Another Week Down!!

So week two was definately not what I thought it might be. I learned several things:

1. No matter how reliable a person is there is always room for disappointments. It doesn't mean they are a bad person, it simply means that you need to adjust.

2. Your children are always aware how you're really feeling and will act accordingly. They don't listen to words, they listen to tone, body language, and facial expression. Be prepared.

3. When one thing is going wrong it is a high possibility that other things will go wrong as well. It's not karma, bad timing, or divine chastisement. It's attitude. It is hard to turn things around when something goes wrong, but it's important if you want to stop the cascade.

All of this adds up to a good learning experience, but the most important lesson I learned this week was this: your spouse becomes your best friend because when you are learning the lessons above, it is he/she that helps you gain perspective, feel better, and give you the encouragement you need to step up and try again. Thank goodness for my husband!!!

On a lighter note, though the week was one of the not so happy ones, it does mean that Chris only has three weeks left!!! What a great thing. At least something wonderful came out of it!

Have a good week everyone.

Gone Again

So, we have been left to our own devices yet again! Chris has been gone a full week now to train in Mississippi. He will be back just after his birthday in December. Thankfully, this time is going so much smoother than the last time he left us. I have amazing resources in both the military and in the church and we are already in "dad is gone" mode with the kids. Chris calls at least once a day to say hi and keep us posted on what he's doing and we get to share all the funny stories that have occurred that day.

You wouldn't believe how much I got done this week! With a deadline like Chris' homecoming, it has really helped to motivate me in my home-projects list. I am almost done with both of the bathroom overhauls. The kids have a frog pond in theirs and we have a more sophisticated gold/wine theme in ours. It's really exciting to finally decorate things the way I want them. I had so much fun painting. Being 8mos. pregnant wasn't one of the perks, but it went smoothly and we've gotten several compliments from our realtor. It really helped to add some life to the rooms. I'll post pix of the rooms as they get finished.

This week it looks like I'll get some help with our yard (it hasn't been mowed since we moved in. No lawnmower!) and some help setting up the new crib that Chris got for me. It's beautiful, but quite large and heavy. I'm so excited to finally have a crib. We've never had a home big enough for one! So those are two projects that will hopefully get done. I finally put child locks on our bath/kitchen cabinets so I can finish unpacking all the stuff in those boxes. I also finally broke down and hauled out the unpacked boxes so they're not sitting in our office anymore. It's been a busy week, but I took it lightly.

The first week Chris is gone is always the hardest. It's the same when he comes home. The adjustment period is interesting. The kids are in the flow now and I'm getting better at managing my time. The fact that I have the car whenever I want now helps a bit. I've also set up babysitting at least once a week so that I can schedule dr. appts, base appts, and do the shopping or research that I need to. I also try to do one fun thing during those times as well. This last week I got our finances fixed on base, met with a dr., and bought some little home improvement items to finish the small projects I'd set for myself.

This Tuesday I have a budgeting consult on base to consolidate loans, figure out our expenses and get a system that works for our family. Instead of knowing where it went, I want to know where it will go! I also have a rep from family support coming out to meet with me to address some single-parenting concerns (with Chris gone) and help prepare me for our next baby. The AF is so supportive of their service member's families!

Cute moment of the week: Evie asked me to sing her a song I didn't know at bedtime. I had heard the melody, but I didn't know the words. She looked at me with her most patient and loving face, put her hand on my cheek, and said in the most grown up way, "Just do your best mommy, it will be okay."

JOSEPH turns 1!

I can't believe he's been in our family a whole year already!

Joseph turned one this week and what a drawn out birthday it was. Officially he turned one on the 8th, but Chris was working so Evie and I just sang the birthday song about a billion times that day (it's one of Evie's favorites anyway).

Then on Saturday, we had the cake which as you can see was fun, but not what we expected. At least Evie liked the cake. I thought it turned out fun. If you can't tell, it's covered with little zoo animals. He liked the frosting and playing with it, but it was soon very evident that JC was too tired for a birthday party.

With that fact in play, we finally concluded the celebrations on Sunday with the opening of all his fun presents. He was much happier today so he loved all the gifts, especially the books (go figure!) and the ball with all the holes in it. I think I was most impressed with the little xylophone that Matt's house introduced to him last month. He had that figured out the second it was out of the box. The best part was to hear Chris marvel that it is a toy engineered for 3+ yrs old and here was our little 1yr old loving it.

What a wonderful addition to our family Joseph has been. He laughs at random things and now that he responds to so much, it's impossible not to get caught laughing too. He and Evie are such good friends and for those of you who worry, he gives as good as he gets. He's even smart enough to recognize that Evie was getting in trouble when he cried. We noticed that thankfully, and are quickly disabusing him of the idea that we will rescue him every time. He even likes to "borrow" toys from Evie's room when she's not paying attention. I think my favorite thing to watch now that he's walking, is to see Evie run and JC chase her. It cracks me up because he's so wobbly and every time Evie laps him he giggles louder and she giggles louder, and to be honest, I giggle louder, so we're all giggling and of course, then he falls and starts the chase all over again.

He is just as curious as his sister and gets into as many things as she does. Where I could get away without child locks with Evie it's so not going to happen this time. Between the two of them the only rooms that are safe are their bedrooms, and sometimes not even then! Evie can't spend quiet time without him and its safer just not to enter the room. The last time I came in early they were using the bed as a slide to the floor, JC was "pretty" in his dress up clothes, Evie was tossing pillows at his head, and JC kept climbing to the top to do it again. Seriously, was I supposed to stop that? And if so, how in the world do you discipline them for having a great time? Technically they weren't "quiet", but mom got a break, no one screamed, and it made the pre-bedtime hour or so go by quickly.

I absolutely love how much our family likes each other. I pray with all my heart it only continues to be more fun as we add to it. Our kids make us laugh all the time. Okay not all the time, but if you have the right kind of memory it just goes from one funny thing to the next. For example, today was stake conference. We woke up late and so did the kids. We went to the conference even though the building was over an hour away. The good part was listening to the kids giggle and tease each other in the back. Everytime I looked back JC would turn his head so I couldn't see him, then he'd turn back real quick and laugh if I was still looking. Evie on the other hand kept teasing him with toys by giving it and taking it away as soon as JC reached for it. He quickly caught on and now does the same to me with his pacifier. They grow so quickly. I can't believe how old they both are and how much I love being their mom.