Been Awhile

I know it's been awhile since I sat down and did a good post. I have my excuses, some of them real, some of them pretty lame.

Shall we get caught up?

1. Hans, numero uno. No orders as of yet. The flooding in Tennessee has caused a delay. The assignments have been assigned, but it's getting approved or something. By the slowest body of approve-rs ever. Hans says that it's hard living in limbo and I agree, but considering that we've been living in limbo for almost a year thanks to the Navy, it's become the norm. Of course, we'll put the word out as soon as we get it. Thanks for your patience.
2. In other Hans news, he is headed to Normandy this week. How cool is that? Getting to spend D-Day on Omaha or Utah Beach? When he approached me with news of this trip, I was completely enthusiastic...he was probably a little shocked at how excited I was for him. I totally wish that we could go along.
3. Next, me. Hmmm. I don't really have anything to note, except that my class is going really well and the subject matter is interesting, which always makes taking a class easier, right? I've already registered for the next summer session. Just one class at a time, I think, especially with Josiah and Annika finishing school up in the next couple of weeks. I have plans for them, a new stack of workbooks and a list of things they need to work on. Don't worry, there will be some play time in there too!
4. Josiah. His current obsession is the United States. I posted the picture of the map that he made awhile back, well, the obsession has just grown since then. He drags his atlas around with him and has checked out a bunch of books on states from the library. He just completed very detailed "reports" on Arkansas and New Hampshire, complete with pictures. He also spent a weekend drawing individual state flags. If you would like to hear a 6-year-old recite the states in alphabetical order (forwards and backwards), just give us a call. He has school until June 17th, has a week off and then starts a special summer enrichment program. He'll go Monday thru Friday in the mornings...I've forgotten what the subject matter is, I'll let you know.
5. Annika. I just realized last night that Annika isn't obsessed with anything. Sometimes that makes a little harder to relate to her. I'm on a quest to figure out what Annika likes. She's got a partial obsession with Hello Kitty, but unlike Josiah in the flush of the Thomas phase, she doesn't go out of her mind with joy over Hello Kitty. Besides, there is a distinct lack of quality Hello Kitty toys out there...SO much plastic junque, sheesh. If there was a whole nice playset with like, a Hello Kitty house or castle, I might get it. Sigh. She likes to read but we already have a house full of books, she likes to draw but she has tons of coloring books and art supplies. Anyway...trying to figure out what Annika loves.
6. William. Is sitting up, army crawling and sometimes taking a "step" or two really crawling. I know I've said he's been teething since he was about 2-1/2 months old, but this time I really think he's getting teeth. Oooh, they are right there, I can see them about to break through, like two tiny little pearls. Meanwhile, he's had some grumpy moments. He also seems to be going through a growth spurt as he's getting up once in the night again needing to eat. The other night, he ate TWELVE ounces of formula in one sitting! Oh, and he's eating two meals of solids and is feeding himself Gerber puffs. It's too funny watching the expression on his face every time he gets one into his mouth...!

That's us, that's it. I wish that I had exciting news, but it's just regular, glorious life. I hope that everyone had a great Memorial Day. I have to go and make Annika some lunch--we have preschool in an hour and today is parent-teacher conference....eeek.

Tschuss!