Web Cams and Frogs

We got a new web cam, hooked up Ovoo and were able to video chat with Neil tonight. Audrey has been convinced that Neil is still at the airport, so it was good for her to see him and talk with him. She was also excited to see the pacifiers that are off having "adventures" with Dad. It was nice to see Neil and to speak with him. The kids loved saying hi and blowing him kisses. Neil is sleeping on a bunk bed in the Army equivalent of the Harry Potter's under the stair closet.

I have decided, 2 days into this, that deployment with my kids will be much easier than if my kids were all under the age of 7. Today is proof: We slept in a little, ate cinnamon rolls, went to church, came home and finished the cinnamon rolls (nice, I know, but we all only had two). Then I cooked and cleaned the kitchen, rested with Audrey for 45 minutes, finished cooking, and had friends over for dinner. Meanwhile, the kids played, cleaned, read, watched tv, and played some more. We had apple slices and yogurt for a second lunch. Except for Zach: he had a lollipop. I couldn't convince him that a lollipop would not fill him up. Somehow it's already 9:30 and the kids are watching the end of Ratatouille before bed.

We have a billion frogs in our yard. They are tree frogs that are less than 2 inches long and they recently had baby frogs. During dinner we had fun watching 4 baby frogs, each less than 1/2 inch long, sitting on our window sill. I just went to check on them and now there are 11 baby frogs and one grown up frog. I've never thought real frogs were as cute as the hand-drawn version, but these little babies are cool!

It rained again today, which makes rain on all but 3 of the days we have lived here. That's just a guess, but I think it's pretty accurate. I used to hate rain because it made my life as a mother to toddlers inconvenient. After going so long in the oppressive heat of San Antonio, I'm grateful for the rain here. I hear this is unusual. Luckily I won't be here next summer to find out. As far as I know, Fayetteville has as much rain as Seattle.