Now that we have finally made some progress on our Deployment Countdown and the homecoming date "seems" to be as certain as Navy-certain gets, I think the kids and I have finally gotten into the deployment groove. We all still miss Paul every day, but maybe the missing him is starting to be the norm. We know that each night we go to bed is one less night of blowing kisses to him in the air, and every morning we wake up is one morning closer to the morning we get to put on our homecoming outfits and go pick him up at the squadron. So we are groovin'; I feel like I am growing through this experience. Groovin' and growing is good for this Momma's soul.
Perhaps the groove is feeling pretty good since we just had two very special visitors in the last month. Paul's mom was out here for a week and when I say "Paul's mom" I mean "The Laundry Queen." No kidding. First time since Paul left in December that ALL of our clothes were clean. Dishes were cleaned and unloaded from the dishwasher BEFORE a whole other load of dirty dishes piled up on the counter. I kind of forgot those things were possible. In fact, Paul's mom did something even more impossible... or even more important... she gave me room to breathe, to play with the kids, and brought my enthusiasm for motherhood way way WAY up. Enthusiasm is good for this Momma's soul.
Our other special visitor was my childhood neighbor. We've known eachother since I was 6 1/2. We played Barbies, kick-the-can, and volleyball together. We lived nextdoor to each other and, for one summer, in the same apartment together. Her visit was a bunch of fun and totally, completely comfortable. Stacy helped the kids and I plant one of our neighborhood's garden boxes. We planted a bunch of herbs, strawberries (per Matthew's request), and wild flowers. We also planted a few flower boxes for our backyard - "red flowers" (per Grace's request). We watched a terrible movie and laughed all the way through it. We went to the gym two mornings in a row and laughed all the way through both of those mornings. Laughter is definitely good for this Momma's soul.
To top off all my soul nourishment, I got to spend this afternoon with a dear friend, her husband, and their tiny, perfect, completely adorable 2-day-old baby boy. Oh sweet Heaven, is he cute! Sweet baby smell, tiny little teeney diaper butt, cute little baby yawns, and those wonderous eyes peaking out and blinking and blinking are good for this Momma(who will not be having another tiny miracle of her own)'s soul.
So here we are on a Saturday night, watching a movie, and having a "camp out" in the family room. The kids and I are groovin' and I am feeling like my soul is ready for the next 4 months... or at least 4 weeks, when my mom visits!
Showing posts with label military family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label military family. Show all posts
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
It Is What It Is... and It Won't Be What It Was Supposed To Be
I really really don't like the saying "It is what it is." My dad says it a lot. My husband says it a lot. It seems to be the man's verbal version of a shoulder shrug. I would prefer if we could discuss "it." What is "it"? How does "it" make you feel? Why is "it" happening? What can we do to change "it"? If "it" isn't going to go away, how can we best deal with "it?" See..... there's soooooo much to talk about! It is what it is.... and then some, thank you very much.
BUT.... alas, it is what it is. Paul's 4 1/2 month deployment has been extended (again) to 8 months. WHAT?! Remember, how I wrote before he left that this deployment was a "short" one? Yeah, not really anymore. "It" is shorter than some... but now kind of longer than most. Lame.
So here I am, 9 days after finding out that we have not 2 months left, but 6 months. (It's weird to be 2 1/2 months into a 4 month deployment and know that you have 6 months left... "it" is odd math.) Nevertheless, I'm sitting here telling myself it is what it is. I've been sad, very very sad; I've been mad; I've been lonely and frustrated and defeated. Now it is time to accept it, embrace it, and move on.
In order to accept "it" I've had very little work to do. When the Navy has your husband out in the middle of an ocean on a great big gray boat and then tells you they aren't letting him come home until they are good and ready, there's not much for a girl to do. You can't really say "No! I do not accept this information." So, I accepted it. Begrudgingly. It is what it is and it won't be what it was supposed to be.
Next came the task of embracing "it." This one has taken about a week or so. I'm not sure I've exactly embraced it fully, but I'm getting there. I have a pretty solid faith in God and His plan for me and my family. I know that God knows what is going on and I know He knows how I feel about it. I know that there are many people at our church praying for our family during this deployment and I know those prayers are making a difference. I can feel them making a difference! A lot of people say that everything happens for a reason, but I'm not sure how I feel about that in this situation. I can see this situation for what "it" is... other aircraft carriers are needing maintenance, other countries are acting goofy, my husband is in the military. So I'm not sure if God has a bigger, deeper reason for this, but I do know that "it" will strengthen my relationship with Him because I absolutely cannot get through the tough days and nights without a good amount of prayers. This one is so much bigger than me. It is what it is and it won't be what it was supposed to be.
Lastly, the time has come to move on. I have taken down our countdown calendar. I have (sort of) stopped looking for my homecoming outfit. Sitting around and thinking about what the countdown should be is not helpful and won't make my real countdown go any faster, so I had to stop doing that. I'm moving on. I bought myself tickets to see Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw (WOOOOHOOOO)... which I thought would be a fun concert to see with Paul, but now know it will be a fun concert to see with friends. I am planning a weekend escape to Vegas with some of my Navy friends... we will be coming from California, Washington, Maryland, and Virginia. You know you're a Navy wife when. I broke the news to the kids that Daddy won't be home until after the summer is over. It is what it is and it won't be what it was supposed to be.
Accepting "it" required me to mentally be okay with the information; embracing "it" required me to find some emotional and spiritual peace with the information; and moving on is still requiring me to be active and physically make the choice to not sit around and mope or worry or feel defeated.
I'm pretty sure my husband and my dad can just say "it is what it is," and they don't need to blog about all of it, but what can I say..... it is what it is.
BUT.... alas, it is what it is. Paul's 4 1/2 month deployment has been extended (again) to 8 months. WHAT?! Remember, how I wrote before he left that this deployment was a "short" one? Yeah, not really anymore. "It" is shorter than some... but now kind of longer than most. Lame.
So here I am, 9 days after finding out that we have not 2 months left, but 6 months. (It's weird to be 2 1/2 months into a 4 month deployment and know that you have 6 months left... "it" is odd math.) Nevertheless, I'm sitting here telling myself it is what it is. I've been sad, very very sad; I've been mad; I've been lonely and frustrated and defeated. Now it is time to accept it, embrace it, and move on.
In order to accept "it" I've had very little work to do. When the Navy has your husband out in the middle of an ocean on a great big gray boat and then tells you they aren't letting him come home until they are good and ready, there's not much for a girl to do. You can't really say "No! I do not accept this information." So, I accepted it. Begrudgingly. It is what it is and it won't be what it was supposed to be.
Next came the task of embracing "it." This one has taken about a week or so. I'm not sure I've exactly embraced it fully, but I'm getting there. I have a pretty solid faith in God and His plan for me and my family. I know that God knows what is going on and I know He knows how I feel about it. I know that there are many people at our church praying for our family during this deployment and I know those prayers are making a difference. I can feel them making a difference! A lot of people say that everything happens for a reason, but I'm not sure how I feel about that in this situation. I can see this situation for what "it" is... other aircraft carriers are needing maintenance, other countries are acting goofy, my husband is in the military. So I'm not sure if God has a bigger, deeper reason for this, but I do know that "it" will strengthen my relationship with Him because I absolutely cannot get through the tough days and nights without a good amount of prayers. This one is so much bigger than me. It is what it is and it won't be what it was supposed to be.
Lastly, the time has come to move on. I have taken down our countdown calendar. I have (sort of) stopped looking for my homecoming outfit. Sitting around and thinking about what the countdown should be is not helpful and won't make my real countdown go any faster, so I had to stop doing that. I'm moving on. I bought myself tickets to see Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw (WOOOOHOOOO)... which I thought would be a fun concert to see with Paul, but now know it will be a fun concert to see with friends. I am planning a weekend escape to Vegas with some of my Navy friends... we will be coming from California, Washington, Maryland, and Virginia. You know you're a Navy wife when. I broke the news to the kids that Daddy won't be home until after the summer is over. It is what it is and it won't be what it was supposed to be.
Accepting "it" required me to mentally be okay with the information; embracing "it" required me to find some emotional and spiritual peace with the information; and moving on is still requiring me to be active and physically make the choice to not sit around and mope or worry or feel defeated.
I'm pretty sure my husband and my dad can just say "it is what it is," and they don't need to blog about all of it, but what can I say..... it is what it is.
 |
| Our previous countdown calendar... after the news of the first extention. It's now in the trash (except for the pictures). |
Sunday, February 5, 2012
An Hour to Spare?!
Somehow. I don't know how. I probably couldn't do it again if I tried. I have an HOUR to spare before heading to church this morning!!! Perhaps pigs are flying outside, I don't know.
So I wanted to take a few minutes and catch up on the blog a bit. "Blog a bit." I like that for some reason.
The last two weeks have not been the best. The kids and I were visited by the stomach bug over a six day period. There's nothing like being woken in the night to crying and walking into the kid's room to be hit with "that smell." The smell of throw-ups. Y.U.C.K. And then comes the joyful task of cleaning up the child, cleaning up the sheets... what do you do with those dirty dirty sheets? we don't have a utility sink that is handy for rinsing such business in this house. Yuck.... then re-making the beds, getting a bucket for the next throw-ups, getting the child tucked back into bed, and finally getting yourself tucked back into bed. Perhaps the best part of the whole night is getting back into bed (alone... since the hubby is somewhere on the other side of the world) and trying to get that smell out of your nose and THEN wondering if your stomach is swirling because you just cleaned up someone else's throw-ups or because you, yourself, are going to be having throw-ups. Joy. Luckily my mom was also visiting, luckili-er (I'm sure that's a word) she managed to leave WITHOUT suffering from the bug. So the day that I was suffering, she had the kids downstairs or out of the house and I was able to rest.
Then last week, just after we were fully recovered and my mom was safely back in the Midwest, we all got a stuffy-nosed, sore-throated cold. The kids are fully recovered after missing a few days of school... and a friend's birthday party (boo.).. and I am finally on the mend. I have a red nose that would make Rudolph envious from all of my nose-blowing. Speaking of nose-blowing... has anyone used the Kleenex Cool Touch tissues?? I picked them up by accident at the store and am totally amazed by these things. When you pull them out of the box, they are COOL... to the touch. I don't know how they make them cold, but they are! So strange. I do wish they had a little more soothiness when you use them, but the coolness is pretty nice.
So here we are... finally turning the corner towards health, I hope. And we are also facing... drum roll please.... a TWO MONTH EXTENSION to the deployment. Boo. With a capital "B." Absolutely Boo. The ironic part was that we found out about our 8-ish week extension when we had just completed 7 weeks. So... the past 7 weeks have gotten us absolutely NO closer to our homecoming date. I spent one day being mad and one day being very sad. But now it has sunk in, my expectations for the next few months have adjusted... remember my Timeless Wonder post... this is the epitome of a Timeless Wonder. I will blog more about my feelings of the extension another day. Stay tuned, I'm sure you're on the edge of your seats!
Despite the sicks, colds, and extension, things are still going pretty well. I give a huge amount of credit to my church and the small group that I am part of. We go to an awesome non-denominational Christian Church called Catalyst in Ventura. They are the most down-to-earth group of people I have ever attended church with. They are kind, welcoming, and caring... without being cheesy. My small group is bringing me dinner once a week, they pray for me and the kids, they pray for Paul without me having to ask for it. Say what you want... those prayers really really work. Every week when I go to church people ask how Paul is doing, other moms offer to help with the kids if I need it, I'm invited to play dates. The church is sending Paul some thank-you notes, two or three months of weekly messages on a flash drive, the info for a financial study we are doing with our small group, and a phone card so he can call home. How cool is that?! It's so nice to have other people acknowledge that Paul is away... and it's not just me thinking of him every day, others are too. Today... in thirty minutes now... I get to say "Thank you" to our church by sharing a little bit of our deployment story and I'm grateful to have the chance to let them know I appreciate all they do!
Well, it's been thirty minutes with a few interruptions from the kiddos, so it's time to finish getting ready and pack up a diaper bag... and try to add a photo to this post. It's been nice chatting with you and catching you up on the latest. Enjoy your Sunday!
Here's a photographic representation of life today:
So I wanted to take a few minutes and catch up on the blog a bit. "Blog a bit." I like that for some reason.
The last two weeks have not been the best. The kids and I were visited by the stomach bug over a six day period. There's nothing like being woken in the night to crying and walking into the kid's room to be hit with "that smell." The smell of throw-ups. Y.U.C.K. And then comes the joyful task of cleaning up the child, cleaning up the sheets... what do you do with those dirty dirty sheets? we don't have a utility sink that is handy for rinsing such business in this house. Yuck.... then re-making the beds, getting a bucket for the next throw-ups, getting the child tucked back into bed, and finally getting yourself tucked back into bed. Perhaps the best part of the whole night is getting back into bed (alone... since the hubby is somewhere on the other side of the world) and trying to get that smell out of your nose and THEN wondering if your stomach is swirling because you just cleaned up someone else's throw-ups or because you, yourself, are going to be having throw-ups. Joy. Luckily my mom was also visiting, luckili-er (I'm sure that's a word) she managed to leave WITHOUT suffering from the bug. So the day that I was suffering, she had the kids downstairs or out of the house and I was able to rest.
Then last week, just after we were fully recovered and my mom was safely back in the Midwest, we all got a stuffy-nosed, sore-throated cold. The kids are fully recovered after missing a few days of school... and a friend's birthday party (boo.).. and I am finally on the mend. I have a red nose that would make Rudolph envious from all of my nose-blowing. Speaking of nose-blowing... has anyone used the Kleenex Cool Touch tissues?? I picked them up by accident at the store and am totally amazed by these things. When you pull them out of the box, they are COOL... to the touch. I don't know how they make them cold, but they are! So strange. I do wish they had a little more soothiness when you use them, but the coolness is pretty nice.
So here we are... finally turning the corner towards health, I hope. And we are also facing... drum roll please.... a TWO MONTH EXTENSION to the deployment. Boo. With a capital "B." Absolutely Boo. The ironic part was that we found out about our 8-ish week extension when we had just completed 7 weeks. So... the past 7 weeks have gotten us absolutely NO closer to our homecoming date. I spent one day being mad and one day being very sad. But now it has sunk in, my expectations for the next few months have adjusted... remember my Timeless Wonder post... this is the epitome of a Timeless Wonder. I will blog more about my feelings of the extension another day. Stay tuned, I'm sure you're on the edge of your seats!
Despite the sicks, colds, and extension, things are still going pretty well. I give a huge amount of credit to my church and the small group that I am part of. We go to an awesome non-denominational Christian Church called Catalyst in Ventura. They are the most down-to-earth group of people I have ever attended church with. They are kind, welcoming, and caring... without being cheesy. My small group is bringing me dinner once a week, they pray for me and the kids, they pray for Paul without me having to ask for it. Say what you want... those prayers really really work. Every week when I go to church people ask how Paul is doing, other moms offer to help with the kids if I need it, I'm invited to play dates. The church is sending Paul some thank-you notes, two or three months of weekly messages on a flash drive, the info for a financial study we are doing with our small group, and a phone card so he can call home. How cool is that?! It's so nice to have other people acknowledge that Paul is away... and it's not just me thinking of him every day, others are too. Today... in thirty minutes now... I get to say "Thank you" to our church by sharing a little bit of our deployment story and I'm grateful to have the chance to let them know I appreciate all they do!
Well, it's been thirty minutes with a few interruptions from the kiddos, so it's time to finish getting ready and pack up a diaper bag... and try to add a photo to this post. It's been nice chatting with you and catching you up on the latest. Enjoy your Sunday!
Here's a photographic representation of life today:
 |
| Kleenex Cool Touch, Clorox Wipes, Hand Sanitizer, Theraflu (I swear by their nighttime one in particular), Keurig Folgers French Vanilla coffee, and my Bible |
Saturday, January 28, 2012
The Timeless Wonder: Deployment
So it's been a month since the last time I found time to write. A month? A month! How is that even possible?! Oh, wait, I know.... I'm living with the Timeless Wonder. Essentially, during deployment, "time" means NOTHING.
On one hand, it seems like time is going so s.l.o.w.l.y. It hasn't even been 7 weeks since we started this big, bad adventure of deployment. I feel like I haven't seen my husband in-person for AGES. I haven't had a dinner with him in EONS. I haven't snuggled up and watched a movie with him in SUCH A LONG TIME.
How is it possible we've only been doing this for 7 weeks and we have sooooooo many more weeks left?!
Time must be slowing down. I mean, really, it must be. Like, the Earth is rotating at a slower pace making every day stretch on forever. Is this possible? I've checked the news blogs and all, but no one else is commenting on longer days, weeks, or months... so I guess it must be the Timeless Wonder.
Then on the other hand, there NEVER seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done.
Let's do a little daily run-through, shall we:
A Day in the Life of Momma B with the Three
wake up
give "get dressed" instructions to the bigger kids
get self dressed/brush teeth/brush hair
get littlest up/diapered/dressed
downstairs
make coffee (am considering moving the Keurig into my bedroom...is that weird?)
sip coffee
make kid breakfast x 3
give "set table" instructions
repeat "set table" instructions
sip coffee
check FB and email hoping for message from the hubby
make self breakfast
nibble breakfast while refilling kid breakfast/juice x 3
give "find shoes and socks" instructions
get littlest shoes and socks on
dump breakfast plates into sink if dishwasher is clean (probably is, see end of day cleaning)
grab items needed for school/gym towel/water bottle
grab diaper bag
help find random missing shoe
grab cell phone
check email one more time to see if husband happened to send an email since last time it was checked
herd three to the van
buckle up
go to school/drop off at school
go to gym/drop off at child care/work out
pick up kid(s) from child care/back to van
one quick errand
pick up kid(s) from school
head back home
give "put coats and shoes away" instructions
repeat instructions
make lunch
help find missing toy of some sort
littlest up for nap
insist on quiet time for two biggers
try to clean up kitchen
sweep mound of crumbs from littlest's breakfast which is now fairly cemented to the floor
assess toy mess situation/consider picking up or holding biggers accountable
check email again (just in case)
think about blogging
decide to take care of household business (making dr. appts./paying bills/etc.)
check email again (might as well since I'm on the computer)
biggers are done with quiet time... no blogging today
throw laundry in wash
oops, realized washer still had clothes in it... re-wash those to get musty smell out
spend some time with two biggers playing/reading
get littlest up
snack time
head to afternoon activity or playground
two hours (approx.) of playtime at activity or playground
check snail mail
home for dinner
make dinner
give "set table" instructions
try to pry littlest off my leg while finishing dinner... seems to be his favorite perch at 6pm
sit down to dinner
get up for re-fills several times
clean up kitchen while supervising toy clean up
upstairs for bath
1-2-3 into the tub
1-2-3 shampooed
1-2-3 rinsed
1-2-3 dried off
clothes in the hamper/dirty diaper in the trash
supervise "tidying up time" in biggers' bedrooms
stories and song for littlest - good night
stories and song for middlest - good night
stories and song for eldest - good night
downstairs to finish cleaning up from dinner
run dishwasher... wish that it would magically empty itself before the morning
check email
email back husband
sit down
take a breath and watch a show or read a book
oh crap. there are wet clothes in the washing machine!
And THAT, my friends, is how time goes by faster than I realize and all of a sudden I find myself saying: "It's been a MONTH since I blogged last?!" "It's been a MONTH since cleaned my bathrooms?" (Seriously, when am I supposed to do that?!) "It's been a MONTH since I cleaned out my fridge?!" (At least we're eating the food in there, so it's sort of getting cleaned out every day... right? Right?!)
Time goes too slowly while it's racing past me. The stupid Timeless Wonder. Makes a girl go crazy.
But no matter how the days go.... slow or fast... whether laundry gets done or not... we're always thinking of Paul and...
On one hand, it seems like time is going so s.l.o.w.l.y. It hasn't even been 7 weeks since we started this big, bad adventure of deployment. I feel like I haven't seen my husband in-person for AGES. I haven't had a dinner with him in EONS. I haven't snuggled up and watched a movie with him in SUCH A LONG TIME.
How is it possible we've only been doing this for 7 weeks and we have sooooooo many more weeks left?!
Time must be slowing down. I mean, really, it must be. Like, the Earth is rotating at a slower pace making every day stretch on forever. Is this possible? I've checked the news blogs and all, but no one else is commenting on longer days, weeks, or months... so I guess it must be the Timeless Wonder.
Then on the other hand, there NEVER seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done.
Let's do a little daily run-through, shall we:
A Day in the Life of Momma B with the Three
wake up
give "get dressed" instructions to the bigger kids
get self dressed/brush teeth/brush hair
get littlest up/diapered/dressed
downstairs
make coffee (am considering moving the Keurig into my bedroom...is that weird?)
sip coffee
make kid breakfast x 3
give "set table" instructions
repeat "set table" instructions
sip coffee
check FB and email hoping for message from the hubby
make self breakfast
nibble breakfast while refilling kid breakfast/juice x 3
give "find shoes and socks" instructions
get littlest shoes and socks on
dump breakfast plates into sink if dishwasher is clean (probably is, see end of day cleaning)
grab items needed for school/gym towel/water bottle
grab diaper bag
help find random missing shoe
grab cell phone
check email one more time to see if husband happened to send an email since last time it was checked
herd three to the van
buckle up
go to school/drop off at school
go to gym/drop off at child care/work out
pick up kid(s) from child care/back to van
one quick errand
pick up kid(s) from school
head back home
give "put coats and shoes away" instructions
repeat instructions
make lunch
help find missing toy of some sort
littlest up for nap
insist on quiet time for two biggers
try to clean up kitchen
sweep mound of crumbs from littlest's breakfast which is now fairly cemented to the floor
assess toy mess situation/consider picking up or holding biggers accountable
check email again (just in case)
think about blogging
decide to take care of household business (making dr. appts./paying bills/etc.)
check email again (might as well since I'm on the computer)
biggers are done with quiet time... no blogging today
throw laundry in wash
oops, realized washer still had clothes in it... re-wash those to get musty smell out
spend some time with two biggers playing/reading
get littlest up
snack time
head to afternoon activity or playground
two hours (approx.) of playtime at activity or playground
check snail mail
home for dinner
make dinner
give "set table" instructions
try to pry littlest off my leg while finishing dinner... seems to be his favorite perch at 6pm
sit down to dinner
get up for re-fills several times
clean up kitchen while supervising toy clean up
upstairs for bath
1-2-3 into the tub
1-2-3 shampooed
1-2-3 rinsed
1-2-3 dried off
clothes in the hamper/dirty diaper in the trash
supervise "tidying up time" in biggers' bedrooms
stories and song for littlest - good night
stories and song for middlest - good night
stories and song for eldest - good night
downstairs to finish cleaning up from dinner
run dishwasher... wish that it would magically empty itself before the morning
check email
email back husband
sit down
take a breath and watch a show or read a book
oh crap. there are wet clothes in the washing machine!
And THAT, my friends, is how time goes by faster than I realize and all of a sudden I find myself saying: "It's been a MONTH since I blogged last?!" "It's been a MONTH since cleaned my bathrooms?" (Seriously, when am I supposed to do that?!) "It's been a MONTH since I cleaned out my fridge?!" (At least we're eating the food in there, so it's sort of getting cleaned out every day... right? Right?!)
Time goes too slowly while it's racing past me. The stupid Timeless Wonder. Makes a girl go crazy.
But no matter how the days go.... slow or fast... whether laundry gets done or not... we're always thinking of Paul and...
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Week One: I found a spare minute
Week One is complete. We have survived. It's been extremely busy, but we have managed.
We spent Tuesday evening with friends on base and enjoyed seeing Santa touring the neghborhood in a firetruck. I mean really... Santa AND a firetruck?! That's pretty much the best thing ever for my kids! The evening was a huge success in distracting us from Paul's ovbvious absense.
Wednesday was a busy day of Christmas singing at the kids' pre-school classes. They had a great time and were excited by a surprise visit from Santa (again) after the singing was sung. Wednesday afternoon added a little more excitement with their last gymnastics class before the holiday break. Matthew mastered some flips on the rings and he was thrilled with that.
Thursday we had a special playdate with Grace's favorite friend from school. Apparently the playdate was just too much fun and it wore out all their good behavior. Thursday night was a challenge with over-tired kids riding high on emotions, probably from saying good-bye to Dad and seeing Santa two days in a row. The worst of the week came on Thursday evening.... Grace had been complaining that her tummy ached for a little while. She finally came up to me and said, "It's not my tummy Mom... it's my heart. I miss daddy!" OH, GOODNESS ME. How could she come up with that?! Broke my heart. I offered her a hug and as soon as she was cuddle up in my arms she completely burst into tears. "I miss him because I love him." Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Matthew came over and rubbed her back with me. I cried a little too. Fearing that we would all be puddles of tears and runny noses if I didn't do something quickly, I mentioned to them that when Daddy comes home we will meet him when he lands his plane (either one he is flying or one he is flying in with the rest of the squadron) and we get to run out to him and give him the biggest bestest hug we have ever given him. Two sweet little faces looked up at me with big bright eyes. Matthew was smiling the biggest smile and Grace (a little worrier) asked, "What if we aren't at the airport when he lands his plane?" I couldn't help but laugh and promised her we would SO be there.
Friday was a decent day and ended with a fun Pity Party with the other Spouse Club wives. My scheduled sitter was unable to come over as planned after her son had to go to the doctor and was diagnosed with croup (Booooo)... so about 4 hours before the party started, I was looking for a sitter. Talk about Navy wives stepping up and offering babysitter numbers of even offering to babysit themselves. THANK YOU! I had a good time visiting with the other wives and even starting to plan our Halfway Party. You know it's a "short" deployment when you start talking about the Halfway Party at the Pity Party.
I was incredibly not looking forward to the first weekend without Paul. The weekdays are one thing; Paul's usually at work all day long; often has night flights. It's not entirely odd for us to go a few days without him home except for sleeping. But the weekends are another story entirely. That is our family time. That is my alone time. That is my catch-up on chores, errands, running around time. No such luck without Paul Meyer. So I decided we were going to start the weekend off right... we headed over to Eggs N Things for breakfast (the kids devoured their breakfast which is an added bonus). Then I took them up to the Santa Barbara Zoo. I had heard so many good things about the zoo, particularly that it is a great one for small kids and it is! We had a great time. Membership purchased! By the time we came home it was naptime for Sam, followed by a little playtime and dinner, etc.
Today was church and I was so entirely greatful. The kids enjoy time spent in the nursery/preschool class, and I get to spend sometime getting my mind focused on what/who it needs to be focused on. I am blessed with an awesome church that has shown great support to Paul and I in the past few weeks, as well as great friendship in general no matter a looming deployment or not. We came home, Sam napped, the big kids and I worked hard on cleaning up and folding laundry so we could play outside after Sam woke up. Their behavior was awesome, so we headed out in the trusty Odyssey to see some Christmas lights. It was a great end of Week One.
My house is a mess right now. There is stuff - laundry piles, throw pillows, shoes, dolls - everywhere. But I just can't do it all and I'm going to let it go tonight. I got to write and that feels good. I will clean it up tomorrow and late tomorrow night by dad will be here! Hooray for Big Al's visit! Weeks Two-Five are going to be soooo fun.
P.S. Come back tomorrow for an update on my workout results!
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| The kids waiting for Santa on the firetruck. |
We spent Tuesday evening with friends on base and enjoyed seeing Santa touring the neghborhood in a firetruck. I mean really... Santa AND a firetruck?! That's pretty much the best thing ever for my kids! The evening was a huge success in distracting us from Paul's ovbvious absense.
Wednesday was a busy day of Christmas singing at the kids' pre-school classes. They had a great time and were excited by a surprise visit from Santa (again) after the singing was sung. Wednesday afternoon added a little more excitement with their last gymnastics class before the holiday break. Matthew mastered some flips on the rings and he was thrilled with that.
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| Grace's class (She's in the white dress - on the left) |
Friday was a decent day and ended with a fun Pity Party with the other Spouse Club wives. My scheduled sitter was unable to come over as planned after her son had to go to the doctor and was diagnosed with croup (Booooo)... so about 4 hours before the party started, I was looking for a sitter. Talk about Navy wives stepping up and offering babysitter numbers of even offering to babysit themselves. THANK YOU! I had a good time visiting with the other wives and even starting to plan our Halfway Party. You know it's a "short" deployment when you start talking about the Halfway Party at the Pity Party.
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| Standing like flamingos. |
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| Sam trying to climb the sledding hill. |
My house is a mess right now. There is stuff - laundry piles, throw pillows, shoes, dolls - everywhere. But I just can't do it all and I'm going to let it go tonight. I got to write and that feels good. I will clean it up tomorrow and late tomorrow night by dad will be here! Hooray for Big Al's visit! Weeks Two-Five are going to be soooo fun.
P.S. Come back tomorrow for an update on my workout results!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Let the countdown begin!
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| (An old photo of USS Abe Lincoln) See the funny propellor on the left side of the bridge? That's the E2-C |
While we got ready for school, I vascilated between weepy and okay. Grace's teacher gave me a hug and I turned to a pile of mush. I got to the gym and forced myself to run a mile and started to feel a lot better. Luckily today was a training day with Steph and she had planned a heavy workout. For one hour I focused on making my body do what Steph told me I had to do. There is such relief in spending time with my brain turned off and pushing my little muscles to do more than they want to do. By the end of the hour, I felt pretty wiped out with not much more energy to give to weepiness. But then, I talked to my mom, and then there were a few more tears. Eventually, the kids were home from school, lunch had been eaten, Sam was down for a nap, and I could take a nice long shower. I took a short nap and woke up feeling like a million bucks.
Monday nights are Small Group nights, so fortunately I had a babysitter lined up and was able to take a few hours with some wonderful friends from church. When you can't be with your hubby, it is pretty darn good to be with good friends. We even blew off doing the Bible study and played board games! When you can't be with your hubby, it is really darn good to be with good friends and board games! I tucked the kids into bed when I came home, emailed a "good night" to Paul (who did indeed make it safely onboard earlier today) and now have an hour or so to relax. Not a bad ending to a not-so-happy day.
I am feeling relatively confident in our family's ability to make it through this deployment with a minimal amount of tears and stress and frustration. (Knock on wood.) Paul and I have done quite a bit of prep work in getting ourselves "set up for success" and our expectations managed.
Our Deployment Survival Kit:
X Arm pillow for Betsy (picture will be posted on Friday)
X Build-a-Bears with Daddy's voice message for each kiddo (thanks for the idea, Ash!)
X A t-shirt of Paul's for each kid to snuggle with at night
X Jar o'Kisses from Daddy for each kid each night
X Pictures of all of each of us with Paul (for us and for him)
X Digital photo frame loaded with photos for Paul
X Envelopes/paper and color-coded stickers so the kids will see the sticker and know it's a card from Daddy for them.
X Lots of videos of Daddy reading nighttime books to the kids
X New camera for Mommy to take video of kids for Daddy (Merry Christmas, me!)
Deployment Expectations:
We will email every day assuming the email is up and running on the ship.
We will Skype when Paul is in port.
We will get a handwritten note from Paul (hopefully once a month - Paul, are you reading this?!) hee hee.
We will send mail to Paul every week... hopefully the aircraft carrier made a weight allowance for lots of finger-paintings and such from the Meyer kids.
....only 142 days left!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
A Case of PDD - Pre-Deployment Dread
And so begins the countdown clock. Deployment will begin in a month, give or take (please, please give) a day or two. Every military family knows the dates will wibble and wobble based on ship movements and who gets to fly-on or walk-on; but a month is pretty much what we are looking at. It seems like a long time and a short time... all at the same time. With each day, though, the knot in the pit of my stomach grows and is more difficult to ignore. It's a severe case of Pre-Deployment Dread.
If you are unfamiliar with PDD, let me break it down for you*:
Causes: PDD is generally caused by an upcoming military deployment. In most cases, the severity of the dread is directly related to the length of the aforementioned deployment.
Types: PDD can be present in two differing, yet quite similar forms:
A. Actual Pre-Deployment Dread: This form is evident when a deployment date is real and set on the calendar. (A)PDD shows more consistent and long-lasting symptoms. Oftentimes, symptoms are intense and experienced on a daily basis.
B. Rumored/Hypothetical Pre-Deployment Dread: This form of PDD is experienced when military spouses have discussions with other military spouses or their spouse about the possibility of a deployment. At times this dread can show itself when a military spouse is sitting alone and just thinking of possibilities in their spouse's career. (R/H)PDD has symptoms that generally last only as long as the discussion/day-dreaming session. (R/H)PDD can prove to be as intense as (A)PDD.
Symptoms: A person experiencing PDD may experience all or some of the following:
* An undeniable knot in the pit of your stomach making you feel like you may 'toss your cookies' at any moment.
* Always being on the brink of tears and never quite knowing when they are going to get tired of waiting just beneath the surface and erupt.
* An intense need to hang on to your spouse when giving hugs.... just about when a "normal" hug would end, you just need to hang on a little bit longer.
* The inability to complete a chore during the day without thinking of the next stretch of months when you will be doing the chore alone.
* Continually looking at the calendar and doing mental math as to how many more weeks or days you have until D-Day.
* Grumpily picking up supplies to make calendar squares.
* Day-dreaming of holidays and family celebrations that you will celebrate with your 'better half' half a world away... and either feeling super-sad, super-irritated, or super-bold in your determination to make it a fun celebration anyway... or feeling all three emotions at the same time.
* Alternating between a deep sense of pride in the military branch that your family is serving in and a deep sense of hatred; always knowing full well you will circle back around to the pride.
* Making many mental lists of how you are going to improve yourself, organize your house, keep your kids busy, stay in touch with your spouse, and somehow enjoy the deployment.
* Making many metal lists of how you are going to stretch out in the bed at night, watch whatever you want to on television, eat popcorn for dinner if you so feel like it, and not pick up dirty underwears off the floor.
* Snapping at your spouse for no particular reason, while knowing deep down it's just because you don't want him to leave.
Diagnosis: If you answer "yes" to these three questions, you can go ahead an diagnose yourself with PDD:
1. Is/Will your spouse be deployed in the future?
2. Do you feel grumpy, sad, and dread-ful about it?
3. Are you experiencing any of the listed symptoms?
Treatment: Treatment for PDD varies depending on each person's personality. Some treatments include:
* Allow yourself a Day of Dread. Just wallow in it for a bit but tell yourself you're going to have to get over it.
* When suffering the symptom of needing longer hugs from your spouse, go ahead and hug longer. Hug more often.
* Make those mental lists into real lists that you can add to instead of re-hashing them in your mind.
* Talk to another military spouse about how your feeling, but make sure it doesn't turn into a complete complain fest for you both... otherwise symptoms will most likely increase.
* Talk to your spouse about your dread. (I highly recommend beginning this conversation with something along the lines of, "I'm not mad at YOU and I'm not blaming you, I know you would stay home if you could. I just want to tell you how I feel.")
* Pray about it. No one on Earth understands you better than the Big Guy Upstairs.
* Go shopping, but instead of picking up random things, try to come up with something that will be useful during the deployment. (a workout DVD, a long-term craft, cards to mail to the hubster, a bottle of wine for each month of deployment, whatever works for you... )
* Accept that it just sort of SUCKS right now, but before long you'll be experiencing Deployment Daze and then Homecoming Highs.
*PLEASE NOTE: this is completely made up and is just what is floating through my head when I'm not making mental lists of Things I will Hate During Deployment and Things I will Enjoy During Deployment. If you are experiencing real-life symptoms of depression, please please please respect that and go talk to your doctor about it.
And in honor of my PDD, here's a picture of my most-favorite Deployer (from two years & one kid ago... but it's my ultimate favorite photo):
If you are unfamiliar with PDD, let me break it down for you*:
Causes: PDD is generally caused by an upcoming military deployment. In most cases, the severity of the dread is directly related to the length of the aforementioned deployment.
Types: PDD can be present in two differing, yet quite similar forms:
A. Actual Pre-Deployment Dread: This form is evident when a deployment date is real and set on the calendar. (A)PDD shows more consistent and long-lasting symptoms. Oftentimes, symptoms are intense and experienced on a daily basis.
B. Rumored/Hypothetical Pre-Deployment Dread: This form of PDD is experienced when military spouses have discussions with other military spouses or their spouse about the possibility of a deployment. At times this dread can show itself when a military spouse is sitting alone and just thinking of possibilities in their spouse's career. (R/H)PDD has symptoms that generally last only as long as the discussion/day-dreaming session. (R/H)PDD can prove to be as intense as (A)PDD.
Symptoms: A person experiencing PDD may experience all or some of the following:
* An undeniable knot in the pit of your stomach making you feel like you may 'toss your cookies' at any moment.
* Always being on the brink of tears and never quite knowing when they are going to get tired of waiting just beneath the surface and erupt.
* An intense need to hang on to your spouse when giving hugs.... just about when a "normal" hug would end, you just need to hang on a little bit longer.
* The inability to complete a chore during the day without thinking of the next stretch of months when you will be doing the chore alone.
* Continually looking at the calendar and doing mental math as to how many more weeks or days you have until D-Day.
* Grumpily picking up supplies to make calendar squares.
* Day-dreaming of holidays and family celebrations that you will celebrate with your 'better half' half a world away... and either feeling super-sad, super-irritated, or super-bold in your determination to make it a fun celebration anyway... or feeling all three emotions at the same time.
* Alternating between a deep sense of pride in the military branch that your family is serving in and a deep sense of hatred; always knowing full well you will circle back around to the pride.
* Making many mental lists of how you are going to improve yourself, organize your house, keep your kids busy, stay in touch with your spouse, and somehow enjoy the deployment.
* Making many metal lists of how you are going to stretch out in the bed at night, watch whatever you want to on television, eat popcorn for dinner if you so feel like it, and not pick up dirty underwears off the floor.
* Snapping at your spouse for no particular reason, while knowing deep down it's just because you don't want him to leave.
Diagnosis: If you answer "yes" to these three questions, you can go ahead an diagnose yourself with PDD:
1. Is/Will your spouse be deployed in the future?
2. Do you feel grumpy, sad, and dread-ful about it?
3. Are you experiencing any of the listed symptoms?
Treatment: Treatment for PDD varies depending on each person's personality. Some treatments include:
* Allow yourself a Day of Dread. Just wallow in it for a bit but tell yourself you're going to have to get over it.
* When suffering the symptom of needing longer hugs from your spouse, go ahead and hug longer. Hug more often.
* Make those mental lists into real lists that you can add to instead of re-hashing them in your mind.
* Talk to another military spouse about how your feeling, but make sure it doesn't turn into a complete complain fest for you both... otherwise symptoms will most likely increase.
* Talk to your spouse about your dread. (I highly recommend beginning this conversation with something along the lines of, "I'm not mad at YOU and I'm not blaming you, I know you would stay home if you could. I just want to tell you how I feel.")
* Pray about it. No one on Earth understands you better than the Big Guy Upstairs.
* Go shopping, but instead of picking up random things, try to come up with something that will be useful during the deployment. (a workout DVD, a long-term craft, cards to mail to the hubster, a bottle of wine for each month of deployment, whatever works for you... )
* Accept that it just sort of SUCKS right now, but before long you'll be experiencing Deployment Daze and then Homecoming Highs.
*PLEASE NOTE: this is completely made up and is just what is floating through my head when I'm not making mental lists of Things I will Hate During Deployment and Things I will Enjoy During Deployment. If you are experiencing real-life symptoms of depression, please please please respect that and go talk to your doctor about it.
And in honor of my PDD, here's a picture of my most-favorite Deployer (from two years & one kid ago... but it's my ultimate favorite photo):
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Remember that Weight Loss Goal?
So I got pretty distracted from my weight loss goal during September. There was always something else to think about, focus on, and keep me out of the gym. I honestly don't even know if I made it into the gym one time during the month. Bah.
However, once we arrived in California, I was pumped to get back on track and continue where I left off. I had read a few friends' Facebook posts about great Zumba classes so I decided that was the gym I would join. I'm proud to announce I am a new member of 24-Hour Fitness. I also decided that I had proved to myself (and the blogging world) that I can NOT do this on my own and decided to throw caution to the budget wind and hire a personal trainer. When I was signing up I was pretty much putty in their hands and followed their suggestions. I have a trainer hired for 3 days per week for 8 weeks. It's go time.
Holy cow, I have NEVER worked out so hard in my entire life. I used to think that I knew how to work out. I did not. Steph has me doing box jumps, jump ropes, frog jumps, and wall jumps. She has me doing regular planks, high-low planks, and (for the love of pete) walking planks. She has me hating burpies, burpies, burpies, and more burpies. I've bear walked around the gym, sprinted then push-up-ed, boxed and kick-boxed, lunged throughout the cardio machines, ran on a treadmill, walked backwards on the treadmill, and even PULLED the stinkin' treadmill with my hands.
I used to be able to run a quick errand at Target after working out... not anymore, my friends. I had to go buy new shirts to workout in because cotton tanks just don't cut it anymore. I am a sweaty gross mess. Pushing myself so hard and finding out what I am actually capable of is pretty awesome but I disgust myself with my own stench.
Tomorrow is my first measurement day since signing up two weeks ago. I added one extra training session this past Saturday, so I have completed a total of 8 sessions with Steph. I'm feeling stronger in just two weeks but am doubtful about the actual weight loss. It usually takes a month or so to see the results show up on the scale so I have pretty low expectations. I'm getting a lot of motivation from seeing a bit less pudge and a little more muscle, and have my sights set on FINALLY getting back to wedding weight!
'Til tomorrow....
However, once we arrived in California, I was pumped to get back on track and continue where I left off. I had read a few friends' Facebook posts about great Zumba classes so I decided that was the gym I would join. I'm proud to announce I am a new member of 24-Hour Fitness. I also decided that I had proved to myself (and the blogging world) that I can NOT do this on my own and decided to throw caution to the budget wind and hire a personal trainer. When I was signing up I was pretty much putty in their hands and followed their suggestions. I have a trainer hired for 3 days per week for 8 weeks. It's go time.
Holy cow, I have NEVER worked out so hard in my entire life. I used to think that I knew how to work out. I did not. Steph has me doing box jumps, jump ropes, frog jumps, and wall jumps. She has me doing regular planks, high-low planks, and (for the love of pete) walking planks. She has me hating burpies, burpies, burpies, and more burpies. I've bear walked around the gym, sprinted then push-up-ed, boxed and kick-boxed, lunged throughout the cardio machines, ran on a treadmill, walked backwards on the treadmill, and even PULLED the stinkin' treadmill with my hands.
I used to be able to run a quick errand at Target after working out... not anymore, my friends. I had to go buy new shirts to workout in because cotton tanks just don't cut it anymore. I am a sweaty gross mess. Pushing myself so hard and finding out what I am actually capable of is pretty awesome but I disgust myself with my own stench.
Tomorrow is my first measurement day since signing up two weeks ago. I added one extra training session this past Saturday, so I have completed a total of 8 sessions with Steph. I'm feeling stronger in just two weeks but am doubtful about the actual weight loss. It usually takes a month or so to see the results show up on the scale so I have pretty low expectations. I'm getting a lot of motivation from seeing a bit less pudge and a little more muscle, and have my sights set on FINALLY getting back to wedding weight!
'Til tomorrow....
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Big Move Across Country (TBMAC): The Load Up
Did you know I lived in a TOWN called California in Maryland? Weird. Well, now I live in the STATE of California. Navy life is awesome.
Where do we begin? Well, at the very beginning... it's a very good place to start. (Thank you, Maria from Sound of Music.)
Packers arrive on Wednesday. A guy and two ladies. Very nice, hardworking, and quiet. All is well. They work for about 5 hours and leave. Day One - complete! Success.
Packers return on Thursday. Same guy and two ladies. They finish all the packing, but leave a whole bunch of stuff out... like rugs and pillows, etc. Day Two - 1/2 way completed. 1/2 way success.
Truck arrives on Friday. "How do I get my truck down your street?" -Uh, drive it????? Hmmm.... takes a few tries, but he manages to back it down the street to our house. (In the driver's defense, our street is more of an alley than a street and people park their cars on the two streets that intersect with ours, so it was a bit of a tight fit.)
Loading begins. The workers work hard, but notice there are some miss-tagged boxes. [For any non-frequent movers out there, the packers packed up boxes and then stuck stickers with numbers on them.... then we get a form with corresponding numbers and they write what item/box/furniture goes with that number. When we unload, we mark off each number when it is brought into our new house... essentially it is our inventory.] So driver is tagging some stuff, and trying to organize the items already tagged by the packers. I'm a little worried... I've never experienced confusion at this stage of the moving game before. Sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Loading continues. The truck our driver brought was already 2/3 full of other people's stuff when he showed up at our house. P and I both thought... wow, all of our stuff is going to fit in that little space?! Hmmmm. Well at least the truck will be ready to head out to CA right away. Should have known better...
...around noon, the driver comes over to me, nonchalantly, and mentions "yeah... so... you know, there isn't enough room in this truck... so I'm going to call dispatch.... they'll send another truck." I think my eyes bugged out a little and my eyebrows raised - I'd like to think I raised one eyebrow in a very dramatic way, but I don't think I can even do that - so he quickly added, "I'll stay here the whole time and make sure they show up." Hmmmmmm..... sinking feeling increasing depth.
Hallelujah - My mom shows up from the airport to help occupy the kids while all of their belongings disappear out of the house by a handful of strangers and go onto a big huge truck.
I run errands (returning cable boxes, etc.), come back, and the second truck has arrived... and a whole bunch of our furniture is sitting in our neighbor's driveway. I wonder how we are supposed to know which stuff/furniture/boxes is
on which truck. Is there any way they are keeping track of this? Nope. Sinking feeling reaches even deeper depths.
Oh, and did I mention the second truck didn't happen to bring those big packing quilts that they wrap your furniture in to make sure it doesn't get dinged and banged up??? Nice. "Well, we don't have time to go get some," they told my husband, "but if you want we can come back on Monday to finish, [mind you it is Friday evening and our furniture is sitting outside at this moment] oh wait, Monday is a holiday... we could come back on Tuesday and finish." Yeah, that won't work. P is leaving TOMORROW to drive our van across the country and I fly out with the kids on Tuesday. Go ahead; pack up our stuff uncovered. Feeling.... SUNK.
The driver of truck #1 assures us that he "thinks" he's heading straight out to California... he should be there in about a week.... but of course, remember, the contract with the Navy says they have until the 24th. SURELY it won't take 17 days to get there, right? Riiiiiiight.
The driver of truck #2 assures us he will unload all of our stuff as soon as he gets to the wharehouse, cover all the furniture and re-pack it. Hmmmmm. Hope so.
And there goes most of our earthly possessions.... (today is October 19th and we haven't seen them since.)
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| G & M enjoying the excitement. |
Packers arrive on Wednesday. A guy and two ladies. Very nice, hardworking, and quiet. All is well. They work for about 5 hours and leave. Day One - complete! Success.
Packers return on Thursday. Same guy and two ladies. They finish all the packing, but leave a whole bunch of stuff out... like rugs and pillows, etc. Day Two - 1/2 way completed. 1/2 way success.
 |
| M supervising the Move... note: moving truck trying to back down our street. |
Loading begins. The workers work hard, but notice there are some miss-tagged boxes. [For any non-frequent movers out there, the packers packed up boxes and then stuck stickers with numbers on them.... then we get a form with corresponding numbers and they write what item/box/furniture goes with that number. When we unload, we mark off each number when it is brought into our new house... essentially it is our inventory.] So driver is tagging some stuff, and trying to organize the items already tagged by the packers. I'm a little worried... I've never experienced confusion at this stage of the moving game before. Sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Loading continues. The truck our driver brought was already 2/3 full of other people's stuff when he showed up at our house. P and I both thought... wow, all of our stuff is going to fit in that little space?! Hmmmm. Well at least the truck will be ready to head out to CA right away. Should have known better......around noon, the driver comes over to me, nonchalantly, and mentions "yeah... so... you know, there isn't enough room in this truck... so I'm going to call dispatch.... they'll send another truck." I think my eyes bugged out a little and my eyebrows raised - I'd like to think I raised one eyebrow in a very dramatic way, but I don't think I can even do that - so he quickly added, "I'll stay here the whole time and make sure they show up." Hmmmmmm..... sinking feeling increasing depth.
Hallelujah - My mom shows up from the airport to help occupy the kids while all of their belongings disappear out of the house by a handful of strangers and go onto a big huge truck.I run errands (returning cable boxes, etc.), come back, and the second truck has arrived... and a whole bunch of our furniture is sitting in our neighbor's driveway. I wonder how we are supposed to know which stuff/furniture/boxes is
on which truck. Is there any way they are keeping track of this? Nope. Sinking feeling reaches even deeper depths.
Oh, and did I mention the second truck didn't happen to bring those big packing quilts that they wrap your furniture in to make sure it doesn't get dinged and banged up??? Nice. "Well, we don't have time to go get some," they told my husband, "but if you want we can come back on Monday to finish, [mind you it is Friday evening and our furniture is sitting outside at this moment] oh wait, Monday is a holiday... we could come back on Tuesday and finish." Yeah, that won't work. P is leaving TOMORROW to drive our van across the country and I fly out with the kids on Tuesday. Go ahead; pack up our stuff uncovered. Feeling.... SUNK.
The driver of truck #1 assures us that he "thinks" he's heading straight out to California... he should be there in about a week.... but of course, remember, the contract with the Navy says they have until the 24th. SURELY it won't take 17 days to get there, right? Riiiiiiight.
The driver of truck #2 assures us he will unload all of our stuff as soon as he gets to the wharehouse, cover all the furniture and re-pack it. Hmmmmm. Hope so.
And there goes most of our earthly possessions.... (today is October 19th and we haven't seen them since.)
Monday, August 29, 2011
Since You've Been Gone...
.... or maybe "since I'VE been gone" but no matter. I haven't written much. At all.
Week Four of the Weight Loss Journey: Stagnant. Stagnant like stinky gross pond water. I must get re-focused and motivated. My good buddy gave me a helping hand with that earlier last week. She helped me see that nearly everyone else in the world who is in shape has made choices that led them to be in shape. I think this is how I started my weight loss journey four weeks ago - knowing that I would need to make the choices, have the self-discipline, etc. to reach my goals. But I've already begun to be an expert in excuse-making in the last four weeks. But instead of excuses for my behavior, they were excuses as to why other's could be fit and I couldn't:
* "Well, she has REALLY good genes. Being thin is natural for her."
* "She actually LIKES to work out!" [gasp] (Wait a minute, I used to like to work out too! Hmmm.)
* "Her metabolism is just so high."
* "It's not my fault I need more sleep than so-and-so."
And on and on... it's not healthy. And, more importantly it's really not true. No matter the genes, metabolism, sleep habits, if I'm not working out or eating right there's no where else for me to look. And so, we are back on track.
Despite my lack of improvement on the scale, I did have a good and exciting moment this week:
On a whim, I popped into a dress store for a formal dress for a gala dinner that P and I will attend at the end of September. I found one I liked and sent camera-phone pictures to my sister. It was a size 12. (There, I've said it, it's a size 12... I was going to make it all ambiguous like "the size I have been since post-partum #3", but I'm throwing it out there and stating my size.) So, as I said, this is the size I've been in my post-partum days (after breast-feeding did it's work and all the initial weight dropped off). ANYWAY.... I put the dress on hold until I can get another opinion. So, the next day, I take my good buddy shopping with me. Thanks to the camera-phone pictures texted to my sister, she suggests I try a size 10. My sister is certain I'm wearing my clothes one size too big because I'm not used to "tight" clothes and I'm just being baggy. So, I look to grab a size 12 and 10... but lo and behold there is no size 10. Only a size 8. My good buddy encourages me just to grab it anyway and so I head into the dressing room with a comfy size 12 and a tiny size 8. On goes the 12 and good buddy says "Oh yes. I DO like it! Definitely worth the sales price for sure!" Into the dressing room I go to change into normal baggy clothes. The size 8 is eyeing me and daring me to squeeze into it. And so I do... and up goes the zipper all the way to the top!!!! Good buddy gives me a look that makes me wonder if she's about to say "Oh dear, good buddy" as in "Oh dear, good buddy, don't wear that in public." But instead it comes out as, "Oh dear, good buddy I didn't realize when you were wearing it but the size 12 is definitely too big. This is the size you should get." So... triumph of the month... I walked out of the store with a size 8!!! And a size 8 that was 50% off, no less!
My next goal for exactly 21 days is to make my new size smaller-than-normal dress to fit just absolutely perfectly.... it's time to tighten up a bit here and there. I have invested in some new tools. Two DVD's are on their way to help me trim up. I'm looking forward to giving you the "skinny" on them next week.
Week Four of the Weight Loss Journey: Stagnant. Stagnant like stinky gross pond water. I must get re-focused and motivated. My good buddy gave me a helping hand with that earlier last week. She helped me see that nearly everyone else in the world who is in shape has made choices that led them to be in shape. I think this is how I started my weight loss journey four weeks ago - knowing that I would need to make the choices, have the self-discipline, etc. to reach my goals. But I've already begun to be an expert in excuse-making in the last four weeks. But instead of excuses for my behavior, they were excuses as to why other's could be fit and I couldn't:
* "Well, she has REALLY good genes. Being thin is natural for her."
* "She actually LIKES to work out!" [gasp] (Wait a minute, I used to like to work out too! Hmmm.)
* "Her metabolism is just so high."
* "It's not my fault I need more sleep than so-and-so."
And on and on... it's not healthy. And, more importantly it's really not true. No matter the genes, metabolism, sleep habits, if I'm not working out or eating right there's no where else for me to look. And so, we are back on track.
Despite my lack of improvement on the scale, I did have a good and exciting moment this week:
On a whim, I popped into a dress store for a formal dress for a gala dinner that P and I will attend at the end of September. I found one I liked and sent camera-phone pictures to my sister. It was a size 12. (There, I've said it, it's a size 12... I was going to make it all ambiguous like "the size I have been since post-partum #3", but I'm throwing it out there and stating my size.) So, as I said, this is the size I've been in my post-partum days (after breast-feeding did it's work and all the initial weight dropped off). ANYWAY.... I put the dress on hold until I can get another opinion. So, the next day, I take my good buddy shopping with me. Thanks to the camera-phone pictures texted to my sister, she suggests I try a size 10. My sister is certain I'm wearing my clothes one size too big because I'm not used to "tight" clothes and I'm just being baggy. So, I look to grab a size 12 and 10... but lo and behold there is no size 10. Only a size 8. My good buddy encourages me just to grab it anyway and so I head into the dressing room with a comfy size 12 and a tiny size 8. On goes the 12 and good buddy says "Oh yes. I DO like it! Definitely worth the sales price for sure!" Into the dressing room I go to change into normal baggy clothes. The size 8 is eyeing me and daring me to squeeze into it. And so I do... and up goes the zipper all the way to the top!!!! Good buddy gives me a look that makes me wonder if she's about to say "Oh dear, good buddy" as in "Oh dear, good buddy, don't wear that in public." But instead it comes out as, "Oh dear, good buddy I didn't realize when you were wearing it but the size 12 is definitely too big. This is the size you should get." So... triumph of the month... I walked out of the store with a size 8!!! And a size 8 that was 50% off, no less!
My next goal for exactly 21 days is to make my new size smaller-than-normal dress to fit just absolutely perfectly.... it's time to tighten up a bit here and there. I have invested in some new tools. Two DVD's are on their way to help me trim up. I'm looking forward to giving you the "skinny" on them next week.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
I've been hosed.... well, it's shocking, really.
I'm too tired tonight to write something interesting... here is a bit of an email I sent my husband who is out on an aircraft carrier this week. The week has been a busy one for me, so most of our emails have been short and sweet and not too in-depth. I thought I would send him a more detailed update of some of our excitement:
On Tuesday night I had a conference call for The Crib at 7pm. I had
strategically planned the day so the kids wouldn't nap (except Sam) so
they would be tired and quiet by 7pm. Well, we were driving home from
the gym around 5:30pm and saw this lady setting up some of those
crawl-through tubes in the common area. I thought "now there's a
motivated mom!" We ate dinner and at 6pm we head up to bath... just
enough time to get everyone washed and squared away. Grace is standing
on the steps looking out the big window "MOM! Look what is happening
in our field?!" And guess what... it wasn't a motivated mom... it was
the Fire Dept. They had apparently sent emails out that I didn't get
about a Family Night Out. The fire truck was there SPRAYING WATER into
the field (like way up into the air so it wasn't crushing kids, of
course) and they had games and a water-table and face painting! So I
stood there debating on what to do.. but how could I NOT let them go
out there and check it out?! I mean really, with Matthew's love of trucks...
and I've never seen a fire truck spraying its hose! So we ran and put their
swimsuits and water socks on and went out for some fun. They got a little
timid in the water because there were some older kids running around but they had
fun with the other stuff (no face painting). I figured if we could
get back in the house by 6:35pm I could skip bath, get them into
jammies, get Sam down, and the big kids into my bed for a movie.
Well, Sam decided he wanted to check out the water too and he loved
it. And he fell in the newly mowed field and was all wet and came out
looking like a scarecrow! So... into the bath they all went... grass
was everywhere in our bathroom. Out of the bath they all hopped.
Grace hopped a little too much because she was so wound up from the
fire truck excitement, she fell into our shower stall and got a bloody
nose!!!!!! It's now 6:50pm. Bah! Cleaned her up (it wasn't too too
bad) and got Sam into jammies and settled in to give him a bottle.
Then he drank a great big mouthful, got a cough and coughed it up on
me. Awesome. Anyway, after that I was able to get him down, got on the
call about 10 minutes late which was not really a big deal, and the
kids went to bed after that. geesh.
Today I was cleaning up the kitchen and Matthew says "Mom, come look!"
so I follow him to the front room and see our tall lamp laying on the
floor! "Sam pulled it down." First thought: Phew. No one was hurt.
Second thought: I bet the bulb shattered. So the lamp is laying on
the ground with the bowl-shade-thing laying flat on the floor upside
down... like it had slipped off the pole and flipped 90 degrees. So I
carefully pick it up and there are no shards of glass. Phew. Again.
but I can't get the shade back up because the bulb is cock-eyed
because the bulb holder (I'm sure that is the technical term) is also
cock-eyed and not through the hole in the shade. So.. I glance down
one more time to make sure Sam isn't finding glass that I had missed,
grab the bottom of the bulb holder with my left hand and ZAP!!!!!!!
HOLY CRAP!!!!! My index finger and thumb clench onto whatever that
thing is called, and I can feel electricity zap up through my elbow
and shoulder and I swear my heart skipped a beat or two!!!! HOLY CRAP.
I involuntarily went "HUUUUUUUUUUH!" Dude. E.D.Electron is no joke. My
hand was tingly for a good two hours, but I'm back to normal now. I
unplugged the light and give it the evil eye every time I walk by it
now.
*****************************************************************************
So that's what we've been up to. Shockingly good times!
The Lamp that Shocked Me Silly
On Tuesday night I had a conference call for The Crib at 7pm. I had
strategically planned the day so the kids wouldn't nap (except Sam) so
they would be tired and quiet by 7pm. Well, we were driving home from
the gym around 5:30pm and saw this lady setting up some of those
crawl-through tubes in the common area. I thought "now there's a
motivated mom!" We ate dinner and at 6pm we head up to bath... just
enough time to get everyone washed and squared away. Grace is standing
on the steps looking out the big window "MOM! Look what is happening
in our field?!" And guess what... it wasn't a motivated mom... it was
the Fire Dept. They had apparently sent emails out that I didn't get
about a Family Night Out. The fire truck was there SPRAYING WATER into
the field (like way up into the air so it wasn't crushing kids, of
course) and they had games and a water-table and face painting! So I
stood there debating on what to do.. but how could I NOT let them go
out there and check it out?! I mean really, with Matthew's love of trucks...
and I've never seen a fire truck spraying its hose! So we ran and put their
swimsuits and water socks on and went out for some fun. They got a little
timid in the water because there were some older kids running around but they had
fun with the other stuff (no face painting). I figured if we could
get back in the house by 6:35pm I could skip bath, get them into
jammies, get Sam down, and the big kids into my bed for a movie.
Well, Sam decided he wanted to check out the water too and he loved
it. And he fell in the newly mowed field and was all wet and came out
looking like a scarecrow! So... into the bath they all went... grass
was everywhere in our bathroom. Out of the bath they all hopped.
Grace hopped a little too much because she was so wound up from the
fire truck excitement, she fell into our shower stall and got a bloody
nose!!!!!! It's now 6:50pm. Bah! Cleaned her up (it wasn't too too
bad) and got Sam into jammies and settled in to give him a bottle.
Then he drank a great big mouthful, got a cough and coughed it up on
me. Awesome. Anyway, after that I was able to get him down, got on the
call about 10 minutes late which was not really a big deal, and the
kids went to bed after that. geesh.
Today I was cleaning up the kitchen and Matthew says "Mom, come look!"
so I follow him to the front room and see our tall lamp laying on the
floor! "Sam pulled it down." First thought: Phew. No one was hurt.
Second thought: I bet the bulb shattered. So the lamp is laying on
the ground with the bowl-shade-thing laying flat on the floor upside
down... like it had slipped off the pole and flipped 90 degrees. So I
carefully pick it up and there are no shards of glass. Phew. Again.
but I can't get the shade back up because the bulb is cock-eyed
because the bulb holder (I'm sure that is the technical term) is also
cock-eyed and not through the hole in the shade. So.. I glance down
one more time to make sure Sam isn't finding glass that I had missed,
grab the bottom of the bulb holder with my left hand and ZAP!!!!!!!
HOLY CRAP!!!!! My index finger and thumb clench onto whatever that
thing is called, and I can feel electricity zap up through my elbow
and shoulder and I swear my heart skipped a beat or two!!!! HOLY CRAP.
I involuntarily went "HUUUUUUUUUUH!" Dude. E.D.Electron is no joke. My
hand was tingly for a good two hours, but I'm back to normal now. I
unplugged the light and give it the evil eye every time I walk by it
now.
*****************************************************************************
So that's what we've been up to. Shockingly good times!
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