I have a friend that just bought a house off post in Texas, we were talking yesterday about how we missed living on post where all the people were. She lives in a new community, but what they didn't realize before building was that there are not alot of little kids where they live. On post or at least the past 3 or 4 where we have lived there are kids everywhere. Which means on any given day your kids can go outside and find someone to play with that lives only a few houses away. And now that most posts are harder to get on unless you have an ID they seem just a little safer, (granted not all people in the military are saints) but for the most part you know your neighbors and you can feel safe with your kids outside playing.

In Leavenworth we would all gather after the bus left in the morning and again right before the bus came in the afternoon. It was fun to hear what drama had unfolded during the night and of course hear about peoples day. And of course a few times the margaritas started flowing after the kids were home.

I could go for days without talking to anyone other than my family here where we live now. On post people would think I was sick. The kids haven't really met anyone to play with. Who knows where all their friends from school live.

I am a very social person and love hanging out with the girls. That is why I want to be on post during the deployment. I don't want to go for days without talking to another adult. I want there to be another single mother next door to me that understands why I am having a rough day and brings wine and chocolate over.

So keep praying that someone in a new 4 bedroom house will move to some other exotic location and I will get a house on post before Terry leaves.

I got on a blog today that kind of made me kick myself in the bottom. I have so much to be thankful for and I have spent the last few weeks whining over the few things that haven't gone perfectly. God has taken care of us and made sure that we have been healthy, fed and warm. We have wonderful families and wonderful friends across the globe. Life is good!

During this whole move and all the problems we have faced, my Mom always says "We'll this will be the worse, it can only get better." This week I gave up on believing her. Along with the water and heat problems I manage to loose my one set of keys to the Tahoe. Ha Ha Call Chevrolet let them get you some new ones, no problem. I called one of the local dealers and found out they are damn expensive to replace but oh well gotta have them. Dylan and I loaded up and headed there to get some keys. When I get there (it is an easy 20 miles) the girl spends all this time looking up the part number (it's keys already). Then she says "you don't have a key at all that starts it?" Well no, that's why I am here. Well you will have to have your vehicle towed here so we can hook it up to a computer get the key to work. ( you know they all have a computer chip in them now) My mouth drops open and I say something to the effect of when I called this morning no one said anything about that. Well I didn't talk to her. No I certainly didn't. They of course couldn't do it till late this week. I go to my car and just about cry. I can't even talk I am so mad. I found out on the way home that USAA will pay for the towing, part of my Roadside assistance.
I then call another dealer to see when they can get it in. (This all happened Monday) The next dealer could do it the next day. It gets towed to the dealer Tuesday morning and by 5:00pm for some reason they hadn't gotten it done and everyone was gone so it would have to wait till Wednesday, but if we wanted to come pick up a loaner we could. What they failed to mention was that it had snowed a foot there and the roads were terrible. After the plumbers left the house the first day at 7:00pm after giving up on the in the house pump we drove to get the loaner. It was some of the worse roads and worse snow fall that I have ever been in and Terry was driving a Chevy Malibu. And of course wouldn't you know that I didn't even need a vehicle today because of the kids not having school and the plumbers being here all day.

On a good note the keys work for the Tahoe and my neighbor that I have only met for a second came and plowed my drive way. (After Terry took 15 minutes trying to get the Chevy Malibu thru the snow in the driveway to the road)

I woke up to heavy snow and when I walked the dog at 6:00 (we have no fenced yard so we still have to walk the dog)I discovered that the snow went above my fancy snow boots (just a little under my knee). That's alot of snow. I also watch TV to see the school go from a two hour delay to cancelled. Yea!!! Why am I saying yea? I have no water and three kids at home.
The plumbers came around 9:30. The back hoe arrived shortly later and began digging up a nice trench about 300 feet from the well to the house. When we moved in the pump was here in the house pulling the water, from my understanding of the few conversations I have overheard pumps work better when pushing not pulling. So they talked the home owner into submersing the pump in the well and then pushing it to the house. By about 3:30 I was turning on faucets seeing clear water for the first time since we moved in. By 4:15 I was in the shower for one of the best showers I have ever had, but most certainly the best since moving in this house. The washing machine hasn't stopped yet.
Thank goodness for indoor plumbing that works.

A snow squall is a sudden moderately heavy snow fall with blowing snow and strong, gusty surface winds[1]. It is often referred to as a whiteout and is similar to a blizzard but is localized in time or in space and snow accumulations may or may not be significant.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Terry and I heard the weatherman use the term expect Snow squalls. What the hell is a snow squall? So I had to look it up. Lots and lots of snow outside today. I will post pictures later today.

Still no water, they are digging up the line today and putting in a submersible pump which is what the plumbers wanted to do all along.

If you remember from an earlier entry when we were moving in the owner was here with a plumber trying to fix a water problem. As the week has progressed the water problem that was suppose to be fixed has become a constant pain in the @#$. After buying our wonderful $50 dryer I discovered that for some reason the washer would not fill up during the rinse cycle. I also had trouble getting the water in my shower at just the right temperature. Always too hot or too cold. And I noticed all kind of sand in the tub after a bath or in the sink in the kitchen. Eventually the kitchen faucet quick working all together, but the sprayer would work (sometimes). We took the screen off the kitchen faucet and it worked like a charm for about a day. Then again it quit all together. Sunday I headed up for a much needed shower only to get my hair soaped up and the water completely goes away no cold no hot. I head downstairs in my towel to finish up in the tub. About two inches of water and NO more. Finally to the kitchen sink just to wash out the conditioner with Terry's help with the sprayer.

So finally a plumber came today and decided the pump needs replaced and maybe we need another screen to keep the sand out. Yea do you think????

So please enjoy your water and realize that life sucks when it doesn't just flow into your house without a thought.

We had a little snow storm today. Here are some photos.

After checking on Craigslist I was able to find a dryer for $50. In incredible shape. We had to travel to Henderson Harbor which is only 38 miles but took a long time to get there.

On the way back we stopped at Home Depot and picked the necessary connections and home we went. Terry and I actually carried the dryer in and slid the dryer up the stairs. He was able to get it connected and it worked, I have never been so happy in my life to throw a load of clothes in a dryer. I guess the earlier settlers wore dirty clothes because I can't imagine anything dryer outside in this weather.

Okay I have a roof over my head so don't complain right. It is filled with beautiful things so don't complain. We are all very healthy so don't complain.

Our household goods were delivered to the house on Friday. As the movers were bringing every thing in the owner and a plumber were working on the water. Not a great way to start the rental experience. At 6:00 as the movers are leaving and we can finally shut the door and turn the heat up we notice that none of the heaters fill warm. We went to a party at Terry's new bosses house and hoped that by the time we returned they would be working. NOPE!!! Thank goodness for electric blankets and extra blankets and one space heater. Saturday we call the owner again (he was suppose to return to Virginia on Thursday but when the water issue came up he decided to stay till Sunday) and he came out and did some stuff and again we thought it just needed time. The heat is a boiler, not that I know anything about heating systems, but this involves hot water. For some reason the water would leak and Terry had to keep filling 5 gallon buckets carry them upstairs and dump them. this happened all weekend and we found that a shop vac really can pick up water. At 7:00 Saturday night when the heat is still not working, the owner calls a heat man and he calls Terry and decides it is the pump. So we are now out of heat till Monday. Thank goodness it was a mild weekend for Northern New York. Today the guy came at 5:00pm and made two or three adjustments and all is well. I don't know if any more parts need replaced, but wow what a pain.

Okay here is an important question to ask before you rent a house. What runs your dryer gas or electricity. I have an electric dryer. This house is set up for gas. Oh crap@!@@@@ To get electricity upstairs to the second floor would cost almost $400............ Okay now we are looking for a dryer to buy CHEAP!!!!!!

I don't have enough cabinets in the kitchen. Not nearly enough closet space but oh well... we are healthy.

Dylan school

Tyler school

So far the school situation has turned out much better than I expected. Both boys seem to really like their schools. I think what helps is that they are both ahead of the class. So they aren't playing catch up.

They haven't started riding the bus yet, that will start next Monday. The middle school is next to the high school and there are about 20 buses parked in front of it and then another 15 or so in front of the middle school. The bus that Dylan rides to school and one of the ones he can ride in the afternoon park in front of the high school. Can't wait to hear about that. I took a picture of all the buses in front of Tyler's school and a not so good one in front of the middle school.

Did you happen to notice that yesterday was 66 degrees here at Fort Drum? We have not been below freezing since Saturday. Wow!!!! Just this weekend I was telling my Mom in New Mexico how I wish I was there for a week because they were expecting mid 60's weather. God must have heard me and knew I needed a really good thaw before the really bad stuff hits in February. So most of our snow is gone. It is kind of amazing to see this country not white. It is going to be very beautiful and green this spring and summer. Now some people might not get thrilled about green grass, but coming from New Mexico where we pray for rain and when it is green we feel really lucky I can appreciate green grass. Here is a photo(not a great one) of our ground here in NY.

Today the boys and I went to register them in their new schools. I was lucky as you were suppose to make an appointment, but I got there early enough that I was able to walk in. It was painless, but filling out the paperwork always takes time.

We then went to Dylan's new "Middle School" where he will go from 7:23am to about 3:00pm. He will get on a bus in front of our house at 7:00am. For the next 7 days I have appointed Terry to get him there by 7:20am. It will be a big change for him changing classes and all but I think he is up to the challenge. He finishes school at 2:15 but they can stay and get help or study or do clubs and stuff. There is a bus at 2:15 and again at 3:00.

We left Dylan at the school to take a reading test and Tyler, Jason and I went to Tyler's school just down the road. We met his teacher and found out that the people we are renting the house from had a daughter in the same class as which Tyler will be in. The people in the office recognized the address. One of the teachers must live nearby on the same road. Tyler's teacher seems very nice and it looks like a fun class. Tyler gets to school around 8:45am and is done at 3:20pm.

So bright and early Thursday morning Dylan and Terry will be off to his first day at a middle school and Tyler, Jason and I will still be sleeping as we don't have to be anywhere till 8:45am.

Did I mention they get breakfast free and lunch is only $1.50. I was paying $2.50 (I think) in California for food they warmed in a Microwave.

So normal life begins again. Or as normal as we can make it again. Can't wait to hear about all their new friends. They certainly do miss their friends from Monterey and Leavenworth.