It's Friday

thank goodness.

This week has dragged on and on and on. I'm not sure why. It promised to be a fantastic week. Stuart had TAPS this week (it's a program/class that you take before you leave the armed forces to ease you into the civilian world and get you up to speed on all that is the "VA") which meant he got to go to work at 8 instead of 7:30 and he got to wear civilian clothes (a major, MAJOR deal for him). Unfortunately the TAPS moderator felt strong convictions in guiding the course and only allowed small segments for lunch and kept the class until 4:30 or 5 (usually 5) everyday. {Sigh} At least Stu would come home happy and full or random knowledge about disability/school/interview tips/loans/and the all important your-life-is-about-to-change-and-people-don't-get-it. Whatever. Ahem, I mean, it's great information and we wouldn't be able to handle to transition without it. (Random-why does Mozilla not recognize contractions? It claims that "wouldn't" is spelled incorrectly. It's not "would". Come one Mozilla, get with the times.)
We have been planning and hoping for this day for several years now but now that the future is around the corner, my anxiety has kicked into high gear. When Stu officially says "adios" (and maybe a few other choice words) to Uncle Sam, we will be unemployed. The boys and I will have no insurance. We will not have access to the commissary (which is really not that bad of a thing, the commissary is NOT all it's cracked up to be, but it is cheaper than anything else and I shudder at that thought of what our grocery bill is going to be once we have to go to the Gucci grocery store or Wally).
We will have tons of extra space in the closet since 1/3 of Stuart's wardrobe will be eliminated (yay!). We will have a daddy that comes home happy(er) at the end of the day. We won't have to worry about getting orders to some town worse than WF. We won't have to worry about deployment and/or worse. Phew.
Here's our plan: (and yes, I have fretted, tossed and turned, and replayed this in my head a millions times. It doesn't help but it's what I do. It's why I take medicine. )
Stuart's going to become a full-time student. He's been taking classes at MSU for the last year so he'll continuing going there with the agenda of graduating with a BA in Finance in Aug 2010. I am going to take to the working world like a fish out of water-jumping, flailing, flopping, and overall agitated, but I'll do it so that the boys and I can have insurance (which is mildly important) and my other lover, Tivo. I know, you're thinking "you're going to work so that you can have something as shallow and meaningless as Tivo?" My response would be, "Don't talk about him that way! He loves me and is always there for me, ready with happiness and goodness and everything that matters in the digital world. And yes, I will work for the right to keep my Tivo." Plus we might like to eat something other than Ramon and bread so adding some backing to the monetary supply would be greatly appreciated.
And when is this miraculous endeavor going to take place? VERY soon. Stuart is going to sign his "drop the paperwork" paperwork sometime next week (I think, that was the verdict last night at 11 pm but it had changed 3 times since 6 pm. Yet another reason for my anxiety-a man who changes decisions even when we have worked them out.), then two weeks after that he will start his terminal leave and 45 days later-Presto! no more job! {wringing hands}
On a completely separate note, I still haven't found the cord for my camera but figured out a way to download my pictures and then upload them...it's complicated.

Tucker in the "thinking chair." Yes, we're fans of Blue's Clues. And yes, it's brown from Scout sleeping on it every night. And yes, it does get washed. And yes, it's ok with me that it looks this way right now. And yes, I'm now having issues with posting this picture. Thanks.

Eating Peeps. Not fans.

Scout was ready to swallow her pride and eat the peeps.

Tyson got his first pair of slip flops. So cute. He wears them constantly.

We had ice cream cones for pre-dinner on St. Patty's Day. Tucker likes ice cream. Note the green shirt. Tyson had a matching one on. I'm not sure if I did though. Hmm.