Solo par-tay!

several weekends ago (i am so great at being consistent with this, aren't i?) kyle and his class had their solo party. It's an exciting thing to solo, so i think it deserves a party! And it was a LOT of fun.

So, a little background info:

First, you have to know that the students must come to the party wearing a tie. A cheap/tacky tie is best.

The IP (instructor pilot) who soloed the student calls the student to the front of the party and tells a little story about the student. Its usually a story about how the solo went, but sometimes it's just about the student's general personality/performance/behavior.  They say it's 80% true and 20% false...they are fun stories :o) Then, (this is where the cheap/tacky tie comes into play) the IP cuts the students tie. If he cuts just the tip, "so to speak" (that's apparently a pilot version of "that's what she said") it means the student did well. The more the IP takes, the worse the flight. Apparently some guys are asked to take off their tie, haha! Not my guy though! Keep reading and you can see for yourself how kyle did...


Here he is with the IP who soloed him, the soon-to-be flight commander. His name is Lt. Hoffacker

THe story he told? well, there were many expletives...but it was a story that made his wifey proud. Basically, he said Kyle is very good at pointing out problems in the schedule, like when people aren't "opted" (i'm probably screwing up terminology here...) to do a flight they are scheduled to do, or when they are scheduled to fly but can't because they are DNIF'd (duties not to include fly). Then the semi-dreaded words came: "which will make him a great FAIP!" First assignment instructor pilot. DOH!

It's an honor, but it's an honor we hope to not be given :o)
Maybe that's why kyle looks like he's on the verge of punching his IP...haha!

Lt. Hoffacker concluded the story by saying kyle was the easiest person he has ever soloed. Isn't that incredible? Kyle came into this whole experience with so few flight hours, almost none. And so many guys come here with a TON of experience. So to hear that statement makes me so insanely proud. Seriously, i get chills thinking about it.  He has worked so hard for this. I know my husband is where he is supposed to be, and that makes me so happy for our family!

Tie cutting. You can't tell very well from this picture, but kyle's tie had a computer on it. It's sort of a metaphor. A visual way of officially saying goodbye to his old career :o)

now a celebratory shot!

Proud wife and baby!

Other notable things at the solo party:

The presents the spouses made for the students

Julie's is bedazzled :o)

The impressive and incredibly delicious cookie cakes Brittany made (you'll hear more about her and the other spouses in the next post)

A parade!

On a whim last saturday the boys and i decided to go to the parade with some friends. We're still unsure  what was being celebrated, but I'm always up for a parade! Even if it was the QUIETEST parade i have ever been to. Seriously, it was so quiet. Only 2 very small high school marching bands throughout the whole parade! But still, the boys and i had a great time!

Billy was most interested in some balloons that had floated "up in da ky" 

You wouldn't know it from this picture, but i think Luke is one of billy's best friends.

I think noah might be one of luke's best friends :o)

Enjoying popcorn by the handful, just like a true redfern!

Me and my boys, just before the parade started. We were excited!

Later that day we went to the ball park for a bit, just to play. It was so nice to see a little more of our tiny town!

When we were done at the ballpark, we went to a friends house for some games. It was such a GREAT saturday!

Just before bed (just realized I never posted this...)

I was working on a photo book today and i FINALLY finished it at 10pm (i had to finish it today or it wouldnt be free)! Then i was too worked up from the last-minute nerves so i decided to sit on the couch and have a drink and catch up on facebook and blog about our day :o)

I always listen to music while doing dishes. Today billy started spinning in circles and said "oooo. sumic. momma i dancing! wan dance momma?" so i started mimicking his dance moves, to which he replied "oh, u so cute momma."

noah is down to 2 naps. but he keeps trying to move his bedtime further and further back (9pm tonight)! he thinks he is a pre-teen already...

kyle was happy for the small break of a canceled flight today. poor guy needs more breaks.

I put on workout clothes in hopes that i would actually go workout (i'm wearing them, might as well hit the gym, right?) but it was not successful. I did have someone ask me how my workout was though...so at the very least this outfit is good for days when i havent showered (most days) b/c then it just seems like i just got out of them gym. because really, who wears their workout clothes to run errands...   ;o)

we brought daddy some snacks at work today, then enjoyed our lunch on the flight line. billy likes to watch the planes take off and land. noah likes to eat. i like to be out of the house. WIN!

there's our day, in a nutshell :o)

Frustration

I am very careful with my words. not in an evil, calculated sort of way. But in a cautious "i know how awful it feels to have your feelings hurt" sort of way.  I really don't want to offend or hurt other people.

I have a very small, but close, group of friends here.

I often need to talk things through, or just "put it out there" to purge it from my mind.

My husband is extremely busy, so trying to discuss things that do not involve him just seems frivolous. Especially because many of the things i need to talk about matter only in that moment. I usually know they will not be significant in a week, or a day, or maybe even the next hour.

All these things added up make for a LOT of random facebook posts. A whole lot. And i'm okay with that (i honestly don't care if anyone else has an issue...block my updates, it's easy to do). But one of today's posts started a RIGHT before bed (i mean my earplugs were almost in) conversation with kyle that has me so frustrated I can't sleep.

"Friends close, enemies closer? Nah. I'll just be nice to everyone and try my hardest to brush my shoulders off when the meanies (intentional or not) hurt my feelings."


He thinks "why post something that you're going to do? just live it." Um, hello? Why do anything on FB with that attitude? I tried to explain that facebook is sometimes my ONLY interaction with people, with my friends. Today for instance, i saw only my neighbor. and only for 5 minutes. thanks to 2 children on two very different nap schedules, i had at least one child napping from 10 am to 5 pm.  DOnt get me wrong, I love being a stay at home mom. But, if it's weren't for facebook, i am not sure i could survive days like this. 

He says he understands. he doesn't.

He also thinks that i am setting myself up for fights, or awkward conversations, or losing friends.  He may very well be right, but i don't think so. Because i have a small group of friends, it would be obvious who I am "blowing off steam" about. And that is not fair. I know my emotions are fleeting. And i know any conversation of this sort could easily be considered catty and gossipy, and those are 2 adjectives i do NOT want tied to me. Still, I needed to get that thought out of my head and put it into words that i could read again and again  when i need to. Sure, i could just write that in a journal, but i also needed the support of my friends. I needed to see the "likes" and read the comments to get some encouragement. So onto facebook it went. Another thing, this isn't about the person who hurt my feelings. This is me telling myself (while getting encouragement from my friends) that i need to not let other people hurt me so easily. I am SO sensitive (hence the RIDICULOUSLY long (but super cathartic) blog post at 11pm after a 2 minute calm conversation with my husband). The situation that caused my feelings to get hurt that sparked the post? I am confident there were ZERO intentions of hurting my feelings, so this post was NOT about that person. It was about me changing how i deal with things. I need to remember that not everyone is as highly sensitive as i am, so not everyone thinks the way i do or acts the way i do. But i also need to remember to not give people who are intentionally hurtful the satisfaction of my emotional reactions (thus the "intentional or not" part).  

I had been thinking about ways to deal with these sorts of people (by that i mean people who are oblivious to my sensitive nature, who are less gentle than I strive to be), and the "enemies closer" phrase came to mind. ANd i immediately knew that wasn't "me", and i could never do that. how exhausting! the very next thought was the "golden rule".  And that is much more "me." And much more easy. And i knew i needed to remember that.







Ugh. I have written so much...I don't know how else to explain it. I"m not sure I can. At least now i feel calmer and like i can sleep :o)

Sunday not-the-usual-kind-of-fun-day :-)

I was sick, again. It started Saturday night with a fever that climbed quickly out of no where (nothing dangerous, but certainly uncomfortable). And shakes. And chills. And body aches. It's so weird... I can feel it coming on again now as I type.

Because I felt so awful, my wonderful (but slightly hungover thanks to his solo party...a different post to come) husband took care of me and let me nap for 2 hours and rest for another hour. He completely took care of the boys. He did all the changing and playing and feeding (lunch was chicken...just sliced deli chicken) AND put them down for a nap (the chicken must have magical powers because they slept.so.long). This may be old hat for some daddies, but until today he didn't have the opportunity to take care of the boys all on his own. On a whim, the hungover-hubby did excellent. A+ in my book :-)

After my incredible break, I felt much better. After we watched a little mad men and he did a little studying, we decided to go out to Brinner (breakfast for dinner... He he he) at IHOP. It was super tasty.

After dinner we made the very last minute decision to head to the train at meadowlake park since we have never been. It was great!! Billy apparently takes his train riding very seriously, but he loved it!!

Noah almost fell asleep :o)

I've written a ton already, so I'll sum up the rest ;-)

Perfect weather on the drive home

Boys playing while mommy and daddy just smile watching them
Mommy playing with boys instead of cleaning
Bedtimes
Mad men
House remained unclean

Happy day :o)