My children obviously attend school.  My daughter (Breanna) is in second grade, and my son (Nathan) is in third grade.  They both go to the same school here on post, which is like a block from my house.  That part is great because we just walk to and from school everyday, and it literally takes like two minutes.  Now, when we first got here and they started school I discovered that I disliked Breanna's teacher...alot.  I mean, shouldn't it be a qualification that you at least LIKE children to become a teacher?  Maybe she did, and simply didn't like MY child (she's quite the handful).  I'll give you an example.  Nathan comes home from school the first week they started, and says that there's a school-wide field trip the next day that's going to Sea Life Park.  His teacher told him that if he brought a sack lunch, the fee in cash, and a signed permission slip he could still go with everyone.  Breanna had nothing, but knew about the trip.  So we go and get stuff for two sack lunches, withdraw some cash, and sign his slip.  We both walk them to school the next day, because we wanted to inquire about whether or not Breanna could do the same thing.  We drop by the office and ask.  The office says that its really up to the teachers, but shouldn't be a problem.  So now Breanna is super excited!  We go up to her classroom, and wait forever for the teacher to even acknowledge our presence (this is all before the bell rings).  Finally, she comes over and asks us if we needed something (like we were just standing next to her desk staring at her cuz we think its cool and do it all the time...wtf?).  We explain the whole situation to her, how we have a sack lunch for her, brought cash, will sign a permission slip, and already talked to the office...and what do you think she said?  She actually said no.  Can you guess why she said no? Perhaps no more room on the bus? They only had a certain number of "late" arrival tickets available and they're now gone?  NO! She said no simply because she had set up a deadline for her class, and the deadline is passed.  We were so caught off guard, we didn't even argue back.  Poor Breanna was one of the only students left behind, so she had to hang out in the Kindergarteners room all day long.  She was so upset.  So your probably thinking "ok Amie, thats not really all that big of a deal" right?  Well, you would be right I suppose.  But the part that makes it a big deal is over the next month or so, its little stuff like that that gets under your skin.  Another small example of this teachers' uncaring side is as follows.  Breanna really likes to draw and write (she'll write anything, just copy entire books she's got down into her journal).  So she thinks it would be really nice to draw and color a picture for her teacher.  So she does, and takes it to school with her the next day.  When we get home after school that day, I find the picture in her backpack and ask her if she forgot to give it to her teacher.  She says no, that her teacher doesn't want it.  I can feel the pulse in my neck start to tick...so I ask her what exactly her teacher said (calmly, she doesn't need to know I dislike her teacher after all)?  She said that she gave the picture to her teacher, and her teacher said "I don't want that, take it home". WTF??!!  What the hell kind of teacher does that?  Aren't they supposed to be supportive and helping them build self confidence?  That's just NOT a very good way of going about it then is it!  I was mad now.  I made an appointment to talk with the school about getting her out of that class and into a different one, but the office wanted me to bring it to the teachers attention first at the upcoming parent/teacher conferences.  I was like "thats fine with me, I have no problem at all letting her have a peice of my mind".  Unfortunately that never happened because due to overcrowding, Breanna was conveniently switched to one of the newly hired teachers classes.  No problems now, she has a great teacher that encourages her creativity.  Nathan on the other hand...his teacher is great, don't get me wrong.  But is it too much to ask for you to just make sure that his homework is in his damn bag?  I mean, I can't make him do it if I don't get it.  Part of me doesn't even wanna make him do his homework because his teacher said that it doesn't even count towards his grades!  They bring home so much homework, and it doesn't even count towards his grades?! Why the hell am I wasting my time by making him do something that doesn't even count again? Ugh, oh yeah, because I want him to be smart. Duh.  Anywho, there's more to the "Nathan has no homework" story.  I just don't feel like telling it right now.  Long story short-school still sucks, even as a parent instead of a student.  LOL!  I'm really going to have to work on writing more often so that my post's don't end up being so long winded.  Whew.  Better next time, this one ended up being a kind of rant on my kids school.  Ugh, toodles!

Aloha everyone!  Obviously it’s been quite a while since my last entry.  But it’s been crazy!  Lets start with the night before I flew back to Hawaii.  Our flight to Hawaii leaves MCI (Kansas City Airport) at 6:30am, so we stayed in KC the night before (cuz KC is a 3 hour drive from my parents house!).  For some reason, my stomach is doing circus acts on the drive to KC.  Like, the entire way!  To the point where we stopped at Wal-Mart for some Imodium!  Great start to our adventure all right.  Ugh.  Anywho, we finally arrive at the hotel, and get all checked in.  Then we realize that we're starving.  So now we're on this food-scavenging mission.  We tried some snacks at a gas station across the street, then thought about ordering some Chinese food to be delivered, then after going back and forth about all that, just ended up ordering room service.  Which was surprisingly delicious!  I mean, it was expensive, so it BETTER be delicious. LOL!  So if you're ever in the Kansas City area, the Hilton by the airport has comfy beds, and some great food.  It was a nice stay.  The next morning, at 3:30am to be exact, we all wake up, except Nathan (my son).  It would appear my "good" luck strikes again.  It also appears that Nathan is sick.  No fever, just a cold, but sick none-the-less. The plane waits for no one though, time to begin the airport leg of the adventure.  So we all get ready, get all packed up, and go in search of the shuttle bus the front desk informed us about.  The shuttle bus guy drives like a wild man!  It would have been fun if it weren’t so early.  We get to the airport, check in all our bags, and sit down to relax a bit before we get on our first plane.  My husband is a genius and listened to the stupid military travel agents, and booked us on flights that go from Kansas City, to Chicago, then to Honolulu.  I'm not bitter...everyone should fly a couple of hours in the opposite direction of their destination to extend the already long flights they take.  Whatev.  Anywho, we fly to Chicago, no biggie.  We switch planes, and get ready for our flight to Honolulu!  We're all sooo excited.  Jimmy had already called "dibs" on Nathan (my nice, calm son) so I got stuck with Breanna (my wild, chaotic daughter).  The flight to Honolulu is so long (probably cuz I'm so excited to be coming back!) that I'm about ready to just kill myself!  My daughter is about to start taking hostages just because she needs something to do.  And as I'm sitting in my seat, watching the hostile emotions flicker across my daughters face (she was so close to mutiny!) and thinking my own excitement-induced thoughts of murder and mayhem, I look at the 2 seats behind ours, where my husband and son are sitting...and they're sleeping like babies.  NOT FAIR!!  The boys slept almost the entire flight!  When I try to sleep, I either can't because the lady in front of me has her seat reclined as far as it can, or a My Lil Pony mysteriously flies into my face.  There were many suspicious looks in my "innocent" daughters direction from me during the My Lil Pony Adventures.  So, we finally land in Honolulu at around 1pm.  My husband is well rested, my son is only a tad sick now, Breanna is bouncing off the walls, and I’m just ready to get off the damn plane!  We now have to get our bags, and then find the USO office in the airport, so that Jimmy (my husband) can do whatever he has to do there (let them know he’s arrived at the duty station or something I’m sure).  Well, they decide that they want him to fully sign in right then and there.  Good grief.  The kids and I just sit and wait with the bags.  That takes about 2 hours.  Then we notice that inside the airport is about every car-rental company you can think of!  Except Enterprise, which is where our reservations are.  Damn!  So I use my trusty iPhone and text Google to find out the number and address, call Enterprise for a shuttle to the office, and we get a nice Chevy Tahoe.  Ummm, our car is a little Honda.  We’re sooo not used to driving big vehicles…it was like driving a tank!  Luckily we remember our way around for the most part, and make it to the Inn on Schofield.  Check in, get our crap unpacked since we’ll be living in this room for at least a week or so, and head out in search of food….again.  To be honest with you, I don’t even remember exactly where we ate.  But we found nourishment, and then drove around a little bit to “let it all come back to us”.  And surprisingly, it comes back quite fast!  That said, things change quite a bit in 7 years.  My favorite little Korean restaurant we used to go to all the time is gone.  It was just a little hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but it was sooo good!  We all finally go to sleep that night pretty early.  Jimmy has to, because since he had to fully sign in at the airport, he has PT the very next morning and then work!  The housing office told us that we’d probably get the new housing in 3 weeks or so.  I’m not going to complain about being stuck in a hotel room for 3 weeks, as long as we get nice housing!  So it’s just the kids and I all alone in the hotel room all week long.  Loverly.  At the end of the week, we get the phone call from housing saying that a brand spankin’ new street just opened up, and they would like to offer us housing!  So, we go into the housing office, accept our quarters, and schedule the delivery of our furniture, go pick up our car from Sand Island, and schedule the cable and internet hook-up!  We moved in that next Friday.  I had everything out of the boxes and cleaned off and put away by the end of the weekend.  I meant business dammit! LOL! 

Since moving in, we’ve gone to the beach a few times.  We went to our old favorites like Ko’Olina, and Turtle Bay.  And went to some new ones we hadn’t been to before because Nathan was too little, like Waimea Bay and North Shore.  Nathan is so excited to see the big waves this winter.  It’s cute.  Shortly after we moved in, others started moving into the neighborhood as well.  Most of the neighbors seem very nice.  So in conclusion to this entry, it was a long and trying adventure to get here….but all well worth it.  I’m just hangin’ out on Oahu, relaxing at the beach every weekend, enjoying good food, and the company of great people.  Stay tuned…

Here I sit.  Hanging out, living with my parents for another 5 days.  My husband, my 2 kids, and I have all been living out of our suitcases for about a month now.  I'm ready to shoot myself.  See, the problem is, my parents have a VERY small house.  3 bedrooms, and 1 bathroom for 5 adults, 2 kids, 3 dogs, and 1 cat gets a tad cramped.  (Luckily I have my trusty iPhone that I can escape into!)  Now is the time when emotions and nerves wear thin.  Mom is going to start getting clingy, dad is going to start dishing out the advise, my husband is going to start wanting to strangle everyone, and my kids will be...well, kids!  LOL!  Meanwhile I will just sit back, and mediate all of the above.  I will reassure my mom, pretend to listen to my dad, and soothe my husbands rage the best I can.  

I'm pretty sad about having to leave my animals here.  We got started on the whole "avoid quarantine" mission a little late.  So my parents are baby-sitting them, until December, which is when they'll be able to join us in Oahu.  But at least we didn't have to leave them behind forever like so many military families are forced to do.  

Anywho...the plan is: in 5 days (Sept 1) we will drive the 3 hours to Kansas City, and check into the Hilton for the day.  We hope to check in early to take advantage of the pool!  Then the next day (Sept 2) we fly out of MCI (Kansas City Airport) to Chicago (why in the hell do airlines fly you the opposite direction you need to go for lay-overs??).  Then from Chicago straight through to Oahu.  We should be landing around 1pm (island time).  We should also have a rental car reserved for us and waiting at the airport.  Then we drive straight to Schofield Barracks (by Wahiawa) to check into the hotel there.  Hopefully we'll get housing right away.  Especially since all of our furniture and stuff is already there, awaiting our arrival! 

After I get settled, I would really like to jump back into working.  Out here in good ole Kansas, I worked in the ER at Mercy Regional Health Center.  I absolutely LOVED it.  There's just something about being thrown up on, or bled on that really draws me in!  LMAO!  But thats a story for another day kids!  Stay tuned!!