Where's the support?

I'm not sure where I misled you guys about the last post, but the family I've been having the most problems with is my own. My sister is the only one who is outwardly supportive, and even fakes a little excitement for me. My dad is the worst, and my mom is happy for us to be together, but doesn't hide well the fact that she's upset we are leaving.

All of this is mostly about Fuzz. They are crazy about her, and I can't really blame them, but it's like they are completely blind to the fact that Stryker will have been apart from her for 15 months while they got to be here for every milestone. They just are thinking about themselves, and not Stryker, nor the good of our family, and it's irritating and disappointing.

Stryker's family doesn't seem to be that phased by the whole thing. His mom actually said "Well at least he'll be closer." Um...not to mention the fact that he won't be in a war zone?? That woman. Having issues with her and her "visits" again. But I'm maintaining faking a positive attitude, so I'm not even going to get into it.

Hiding the excitement

You guys came through big time with the last post. I even had a few de-lurkers! Hello SFPM, toodydolly, and Aly! Thank you for recognizing my need for info, you all were awesome. I am especially excited about the restaurant suggestions. Stryker and I will probably have 6 months worth of dining out before we have to think for ourselves where to go!

I am really excited about the move. I'm ready for a new adventure, and even more ready for our family to be together again! I feel like I can be truly excited here with you guys. It's harder to be so excited when talking to my family. They are sad we are going to be moving again. They have been spoiled by this year with us close by, watching Fuzz grow and change.

With the exception of my sister, they also don't have an edit button. I understand their disappointment that Stryker isn't just getting out of the Army, but getting called back through IRR was just too risky for us. Instead of being excited for us to be together as a family, they make it all about them and how sad they are that they won't get to see us Fuzz all the time. I just want to shake them and say, "You've gotten to see Fuzz for over a year, Stryker hasn't. Stop being so selfish!"

So instead of being excited around them, I hide it and sometimes even pretend that I am a little disappointed as well. I will miss them, don't get me wrong, but my excitement for our family to be together again and knowing we made the best choice for us trumps that...big time.

I am Charlie Brown's teacher...

Since this is quickly becoming a cooking/baking blog, and that's very much not what I intended for it to be, here's a funny story from today.

Here's a little background. During Stryker's first deployment from 2004-2005, his dad was his power of attorney (mistake #1), and he asked his to fix up his car using his money (mistake #2). There were many other stupid financial decisions during that deployment, but we'll just focus on these today. So throughout the deployment, his dad was taking money out of his account to "work on the car". But the checks he wrote were never out to any businesses, only to himself as cash. Does this sound shady to anyone else?

The 13 month deployment ended, and lo and behold, the car is not finished, and approximately $7,000 is gone from Stryker's account. Besides that, Stryker is not allowed to see the car, or hear any news about updates to it, because "it's a secret". Wha?? His money, his car.

Here we are, November 22, 2008, and the car still isn't finished. I've asked Stryker repeatedly if there even is a car. His dad is a good-hearted guy, but it's been over four years. Did he sell it and keep the money??

Anywho, where was I? Oh yes, so we're on the phone this morning, and he told me that he had talked to his dad before he called me, and they talked about the status of the car. Stryker proceeds to start complaining about the choices his dad has made so far. *Cue increase in blood pressure*

Kiki: Stryker, I don't even want to hear you complain about it, because if you cared that much about what was done on it, you should have just waited and done it yourself."

Stryker: Whoa. What?

Kiki: *repeats previous rant*

Stryker: Hello?

Kiki: Hello? *realizing he can't hear me*

Stryker: I need to call you back, you sound like a monster or something.

Kiki: Ok. *hangs up phone*

*Telling my sister what Stryker said and both of us laughing like crazy*

Ring ring

Kiki: Hello?

Stryker: Whoa, that was weird, you sounded like 'whaa whraa whaa' *think Charlie Brown's teacher*

Kiki: Well that is kind of what I sounded like...

I mean, could the phone reception going crazy have possibly come at a more perfect time? I think not.

An actual conversation...

Overheard by the fly on the wall during the Penn State/Ohio State football game last night.

Me: What are all those stickers about on their (Ohio state) helmets?
Dad: Oh just different awards, like maybe they get one for every so many tackles...
Me: I think it looks stupid. Some players have a helmet full, some don't have any...
Dad: Well it's kind of like all those awards and ribbons hanging all over a military uniform.
*Cue crickets*
Me: Um, no dad, that's not the same.

Comparing stickers on a football helmet for tackles to military awards, many earned through blood, sweat, and tears? Not even close, not even close.

The Pop-in

I am very much not a fan of the "pop-in". You know, when people (mainly my grandparents and my dad) just pop-in to visit unexpectedly. Among the reasons why I don't like this:

* My house is often messy. Fuzz sees to that.

* I'm a mother of a busy baby (still avoiding the toddler word), most the time I don't shower immediately upon waking. Notice is nice so I can at least throw on a bra.

* My husband is deployed, and the unexpected knock or door bell freaks me out.

The most irritating part of the whole thing is that I have told my grandparents and my dad that they should call first because it scares me when they come over unannounced. How disrespectful of my feelings.

My grandparents think it's ok to just pop in if it's a special day. On Fuzz's birthday they just showed up here. I didn't answer the door. They also believe it's alright to just pop in if they call first and I don't answer. They don't leave a message saying they are coming over, they just show up later.

My dad...well, he "forgot" the reason why I don't like him to just show up. So he knew I didn't like the pop-in, but didn't remember why, so he still did it? Does that make any sense? Do I need a reason why I don't like it?

The funniest part about my dad is that the grandparents who do the pop-in over here are his parents, and when I tell him that they just stopped over unannounced he always says it's rude. And then he does it!

Why did I move back here again?