Free Fallin'

Morning, all! Happy first day of summer (June 21st)! I think we got summer early here in El Paso. hehe.

Well, it was quite the busy day for me today :) hehe. I was up at 7:00 am, getting ready for the day. I threw on some clothes, read my scriptures, said my prayers, printed out some paperwork for Jake's Purple Camp, got the kids ready for possible daycare, and headed out the door. We were to Biggs by 7:50am.

First stop, Milam SAS. I asked the chickie there about a special weekly rate, and a multiple child discount, and a deployed soldiers discount. All in all, it was gonna be $165 for 3 kids for 5 day, M-F, 530am (at the earliest) - 600pm (at the latest). Breakfast, lunch, and snacks provided. Plus TONS of fun activities and field trips. Sounds pretty good, huh? We turned in Eme's inhaler, got the kids all signed up, paid, and Jim and I were off to the Milam CDC.

The chickie at the Milam SAS called over to the Milam CDC place, and said that I wanted a weekly rate with Deployment discount. She said that should be fine. She said it would be about $85 for the week. Sounded good to me! I paid $80, dropped Jim off, and headed out.

Amanda texted and said she was on her way to drop off Austin, and I stayed in the parking lot and filled out Jake's purple camp paperwork. Amanda got there, dropped Austin off, asked for the same discount as I had (minus the deployed soldier discount), and she was good to go too! Yes!

She and I headed back to main post, and we dropped off my truck, she left some money for her cleaning lady, I gave Jake directions on how to get to the Youth Center (main post, so he could catch the shuttle to the Milam YAC), and I locked all the electronics up. Just in case.

Amanda and I headed out to Savers. Haven't been there in a while. We decided to try the EAst Side Savers. Amanda hadn't been there before. Yeah, she wasn't impressed. hehe. East side Savers is good if you get there RIGHT when it opens. They have good stuff. But it goes SUPER fast. It seems that the West side's dollar stuff stays longer, so if you go a little later, you'll still be able to get some good deals.

I did find a few things. Shorts and a shirt for Jake, a shirt to Tom, swim shirts for both Joe and Jim, and a few shirts for Eme. I got a pair of Capri's and a skirt. And then Amanda and I headed to the Verizon store. I just noticed on my past bill that I'd been charged for each and ever call that we'd made. Um, yeah, that's not right...

So we stopped by, waited for our turn, explained the situation to the lady, and she went in the very back, and it seemed like she was back there forever. Finally, she came out. Apparently, back in March, when I went to the West Side Verizon store to suspend Captain America's line because he was deployed, they suspended it, but didn't re-assign the primary number. So we no longer had the family plan. So we were getting charged PER call, but not the $110 a month for the plan. So it was looking similar all these last months. Because we don't make that many calls.

Anyway, the woman said that there was nothing she could do from her end, but told me to call the *611, and talk with the guy at customer service. I dialed it, and she told me what to say, and the dude was SO nice and friendly. He was an army vet, and was appalled that the other Verizon Store had messed up so bad.

He went in, retroactively made the "home cell phone" the primary line from the April bill, then started to take off the overage charges. Once I realized that the lady in the store couldn't help us anymore, Amanda and I left, I stayed on the phone, and she drove. We headed to the Olive Garden on the East Side. Only a few minutes away. Terra and her sister and Eryn were meeting us there. Yeah!

We got there, and I tried to finish up my call, but was on the phone for about 15 more minutes. He told me what to expect my bill to be each month, and credited about $300 back to my account. Good! He was so helpful and friendly. Thanks, Verizon old dude! I really appreciate it!

Amanda had got me a diet coke, and ordered my soup of choice and salad. Thanks, my dear :)


It really was a great lunch. Terra told us all about her ordeal at the Doctors office with the twins this morning, and we talked about my Verizon bill. And chatted and ate and had a grand time. Terra's sister, Avery, had NEVER been to Olive Garden before, so we had fun introducing her to it!

This is the dessert that I REALLY wanted to get.

But I settled for this...

We all took turns going to the restroom before we headed out, and Terra came out last. She was MORTIFIED that she'd saw 2 of the employees use the restroom, and leave without washing their hands. There was a manager chatting with a group of people next to us, so she let him know what she thought.

He wasn't pleased with those employees, and asked what he could do to make it better. Terra was like, Nothing, and I'm never coming back. He was like, well, would a gift card help? Nope, she said. Amanda piped in, and was like, I'll take it! hehe. She was like, we don't have to use it at THIS Olive Garden. So Terra said, OK, I'll take the card.

The manager came right back, and gave a $20 gift card to Terra, AND to Amanda. Crap. I should have spoken up too. hehe. I told Amanda that she had to share her's with me. We'll go to Olive Garden for Soup and Salad again while our kids are at camp. ROFL! Our bill, together, with lunch and sodas was $20.02. So there's lunch again! ha!

I packaged up all the left overs, and brought them home for the kids. Bread sticks, soup, salad, and cheese appetizer. I'm sure that someone would eat it :)
Next stop, Jewelry Box on Zaragoza. The one with the Eve's lingerie in the back. Weird, huh? Anyway, there was a new store RIGHT next door. It was one of those Mexican Flea Market feeling stores. I was enthralled, but the other girls didn't' want anything to do with it. hehe. So I went in to look, and they headed to Jewelry Box.

I found stuff like this. Who DOESN'T need a fuzzy animal print phone? hehe.

Nice hat, huh?

I headed to Jewelry Box, and found caribeaners. My mom is having me make Name Tags, and these would be PERFECT. They had I Love USA on them, and were in red, and black, and white. I would have liked to have had all red, but they didn't have 25 of one color, and that's what my mom wanted.

I found some COOL crackle nail polish, and a few new rings, and paid, and we all headed out. On to the Dollar Tree. I got some bread, and some cleaners, and a few other things. We wandered around for a bit, and had a good time. Then headed out again.

Amanda and I made a quick stop at Sonic for a Happy Hour drink. Mmmm! RT 44 Dt Dr Pepper is da bomb!
As we were driving we SWORE we saw Laurie's car. But she'd moved last week. Hmmm. I texted her, asking if she was in El Paso. Eventually she texted back. YUP! Her hubby had driven the truck to California, got the house all ready, and then had flown back to El Paso to drive out with the family (they were in New Mexico with in-laws) She'd just picked him up at the airport, and they'd had lunch across town. It WAS them. hehe.

Amanda and I headed to the PX to check on some free baseball tickets. And Laurie and Spencer were there, buying a few last minute things, and he was getting a hair cut. And we totally saw Laurie! We got to give her a hug, and wish her well on her trip! Love ya, Laurie, my friend! Wish you well on your new adventure in California! I'm sure our paths will cross again one of these days!

Amanda and I asked the woman at the ticket desk for the Diablo tickets, and she said they were out. But that we didn't need it. If we showed our Military ID cards at the gate, that they'd let us in. Sweet! I'm excited to go and take the kids. Hopefully everyone has fun.

We swung by the Auto Crafts place after the PX. Amanda's hubby had some work on his car that needed done. She had a detailed list of stuff. So Willie, the main guy there (that's his name, right Captain America?) gave her a quote, asked how Captain America and I were doing (yeah, we're on first name basis with the Auto Craft guys - hehe), and we were on our way.

She dropped me off at home, and helped me carry all of my bags and junk inside. And Jake was still there! He hadn't managed to get to the Teen center at 12:15pm to catch the bus. Sigh.

She headed home, and I put all my stuff away, then started cleaning. And initially, Jake was super happy to see me at home. He'd been bored. I'd locked all the electronics away. All he had was the TV with the antenna. He got 4 channels. He told me all about this talk show he'd watched with extreme coupons on there. hehe. Poor kid.

I turned on my music, and started cleaning the kitchen. And Jake asked for Electronics, but I told him that it was cleaning day. So no electronics. And he was SO mad. Why was I ruining his life... Not this again.

Apparently, I'm just cleaning because I enjoy it SO much, and why must I force other people to do it too. Are you Serious, Jake? Me? Enjoy cleaning? Hahahahahahahaha. I think that's the worlds most funny joke! I HATE cleaning with a passion. It's just something that adults have to do. We have to clean. Stoves don't wash themselves. Neither do fridges. Or baseboards in the kitchen. Floor don't mop themselves, and cupboards dont wash themselves down. And yes, those things need done. But there's no explaining that to an Autistic Teen Boy. They just don't get it...

So I turned my music up louder, sang, and cleaned. And Jake sat on the couch, pouting, staring off into space for about 30 minutes. I know. The kids definitely does NOT have ADD. hehe. Eventually, he snapped out of it, and asked more questions about what kind of cleaning he'd have to do, and how long it would last. I told him that if all of the chores in the house got done (living room swept and cleaned up, same with dining room, trash taken out, and table cleared and washed), he could have Electronics back. And he was cool with that. He thought he was gonna get stuck doing the stove, or the fridge, or the baseboard, or some other job that he deemed "NOT fun".

So I kept detailing the kitchen (I had Comet, a brillo pad, a toothbrush, and a magic erase at my disposal), and he worked on the chores. And by the time it was time to go and get the other kids, the house looked pretty good. Especially the kitchen. Detailing the stove and scrubbing all the hard water streaks from the fridge (the water thingy on it leaks) made the kitchen look SO much better :)

I left him at the house playing Guitar Hero, and I headed to get the kids. First stop, Jimmy. Amanda called, and said that they'd quoted her a price of $85 a week! Sweet! That's $17 a day. Sounds reasonable to me. And mine would probably be a little lower because Captain America's deployed.

So I go in, and the woman starts to tell me that because Captain America is deployed, they want me to take the reduced fee of $2.00 an hour. At 10 hours a day, for 5 days. That's $100. So, because my husband is deployed, I get the special discount of $15 more. Yeah, that doesn't make sense. I tried to explain it to the woman, but she just kept saying that I got it for $2.00 an hour. Sigh. Finally, I gave up, grabbed Jim, and headed to pick up Tom and Eme and Joe. Maybe I'll come back and take Terra with me. She knows how to get results...

Tom and Eme and Joe seemed to have had a great time. We loaded up in the truck, and headed back to main post. I invited Terra and Kari and Amanda over for a pool party at 7pm. And I started on dinner for my kids. And ate dinner myself. And cleaned up the backyard, opened the pool, and set up the Slip N Slide for the Twins. And walked around cleaning up after my kids. Seriously, you guys, the house is gonna be TRASHED again if you don't pick up after yourselves!

I'd found this modeling clay at the Dollar Tree, and got a package for Eme to have, and a package for Joe and Jim to share. They thought it was SO great.

Here's a horse that Eme made.

Joe and Jim and Eme had a TON of fun playing with it. Amanda and Terra and kids came over at 7pm, and we all went to the backyard to hang. And were there till about 8:30pm. SUCH a great time. Hanging in the backyard with my friends. We looked at recipe books, and talked about husbands and activities and kids and potty training and autism and whatever else came up. Thanks, girls, for keeping me company! Great evening!

Eryn and Eme and Avery had a blast in the pool, and Jim and Austin were right there too. Joe didn't get in, but played with the clay some more. Jake and Tom were playing Roblocks on the computer.

I had Joe and Jim in bed by 8:45pm, and let Jake and Eme and Tom stay up till 9:30pm. Then sent them to bed. And I watched 24 and worked on my nails. They're kinda cool, but kinda dead body mummy-ish at the same time....


Base coat of Brown, with Gold Crackle on the top. Then I put a clear coat on top. We'll see how long this lasts. I've painted my nails about 5 times in the last 2 days... I guess this is why I usually don't put color on my nails...

After about 3 episodes of 24, I turned it off, and started blogging. And now I'm done. It's about midnight, and I need to have the kids to camp tomorrow at 7:30ish. So they can get breakfast. So I guess I should turn this off and go to bed. Plus, I'm pretty sleepy. I ran myself ragged today, i think :)

Wish me luck for tomorrow! Amanda is using her fancy schmancy camera to take pictures of Terra's kids, and I want her to get a good shot or two of me for Captain America. I'll bring my kids back and have her take their photos when they're not in childcare camp. hehe.

Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

4shared
box.net

Awesome layout, Sharon! Look at that GREEN grass! Missing that here in the desert. hehe.