Saturday, April 25, 2015

Slow Saturday Fun

     Welcome back to the 84th edition of the Arena. We are here in the living room on a very slow Saturday where the weather is about as moody as a pregnant woman in her first trimester. It has been sunny, rainy, chilly, and warm all in the same day. We have had a bit of fun today even though the day started out rather rough for me. I'm not sure why, but I just wasn't in the mood to put up with anybody or their shenanigans this morning. Of course, that led to me being in trouble with the old lady because I was being a jerk to everyone. Things have gotten better since then because the kids did what they needed to do and I was able to have my coffee this morning without actually murdering someone. 

     Today we celebrated Lucas' third birthday today with cake and chicken nuggets and pizza. Today will be a rather lazy easy day for everybody because of this. The only cooking that was done was when I made the cake this morning while I was in the middle of cleaning the kitchen. My wife picked up some boxes from work and we made little cardboard cars for the kids to sit in to make it seem like they were at a drive-in in the living room. We had pizza delivered today so that there was no actual issue with having to do things that required a lot of time. Oh, and I cooked the chicken nuggets in the oven, so there was more than just the cake that was done. I could easily go back and delete that line so it doesn't exist, but then it would just make this post shorter and I'm not all about doing that. There isn't going to be much to do tonight so I think that I will relax tonight with Netflix and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. I have some things to do on that game and I would really like to play it tonight. I get to go back to doing housework tomorrow. 

     Things will be a little easier tomorrow night since Carter is going back to his dad's house for the next two weeks. That and my schedule is now a firm day shift schedule because that is what the Chief and the boss both wanted. I wanted to go back to swing shift, but after being told that I would have to transfer to a different shop, I decided that it was just better this way since I will be going back to a boat soon and I won't be able to choose what my schedule will be. I figured I would pop in and say hi and drop you guys a new edition since my lady is sleeping on the couch. I think she might be going to work tonight, but I'm not sure. She said that her boss told her that she could work a few hours tonight and tomorrow if she wanted to. I think I might try to convince her to go in for a bit so that she can get back into the swing of working before her schedule next week kicks in. I don't know how many hours she is working, but I do know that she will be at work most of the week so I will be on my own at night with the kids. I can handle it. I just have to figure out what to make for the boys since I know Luke will pretty much eat only chicken nuggets for his meals.

     He went to his well child checkup yesterday and the doctors are concerned about his weight. He seems to have dropped off the growth chart again and that is a problem. The doctors say that if we can't get him to gain weight, there is a possibility of having to put him on an NG tube so that we can get some calories into him to help him gain weight. It is a last resort option so we are hoping that we can get him to gain some weight and maybe find something other than chicken nuggets to eat. We have our fingers crossed and we hope that the good vibes you guys will send after reading this will help out in our constant struggle to get him to eat more than a few things. 

     As I mentioned earlier, this episode of the Arena is being brought to you from the living room. I think I mentioned a few posts ago that I got the desk downstairs so that we could have a place to do budgeting and bills since we pretty much do everything on the computer. Things are moving at a slow pace in getting the house back in order, but they are coming along. I just need to finish cleaning the carpets in the boys rooms so that everything upstairs can be done. Unfortunately, we can't move the toys and stuff upstairs until after that is done. The spare bedroom will be holding furniture while the carpets are being cleaned. I will do each room on a different day so that there isn't too much pressure to try to do them both in the same day. That and the fact that Eli doesn't always go straight to sleep when he is told and I don't want him in his little brother's room keeping them up most of the night. That will require me to be mean and I really don't want to do that right now. 

     Well, its time for me to go. I have kids to relax with and a little bit of cleaning to do later once everything gets settled down. Plus, I think it is almost time for me to change the movie. Lucas chose to watch Paw Patrol and Mickey Mouse for his drive-in movie day. They already watched Mickey Mouse so they are now on to Paw Patrol. Did you know one of the strangest things about being a parent is being able to pretty much sing any kid's show theme song at any random time throughout the day? Luckily for me I have been able to forget most of them. The shows that they tend to watch rather frequently have stuck in my head and that is unfortunate, but alas, it is the things that I do for my kids because I love them. At least some of their shows are decent. Blaze and the Monster Machines makes me question whether or not the damn car is a superhero or not because they tend to break the laws of physics with some of the things that car does. That is a story for another time though.

     You guys enjoy the rest of your Saturday and I hope that the weather is nicer than it is where I am at. 


Until next time, from the Arena, this is Wickid signing off.....

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Sinceriously Sunday

     Holy Cow!!! It's sunny yet again here on the West Coast and the temperature is actually rather comfortable. I know that those over in the southeastern portion of the United States are enjoying this exact same weather, but you just don't understand how rare this is over here. They say that Florida is that "Lightning Capital of the World". While that is true, because I lived there myself for a little under 19 years, and I enjoyed the thunder and the lightning and all of the torrential downpouring rain that we had. Here over in the Pacific Northwest, we get the misty, annoying drizzle that causes people to act like complete idiots!! In a state that has probably the most "rainfall" that I have ever seen, you would think that the people that live here would know how to drive in it. People smoking pot, nobody bats an eye, but the minute it starts to drizzle, everybody loses their minds!!! 

     Lunch time is just around the corner here at the house so of course, I am taking some of that down time to come out to see you guys. Two days in a row! This hasn't happened in quite a while, but I figure since the wife is sleeping and resting comfortably in bed, I might as well get one of these typed out while I can. 

     In the time it took me to type that last paragraph, my wife has arisen from her slumber and meandered downstairs to the delight of the children. Not that I am an angry ogre that likes to be mean to children, it's just that she is now up and I have four momma's boys. Theoretically they will grow out of it and then we can get them to be independent and able to do their own thing. 

     Now that she is awake, I am making her lunch and then I will be getting to work upstairs with the manual labor and the moving of the rooms. I am excited to finally have the master bedroom again. There are just some simple pleasures in life that I enjoy. The master bedroom happens to be one of them. I am excited to have a little bit more room and the two closets are just an amazing feature. I get to have my own closet!! Not that I really need it since we can fit both of our stuff into one closet and still have a little bit of room to spare. So after I finish eating lunch and getting the wife taken care of, I will be progressively busy getting things done in the bedrooms. 

     With that happy information, as long I can get done what I want to get done, we will be sleeping in the master bedroom tonight and I will make my presence known on the Monster Hunter Online community so that I can get some hunting done tonight before bed. I am excited!! I haven't been able to hunt all weekend and it has been horrible. 

     It is now Thursday and I have just realized that I started writing this out, well typing this out, four days ago. Do you know what happens when I work day shift? I work and then forget about things like this because I come home and immediately start doing housework. I know that it is the thing that I have to do because I'm an adult, but it doesn't mean that I have to like it. The good news is that I have the desk downstairs and the master bedroom is populated with all of our stuff. Now I just have to clean it all up, clean the carpets in the other room and get the boys' rooms picked up so that we can finish moving all of the toys and such upstairs into the playroom. It will be so nice to not have to worry about that stuff being in the living room anymore. 

     Since it is four days later than when I started this post, I will end it here so that I can start another edition of The Arena at a later time. I have chores and such to do so that I can not have to worry about a few things for a while. She is already mad enough at me as it is. I need to be finished by Saturday since we are doing the youngest lad's birthday party that day. So, enjoy the rest of your Thursday and I hope that your Friday and weekend are all that you have wished for in a weekend. 

Until next time, this is WIckid, signing off......

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Irritating Things

     Welcome back to The Arena! It has been a few days since I have been on here to come talk to you guys. I do apologize for that. Things have been rather busy here around the House of Wickid. As most of you know who read the last post, I have been moved over to a schedule of day shift for work. Not the most ideal of schedules, but it has been something that we have been able to work around. On the newest things that I haven't been able to post recently.

     First and foremost, I have been told that I will be stuck on days for a little while longer. I'm not too happy about this because I was told two days ago that I was going back to my regularly scheduled programming for swings. I like it much better there because it completely fits into the way we were doing things here at home. There is just something very difficult about trying to explain to two little autistic children that mommy has to go to work so that we can have food and pay bills and have money to do fun things. It's really hard to do when they are having a meltdown. So, of course, when given the information yesterday about staying on days, I became rather irritated and annoyed. How hard is it to just do what you say you are going to do? I know that the boss may have his reasons for saying what he did, but for the love of gawd please inform the little people so we know why. I don't like being told things without a reason. A logical sound reason would have stopped me from getting so upset. I went to talk to my Chief about the issue and he was busy doing something that needed his full attention. So, on Monday, I will get to spend a little time talking to him about getting me back to the swing shift so that it better coincides with my schedule. I don't like causing trouble or stepping on people's toes, but sometimes it just has to be done. I will let you guys know how that conversation goes. If he doesn't plan on fighting for me, then I guess I will just suck it up and deal with it for the final 14 months of shore duty. 

     Update to the moving process of the sister-in-law. She finally has her room cleaned out. She is coming over today to go through some of the last little bit of things that she has here so that we can finish up the process. We already have the bedroom mostly cleaned. The bathroom in the master bedroom is done and I have a closet with the hang up clothes in there ready to go. Since we have two closets in the master, the wife and I will each get our own closet. It will definitely make things a lot easier when putting clothes away. I meant to finish cleaning up the floor last night so that I could clean the carpet in there and have it ready to be moved into this morning. In fact, when I get done here I need to go do that. Then again I am home with the children by myself so I probably won't get to it until after my wife gets home. 

      Speaking of the wife, she has now been prepped for her third surgery in 4 months. This time they are trying to save her remaining ovary. If they can't, they will end up taking it and she will no longer have her ovaries. Sucks major balls, but there is no sense in her keeping something that is causing her immense pain. The surgery is theoretically supposed to be starting here in the next 15 minutes or so. I am obviously not there because I am here with the children. She ended up having to work last night, so she wasn't home with me. I woke up to that message this morning and have been cleaning and listening to music to keep me distracted. Now that I am taking a "quick break" from the cleaning, I figured I would drop you guys a line to let you know that I am still alive and kicking. Life can't keep me down for long. 

     In case you were wondering, I am healing up nicely from my surgery and I am back to about 95% efficiency in my capability to do things. There is still some residual pain and tenderness, but nothing that I can't handle with a quick pill. No, I'm not taking narcotics. Simple ibuprofen is taking care of the issue. I have spent the last week at work doing actual manual labor and getting things that need to be done, done. I feel rather accomplished with myself.

     Things have gotten about a million times better between me and my wife. As you may recall, we went through a bit of a rough patch because I am an idiot and made poor decisions. Those days are behind us and we have been moving in a nice forward direction. I have been keeping up on the housework and keeping myself out of trouble. For the most part. I still get into trouble from time to time, but its just who I am. It's like I'm a guy or something. 

     Due to my wife's health issues, she has been kept out of work for a bit. It seems like every time she is able and ready to go to work, something happens that takes her out of work for a few days. That job she had at Subway on base has ended because they have been verbally bashing her about it all. They knew when she was hired that she had health issues. They seemed to either have ignored that part or completely missed it when she told them. Needless to say, she is getting a note together, along with her uniforms, so that I can go drop it all off for her and sever ties with a group of employees that are just complete asshats. She was doing good there. Apparently, they were wanting to make her a shift leader because she was just so awesome. She obviously isn't taking that position since she is quitting. It's better this way because at least I know at Jack In the Box, the manager will accommodate as necessary to have her shifts covered. I'm glad that the manager is our friend because this wouldn't be happening otherwise. 

     As the music plays and I have the oven heating up to make lunch, I am reminded that it is Saturday and you know what that means. Bohica2k Radio is playing tonight. Hopefully, I can get some free time during bath time and things that need to be done tonight to get some fresh happy tunes shoved into my ears and enjoy some good music. Pandora radio is alright, but there is nothing like the radio station that my uncle runs. If you haven't checked it out, stop on over to www.b2kradio.com tonight around 10 p.m. eastern standard time. (add or subtract as necessary to figure out when it will start playing for you. It plays at 7 p.m. west coast time.) Drop in and listen to the club like tunes without having to stand in line and pay a cover charge. Plus, you can enjoy the comforts of your own home and even dance naked. (if that is your thing.)

     With that little bit of advertising done, it is time for me to finish lunch for the children while feeding myself. I know that if I don't eat I will get rather cranky. So, enjoy the post and your Saturday. I am off to do things that I need to be doing. Have fun and if you can, go outside and enjoy some nice weather. It's sunny and relatively warm here in good old Washington state. I'm OUT!!

Wickid

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Day Walker???

     As most of you know, I work a lot at night. I feel like a vampire already whenever I walk into a dark Sonar shack on the submarine. This night job, as I like to call it, is a nice way to continue in my vampire traditions. Well, since my surgery at the end of March, I have been up and down with sleep. Not that I haven't been getting any sleep, just haven't found the right juju to keep the sleeps going. I have started working the day shift since I am light limited duty. Let me tell you, swing shift is a godsend. I can't stand having to mind my P's and Q's and making sure that I am seen by people. I just can't do it. I have spent so much time "in the dark" that I want to keep it that way. I was under the impression that I was only to do one week (this week) as a member of day shift before returning to my regularly scheduled programming. I got told yesterday that I was to remain on day shift until the end of the pay period. I'm unsure as to why it matters because I get paid differently then the civilian employees do. My "time" really doesn't matter since I get paid on a 24/7/365 pay scale. One of the few perks of being active duty. I get that money all the time. Not like I'm rich or anything, but I do enjoy knowing that every action I make, whether it is meaningful or not, is a paid action. Sitting here right now, typing this out for you guys means I am getting paid to be a blogger. Go ahead and just add that to the list of things that I am known for doing. It'll be okay. 

     So now that I am considering myself a "daywalker", I find it hard to stay up like I normally do. See, usually I am still up and going at this time instead of wanting to crawl into bed and go to sleep. Right now the yawning won't stop and I still have three kids to bathe. Two of them are in the tub now. The third sits in his room playing Lego Batman on the XBox. Not that he is spoiled or anything. 

**After that "quick" commercial break**

     As I was saying, he isn't spoiled or anything. He is currently in his room right now living it up and playing games. During the spring break we are letting him stay up as late as he wants so that he theoretically sleeps in. He has slept in for a little bit. As long as he is quiet we don't care. At least he will have his brother coming back to be here with us on Sunday. At least school starts next week. 

     You know what is weird? It takes most of my energy to get through three bathing cycles. Well, four if you count the fact that I have to wash Lucas and then Damen. Now that I am showered and shaved, its time to relax and hopefully get some shut eye before 2300 tonight. I;m not sure how well that is going to work out, but we are damn sure going to try. 

     I have noticed that the number of views for each post has been increasing as of late. You guys are AWESOME!! Keep up the views and enjoying the reading. See you guys later!!

Wickid

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Extended Family Visits

     So it has been a few days since I last talked to you guys. I do believe that last time the posts were made, I was standing in the kitchen making food for my boys. This time, I come to you from the comforts of my own bed. Netflix playing on the Playstation. Children sleeping in their beds. Wife unfortunately at work because she got called in to cover someone. Luckily, she won't be there for too long. 

     Today was a fantastic day. I don't remember the last time that I even started a paragraph with that five word sentence. Today just happens to be a day that I can ACTUALLY say that. The wife and I loaded the kids into the van and ventured out into Port Orchard. The South Kitsap Regional Park was hosting an Easter Egg Hunt today. An old friend of mine was going to be there. I say friend even though he is my brother from another mother. We were literally born less than 24 hours apart. His family was there because they run the little train station out of there. We ended up staying for roughly two hours and the kids got to play around on the trains. They loved it. They spent a lot of time playing on the smaller trains that they could control. My other mother's mother owns the trains that are operated there. So we got head of line privileges to ride the trains as much as we liked. Now to be fair, my wife doesn't really like my brother. She says that he is too annoying so when she told me that she was joining the kids and I for the hunt, I had my doubts. She actually enjoyed herself. We even got invited back to Nana's house for supper. So, we packed up the kids and came home to dye Easter eggs. They really enjoyed that. It got a little messy, but that is what happens when you have three little kids trying to dye eggs. Then we headed back into Port Orchard for the supper. We had fun hanging out with the family and enjoying some good times. Talks and stories flew around the room. Dogs were loved on and kids played. All in all, it was a very good trip. I was even surprised that my wife enjoyed herself. 

     So as I lay in bed watching M.A.S.H., I can't wait to get some sleep so that I can wake up and enjoy the final Sunday of my "sick" leave with my kids as I watch them run around outside collecting Easter eggs that we filled up not 3 hours ago. My wife is so awesome to spend time to fill those little plastic eggs. Things seem to be getting better between her and I. The communication is better and we haven't really had any major fights. In fact, I don't think we have actually had any small arguments either. I just hope that this trend continues. It has been very good to us and I know that the good times are awesome. 

     I hope that every one of you has a good Easter or whatever it is that your religion practices on a Sunday. I'm not really one to judge anybody or try to tell them what religion to have. I don't have one because I don't believe in the hypocrisy of it. Nothing like having something that you might not believe in shoved down your through. So enjoy your night and the Sunday that has just started for me 11 minutes ago. 

Happy Sunday!!

Wickid

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Another Day in the Life

     Welcome to day 92 of the year of 2015. What a year it has been so far. I would say that it has been rather awesome, but then I would be called a liar and I don't like to do things like that. Well, I try not to lie at least. The little white lie here and there that is necessary is sometimes, well, necessary. 
     My wife is yet again in the hospital for reasons we can't explain. This year alone, she has been in the hospital roughly a dozen times already. A couple surgeries here and there, a few doctors visits, and a few emergency room visits. By a few, I mean a lot. I try not to exaggerate for you folks because you guys come here of your own free will and read this stuff at your leisure. Friday the 13th, way back last month, we went out and got tattoos. Simple, cheap, rather meaningless tattoos. Don't judge me, but I like my needles covered in ink. It's just who I am. My body is my temple and I will decorate it the way I please. I won't be one of those people that chooses to shun those with ink. I have it and it's my choice not yours. I can end my life tomorrow and say that it was a damn good one. We had fun and I have stories to tell. Will my life end tomorrow? Check back tomorrow and I'll let you know. This time, my wife is in for severe leg pain in her lower left leg. Started a few weeks back. Apparently, she has some nerve damage in the area around her ankle. It just so happens to coincide with where she got her most recent tattoo. The tattoo isn't infected or anything so don't worry about that. According to her doctor, there is a nerve that runs near the skin there and apparently the tattoo needle damaged it a little. The pain has made it to where she has issues sleeping, she's irritated all of the time, and she can't work or stand for very long. 
     So now we are down to her getting very little hours at work which makes her worry that she won't have a job for too much longer. She has the fear that they will terminate her employment because she is always hospital bound. I hope that they don't do that, but I have no control over what they do. I just want her to get better so that she can have her life back. The one where she is mobile, working, and not in any pain. It is very discouraging to know that she is always in pain or always in the hospital. Not something that I enjoy seeing. Makes me worry just that much more. 
     
     Here we are though, standing in the kitchen, making supper for the children and myself. I happened to have had surgery myself on Monday. Not a good way to start the week right? Wrong! They doped me up so good that I don't remember much past getting my fat ass over to the operating table. Yes, they kept me awake until I went into the operating room. I don't know what they gave me, but I know that I didn't last much past laying my head down on the pillow that was on the table. I woke up roughly two hours later a little groggy, but able to stand and walk all on my own. I'm pretty sure that this is the fastest that I have ever recovered from surgery because I refused the wheelchair ride. I was in and out of sleep for the rest of Monday though so it is a Monday that I was happy to not be a part of. I have been up and mobile since then with little breaks every now and then. It is now Thursday and I have pretty much had the kids and the house all to myself. Beverly was home for a little bit, but she left around mid morning to get herself to work. I really think that she needs a telecommuting job that allows her to work from the comfort of our home. If she does that, she doesn't have to deal with people or traffic or any of the normal things that the rest of the working people have to deal with. I guess I should probably talk to her and not you guys about it. I'll get around to it whenever it is that she gets home. It all depends on her mood. I know she only had about three hours of sleep so she will probably just go lay down and get some rest. I swear that woman is the unluckiest person in the world. Unless of course you play Monster Hunter. We tend to have the worst luck. Desire sensor problems. You don't know about that if you haven't played the game for more than about 30 or 40 hours trying to get a single part. 

     Yes, I even have music playing while I am cooking. Luckily the kids didn't want anything too difficult to make so I can multitask tonight. Thankfully, the moving out process has started for my sister in-law. She has started moving her stuff to her new apartment that she got with her friends. Now, truth be told, most of us don't give them longer than a few months. I give them roughly 6 months. It's the length of their lease. Hopefully, they make it longer than that. I want to be proven wrong this time. Rare for me to say I know, but there are some things that I would rather not be right about. This is one of those times. I want her and her friends to succeed so that I no longer have to take care of them. I'm not rich by any means so taking care of people other than my wife and kids makes me uneasy. That whole losing my job due to debt and money issues scares me. It's a real and legitimate thing. I've seen someone bounced from the military for their money issues. Losing my security clearance, something that I have worked rather hard to get and maintain, is always on the line. Let's just say that I like my job and the secure feeling that it gives me.

     Well, off to eat my supper and get the kiddos all settled down later for bed. Hopefully the wife will be home soon. Later guys and gals!!


Wickid