This will go here. Only because I don't want to post it on/don't really think that Facebook is really the place for it.

I can't even believe that I am really taking the time to write this.

This blog should be the blog telling everyone that we decided against the camper living after all. We are upgrading to a single wide trailer! Woot. SO excited about that BUT this is not about that. And really, that is all there is to THAT.


Let me start off by saying that I wish you could hear my voice. It's not ranting. Just speaking. None of the conversations, opinions or projected emotions regarding my "Red SOLO Cup" status today, upset me. Nor did they change my mind about any of you or that awful song. They also didn't change my mind about the fact that I feel it is highly inappropriate for preschool age kids to be singing it at the top of their lungs. I just hate the song. I do hate what it implies. Sure. But I am fairly certain that it is because I am the mother of an older child as well. Now, here is where this blog comes in.

I had mentioned that I have a 9 year old that understands the underlying message. Someone commented that, that was troubling. Him understanding the "drinking game" insinuation. Almost implying that there is no reason a 9 year old should know anything about the "adult" use for that damn cup. That was not said, just the statement that him understanding the underlying message should be more of my concern than the song in general.

I deleted all of those comments. Long feeds make me crazy. I always delete long feeds. This is not a new thing so don't worry. You didn't "get my goat".

Anyway, addressing the fact that my 9 year old understands the underlying message, this is what I have to say about that. Aside from the fact that MY 9 year old

 1.has started DARE,
oh, and
 2.we live in a city where drugs and alcohol run rampant,
 3.he's brilliant.


Therefore, Zach and I choosing to educate him on the difference between alcohol abuse and the occasional glass of wine is, in my opinion, the only way to even begin to go about raising a child in the real world. I couldn't keep it from him if I tried. It's impossible. "Beer Pong", "Happy Hour" and countless other non-child friendly activities are advertised about every 3 feet in this city. Don't ever insinuate that I must be doing something wrong because my child knows that there are drunk (and yes knows what the term "drunk" means) idiots in this world that think their life, good times and the definition of a party is filling up a stupid plastic SOLO cup.

 I am not doing anything wrong in that respect. It's called teaching. Teaching the wrong way to have a good time and teaching the right way. I am completely confident in his intelligence and I will be damned if I try to dumb him down as a penalty of his age.

This kind of goes hand in hand with, while we choose not to expose them to unnecessary things we also do NOT shelter our children. They will never be lied to in any respect. (Ok, I TOTALLY said the president outlawed toys in kids meals. We don't even eat fast food but maybe once a month and Wyatt's arteries will thank me one day! I'll also fess up to the lie, I'm sure.) Point, if they ask a question, "Mom, what is "beer pong"? It's on that sign" (my 9 year old can read by the way), then they get an answer. "It's a game played with ping pong balls, cups and beer...". Zach and I have answered several questions with truthful, age appropriate responses and will continue to do so. So THAT is why my child understands the underlying message. Because he's smart enough to figure it out from what goes on in the world. From asking questions and from getting truthful answers. This isn't me talking up my ultra smart kid, this is just my kid.

One day, when he is out in the real world, he will be able to make wise decisions and live a life that he can be proud of because he was always fully educated on everything that we could possibly educate him on. When he asked a question we told him the truth the first time rather than going back and reteaching it when he was "ready/older". We educate both of our boys on real life with age appropriate answers at age appropriate times. And without stripping them of their innocence.  I know that the "alcohol" talk will come up many more times. As he gets older we will expose him to another layer of truth. Truth that he is better suited to understand at that older age. However the basic lesson will be the same. He will always know that there are much better things to do with your life and that it is perfectly acceptable and even encouraged to NOT be the drunk idiot filling up his red SOLO cup because he can't figure out on his own, another way to "party". And that Toby Keith is not the symbol for American patriotism.

EXACTLY one month from TODAY!!!!

On Feb 17, 2012 Zach will work his last shift at his current duty station! I canNOT wait. This has been quite the assignment for him/us. I'm so ready to see Vegas in the rear view that it's not even funny. Partially because I am anxious to get back home and partially because I am tired of living in a huge city!  I'm SO thankful that the time has arrived. I can feel the stress leaving right as we speak. Or read/type. Not the point.

Yesterday marked the first official day in this whole moving process. We decided that we will be doing a DITY move again rather than having the AF move us. There are just so many perks to doing it yourself. Aside from the comfort of knowing where your personal belongings are and that they are packed well and transported with care, there is a pretty significant monetary benefit. Since we are wanting to buy or build when we move to KS, a few extra bucks are more than worth the few days of packing chaos.

We have had zero plans as to where we will be living once we leave here.
*The waiting list on the base is anywhere from 4-9 months.
* We don't want to rent anywhere and be committed to a lease.
*We don't want to buy without living in the area and knowing for sure that we like it. 

We know nothing except that we are leaving. The uncertainty has also been a huge stress. Like, can't sleep at night stress.

We have tossed around every idea possible.
*The boys and I staying here until the end of the school year (another stress is moving at this time in the school year)
*Us 3 moving home, home and in with my dad until summer. 
*Just sucking it up and moving onto the base for the first year.
*Blindly purchasing a home and hoping and praying that we love it long term. 

Yesterday Zach and I sat at breakfast tossing around all of our hopeless ideas and coming up with nothing except sick stomachs. I made a comment about "I wish that my dad still had his camper! You could totally just park that bad boy at the lake and the boys and I could just finish out the year in Douglass." We laughed for half a second and then it hit me. WE WILL JUST GET A CAMPER AND LIVE IN IT UNTIL WE FIND WHAT WE WANT TO BUY!!! Genius. From then we were both instantly relieved. Sure it will be tight and completely uncomfortable living conditions BUT to not have the commitment of fulfilling a lease, not having the pressure of finding a place without being fully educated on the area, not having to spend several unnecessary months apart from each other etc. It is SO worth it!

    

 The 1st box

So, our plan was perfect and we were excited. That's when I started packing the first boxes.

Then today came. Of course as luck would have it, Zach got a phone call from the housing office on Ft.Riley and they have a home that will be available to us on Feb 29. That is EXACTLY when we would need to move in. We are talking door to door with no waiting period at all. Perfect timing. It couldn't be more perfect except that we would have to stay in that home for a year. We have a choice to make. we sat down and started lists. Pros and cons to living on base vs. living in a camper. Yes people, I'm serious...we had to decided what was the better option. A brand new, never lived in 1800sqft home or a 30ft used camping trailer. We hit the note pad.

The lists

We made our lists and our choice. Camper wins. True. You guys know that I am far from a proud person and I think that we are both "big picture" people. This is definitely going to take some focusing on the big picture.  Me, my three guys and our entire zoo will indeed be embarking on a great adventure! I am already laughing at the mere thought of all of us getting down and cozy in a camping trailer! It's things like this that really make it so much fun to be part of The Frakes Four. Life is always an adventure and by the time that my kids are twenty they are going to have some crazy life stories. I hope that we are encouraging them to be open minded people and that you have to make sacrifices sometimes to get where God has planned for you to be. A dining room table that doubles as a twin bed is just one of those little sacrifices. 

I've made lists of the bare minimums and a few luxuries that we can keep with us in an RV/Camper for living up to 6 months. I called around and found the best location and rates for full hook ups and started shopping for this beast. A thirty plus footer. It's going to happen and it's going to afford us the time and totally flexibility to build or buy with complete confidence!  Oh, and it's lakefront! Ha. Five hundred people, amazing schools, hunting and fishing area all around, close enough to Ft. Riley and to a few larger cities for shopping, I think that we have a great location as a starting point. Milford KS, here we come! 
  

I mean, right on the lake!

and then there were...15!!

Yep, that's right. We are now a family of FIFTEEN! Well, if you count our pets. Which I actually don't normally but for the title of this blog, I did.


I guess that it is safe to say that we are animal lovers. Ha. As a child I was always dragging home stray dogs or cats. Even the occasional pig, goat or rabbit. A few birds made their way through the line up and of course everyone has to have a turtle, some fish, a lizard that I caught on a fishing trip, a horny toad and let's not forget the hamster named Tucker that got out of his cage and made our wide open five bedroom farm house his palace. That thing lived for months outside of his cage avoiding the mouse traps, eating whatever he was eating and drinking the condensation from the refrigerator. I caught him one day behind our wood burning stove and was SO happy (I was a senior in high school at this time) that he really was still alive. My dad had allegedly seen him. I thought he was just trying to be funny. I put him back in his cage, new water, food etc. Two days later...dead. I could not make that up.  Once there were two golden Retriever puppies that were dumped at the high school. I bribed the art teacher to let me keep them in her classroom until the end of the day so I could take them home. Thanks Mrs. J!  My sister and I had an old iron claw foot bathtub FULL of tadpoles one summer. I'm certain that the gigantic toads on my parents farm are some of those guys.  I know that there were plenty more that I am forgetting. Zach was the same way. We just like animals. Especially rescuing them. No matter their disability or needs, we love them.


That being said, we are NOT the "we think that our animals are our other children" people. They are pets. Period. Animals, not people. I do not need to elaborate on this. Many people don't even know that we have animals unless we just got it and it is a topic of conversation or they come across a picture. We aren't those crazy animal hoarder type people. Gross.


Ok, so my mom text me tonight shortly after I sent her this picture...

Her reply was, "You have got to be the craziest person I know. You're going to have to build an ark to come home!" It's so true! If we don't stop now that is.

After getting Zach a Cockatoo for Christmas, I joined a parrot discussion group. I know, official bird nerd. Count me right in the ranks with the Zachs. I need all the help I can get in an effort to win that guy over!

Now, Mr. Crankypants Cockatoo is not a fan of me. It's no secret. He bites me every chance he gets. We have a love hate relationship. We both love Zach and hate each other. :) Ok, I don't hate him but I am perfectly fine with our boundaries. He did make me want a bird that liked me though!

Anyway, one of the ladies in the group works for a big name pet store here in town that kind of sales birds. What I mean by kind of is, they should not sell parrots. Stick to the finches and parakeets. The types that don't need a lot of one on one handling and companionship from people (when in captivity). She mentioned a little Conure that was at one of her stores and he had been there in his tiny cage with very minimal contact for almost 2 years!! I was heartbroken! How awful. I got the details on him and was already planning where to set up his cage before I had even seen him. Or had a cage! 

I read a little on Conures, got even more excited, emailed the lady, set up an appointment to meet the little guy and THEN asked the price. If any of you know anything about parrots, you know that they are NOT cheap. I hate to talk about the cost of things here but I'll just say it. We were looking at a four hundred dollar parrot.

We got an amazing deal on the Cockatoo. A bird and cage that normally costs a couple thousand dollars, practically FREE. True. I knew that there was no way I would be making a four hundred dollar bird rescue! Well, not if I wanted to stay married. I didn't even mention the cost factor to her or to Zach. I wanted to meet him. I knew that I wouldn't pay that kind of money for a bird that I was just feeling sorry for, when I wouldn't even pay that kind of money for a bird that Zach had wanted since he was Zachary's age.  But I wanted to meet him...just in case.

This morning she sent me another message letting me know that since she was familiar with me from the group and knew that our home would be an amazing place for this little guy that she would discount him by eighty percent! I couldn't believe it! You guys know I love a good discount!

We met him, we loved him, he loved us and that is the rest of the story! I scored a cute second hand cage that was full of toys and perches with and stand for him from a parrot farm here in town for only twenty bucks! Deal of the century. Zach calls him my birthday gift. That is fine by me. He's the greatest and he barks! The dogs even think he is cool!

This little green guy makes two parrots, two dogs, one bearded dragon, 5 fish (we downsized!), one snail, two kids and one husband! The house is officially full! I guess that growing up on fifty plus acres that the "being able to adopt or rescue whatever I want" mindset just stuck. For Zach too! No more pets in this house though. We'll have to wait until we move. Next on the list...SHEEP! And acreage. I love our mini-zoo.

 

It's finally here!

The Frakes Four had a great New Year's Eve this year. We spent the evening with some of our friends that we met through scouting last year. Bob and Venessa and their awesome two kiddos Bobby and Violet. We had a pretty low key evening with those guys, their parents and a couple of other couples and their kids. Lots of good conversation, game playing, a few trips to the park, TONS of food, noise makers, champagne and sparkling cider toasts, fireworks over the strip via channel 8 news, some tips to get Zach's bird to like me and the number to a phenomenal new nail girl! That's my way of ringing in the new year. I really like this "getting old and skipping out on all of the craziness" thing.



Midnight kiss!

The boys brought home all of their noise makers and have been using them all day. I assured them that they need to get it out of their system today because they are going to become MIA at midnight tonight.

Making some New Year noise!

So, on the ride home last night I asked the three stooges if they have any new year's resolutions...Zach and I don't really have any personal ones. We never have been big on making them. Well, not for the purpose of a "resolution". We do plan to get back to our CrossFit workout routine that we had started before the holidays but that isn't so much a resolution as it is - our break is over.

Here is what we came up with as far as real resolutions...

Zachary: 1. No more drinking root beer!

(I find this humorous because he rarely drinks soda anyway. I think he just heard some of the adults cutting out things like this and decided it was a good idea. Good for him)

2. Do things the first time he is asked. No matter what.

(Thank God)

Wyatt: 1. Try reeeeally hard to not spill things on the carpet.

(And well, everywhere else in the house. This kid definitely got my coordination when it comes to walking and talking)

2. Listen to his parents and teachers

(Again, thank God)

Our Family: 1. Read the Bible together every night after dinner

(As well as Wyatt's children's Bible and Zachary's devotional book)

2. Work out together as a family rather than just Zach and I.

(The boys have actually done a few of the CrossFit circuits with us and they love it. There is a CrossFit Kids program that we will be incorping into our routine. You know, for ME and the boys.)

That's pretty much it. Simple and easily doable resolutions!

The Frakes Four midnight 1/1/2012

  

I am looking forward to this year! It's finally here...THE BIG MOVE! So much to do in these first couple of months. I know that it's going to fly by just like 2011 did so I will do my best to continue to take tons of pics and blog, blog, blog!

Happy 2012, friends!





I cook. Rarely. But when I do it's GOOD!

Last night some friends of ours went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Her mentioning it put a craving over me for buffalo Blasts like you wouldn't believe! I needed them. Zach was dragging me to the grocery store anyway so I just figured that I would google the recipe and try my hand at them. They turned out so much better than i could have imagined so I figured that I should share it with all of you too! If you know me, you know that I don't cook. Bake, sure. Cook, rarely. Point: THESE ARE SO EASY!

Pack of won ton wrappers (large squares)

One egg white

I used 3

1 chicken breast
Frank's Buffalo Style Hot Sauce (THIS IS THE EXACT SAME HOT SAUCE THEY USE!!!)

Grated cheese (I used mozzarella and cheddar)

Bread crumbs (both Panko and plain bread crumbs)

Italian seasoning

Bake the chicken breast at 375 until done. Shred the breast into pretty small pieces.

This is about 4-5 breasts



Mix in Cheese...as much as you feel necessary.

Then moisten with buffalo sauce. Again, as much as you think...

Lay out the won ton wrapper and lay chicken breast mixture inside.

Moisten the edges of the won ton with water or egg white and fold it
diagonally, pressing the edges closed.

Use a pastry brush and brush egg white over the outside and cover with a mix of the Panko and plain bread crumbs.

Place them two at a time into a deep fryer at 375 until they're golden
brown. Make sure to turn them. Place on a napkin or paper towel to drain
excess oil off.

Serve with celery sticks, extra hot sauce for dipping, and some blue cheese
or ranch. DELICIOUS!

"It's like everything I do is a PARTY!"

This is what I caught myself saying to Zach while we were in Smith's today. Ha. It's so true though. I'm easily pleased. I'm just a happy person, what can I say? I look for the silver lining. Today at Smith's I found it at the little Barefoot setup! Ok, I loathe grocery shopping. Like, I hate it so much I will fake sick, work, broken limb - whatever it takes to get out of going.  Boy oh boy am I glad I went tonight! The vendor for Barefoot wine was there giving out samples of their two new champagnes for New Years. It was like a Barefootpalooza!

I was in Heaven. I was so excited about the new stuff that the woman asked if she could take my picture! HA. It's awful but funny.

They had a whole table of goodies! I filled out a survey and then she actually asked me if i needed a PT job! Haha. I passed but I will be featured in their Las Vegas "customer reviews". Awesome.

This is Tracy. She's gonna get me info on a shirt ;)



I scored all kids of cool stuff. A magnet, key chain and TWO wine corks. All in all, a great trip to the grocery store. Oh, we got some food too.

Holy cow! They were not only on time BUT EARLY!!!!

So today...my husband brought home THESE!

Yep, real orders! Now this means that we really need to focus and start house hunting and packing! We are planning to leave here about February 24.