Four Less Peppermint Patties!

I do believe that I have more than deserved my daily little piece of York Peppermint Patty Heaven this past week...If only Nick could share in a similar ritual to brighten his day.  I got my first phone call from him last night (or early morning, whichever way you want to look at it) around 1am.  It was so wonderful to hear his voice...He arrived in Kandahar, Afghanistan a couple of days ago and has been trying to "stay afloat" since he arrived.  He didn't go into details, but he did say that the chaos/confusion/frustration that he was experiencing prior to take-off was "just the tip of the iceberg".  Somebody better watch out, because Nick has his dukes up ready to fight for his troops.  He is currently living in a crowded building with only a few phones and computers used to communicate with loved ones back home.  He is unsure when he will be moved to his 6 person living quarters (just one of the many reasons Nick is needing his dukes up-all the other pilots are required to sleep no more than 2 to a room).  Hopefully he will have the internet up and running on his personal laptop once he moves into his "permanent home".  We spent a lot of our time discussing the various Family Readiness Group issues that have cropped up in the last few days; a hospitalized child, pregnancy complications and a (literal and figurative) "helicopter mom" who contacted the Battalion Commander's wife because she hasn't been able to Skype with her son yet.  (As an aside, this woman mentioned our "FRG staff" in an e-mail which I found temporarily humorous because my only staff member is a mere 3 month old, who is much more of a hindrance to my work than a help :-P).  Then, his voice softened when I told him all about our girl...Emmy just has a way of making a bad day so much better.  Here's to hoping that Nick has a much better day today...

Keeping Daddy's side of the bed warm while I work on the computer. :-) The only difference is she's a lot more smiley when she wakes up! :-)