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It's annual training time so I have been away for most of this week. I was allowed to come home for the night because I have an important appointment tomorrow morning.

I took my camera along with me. I normally try to remember to bring a small digital camera, however I gave Sara my small digital camera after some girl at school purposely destroyed Sara's camera ( another story of another day). So this time I took my real camera. I wanted to take a lot of photos over the two weeks, but that hasn't seemed to happen. Partly I was so busy trying to qualify with my M-16.

We drove something like 6 hours to get to this place to qualify with our weapons. The day we arrive we hear lots of rumors that things are not going well at the rang, but range control had done some work so maybe it would be ok when we qualified.

I went to he zero range and was spot on with my zero. I was happy and thinking that maybe the range was gonna be ok. Turns out that the pop up range wasn't working so well. I went out on the first try and noticed that some of my targets where not even popping up, so when those didn't pop up I fired at my neighbors targets. Why not help him out if I wasn't getting to fire at my own targets. Didn't really do either of us any good. I know I missed a couple of targets but not as many as the range machine showed.

So I went on the second try and I counted that I had hit about 28 or 29 targets but hey said I only hit 14!!!! No Way! I have never not qualified so I went for a 3rd and final try. There was a lot of people who had not qualified and where having the same complaints as me. This time they sent some one with each shooter to count our hits. The guy who went with me said he was positive that I hit 27 targets, possibly more. He counted 23 that fell, 3 or 4 that I hit but the target shook but never fell, and 3 that he thought I hit but he was not sure. So I for sure hit at least 27 targets, the range machine said I hit 22, ONE SHORT OF QUALIFICATION!

We didn't have time for another try but I am not in this boat alone there are a lot of people who did not qualify, some of the senior people who have never in 20 or more years not qualified left the range with lower scores than mine. I am not sure what the unit will do, if they can use the scores that our spotters counted or if there is a possible make up fire at some other range.

Every since we got back to the unit its been one thing after another and I keep thinking that I am not taking any photos but I haven't had time or opportunity.

I posted a few above just because I like them really. There is my Zero target, I actually had 2 spots on there where I hit the same hole twice.

There is a photo of a bird, this bird was in the motor pool where we park our vehicles. I was walking up to where my unit was gathering up for formation and this bird's feather's are standing on end, the bird is dancing and squawking and charging at me. My fried Misty said she thought it was trying to have a mating dance with me. Turns out the bird has an egg in my path way and she isn't happy that I am come so close. I grabbed the camera and took a couple photos, but by then she was less mad and her feathers where not standing on end as much, in this photo its just her tail that is fanned out. She was a pretty bird to bad she wasn't very friendly.

There is also a photo of a couple of people cleaning up one of the Hummers. They lifted the end of the Hummer with one of the trucks so that they could power wash the underneath.

Hopefully I will get a few more photos in the next week. On Monday Stephen and Katie (Sara and Shelby if they are home) are coming to the unit for a family day/ open house where we should get a few good photos. Can't wait really because Stephen has had very little interaction with my unit. I think the more the family is involved the better so I love these events where the family get to come and be part of it all.

When is the right time?

So Katie turned 1 in April. According to my oldest daughter (who's son turned 1 in October) babies should not have a bottle after their first birthday. Apparently the correct thing to do is throw out all their bottles at their birthday party and be done with it. Well it worked for her but I don't remember bottle breaking being that easy.

I helped a LOT with my adopted brother and sister, I was 12 when my parents adopted my little sister and I don't know 14 or so when they adopted my brother. I took care of them so much that people thought that they where mine. If I recall correctly breaking them off of the bottle was pure hell really. They cried for hours before they fell asleep.

Steven and Summer where 2 and 4 when I married their dad and even though they lived with me until they where 15 and 17 I was lucky and didnt have to bottle break or potty train either one of them.

Sara was pretty easy to bottle break well sort of. I went to military boot camp on her first birthday and my mother helped take care of her for my X. She was bottle broke when I got back and only had a bottle because I felt like I missed so much and encouraged her to take her bottle so that I could break her from it. Dumb I know but well I was young and wanted to be mommy, I was upset that my mother had done such a huge thing and I had not been a part of it.

Shelby was the hardest of my children. I wanted her to still be in her crib in my bed room. Her dad insisted that Shelby and her crib move into her sister's room. I reluctantly moved her but this in its self was a mistake. Summer had the choice she could have the smaller bed room to herself or take the bigger bedroom and choose either Sara or Shelby to share with. She chose to share with Shelby. Another mistake, Summer chose Shelby because Summer hates to sleep alone. So every night I would give Shelby a bottle, turn on Barney and leave the room. Shelby would lay down and go to bed. I had no idea that Summer was taking her out of the crib and putting Shelby in bed with her.

When bottle breaking time came Shelby first would stand up in her bed and yell "sissy come get me" when that wouldn't work (I was being strict and making Summer let Shelby start falling asleep alone) Shelby would cry and cry and cry. It was terrible, I honestly don't know how I ever got through it.

I really didn't let Katie lay down with a bottle until she was able to hold it on her own. For some reason until Katie I had no problem with people propping babies bottles, I know my brother and sister and Sara and Shelby had their bottles propped at daycare all the time. I worked at the day care where Shelby went and I know all the babies got their bottles propped at one point or another. I never really propped bottles in the baby bed though I was always worried that they would choke.

I read some where that propping bottles causes ear infections and cavities. So Katie never had her bottle propped and never had a bottle in bed with her until she could hold it herself. Maybe its just that I am not an 18 year old mother this time, but I was very against the whole propping bottles idea.

Now at 1 Katie seems quite happy to drink from a cup and would really rather have a cup than a bottle. I only really give her one when she is sleepy. I honestly think we could break her from the bottle easily except at bed time. I am so dreading it and recently read some one's blog where mom said she got 3 hours of sleep on day one of weaning I don't know if I can handle that at the moment. Things are crazy enough here with Stephen's job changing his hours every day and me leaving for annual training I don't see either of us managing on 3 hours of sleep.

The other thing I am stressing over is the baby crib. Summer and my daughter-n-law are both pregnant and still has a few months to go. I bought Summer a used but very nice baby bed when her son (Talan) was a baby. Summer still has that bed and plans to use it for her next baby. My daughter-n-law is having her first baby and needs a bed. I was thinking that by the time she has the baby Katie would be in a toddler bed but its only 4 or 5 months away and I am in no way ready to move Katie out of her crib or out of our room.

Katie don't sleep through the night as it is. If I moved her into the bedroom with Shelby now she would wake Shelby up during the night, so I am waiting until school is out so that Shelby can sleep in if Katie does wake her. If I put Katie into a toddler bed, holy cow the house would be destroid every moring. I could see every toy pulled out of the toy boxes and DVDs every where. I just can't bring my self to do it.

When is the right time to break them from the bottle and put them in a toddler bed? Geeeesshhh Shelby is 10 I don't remember when to do all this stuff.

My Review!

This is gonna short cause I am sleepy and have a long day ahead of me tommorow.



So it's drill weekend again and I am once again gone for two nights. The unit pays for the room and lunch, with the room comes coupons for a discount on food at the Denny's that is attached to the motel. I like Denny's but who wants to eat there all weekend.



Last night my room mate was laughing at her sister for trying to convince their parents into taking her to a Mexican restaurant that she wanted to go to. Ever since then I just wanted some Mexican food, but I wanted to go to one of those places that bring you chips and salsa when you sit down.



So tonight we do an Internet search for Mexican place to eat. My room mate is 110% against Tex-Mex she only wants original Mexican food cooked by true Mexicans, a Mom and Pop Mexican place, that's what she wants. I only spot one place on the net that looked like it may be what she is looking for. So we take off for this restaurant but find it to be closed!



Determined that I want Mexican food and she wants Mom and Pop we start driving. We are just driving around and all of the sudden she is doing a u-turn and saying there it is!!! She had spotted a place that she thought could be the place some one had told her about.



So we pull into Coronatdo's , as it turned out that wasn't the exact place she thought it was but it turned out all good any way. We open the door to go in and realize that the place was closed. The woman insist that its ok and we should come in and eat any way. The actually unstacked two chairs and pulled out a table for us! Now that is Mom and Pop service for you, no fancy restraunt would do that.



The woman brought us a hand written menu, all in spanish and we proceeded to try and sort out what we wanted that they had. My friend ask for Barbacoa and the woman gets excited we have a language breakthrough!! lol



I have no idea what Barbacoa is so I ask my friend and she says its beef, just beef! However I am a little worried because the way she is telling me its beef I am thinking its not hamburger or steak. I waivered but ended up saying ok give me a bean burrito with cheese sauce and I will be ok and feel safe in my choice.



In the mean time another family comes in and are welcomed to come in and eat. I love that the people are so welcoming when just 5 minutes ago they where about to end their long day's work and head home to their own lives.



We had a Mexican Coke (apparently different from American Coke) and our food was ready very quickly. Our food is on the table and I realize that my friend has basically ordered Tacos made out of soft corn tortias, chopped beef and onions. I was like um why the odd name for tacos? But before I can ask she pops one of the tacos on my plate. I ate the whole thing before I ever touched my burito. It was good and I thought nothing of.



We finish up and get ready to leave. OMG we only have ATM cards with us and the darn sign behind the registar (which by the way is the only English in the place and we missed it!) says CASH ONLY! So my friend takes of for the ATM while I stand there looking sort of dumb and trying to explain that my friend went to get cash.



The woman's son turns up with his two young children to run the cash registar and help close up for the night. He speaks more English and insist that we don't worry about the bill cause he knows that no one carries cash and its a real pain to not be able to use your card.



Apparently they have only been open about 2 weeks and have not been able to get a card reader because they need a phone/fax machine and are actually having trouble getting the phone company to come and install it. Now I may be way off as we had a language barrier but I swear she said that the phone company wont turn on the phone because they tried to pay for it in Mexican money and the phone company wouldn't take it! again I may have miss understood. But I still found it funny.



My friend whips in with the cash and we pay and leave. I am going on and on about how much I love the whole Mom and Pop atmosphere when my friend ask if I like the Barbacao. I loved it and thought it was great and on and on.. then she informs me that Barbacoa is "a certain barbeque technique using the head of the beef cattle. " OMG she fed me COW FACE!!!!

Still it was good food and most importantly the customer service was great and I think that we will go there on drill weekend.