, lunch time doesn't end up happening at home. When Island Boy saw that he was having a muffin tin meal again tonight, he declared "yummy yummy yummy!!!" And was jumping up and down in the kitchen :D

This week's theme was pumpkins. I did jack-o-lanterns, to make it a bit more obvious to a two-year-old.

Top row, left to right: Jack-o-lantern corn muffin, jack-o-lantern macaroni and cheese, and jack-o-lantern peach yogurt. On the muffins and Macaroni, the eyes and nose are red and yellow bell peppers. On the yogurt, the nose and eyes are raspberry pieces, and the mouth is a slice of strawberry.

Here's a close-up of the corn muffins. I just used Jiffy mix, and turned it orange with food coloring. I should have accounted for the batter rising when I placed the faces on, but on the whole they turned out fine.

Island Boy LOVED the corn muffins (in cement mixer mini-muffin cups, which he adored) and didn't even notice the peppers baked into those. He immediately picked the peppers off of the macaroni and cheese. He also gobbled up the yogurt and berries. I actually thought the macaroni would be the most popular part, but he proved me wrong when he ate only one tin of that, and then asked for several more servings of strawberries and raspberries, while he kind of picked at the remaining bits of corn muffin.

But since he didn't seem to mind the peppers baked into the muffins, I think I will probably resort to "vegetable espionage" in the future, as well, much as I would prefer he eat them by themselves. Lately, they usually get picked out or around.

A Shapely Muffin Tin Meal (and an Update on us)!

I can't technically call it a Muffin Tin Monday, since it's Tuesday here :-D

We've been keeping ourselves pretty well occupied in Island Dad's absence. Saturday found us attempting to go to the beach, while Sunday we managed to actually make it to church (hence, no pancake Sunday this week, but watch for my version this coming week!)

Island Boy has not napped at all since Island Dad left. But I think I'm alright with that. He's been going to bed by 7:30 very consistently, which tends not to happen when Island Dad is home. So Island Boy is actually getting twelve hours of sleep a night, and then we have what I like to call "Enforced Quiet Time" for awhile in the afternoons. It gives he and I both a much needed break from each other, and allows him to learn new ways to entertain himself. Of course, a lot of the ways he had been learning were somewhat counterproductive to keeping the house clean, so many things have since been removed from his room ;-)

Island Girl is starting to army crawl her own way now! It's more a combination of army crawling/thrusting herself forward with her knees/rolling when necessary. Whatever works. The kid is speedier than you'd expect! Also, she has a tooth now! She's basically going to he a whole new baby by the time Island Dad returns.

On to the muffin tin meal!! If you're new to my blog or to muffin tin meals, check out the original muffin tin meal site. I aspire to Muffin Tin Mom's level of creativity. She's awesome!

This week's theme was shapes. So, we have star- and heart-shaped turkey and Swiss cheese sandwiches, apple circles, and kiwi triangles. Island Boy adored the shaped sandwiches! Even more amazing in the fact that he doesn't usually *love* sandwiches with meat (at least not homemade ones). He also loved the apple circles. In fact, if you look closely, the lower tin of apples has only one slice. He kept walking over and grabbing them out of the tin before I had even served it! I finally had to persuade him to give me just one so I could take a picture :-D Kiwi is still fairly new to him. He does not love eating anything with seeds (or much that is crunchy, for that matter). So he ate about two and a half pieces before stopping and saying "I can't. Too many black seeds. I don't like seeds." Still, I see two and a half pieces as a decent success!

As a side note, with the remaining half of the apple, I hollowed out the core, stuffed a couple extra slices of Swiss cheese into the hollow area, sprinkled an ever-so-tiny amount of brown sugar on top, and then popped it into the microwave for one minute. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!

Laughter

Today has been one of those days where I really wish I could freeze time and keep the Island Kids forever 2.5 years and 6 months old. Minor frustrations aside, they just melted my heart today.

As is usual when Island Dad has to leave for any amount of time, the first day or two is a huge adjustment for all of us. This time has been no exception (though it may be more of an adjustment when he returns than normal, as this is by far the longest he's ever been gone...for now).

Today, things started to look up, though. Both kids slept in until 8:00 (!!), having both been in bed and asleep by 7:15 the night before. And while Island Boy still didn't nap this afternoon, he was considerably quieter during his "enforced quiet time" than he has been recently, too.

Lately, one of his favorite pastimes is trying to come up with new and ridiculous ways to make Island Girl laugh. This makes me happy to no end. And I find that I usually end up getting in on the laughs, too.

Another Pancake Sunday!

Wow! This week sure went by quickly! Island Dad had last Monday off. Then Wednesday was Liberation Day here. The base did not shut down entirely, but Island Dad did get to leave work at noon, in order to attend the parade. To give you an idea of what a big deal this is, the parade started sometime around 10:30 and didn't end until around 2 or 2:30. The people of Guam definitely know how to throw a party!

Briefly, Liberation Day celebrates the 1944 liberation of Guam from Japanese occupation. More information can be found here and here.

We did take the Island Kids down to check out the parade for a bit. Island Boy had only ever been to one other parade before, and he was just 8-months-old at the time. Island Girl, of course, had never witnessed a parade before. Overall, they greatly enjoyed themselves. Island Boy quickly discovered the candy hand-outs at parades (that would be a mouth-full-of-candy expression in the picture).

I went and got Sno Cones for all of us to share. Unfortunately, I didn't do a good enough job of explaining to Island Girl that by "all of us," I meant Island Dad, Island Boy, and me, because she is clearly too young for flavored-sugar-water-syrup. She did not get any, but not for lack of trying on her part!

We did not get a picture, but later, we had taken the binky out of her mouth and she was totally trying to actually eat the sno-cone.

In the end, it was hot, but we had a great time, and Island Boy (and all of us, really), LOVED the floats!

On to Pancake Sunday!

Today's pancakes were again Bisquick-based, though I was running low on mix, so I had to get creative.

Granola Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. Bisquick mix
1/2 c. quick-cooking rolled oats
1 egg
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. dried cranberries

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and stir until dry mix is well-blended. Pour batter, 1/4 at a time, onto a hot griddle (I use an electric griddle set to medium-high heat). When pancakes are bubbly on top and looking "dry" around the edges, flip. Let them cook about another 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, and remove.

Island Dad commented that the oatmeal gave them a more unique texture and made them seem almost more like cookies than pancakes (though these are surely healthier than cookies)!

As I am now out of Bisquick mix, be prepared for something a bit more daring next Sunday! As always, I welcome suggestions for new kinds of pancakes to try.

What We've Been up to!

We have been busy busy here on The Island over the last week-and-a-half!

On Friday the second, through an act of realtor benevolence, we were able to move into our house before actually closing on it (that happens tomorrow).

Literally all of our worldly posessions arrived the following Tuesday. We have been sifting out piles of stuff for the past week. We are finally almost done!

Island Boy's behavior has improved greatly since being in a house with HIS things. Moving day was like Christmas for him, he was so excited!

Island Girl has been busy, as well! She turned four months old on Saturday. She celebrated the next day with her first taste of rice cereal (a relative success), and rolling back to tummy all on her own! She has tried the rolling a few times since, and today also went tummy to back twice. I think she will keep me and Island Dad on our toes! Island Girl is also (we think) working on some teeth now. Yippee.

We should b getting "real" Internet back soon, so updates will be more frequent from now on.

A Plague on.....Just our one House.

Well, here we are, still camped out in our hotel room. Mr. J. now knows the guy who works the continental breakfast by name, happily greets him with a high-five every morning, and I think is starting to assume that Big J (for privacy) is part of our family now.

We have/had gotten ourselves into a pretty good routine, despite being almost literally on top of each other. Mr. I. would get up around 6 or 6:30 and be out the door by 6:20 or 6:50, depending on whether it was a PT (work-out) day or not. I would get up at 6:50, check my e-mail and wake up a bit, and then get the kids up and out the door for breakfast by 7:30. Then on to the gym for us for awhile before running errands on base and eat lunch, then back to the hotel to kill the rest of the afternoon either playing, swimming, doing laundry, or some combination thereof.

Then it happened. The plague. Yesterday morning Mr. J. woke up with the nastiest looking goopy eye I've seen in a long time. We've been having rough nights lately, lots of snoring, lots of waking up talking, and lots of general grumpiness. So I knew he was having some congestion issues. But, as usual, I had no idea to what extent until we went to see the nurse practitioner yesterday. The pinkeye was just that, but viral. Which means there's really not much you can do for it except wait it out. Oh...and he was already highly contagious. Great. We also determined that he's got some bronchitis. So he's on antibiotics, as well.

So this explains a lot of the behavior issues lately, I suppose. Ok, we can deal with that. Well, then Mr. I. came home from work yesterday complaining that he didn't feel well. Given that he starts to whimper if he gets a hangnail, I didn't think much of it. Until later that night, when he asked me to feel his forehead and he was hotter even than normal! So added to our already sick toddler, I now also had a sick husband on my hands, too. At least he is a big boy about taking care of himself when needed. Unfortunately, this meant that the a/c in our room was down to 70 by the middle of the night. And then Mr. I. was trying to steal all the covers from me, as well!

Suffice it to say, I am hoping that Miss S. and I both skip out on this wonderfulness. She seems ok so far, and I don't have any signs of anything being wrong, aside from feeling really run down. Which I attribute to crappy sleep lately.

Just Keep Swimming!

We have been busy getting settled in over the past few days.

In just a week we have purchased new phones (review coming in a month, per a couple of requests), we have purchased a new-to-us minivan (yikes...can you say "soccer mom"?), and even managed to explore our surroundings in there somewhere!

Our trip to look at/purchase/pick-up the new van took us further south on the island (toward the Naval Base, as we were purchasing from a Navy family). The family we purchased it from lived off base, and in a development back in the mountains. Our drive back to their home took us past some breathtaking views. And had we known this would be the case, we surely would have taken a camera and some pictures. However, we did not, and so will make sure to go back sometime and take those pictures!

Today found us trekking back past the Air Force Base (not on base) to a beach that one of our friends had told us about (said friend and her children went along, as well, otherwise we would never have been able to find our way there)! It was off the beaten path a bit, down on part of a wildlife preserve. The drive there allowed us to see some of the biggest potholes I've ever seen. These were something I think we were hoping to get away from on Guam, but no such luck for us.

The beach had gorgeous white sand, and the cliched sparkling turquoise blue water that was protected, as are many beaches on the island, by a coral reef a couple of hundred feet out. It was a great place for three little boys, their parents, and one baby sister to play.

Miss S. seems to enjoy the water about as much as Mr. J. did at her age. Kind of a "this is weird...." look on her face, but definitely not screaming. I'm not sure she's such a fan of the sand, however. Today she accidentally (of course) stuck her hand in the sand and then slapped herself in the face with the same hand, resulting in sand in the mouth and one eye. Add that to already being tired and that equals out to one crabby baby. But we got her cleaned up and out, and she's fine now, no worse for the wear.

Mr. J. continues to prove that he should be part fish. He is completely (and a little terrifyingly for us parent-types) unafraid of the water. We're working to teach him how to blow bubbles and kick his legs, and he is getting it slowly but surely. The kids and I spend at least part of every day down at the pool(s) at our resort. They have a "splash" pool that seems tailor-made for our situation. It is not even a foot-deep, and warm water, so Mr. J. can play without threat of harm, and Miss S. and I can sit and watch him play without having to worry about him.

We are all adjusting swimmingly (pun completely intended), and learning to love it here!

BFF

Growing up, I lived in the same house for the better part of my first 22 years. Neighbors rarely moved out, and new ones rarely moved in. Because of this, I did not have cause (or desire) to make new friends very often while growing up. I didn't want to, either. I am still very close with most of my childhood friends.

While I have no doubt that Mr. J. and Miss S. will learn how to make friends quickly and easily at each of our assignments, it does make me a bit sad that they quite possibly will not know the joy of having a friend from childhood on.

It is so completely wonderful to have a friend who knows all the history, who is like a sibling (and whose parents are like a second set to you). One who has to keep your secrets because you know too many of theirs. A friend to go on family vacations with you. Or whom you can call when your heart has been broken, whether for the first or twenty-first time (because this friend will always know the exact right thing to say or not to say).

I am thankful that my children are growing up in an age where technology will allow them to easily keep in touch with friends. But I don't think that this can replace playing in the backyard whether sunny or snowy, or hanging out at the local pool on the warmest days, summer after summer. I hope that my children can find such a bond with someone in their childhood.

Before we left North Dakota

Before we left North Dakota, Miss S. was not yet straightening her legs to "stand" (of course, we support her, as she is but 3 months old). By the time we left Pennsylvania, just 2 weeks later, she could do this, and do it well. The girl is solid muscle!

Before we left North Dakota, Mr. J. was not using "I" instead of "[Mr. J.]" or "You" to refer to himself. Yesterday, he told me "... and maybe I like Grandpa." He has used "I" several times today, as well.

Before we left North Dakota, Miss. S. was smiley, and would occasionally coo at us, but hadn't yet truly found her voice. Now, she will shriek with glee at the top of her lungs, because she knows that SHE is the one making all the noise!

Before we left North Dakota, Mr. J. did not really know many of his family members beyond his grandparents. Now, he can request, by name, both uncles, any number of surrogate aunts, and tell you what he likes to do with each one.

Before we left North Dakota, my kids were a just-past-newborn and a budding two-year-old. Now, they are a full-fledged baby and a Big Boy.

I can hardly wrap my mind around how much they have both already changed in just 2 weeks.

In Transition

Three days ago, the kids and I left North Dakota for the final time. We are currently staying with my parents at. At various points in our travel from ND to Pennsylvania, as well as a few times since arriving at my parents' house, Mr. J. has stated that he wants "to go home." This, of course, makes me very teary. Obviously, we no longer live at the "home" he is referring to, and we do not yet live in our new "home."

This begs the question, then, where do we live? I posed this question to Mr. I. the other day and his answer was "Well, I guess we are 'in transition'"

I'm sure this is a state that most people experience at some point in their lives, be it "in transition" from one job to the next, or "in transition" from one stage of life to the next (just to name a few examples). It can be an exciting state to live in, but also one with a great deal of uncertainty (and, for some of us, a scary state). In any type of transition, you don't really truly know what life will hold for you at "Point B" of the transition. The change may ultimately be (and, I'm guessing, usually is) a change for the better, and even a necessary one. But until you are settled at "Point B," it still does not hold the security, the day-to-day sameness that "Point A" has held.

The beauty of "Point B," however, is hope that you will find a new, and maybe better (or at the very least equal) security there. For us, we can no longer depend on cold winters and our wonderful neighbors and friends. But we can hope that we will meet new amazing friends (and get to keep the old friends, as well, of course), and we can hope that the promised nicer weather will be everything we've dreamt it would be!

For now, I get the truly wonderful task of teaching a two-year-old boy, who misses his old home so dearly, all about this hope and what our new home should be like. All the while trying to remind myself of these same lessons.

Third Time's a Charm

My past attempts at blogging have been....short-lived. But now that Miss S. has arrived and Mr. J. is a little more independent, I'm hoping this third time will be a charm.

I'm aiming to use this blog to keep our family and friends on "The Mainland" updated on our life in Guam. I hope to update once or twice a week, at least to start!

One month from tomorrow we will embark to begin our time in the Marianas. As Mr. J., Miss S., and I are preparing to leave North Dakota at the end of this week, I'm experiencing levels of mixed emotions that I have never felt before. I get so excited (not to mention nervous) thinking about getting there, getting settled, making new friends, and everything else that comes with moving to a new location. I also get very, very sad to think about everything we are leaving behind: wonderful friends, relative close proximity to our families, the only place my children have known as "home" in their short lives. And then there is the extremely high anxiety level I reach when I think about 16 hours of flying (with only a 2-hour layover) with two kids under three. *shudder*

In the meantime, we get to look forward to seeing family and friends for the next few weeks, and that makes me smile :-D