Father's Day

Well things have been super busy lately, but I wouldn't change it for the world - its making time go by faster! At least it seems like it's going by quickly. I have some wonderful neighbor friends who we do lots of stuff with and it seems like we're always on the go. My poor house and chores also suffer from us being "busy" not just my blog! As much as I love my friends and doing things, there are days when I just want to sit home and relax. I had one of those days on Saturday and I was knocking out chores left and right... then I get a text from my mom telling me I need to come visit my Granddad soon because he just isn't looking too well. After a few back and forth with text messages and a phone call, I decided to make a trip down to visit my parents and also my Granddad. I told my mom not to tell my Dad, because I was going to drive through the night and wake my dad up in the morning as a surprise for Father's Day! That's exactly what I did, I left a couple hours early so I could miss some storms forming around us. I drove through amazing lightning shows for hours, a little bit of rain, LOTS of giant bugs, and finally rolled up to my parents' house at 6am. C was super excited to be going to 'Papa's House'! She couldn't wait to wake him up and surprise him!

I just have to say that driving the 8 hours was entirely worth it to see his face. He was bragging to everyone about his surprise for Father's Day. I wish my husband was here for this special day, but I think we made his day special with his own Father's Day package! We sent him two cakes in a jar (he loved them!), some cards, an album full of pictures (he requested this), some artwork from C, and a new iPod cover. I also made him an imprint of A's foot but he wanted me to keep that at home so it wouldn't chance being broken on the way there or on the way back. I'm enjoying my time with family but missing my home with all the baby gadgets (i.e. swing, etc) and just the comfort of being in your own home. I know my parents are enjoying this time, so maybe it'll buy me a few more months before they start begging for me to come back down again?! We'll see!

Busy, busy, busy!

I haven't posted very often lately and we've been super busy! I finally got C all registered on base for classes and hourly childcare (if needed) since they are all free while my husband is deployed. We've also gone swimming, playing outside in the scorching heat, knocking out all my chores, and finally starting my classes! Not to mention dealing with a cranky baby non stop. I will update soon. These past couple of days have been very trying and I will post once things calm down and I can catch my breath.

Sweet silence.

As I sit here typing up this blog, all I hear is the quiet breeze of my air conditioning. Both of my girls are asleep. C is passed out upstairs in her bed after a fun day playing outside with her friends. A is snoozing next to me on the couch until I make our way upstairs for the night. I love hearing her content sleepy sighs. As a temporary single mom while my husband is deployed, I don't get alone of quiet time. C has pretty much abandoned the nap-taking ship since A was born. I was sad to see her stop taking naps because that's when I got a lot of my housework and other chores done. Now it takes twice as long to swap out laundry and fold them with C wanting to follow me and "help". I don't mind normally, but sometimes I just want to "get in and get out" so to speak.

I've also come to wonder if my eldest is hard of hearing, because she only seems to hear me when I yell. Scratch that, when I SCREAM. It is beyond frustrating when I am trying to get her attention or steer her away from harm (or doing something she's not supposed to do), I practically have to scream at her. Multiple times. I'm constantly feeling like I'm the "mean mommy". I want to be fun mommy every now and again... but when you're the only parent currently in the picture, you don't really get a choice. Even with my loving husband home I do end up being the disciplinarian, but I get a break from it and he'll step in. I miss the help.

So for now I will enjoy the silence until my sleeping children wake up tomorrow and it starts all over again. I just love their sweet noises, but sometimes mommy needs a little quiet time. All I can do is get through each day, and I'll be another day closer to my love being home. We love and miss you honey. Stay safe. ♥

Ugh.

These past couple of days haven't been very kind to me and my family. To start off, yesterday was a very emotional day. Sadie, our new puppy, came down with symptoms of parvo and unfortunately by the time I got her to the vet, it was just too late. She had to be put down. I only had her for two days and it was still just as heartbreaking to put a new pet down as if you were to put the dog you've had all your life down. She was a wonderful dog. So smart (she was SO close to being 100% housebroken!), sweet, calm, and full of love. It broke my heart to have to explain to C why Sadie wasn't at home. She asked a few times yesterday but I am pretty sure she's just too young to really understand what is going on.

The weather here has flip flopped and now its pretty unseasonably chilly. Just about everyone I know has some sort of congestion or cold going on. I've got some really annoying sinus congestion. C has some snot flow going, and poor A has a fever and some snot flow too. This weekend is a long weekend for most, just another weekend for us. I will spend this Memorial Day weekend cleaning up my house, doing laundry, babying my sick baby, and possibly going to a BBQ tomorrow (pending on how A is feeling). I hope you all have a nice holiday weekend and stay safe.

I'm crazy.

I'm crazy. Certifiably insane. Check me into a nuthouse batty.

But I'm a crazy lady who's days are flying by! I don't really know what I was thinking getting a 10 week old puppy while already having a 3 year old and 3 month old. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment? Ah well, I'm loving every second of it. Well, mostly every second. Sadie isn't 100% housebroken, so I'm working hard to get her all trained up! She pooped twice outside, but I won't tell you how many times she pooped inside. We are making progress!

I'm also adding schooling to the fray. Yes, I am loony. I've pretty much got everything approved for my classes and by next week I should be able to order my books and then start my classes shortly after that. We are more than halfway through this deployment and it's flying by! So I may be crazy, but I'm keeping myself busy until my love come home!

A new addition

We have added a new addition to our family!

Meet Sadie. She's a lab/german shepherd mix. And absolutely adorable. ♥

I can do this

One question I get asked a lot as a wife of a deployed soldier is "How do you do it? You must be so strong." I too felt the same when I was in their shoes (i.e. not married to a soldier). My good friend Rachel is married to a wonderful man who is also in the Army. She has survived thyroid cancer, having 2 children, completing her Bachelor's and Master's degrees, and is currently in her third year of law school and pursuing a second Master's... all while going through several deployments! She is superwoman/mom. Rachel, if you're reading this you are truly an inspiration! She is raising her children (wonderfully I might add!) and pursuing her dreams. When I asked her way back when how she did it... she simply said, "You never really know what you can handle until you don't have a choice." I thought it was a very clever answer. Now that I'm in her shoes... she's absolutely right.

Yes, I gave birth to my daughter naturally (not how I planned it - I wanted the drugs!) without my husband. He was still overseas, but I did it. I'm raising my 3 year old and my 3 month old while he's serving our country. I'm taking classes for a certification. I'm not living at "home" with my family and friends. I manage our household doing all the chores that have to be done. I manage our finances, which isn't any different since I was doing that before he left. I keep my family together and keep things running. I don't think how hard it is every day, but there are those tough days that seems like it's never ending.

I can do this.
I am doing this.
I'm over halfway done with this deployment - now that is music to my ears.