XC v. Super Bowl XLVI

Matt will have some competing interests the weekend of February 4^th-5^th.  After passing his check ride last week, Matt is cleared for his first Cross Country flight…and it is scheduled for Super Bowl weekend…and the Giants are playing, to boot!  The first round of XC flights in Matt’s class took off and safely returned last weekend and now it is Matt’s turn, along with some other guys.  This is a very exciting milestone for them and the IPs usually pick somewhere fun (though hopefully not too fun…as Panama City “gentlemen’s clubs” are apparently very popular hotspots, complete with their typical $300 tab…I am *so* grateful to be married to a pilot trainee who has 1) most of his wild days out of his system and 2) was never really all that wild to begin with).  It still blows my mind that it is not shockingly uncommon to see an airman (both officer or enlisted, more typically the younger folks who have their first real taste of freedom/independence from their parents in the Air Force), who has managed to throw away his/her entire career in one weekend of poor choices.  Anyway, this is not really about that.

Matt is very excited about his XC and also hoping he has an early-sleeper and early-riser IP who will be interested in making it back in time for the Super Bowl.  The guys leave on Friday afternoon for their flight and return 2 days later.  I can’t imagine him flying with someone who isn’t interested in watching the game…even if “your team” isn’t playing, most folks still seem to want to watch it…even I sometimes do, lol.  Matt is learning instrument flying now (flying without sight, relying on controls, gauges, etc., only—essential skills for flying in poor weather) and spending a lot of time in the simulator.  It should be a nice break for him in terms of motion sickness and a real opportunity to shine and catch up with his peers in terms of flying skills. 

He has passed 2/3 solos (he only has 3 during his entire training…T-1s, which start in March, don’t have solo flights as part of the syllabus).  And all he has left on that list is a formation flight (he will fly 10”-6’ away from another student/IP).  That is probably the one that will be most nerve-wracking for me.  The pace of training here never ceases to amaze me!

Exciting times

Two great things today:

1) I found a gluten-free pasta that everyone in our family loves (we are *not* fans of the corn-based packaged products the commissary stocks): homemade gnocchi!

2) Matt passed his check ride!!  Woo hoo!!  He actually got a "good" overall, which is even better than he needs to pass!  We were really hardcore with diet, spinning, and relaxing for him last night and in the morning, and I am so happy that it paid off.  Tomorrow he may be flying his first mission across state lines...to Wichita, KS (about 2h away by car).  Cross countries flights are coming up soon too!  What a change in our feelings and confidence about training, almost day-to-day, lol.

Party city

In the past two weeks, the girls have been to 4 birthday parties--quite a few considering they've only had one other one since we moved here in August!

Venues have included Chuck E. Cheese (~1hr 45min drive from where we live), Leonardo’s Discover Warehouse, and Skatetown).  We have long been fans of Chuck’s (and have even made the drive just for a day trip) and are members here at Leonardo’s.  

Leonardo's pics (in this toasty winter weather we've been having...):

 

The Skatetown party provided a great opportunity to check out somewhere new—and we will surely be going back.  I 100% did not think my 5 and 3 yr old daughters could hold their own at a roller rink, but, well-equipped with their Christmas skates and safety gear, they took to the floor like fearless adventurers.  My 5 yr old was already trying jumps and backward moves, and both participated in the limbo and hokey pokey.  Neither is a fan of falls…which are sort of inevitable when you are learning to skate.  However, the difference between falling on scratchy concrete v. the smooth roller rink floor is amazing.  Without a scratch or bleed to prove it, as far as they are concerned, the fall did not hurt.  :OD

 

I even got out on the floor with them (on skates) and had such as good time that I am going back with the girls on my Biggest Loser team one of these weekends for a group workout.  Hoping to get a little skating in by myself and then have Matt and the kiddos join us for the 2^nd hour.  Saturday mornings there is a beginner session (I am definitely a beginner!) from 10am-noon that features a free lesson for the young ones, and calmer skating in general.  Very excited!  :OD

The slew of parties has also gotten each girl thinking of how to plan their own.  My oldest’s is next month and she wants an all-girl rockstar makeover party with a music-themed/shaped cake, Chic-fil-A lunch spread, and stuffed guitar pillow party favors for attendees.  She is incredibly specific.  :O)

The new year has also given me a better handle on Daisy Scout happenings and I am so loving Girl Scouts.  I cannot think of a more well-rounded, community, peer, and family-oriented activity for girls to be involved with.  A snapshot of our activities these next two months: field trip to the fire station (as part of our Gerri petal "Respect for Authority"), cooking cultural food while modeling traditional clothing from and teaching about Indonesia for Thinking Day (each Troop in the Council selects a country...we are going with Indonesia since one of our girls was adopted from there), crafting with residents at a local nursing home, participating in the service at our local church for Girl Scout Sunday, and of course some tasty cookie activities to boot!

I have been blessed with a great co-leader whose daughter my two adore.  Here the girls are crafting/baking with [edible] Press Dough (homemade cookie dough they can shape using a ton of accessories they received for Christmas) while us adults plan out the next couple of meetings & outings.

Some great globs of dough colors to work with:

The finished products (post-baking).  They held their shape super-well!

The girls enjoying their treats:

Since this is in theory a pilot training blog, I guess I should update a little on Matt's training.  We've kind of been in a holding pattern due to his motion sickness, so there hasn't been much to report.  After throwing up 4xs his first flight back after break, he had a successful flight, followed by a successful solo, and two days of double turns (back-to-back flights, including solos).  Things were going great and he was one ride away for his final check ride of the unit...when he started throwing up again.  I suppose I am partly to blame for this last bout of motion sickness.  One habit Matt has taken up since pilot training started...and one which I may be partly to blame for modeling so wonderfully for him these past 9 years...is stress eating.  Basically when he is nervous, anything (besides gluten) is fair game.  After his last check ride, and after being the only one in his flight to hook a check ride (something he has been relentlessly hard on himself about, unfortunately, despite my efforts to assure him that no one in his class could mind and they all know he is giving it his best--seriously, despite his struggles with motion sickness and busy family life on top of training, he consistently takes time out to help and study with classmates struggling with academics--which is the area he is strongest in).  Anyway, since he was flying early in the day, I planned a pre-flight snack of rice (following BRAT diet guidelines) and a post-meal lunch of rice--with shrimp an veggies in a peanut butter sauce.  Well...guess who stress-ate the whole thing right before his flight?  So guess what is his lunch for tomorrow (despite a very early check ride)?  One tupperware of rice and fat free hot dogs (his go-to meal) and another containing a large salad with some steak on top.  No one I know stress eats salad, lol, even though we'd all be a lot better off if we did!  Here's to a great flight tomorrow!

& to close...a cute picture of Tunia in a holiday sweater...that it has been too warm for her to wear out on her walks lately!

Back in the saddle

Well, the holiday break is over, Matt is back in training, and the girls are back in school.  The girls eased right back into their routine—with 1 birthday party each to look forward to this weekend--and are excited about swim lessons at the Y resuming next week.  Matt has his first flight since the >2wk long hiatus on Tuesday…and I wish I could say overcoming motionsickness has been like riding a bike (in that once you have it down, you have it down), but that has not proven to be the case.  Despite spinning religiously over break—and even turning down the opportunity to roadtrip again to New Orleans to keep up our Barany chair routine, and despite a rigorous professional spin on Monday, Matt still threw up a whopping 4 times yesterday afternoon.  To cap it off, he is battling a cold, which is affecting his sleep.  He went to see the flight doc about that and his motion sickness (every time you throw up or report motion sickness during flight, you have to be cleared by the flight doc in order to proceed with training).  He was prescribed some Mucinex and grounded from flying until Monday (there are very few meds you can fly while taking d/t side effects).  Because he needs to fly every day to keep motion sickness at bay, it will in all likelihood be a lot of spinning this weekend, but then square one again on Monday. 

In my opinion, they way the training routine operates certainly does not help matters anyway.  Matt is slightly behind in academics (but still over a month ahead of syllabus) due to the bout of rough flights he experienced prior to the break.  You are not cleared for the next block of academics until you pass your check ride for the previous block, so he has some catching up to do.  Academic classes are held in the morning, which means for the foreseeable future, all his flights are in the afternoon, which is a far worse time to be flying, simply because he has eaten more.  When he can hop right out of bed, grab oatmeal w/flaxseed and a banana, and head off to his plane, results are muuuuch better.  It makes the cycle more difficult to beat.  And another thing that makes me extremely anxious about the program is how easy (in my opinion) it is to regain solo-flight status after a long bout of rough flights.  Of his past 10 flights, Matt has encountered problems with motion sickness or disorientation on 7 of them, resulting in “hooks”.  No matter how many he hooks, as soon as he passes 2 in a row, he will be qualified for his aerial solo.  He has assured me that when this time comes, he will play it extremely safe and do the minimal required in terms of maneuvers, so as not to pull too many Gs, etc. (increase susceptibility to motion sickness), but it still makes me nervous.  This is not the first time I have felt like the program may move too quickly for the new guys (those entering training with zero hours), but I am one of those wives/moms who always worries about everything and Vance does have excellent safety and success stats to back up its judgment.

Well, here’s hoping for the best and for Matt to have some pleasant flights next week.  :OD

Training Update

UPT update:

One of the main reasons (besides the fact that we loathe wasting free time off by taking leave during that time [note: military members typically get a full week “off” during either Christmas or New Year’s week, provided they remain in the local area…if they go out of town, even for a day, they are charged the full 2 weeks (1 week, with family days on either side of the weekends)]) we are staying in town over Christmas is to remain near the Barany chair.  Matt took about 3 days off during Thanksgiving, and then did extremely half-hearted spins (short, and basically spun himself) for the remainder of the week.  He then proceeded to hook (pilot talk for “not pass”) 6 out of 8 flights (due largely to spatial disorientation) and needed to fly both an 88 and 89 (commander’s review) flights.  Had he not passed his 89er, he would have been grounded from further training until he reported to the wing commander for a decision regarding his future (and the wait for this is killer-long; he has friends who have been in limbo for over a month!).  The flight he hooked prior to his 89 was actually comically bad—to the point where we were both cracking up discussing it.  Thank goodness he had an IP with him to retain control (on 4 or 5 separate occasions)—and it was not a solo flight.  He nailed his 89, though, and that has been a major boost to his confidence. 

However, it is also giving us a more realistic outlook for the future.  We are setting our sights more toward C-5s than C-17s and FAIP (First Assignment Instructor Pilot), since--as a new student pilot in a flight of almost exclusively licensed pilots, his flying skills are strong, but very middle-of-the-pack--and he could probably use a little more skill development before he starts teaching.  This new route is exciting, too.  We are very blessed to have a just-go-with-it outlook in terms of where we live, etc. and are always up for the next adventure. 

Holiday fun

Hopefully Matt's week of training will not suffer from all the family fun we enjoyed this weekend, but after months of busy 12h days and weekends juggled mostly around study schedules, it was nice to have a lot of fun together and a lot of family time.  :o)

Friday evening we took the girls to their first play: a version of Roger & Hammerstein's "Cinderella".  It was a very cute musical production and both girls loved it.  They got dressed up, met Cinderella and Prince Christopher afterwards, and overcame their fear of stepmothers, as the step sisters and step mother in this version were somewhat friendlier (at least in their eyes) than the ones in Disney's.

Posing before the show:

With Cinderella & Prince Christopher:

Saturday we took the girls to a pancake breakfast with Santa.  It actually ended up being more of a fruit and muffin brunch, because the girls were so busy playing with the bounce house attractions, that the buffet was clean out of pancakes by the time they decided to eat.  :O)  They enjoyed a visit with Santa, face paint, ornament crafts, and cookie decorating.  It was a great time!  Every month since we have been here, the base has put on some sort of amazing family activity.  For a base hugely populated with single airmen, it is amazingly family friendly.

Bouncin' plane:

Chic-fil-A cow:

Face paint:

Ornament making:

That evening, Matt and I attended the Med Group Christmas party at Leonardo's.  It was fun getting dressed up and having our first actual "date" together since moving in here.  One of our very sweet neighbors actually babysat the girls free of charge and treated them to an amazing evening of cookie decorating and board games.  It was very nice getting to attend a squadron party together, particularly as it was at precisely such a party where our courtship began 9 years ago.  :O)  And the time has reeeaaally flown by!

Today was a lot of fun too.  Even though I was hosting a potluck tonight, and probably could have spent the whole morning cooking and cleaning, I talk the girls to church on base in the morning, motivated heavily by the fact that children's choir practice was directly afterwards and the girls are going to be angels in a brief story session during the morning service next weekend.  My oldest said to me, after getting costumed up this morning: "Mom, you've called us angels for a long time--and now we are angels!  You've never called us 'Mary'."  Lol, the things they come up with!

Angel rehearsal at Church:

For our potluck this evening, we made Italian herb chicken and broccoli with toasted hazelnuts and garlic (both crock pot dishes, which I loooove) and gluten-free tiramisu cupcakes (and pasta, iced tea, and bread machine bread).  It was a lot of fun, and I am a growing fan of dinner parties now that I'm working and the kids are in school and we can't do playgroups all the time (although I absolutely cannot wait until summer break!).  Matt dressed up as Santa and did a quick in-and-out visit, dropping off gifts for all the kiddos.  I would have loved to get pix of the girls sitting with him, but at this point, they are waaay too observant.  They already check out mall Santas for authentic hair (to determine if it's the real Santa or, as we have told them, one of his messengers out collecting wish lists and behavior reports) and my youngest has discovered two of her gifts that I hadn't wrapped yet.  I have been hiding things way better for my oldest, but, as usual, seem to underestimate my youngest's age and abilities.

Potluck fun:

Please excuse the *terrible* quality of the following vids...  I had initially decided I was going to photograph the visit, but after seeing Matt's great acting and the kids' great reactions, switched to filming, but it's just on my phone camera in terrible lighting...

We are looking forward to this final week of school for the girls before Christmas break begins!  Just two days of clinic training left for me, some major flights for Matt, and a serious day of class partying for the girls' at week's end.  :o)

The best of intentions...

I started out writing this blog with the (unbelievably lofty) idea that I would [attempt] to update it on a daily basis, to kind of preserve a day-in-the-life feel for us when were are in nostalgic reflecting moods down the road.  However, the double-job thing has been kicking my butt!  I really enjoy both of my positions, however I am in training still (two days left!!) for my flex nurse one, and my boss wants me to [understandably] train during normal hours, when the more skilled, regular nurses are working.  Which means, between my mornings at the base clinics and afternoons in various off-base ones, I have been essentially working a 9-5 job 3 or more days a week since Thanksgiving.  I know that is probably not that daunting a task to most folks out there, but coupling it with pilot student wife, and mother of two kids highly accustomed to a stay-at-home mom--who also enjoy a very packed extracurricular schedule (including swim lessons two school-nights per week), and it has been a challenge.  The girls' school has a wonderful after-school program which they have been going to, but the long days are particularly tiring for my oldest, who, as a kindergartner no longer enjoys naps as part of her daily routine.  So...I am very glad that: 1) my oldest will get to partake in a special art (sculpture) class during after care tomorrow and 2) both girls only have two days of it left!  It has also been a huge challenge for me to keep up with my daily cooking/cleaning routine working afternoons, as I had previously relied on my 2h gap between my base job and the girls' pickup time to prepare dinner, clean, and take Petunia out for her exercise.

We are enjoying a pleasant holiday season and had our first snow on Tuesday (which also motivated me to finally rearrange (if not completely unpack) the garage enough so I can park in it, making early mornings waaay more pleasant and warm for me and the girls.  The "mancave" is no more.  Matt had set it up very nicely for himself, but greatly greatly prefers to commandeer the family room instead (he has even set me up with headphones with a 10' cord for TV viewing at night), so I have reclaimed it.  Our decorations are up (excepting outdoor ones [besides our yard inflatable Minnie & Mickey and some light-up door ornaments and a wreath], which probably aren't going to happen d/t Matt's training schedule and need for sleep...and my fear of modest heights) and our little home feels quite cozy and homey.  The girls are incredibly excited about Christmas and will be performing as angels in the base church pageant.  This is also the first year where they (thanks largely to Nickelodeon TV commercials) have wish lists for Santa, and boy are they specific!  It has actually made shopping waaay easier and (surprisingly) less expensive this year, too.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my brother/the girls' godfather and I ventured out on Black Friday Eve--to Walmart (bad idea) and then Walgreens (a favorite local shopping spot, alongside Ross, the Thrift Store, and Hobby Lobby), but did most of my shopping online on Cyber Monday (Kohls, Target, and Amazon).  We did brave the poorly-reviewed local theater at Oakwood Mall (my opinion: not as bad as advertised, although it did smell like feet--but the odor was one that I got desensitized to pretty quickly once inside) to check out the Muppets movie.  Matt said I laughed harder than anyone else in the theater.  It was definitely a cute film, but in my opinion, could have used waaaay more Muppet screen time.  I think the Muppets are at their best in films like Treasure Island and the Christmas Carol, where they are clearly the stars, instead of just part of the cast.

Thanksgiving pix...

The spread (couldn't quite motivate to use the nice china this year...too much stuff to hand wash):

My brother's specialty is super-fancy Williams-Sonoma cooking (he actually used all our pots for this...necessitating I use the microwave-rice cooker for the stuffing, lol): 

Gluten-free poached fruit dessert with fresh mint and lemon whipped cream:

Fun in the leaves during our post-dinner walk/bike ride:

Ringing in the Christmas season the day after Thanksgiving at Oakwood Mall:

That night, we drove to Yukon for a festival of 4 million Christmas lights, followed by Custard at Freddy's:

We enjoyed a carriage ride (due to ineffective advertising, we had the whole car to ourselves!) through the park:

And the fun doesn't stop there...

It seems like all our holiday parties will be crammed into this coming weekend.  Friday night we are taking the girls to see a local production of Cinderella; Saturday the girls have breakfast with Santa, then bowling with my med group flight, and then a babysitter while Matt and I attend my squadron Christmas party; Sunday I am taking the girls to church, then they have pageant practice, and in the late afternoon/early evening we are hosting a holiday potluck (Italian) where Matt will also be dressing up as Santa and giving presents to the kiddos.  I am also hoping to set up an ornament craft station...and at some point cook and clean the house before our friends arrive, lol.  Next Friday the girls have their school Christmas party--I am very excited because I was able to sign them both up to bring in a holiday dessert for their class--so we will have fun scouring allrecipes.com next week.  :o)

Matt is doing well in pilot training.  His motion sickness has been flaring up and he has hooked several rides this past week, but is definitely improving.  Pretty much if he gets airsick at all, it is an automatic hook, so at least by being assigned extra flights, he is getting more air time and practice.  The weather has posed a challenge as it has been intermittently crazy-windy and also rainy and snowy over the past two weeks.  Any time he goes more than a day or two without flying is a huge setback for him airsick-wise, so the weather has made it a real challenge, and all the down-time (a couple 4-day passes) will make the holidays difficult two.  Since we are staying in town, however, he will have ample time to spin and will also hopefully be able to get three solid flights in in between the Christmas and New Years passes, when he has a little string of duty days.

Well, hopefully now that my schedule has slowed down, my blogging will pick up...always have to fill every minute of free time with something, lol.  I'm just glad I am not even going to attempt to "catch-up" by back-dating my blog posts for like the past two weeks (like I did for our trip to New Orleans) and am just going for a clean slate...because that would take forever to catch up on and create totally pointless stress, turning something fun-ish chore-ish very very fast.  :o)

Living with a pilot

Means lights out at 8pm...throughout most of the house, as Matt prefers to sleep in his sleeper chair/recliner d/t heartburn and snoring issues [that leave him with an a.m. dry/sore throat] when he lies flat.  I have been eyeing a used hospital-style adjustable bed at the local thrift shop to encourage him to move his sleep to the bedroom, but something about a used bed just feels too gross/bed buggy.  It seems like every couple of months he develops a new problem.  Right now he has also eliminated gluten and soy from his diet (with the exception of miso soup) and is in the process of completely eliminating dairy, relying on the calcium fortification in Xagave (his fave brand of agave nectar) for his dietary needs.

This is what I have to clean and watch reality TV around every evening:

And another thing; to streamline personal hygiene needs, he insists on keeping his facial astringent on the spice rack.  I have been petitioning for him to move it to his gluten free cabinet by the microwave, which, at least once a month, he promises he will do.  For now, I will just get used to sharing the shelf space.  :o)

Airsickness: 0, Matt: 1

Matt has rocked two flights since his 3-day spin program and is looking to solo as early as next week.  Quite a change from our previous perspective of thinking he might be eliminated as early as next week.  One of the greatest challenges guys on the spin program face, particularly those who entered IFS with zero flying hours (a minority group in this private-licensed-heavy crowd...it seems like prior E's are the ones least likely to enter with experience, as they generally do not have as many opportunities for experience d/t deployments and all...) is learning a huge new group of skills/terminology with extremely staggered opportunities to use it.

It is difficult enough to have ground school condensed into a few weeks, and then be expected to solo-pilot a jet with 12-19h of training on it.  When you combine that challenge with airsickness and the spin program, flights are cut short d/t to prolonged vomiting, flights are missed for 3-5 days at a time d/t spinning, and opportunities to practice aircraft control are slim/none when you are having difficulty retaining control over yourself (piloting while dry heaving or worse is obviously not safe/permissible).  We had been preparing ourselves for a worst-case scenario of total elimination, and capped our goals at possibly washing back a class for another round of training and spins.

Matt's anxiety/hyperventilation-driven problem seems highly nippable--as evidenced by two great flights and absolutely killing the Barany chair program.  We are super-optimistic and excited about next week.  And it would be awesome to have him solo before the holiday schedules kick in (breaking up his flying time with 4-5 days at a time off, when 1-2 can be hard enough when you are learning to get the hang of things).  And better yet, we have company visiting the next two weeks--what a time and treat watching Matt's solo flight would be!

Carpets and yards

Carpets and yards have really been my only two complaints about base housing, with the exception of the fact that only about 20% of dog owners here seem to regularly obey the leash law (no tethered dogs without owners present, no off-leash dogs ever).  When we moved into our cute little duplex, everything was in great order except for the carpets.  They had an unbelievable amount of stains, but I comforted myself with the fact that, of course the carpets were shampooed between tenants, so at least I could rest assured knowing that while they may not look clean, they actually are clean.  There were two stains in particular that were driving me batty, so a couple of weeks ago I took out my carpet shampooer to have at 'em and try my luck.  Wouldn't you know it?  They lifted right out.  While I was thrilled by this, I was also a little displeased that the carpets were not cleaned prior to our move-in.  Particularly as we had to wait (and live in a moldy Best Western) for nearly two weeks after the prior tenants left so our home could be "cleaned".  We have moved many times over the years, and even the two ghetto-ish apartment complexes we lived in routinely shampooed between tenants.  That said, I still love base housing and our home, it was just a surprise and a good reminder not to assume things.

On another note, while I was shampooing the carpet around midnight the other night, it was like a dream come true for Matt.  He lay sprawled out and reclined on his special chair that he likes to sleep on (the upright angle helps his heartburn and snoring), with his beauty mask on, and the noisy hum of the carpet shampooer in the background.  He smiled and said, "It feels like I am relaxing in the First Class section of a plane," lol.  :o)

The only other real complaint I have had has been the yard service here.  Granted, it is free/included in our "rent" (base housing has our full BAH routed to their account each month to cover rent, utilities, maintenance, etc.), however our front yard is basically 45% dirt, which has become 45% mud thanks to the cooler, rainier weather--and I cannot get a thing to grow in our front flower bed because the two massive branch-shedding trees beside our house block all sunlight from filtering in--although they are great bases for hammocks/swings.  But, as I stated before, we are very happy here and actually consider our current home to be our favorite residence since our time in Misawa, Japan, about 8 years ago, when we were dual-military, pulling a double housing allowance and living in a huge hardwood-floor 4-bedroom home with heated toilet seats and floor drains in the bathroom.  :o)

The Beast

Today, Matt finished the second day of his 3-day motionsickness spin program.  And, for a second time, came home feeling fresh and non-nauseated.  He was called "a beast" on the chair and one of the experienced program directors told him she has "never seen anything like him" and believes he could outmaneuver anyone on base in terms of not getting sick on the chair.  He clocked 45 "advanced maneuvers" today, without getting motion sick once.  The typical difficult spin session averages about 22-25.

This was a huge shock and relief to us, as it shines a bright bright light at the end of the tunnel.  Matt's instructor believes his airsickness is due more to nerves and hyperventilation than anything.  Matt's typical stress level is atypically low, however since IFS started, I have never seen him as stressed, so it is not surprising that he brought some of those nerves with him in the air.  The biggest problem seemed to be talking himself through maneuvers (and thus having to take frequent gasping breaths through his oxygen mask in between sentences).  He told me that basically he has been talking nonstop through every flight (verbally going through everything he does and checks in the air), but that that habit has been affecting his oxygenation since it is more difficult to breath when you are flying.  This theory was tested by having him "chair fly" in full gear--and sure enough he was motion sick in minutes.

Matt will take to the skies again on Thursday!  We are very optimistic that his trainer is right and that he can get a real handle on his airsick situation!  :O)

Potluck parties

While being an AF pilot student's wife is undoubtably easier than being a deployed airman's wife (in the peace of mind department), it definitely has its challenges, particularly when you are also a parent.  Last week, as the more veteran AF person in Matt's flight, I decided to try to start getting us wives and kids together to share stories and find support during the program.  There are two other wives in Matt's flight (one in his scorpion class, another in the rhino class), and both have adorable little kids.  One has a 3-month old and the other has an 18-monther, plus one on the way.  So it was a great mix, having all the kiddos together and it will be wonderful welcoming a new little member a couple of months down the road.

We were dealing with some food allergies (dairy, shellfish), but still put together a nice little spread: seared orange chicken breasts, asparagus with lemon vinaigrette, artichoke dip with tortilla chips, roasted potatoes, crescent rolls, carrot zucchini cake, and pink fluff.  

The girls at the kiddie table:

All segments of the AF were well represented: we are an active duty family, one of the other families is Reserve, and the other is National Guard.  Experiences in training vary in each sector: for instance, Reservists are assigned a particular plane from the get-go and have a standing duty commitment (the latter is similar to the 12-year commitment Active Duty members must accept prior to training).  Guard members also enter pilot training knowing what they will fly, however their assignments from there are much more up in the air, with commitments being much shorter (~1 year, max) and base-specific, as individual Guard units operate on state levels.

After sharing stories and mostly talking about kids, the hubbies were all released early due to weather and came over to finish off the rest of the food.  :o)  It was a great evening and hopefully will become a monthly thing.  

Saturday night steaks

We have never been a big "red meat" family.  I am much more of a fish/veggie eater and Matt prefers poultry.  The kids like just about all meats, finding just about everything to "taste like chicken".  However, Matt has been wanting to amp up his energy and iron prior to each week of flying/spinning/throwing up, so we have started cooking steaks on Saturday nights.  I don't have a lot of experience with steaks, particularly as we are currently grill-less, so I am enjoying experimenting and trying out new cuts and recipes.

Last weekend was a sirloin cut, cooked rare (me) and medium-well (Matt and the girls).  I just followed basic directions for preparing steak, and rubbed each piece with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic, before searing in our cast iron pan and then transferring to the oven.  I also learned that for as-is natural-flavor steak, ribeye is apparently the best cut.  Our sirloins were tasty, but I will probably give that cut a try next time.

Tonight we are marinating a flank steak, which is best served rare-to-medium-rare (120-130F).  I cannot believe how big this thing is (1.99 lbs).  It is currently sitting in the fridge, in a gallon-size Ziploc, soaking up the flavors of salsa, lime juice, olive oil, and garlic.  Kids are getting a kick out of preparing dinner in a bag, lol.  :o)

Update (many hours later): steak was delish and all 1.99 lbs were consumed.  :o)

That was one big hunk of meat!

T6 training

Matt is entering Phase II tomorrow...

Apparently, this is what he is going to be doing.

He'd been talking about "turns" and "spins" for the past couple weeks...I'd assumed he just meant turning (N/S/E/W) and flying around in circles.  Turns out he meant spiraling upside down and free falls.

Wow...  No wonder it's been a rough couple of weeks on his GI system!

Yuck.

So, Matt shared an interesting story at the dinner table tonight.  It is no secret that, excepting the past three days when he has been medicated during flights, he has been throwing up a lot.  Pilot students are responsible for bringing their own puke bags on board...and disposing of them afterwards (might not seem like a lot to remember...).  Well, apparently on his final flight last Friday, that second step slipped his mind and apparently we had two bags of vomit sitting on our coat rack in wax-coated paper bags inside his flight bag all weekend long.  I am *amazed* I did not smell them.

Gross though that is, I am also pleasantly surprised that Matt both discovered and cleaned up the situation himself.  Apparently the vomit had started to eat its way through the bags and soiled his flight gear as well. Back in the day, he would have asked me to take care of this sort of thing, much like he asked me to plunge his clogged and soiled toilet for him a few weeks after we'd started dating.  I am not sure whether this step on his part is due to maturity...or the fact that I am always bringing up the toilet thing, even after 8 years of marriage.  Either way, I love it!

Last day on meds

Matt had another great flight today, thanks to his meds.  We are both very curious/cautiously optimistic to see how he flies without them.  He asked his flight doc why, if the motion sickness program here boasts a near-100% success rate, pilot students cannot medicate their way through their solo, for a more accurate/fair assessment and chance to learn skills.  Apparently, according to the doc, the meds and spin program are a sort of screening program in themselves.  Not only do the meds give Matt a chance to experience flying a jet at its best, but they also help build his confidence/decrease his nerves for future flights--as one of the causative factors of motion sickness is, in fact, stress.  The condensed 3- and 5-day spin programs assess the more physical aspects of motion sickness, as well as projected ability to overcome.  And Matt did note marked improvement across the course of his first 11 spins.

We are hoping for the best!

Best Halloween EVER

Monday, October 31, 2011 marks the best Halloween experience our family has had (unfortunately Matt had to miss it due to his 15 days of 12h shifts--but on the upside, his anti-motionsickness drug regimen gifted him an extraordinary flight).

The girls started out their day with festivities at Cimarron Montessori, which included a walk to a local nursing home, where the kids sang songs and put on a costume parade for, and then trick-or-treated from wonderful residents (and, having spent a semester of clinicals at a nursing home, I can only imagine what an absolute ray of sunshine this must have been for their day...I am such a sap, but it actually makes me tear up to think about how wonderful it must have been); then enjoyed an entire afternoon of pizza, crafts, partying, and movies.  The girls came home for a tasty dinner of mini mummy meatloaf, and then we were off to the base festivities!

I love a well-organized and safe event, and the base housing trick-or-treat was all that and then some.  The trick-or-treating hours were both stated and condensed (5:30-7:30pm), which I think inspired much broader participation.  An email was sent out instructing folks that did not wish to participate to leave their porch lights off.  Most folks participating actually sat on their patios/lawns to hand out candy, which gave the event a festive, friendly, block-party-esque atmosphere.

Heading out for some fun!

One of the commanders set up candy stations and a "pit-stop" with chili, cupcakes, drinks, and more; and the Enlisted Spouses Group served hot apple cider from a crock pot.  Security Forces and a team of volunteers, including McGruff the Crime Dog patrolled the streets and handed out safety coloring/goody packs to trick or treaters.

Thanks to a Halloween-day 50% off sale at Walgreens and no utility bills, giant inflatables garnished many yards...my kids are obsessed with these, so they were a huge hit!  It was such a fun and safe event.  The girls and I stayed out the entire two hours.  The kids walked a lot, but near the end of the evening, they curled up in our wagon with their favorite blankets, so it was a nice little workout for me, to boot!

Best decorated house of the night: spirited, but not scary...and that fence is not normally part of their yard--they really went all out (and I am sorry I did not capture the towering pillars they erected on either side!).

Thanks to Cimarron Montessori, Kenwood Manor Nursing Home, Vance AFB Family Housing, and anti-motionsickness drugs for a day of wonderful memories!  :o)