LONG day, but it ended well

Today we baby sat for a friend down here. It went great and then we all went to lunch afterwards. We got there and our oldest decided to have a meltdown. One of her anxiety induced meltdowns. She started bawling because she did not want people looking at her. Needless to say it was not pleasant. When she is in the throes of anxiety you cannot reason with her. So I placed her behind me with her nose facing the wall so that people could not see her face. Now, to others it looks like I am horrid mommy who is pushing her kid in a corner in a public place. I got glares from all over. Very frustrating and embarrassing. Then we come home and the girls are literally having a knock down fight. I seperate them and they are screaming for each other. "Sissy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 10 minutes later they are playing Lazytown together like nothing has ever happened. My neighbor and I meet outside to let the kids play and they are all so cranky! We decided the kids won. They beat us. We are both husbandless this week and exhausted. So we ordered pizza, let the kids run wild inside their room together and we watched Facing the Giants and talked. FINALLY. The kids were happy and now they are asleep. Tomorrow, if God is willing, my husband COULD be sleeping here. Please pray for that!!!

Small World

So today my phone rang and it was a friend of mine. She was so excited to call and tell me her husband is branched Armor as well and we think our hubbies will be in the same class!! PLUS, I was stressing over some things and she took it upon herself to call and find answers for me! So sweet! See why I am so excited to live near them again?
We had a good day here, just missing my hubby!

Gone again

It is hard having my husband gone again after he slept with me here. I miss him worse this time around. The good news is that I know we will talk on Friday of this week!!!
I forgot yesterday to blog about two things.
First, on Memorial Day we ended up taking the girls to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Do you remember my post from Thursday? Well, my husband got to see it in action! Our oldest was running around playing with other kids! They asked her name and we heard her answer! I turned to him and his eyes were shining with tears and he just could not believe that was our little girl! She was actually annoying and bossy to these kids!!! I mean that as a compliment! If you have never dealt with selective mutism that may confuse you, but it is a miracle to us and he got to see it!
Secondly, on the way home the girls were talking about the "mean lady" (the one I mention in my post titled A*N*G*E*R). They were asking why she was mean. I was explaining that she did not know who Jesus was and how much He loved her. The youngest said we should pray and of course I agreed. So, we are driving down the road praying "please help the mean lady love you Jesus and help her be nice" etc. It was so cute and they kept adding to the list of positive qualities they wanted Jesus to give her. It was really cute!

Happy Memorial Day!!!!!

Well, this weekend went WAY too quickly!!! We had so much fun with my husband being here. It never feels natural to have to leave him again. But he is back at the Army now and we are alone again. It's even harder because he was sleeping here last night and now he is not. But needless to say we had a great time! We discovered two news parks, drank lots of coffee and hung out with some new great friends from NC!
The biggest news of the weekend is that my husband has his branch. Having his branch means we know what his job will be (to a SMALL degree). His branch will be Armor. That involves tanks and other armored military vehicles. Our next move will be to Kentucky!!!!! We will let you know as we learn more about dates and details etc!!!!

Super De-Dooper Saturday

And that, is the end of the cutesy little titles!! =) My husband is back and this time tomorrow I will be asleep in his arms. So, I will sign off for now and check in on Monday night or Tuesday!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY EVERYONE!!!!

God's Hands

I forgot to include this adorable moment earlier. We were driving along today ang the youngest asked how long till we saw daddy. I said 3 days and she said she was thinking that God could find her daddy and pick him up in his big hands and ZOOM bring him to us real quick. She said she needed her daddy more than his friends and wanted God to go ahead and do it now. So we drove along and she PRAYED for her daddy to hurry home!! Such a brown eyed sweetie!

Fantastic Friend-Filled Friday!

Part of today was a surprise for my husband, so I can't tell you about that part. However, they rest of the day was also great! We had some friends come in and we did dinner and ice cream with them. It was so nice to meet them and their kids are adorable AND well behaved too!! Always a plus!
Today the youngest was really extra cute too. We were talking about names for pets and she has decided the next time we get a cat she will name it Diet Pepsi (which she pronounces diet tepsi)! Too cute!
The best part, I should be talking to my husband tomorrow!!!!!!!

Totally Thrilling Thursday!!!!!

We went to the gym this morning and I took my class. We came home and did some cleaning. Tonight we ate at Chick-Fil-A and then went to story hour at the library. It was fun! The really and truly thrilling part happened at Chick-Fil-A. Those of you who have been reading for awhile know our oldest has selective mutism. Both my husband and I had great fears about placing her into a military lifestyle. We worried that this life style would harm her. I have actually been noticing the opposite down here. See before we moved she had been regressing. She had quit playing at playlands unless it was just her and her sister (or kids she knew well). She would not play trains at the bookstore. Even if a toddler waddled up, her face would go blank and she'd back away. Tonight, our little girl PLAYED with FIVE KIDS at the playland AND she was talking and calling back and forth and playing hide and seek with them!!!!!!! I was sitting there alone, in a booth crying. Thank you Lord!!!!!! It made me miss my husband because he needed to share that moment with me. It was amazing and made this day TRULY Totally Thrilling!

Allright, WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!!!!!******!!!!!!

Ok, today was not as Super, Magnificent and Terrific as the rest of the week, but some online friends, who are evidently faithful blog readers, made me feel guilty so the trend continues!!
Today was not bad, I just missed my husband a lot today. We went to the gym and I ran 2 more miles. Then we went swimming in the HEAT! No ducks came to visit which disappointed the girls. However, they did find a pet ladybug who they put in a flower pot at the pool. Then they gave her about 15-20 cups of water so she would not get thirsty!! =) Those cute little girls honestly think she will wait in the flower pot for them! SWEET! We also had to visit Wal-Mart and when I loaded the cart to the top the oldest HAD to go potty NOW!! "Mommy, I've been holding it so you would not have to take me." Oh man, so we had to truck it ALL the way to the front and all my frozen things got melty. BUT the day was redeemed in the end! When we pulled up our neighbor (one half of the couple who babysat for free a few weeks ago) was out and helped a tired mom carry in all the melty groceries!! Ahhh, I love nice neighbors!!!
Looking back over the post I realize it really was a WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!!!! I am excited to see what tomorrow holds, but whatever it holds is one day closer to HOLDING the love of my life again!!!!! YEA!!!!!!!

Terrific Tuesday

Noticing a theme here? =)
Today I woke up really not wanting to go to the gym so I decided to break from our routine! We hit the wonderful library here! The girls played computer games and we got a HUGE stack of books to bring home with us.
Then we found this place that paints your nails for $5. I let the girls get their toes done. They think this is their new calling in life! They had cute little flowers put on them. It was really quite adorable!
We went to Target and then hit a new McDonalds! They had a blast playing!
We came home and hit the pool for awhile and then we came in and they watched a show and I let them eat lunchables for dinner and followed it all with a BIG bubble bath!
Perfect end to a great day. Not a perfect day. On a perfect day my hunky husband would have been here with us and we would have not done any of these things. We would have hit a coffee shop, looked at motorcycles and been in heaven because we were together. I miss him like crazy but thankfully God has made these days go mercifully fast for us!

Magnificent Monday

We have no plans at all for this whole week, so I woke up with a feeling of ho-hum. Wondering what the day would hold. We hit the gym and I ran a few miles. It felt great and I worked up a real sweat. Then my phone rang and it was one of my new friends here. She invited me and the girls to come over. There ended up being a total of 5 ladies and 11 kids! The kids were all under age 9! We ate lunch in her apartment and then hit the pool for around 4 hours!!!! WOW! We are all exhausted now! The girls had a blast! Now they are sound asleep and I will not be far behind them!!
The best news is...one day closer to my husbands return!

Super Sunday

Today FLEW by and was really a great day! I took the girls to church and then to a free outdoors art festival! It was great and we have DEFINITELY found a new park to go investigate again! They got a free book, made a painting and got animal balloons! On the way out I let them each get a Dora popsicle. They thought they looked much better than they tasted! So, they basically ate Dora's eyes off the rest melted all over their hands, legs, feet and toes. We finally throw them away and I hand them a napkin to wipe with. The youngest said it did not clean her enough so she took her sticky hands and rubbed them in the sand! SO, she is now sticky and sandy! I made a remark about that so she WIPES THEM ON HER DRESS! It was great!! As we pull into our place my father-in-law called and said he was pulling in. The girls hopped out of the van and ran squealing for the front door. The youngest turns around in all her smudged, sticky, sandy self and says, "Oh no! He'll see my messy mouth!" I was rolling!!! Her mouth was relatively clean! =)
We had a great visit with my father-in-law! He brought lamps and t-shirts for the girls and they loved them!
Oh and father-in-law if you are reading this, the four year old was hollering out the window for you to call her later! =) But not tonight cause they are asleep like little angels!!!

Another Day Down

Yea!!! It is almost bedtime and that means one day closer to having my husband back where he belongs!!!!
Today was pretty good. I hit the gym and did some work on the treadmill. Then the girls helped me clean the apartment. We swept and mopped and I let them sweep and mop the porch. They thought it was pretty great stuff! We spent the rest of the time outside playing. They were doing their best to undo all the landscaping! Luckily, the "landscaping" here is nothing but dead pine needles!
I am watching the movie "Freedom Writers". It has a lot of language but I am liking it because it is based on a true story.
Tomorrow my father-in-law will be here for a quick visit!! Yea!!!

Heart Breaker

If you know our youngest you know she looks like a little poster child. She has brown hair, frequently you will find smudges of dirt on her cheeks, her cheeks are a little pudgy but the rest of her is thin and to top it off she has these HUGE brown eyes that just suck you right in and melt you into a puddle. She is that cute! Well today she did three really cute things.
1. We were snuggling on the couch watching PBS and she says, "Mommy, when I grow up I know what I want to be now. A Mommy just like you. I want to have lots of kids to take care of and be a Mommy like you."
2. Her sister was teasing her about liking guys. When 3 yr. old was little she honestly preferred men. Even as an infant she perferred her daddy and there was NO WAY she'd stay in a nursery with a male. I am not kidding! Well , they have heard me say that so now the oldest teases the youngest about liking guys. The youngest today said, "Sissy that is a lie. I love my Daddy. I love him only. He is not a real boy." I am not sure what that means but it brought a much needed inner chuckle to me day.
3. We all had our haircuts and she was looking at herself in one of the MANY mirrors we have here. She said, "mommy, who do I look like? Daddy?" I said no. She said, "Oh, I must look like my new teacher then." WHAT???? Ok so maybe that wasn't super cute but it was blog worthy for sure!

Give me a break!

I promise my peppy personality will return shortly (or at the very least in 9 days). However, I am so angry and sad AGAIN! My husband and his company found out that they are leaving for the field in the morning where they will stay for 9 days and they will NOT have cell phones with them. SO, here I am with no contact from my absolute best friend for 9 days. Sigh. I think I am done with tears, now I am ready to pray and get on with the next 9 days so that we can talk to him and see him again.
I did have 1 funny thing happen today though. I am taking the girls in the morning so we can all get our haircuts. When we were scheduling our appointments there I was showing them these "samples" of hair that showed colors of hair dye. Think Willie Nelson pony tails =). Also these colors are like Barney and Stephanie from Lazytown. Tonight I reminded them that in the morning we do not have to go to the gym we are getting haircuts. The oldest said, "And we are picking out my new hair color right?" WHAT?@?@?@ I was rolling!! She thought because I showed them colors their hair could be that they were getting hair dye put in!!!! Too cute!

Hanging in here

I am still down in the dumps but did get to talk to my husband tonight. Tomorrow night I will either see him for a few minutes or talk to him again. Plus if I see him I will get to take him some homemade granola. He was really upset to hear the news about Memorial Day. He has worked so hard, they all have, and he was mad. However, it is out of our hands and all we can do is pray. I am really emotional right now though and we could both use prayers. Plus his ear is hurting, so please pray he will feel better.
I don't really have any happy news like usual, but tomorrow is one day closer to the end of this part of his training! I will focus on that and try and get some sleep!

A*N*G*E*R

Did I really just say that today was great? I must have been sadly mistaken. You see, all along we have been told that my husband's class would get off for Memorial Day. Especially since you know he is IN the Army. We were told he would be off Saturday through Tuesday morning. Then we were told Sunday through Tuesday and we were still fine with that! Guess what? His "lovely" captain (SARCASM) has decided they get Sunday night through Monday morning. Less than 24 hours for MEMORIAL DAY!!!! Oh, and since she is the company commander she GETS TO SPEND THE 4 DAYS WITH HER FAMILY!!!!! I am just a tad angry. BUT it has reminded me to pray. God cannot be changed but SHE can be! So please join me in prayers that they will get time off between now and Memorial Day where we can be with him and also that they will get more than 1 night off during this holiday. Thanks and I will be happy again after a good night of sleep!!!!

Nice surprise

Today was great!! I hit the gym and came home with the girls. We were hanging out and I was on the phone with a friend when I heard a knock at the door. It was our neighbor from upstairs. She asked if we wanted to go out to lunch with her! I was very happy and we said yes. We went to Chili's and when it was time to pay she even treated!!! My day was made!! Then we got ice cream and when we got home I took the girls outside to play for about 2 hours. I made dinner and the girls took baths. As I was reading one of their favorite books to them the youngest was really hamming it up! It's a book where you act out animal moves. Well this one sentence says, "like a tiger silently stalking his prey." She thinks it means pray and she was slinking around with her hands in the prayer position!!!! It was unbelievably cute!!!!

Happy 'Nother Day!!!

Today is Mother's day! Happy Mother's Day Mom!!! We had a great one. We picked up my husband and we attended a chapel service on base. The girls had to sit with us. That was really entertaining, to say the least. The oldest mostly sat on my lap, but the youngest laid upside down, flashing her curious george panties all over the place and flipped through a hymnal singing little snatches of made up songs like, "Boy that's a big old bus...." It was nice though. Then we ate a brunch where they had a chocolate fountain! We all ate till we were about to pop! Then we headed to downtown and just walked all over the place. We chased the girls, colored with chalk and just enjoyed each other. On the way home we called my mom to wish her a Happy Mother's Day and I told the youngest to say "Happy Mother's Day Nana" and she said, "Happy Nother Day Nana". Too cute!!! To her it was just another day!
Today was great but also bittersweet. My husband goes into the field this week and for the next 3 weeks we have no idea when we will talk to him or see him again. So I feel real sad and nervous too.
Last night was also good. Our neighbors came down to babysit for us and we went on a date! We saw the movie 10,000 B.C. and drank coffee. It was so fun! The girls had a great time with the sitters and they would not let me pay them! He is a Captain in the Army and is getting ready to go to law school. They are really nice and took great care of the girls for us!
Now if I can just zoom through these next 3 weeks we will be doing good!

Fab. Friday!

My new friend from down here that I blogged about earlier in the week really did watch the girls today for me to go shopping! I had 6 glorious hours to myself! I completed some much needed clothes shopping for myself. I now have clothes that fit me! It feels so nice. I honestly cannot remember the last time I was alone like that. Probably it was around 2 years ago, but I have not been alone AND not doing errands since the kids were born. I feel like a brand new woman!
Today our oldest as just the sweetest little thing. If you know her, then you know she is the queen of planning her own birthday parties. She has them mapped out till she turns 10 =). She also L*O*V*E*S her cake! Today she said, "Mommy, I have changed my mind about my birthday party for when I am 5. I know where I want to have it. Daddy's base. Then he can be with me on my birthday and we just bring a cupcake." My heart melted. She is so stinking sweet!!!!!

Pinky Problems

My goodness am I ever ready for tomorrow! This morning we got up and went to my class at the gym. Then I needed to go by the health food store and pick up some whole wheat flour I had special ordered. It just so happens to be next door to a local coffee shop. I decided to get myself a skinny iced latte. We also made a pit stop at the potty. AS we exited the bathroom the youngest let loose with bloodcurdling scream that had employees running to see who was dying. A door had COMPLETELY SHUT on her little pinky. I had to turn the knob in order to remove her finger. Her finger was at once bruised, flat and swollen. I cannot describe it, you needed to see it. Amazingly enough God gives me the strength I need to not freak out at moments like this. The guy was really helpful too. He brought us ice for her now VERY swollen and discolored finger and later brought her some chocolate ice cream (that REALLY helped her out). I called my mom to see what she thought. Eventually I decided to take her on base. We got to an office and are told we have to walk a long ways to a different office. We go there and fill out papers and go back to the original office. We fill out paperwork and they tell me to go to another office (a long ways away). We get there at Check in A and they tell me to go BACK a long ways to Check in B (no I am not making this up!!!). We get to that place and they said they have no appointments left and we need to go to the E.R. (a long ways away). We go there, the nurse takes one look at her poor pinky and sends us to radiology. We go there and had x-rays done. Then got sent back to the E.R. At the end of all this was a pot of gold!! Her finger is ok! Nothing was broken or cracked. She is still swollen but she's fine. This has really made me ready for my shopping trip tomorrow!

MELTdown

Our youngest decided to choose today to have a meltdown. We attend a local church on Wednesday nights. She asked me if we were seeing Daddy afterwards (we usually do). But he said we could not come tonight because they had to study for a big test tomorrow. I told her no and she lost it. I literally had 45 minutes of crying her eyes out. The poor girls eye swelled up and eventually I just called him and let her leave him a message of her crying and begging him to call her. Miraculously, leaving the message worked! She quit crying and just laid in my lap shuddering and hiccuping. It was so sad. Needless to say I am worn out!!!
Other than that it was a fairly good day. I baked muffins for to take to church tomorrow. We also made a new friend and are meeting them for dinner tomorrow night! Fun times! (At least when kids are not melting down)

Mother's Day

I just had a "moment" and needed to blog. I was a tad worried because it was late for my phone call from my husband. Finally he did call and he was stressed because it's another stressful week in this life we have chosen. They had a "smoke session" to "celebrate" their halfway mark in their training. (Sorry for all the quotation marks) A smoke session is NOT where they all sit around and smoke. Rather, they are required to grab 50 pound packs and do push ups, run upstairs, change clothes, run back down and carry logs around for about 1 mile and then do stuff. Yeah. A real celebration (the reason for all my quotation marks). This week is also one of the hardest. Many people fail at this point and are recycled till the next class starts. Needless to say, all that created a small amount of stress. He was also worried that he might not be able to call. But he did and he said he needed me to do something for him. He gave me two phone numbers and said he needed me to call and make a reservation for 4 for May 11th at 10 a.m. I was wondering what this was for. I could not imagine an event that we'd take the girls to here. Then he said, "It's for Mother's Day. I wanted to surprise you with this brunch but I cannot make the call during their operating hours." I honestly cried. Can you imagine? He loves me so much that he not only remembered Mother's Day but also took time to find a place to take me? A place I have never been? Sweet. I cannot ask for a better husband. He amazes me every day!

Monday

Some days I just cannot think of a title and today is one of those days. We had a great day down here! We went to the gym and I ran over 3 miles! I was so pleased! Then the girls and I ate a very healthy lunch. We followed it up by swimming for a little over 3 hours! Our new friends came over to swim and to top it all off, they offered to babysit the girls so I can go out ALONE and get some things done! I could not believe it! I have not been alone probably since March! I am so excited! I need some new clothes and it so hard to shop for clothes with the girls. They are good but you can't take your time. So it looks like Friday I will have a shopping trip for myself! Yea!!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Today is my dad's birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
I was talking with my husband today and he asked me to blog about a bittersweet memory that he doesn't want to forget. Before we moved the be where he is (and where we are now) the girls asked a LOT of questions about their daddy. Where is he? What is he doing? You can probably guess the whole line of questions that went along with that. It was exhausting! Then one day I tell them, "Girls, in the morning we are going to see your daddy!" The oldest said, "you mean, we still have a daddy?" She is 4. This was not said to tug at my heartstrings or make me cry or get her a treat. It was said because she had not seen her daddy in a month and really thought maybe he was gone. As sad as the moment was we want to remember. We want to remember this journey in the army and we want to look back at these blogs someday and see how far we have come.

Nice Day

Today was great! We did not keep our plans as we had thought originally. WE had planned to have a date but the sitter had a death in the family. Then my cold got bad overnight and I could barely speak. Then the youngest threw up in the van and we had to stop and vacuum the car seat. It also rained, but SERIOUSLY it was a nice day!!! The youngest was evidently just carsick or something because that was the end of her "illness", within a few hours the rain stopped and my voice came back! PLUS my husband was with us all day! We went to the library, bookstore and took the girls out for ice cream.
Tomorrow more of the same!

Strange Encounter

Today I took the girls to go get the oil changed at the local dealership. It really was rather pleasant! I walked into the waiting room and saw an african american guy with low rider jeans with all sorts of stuff on them (chains etc.) and he was wearing a guitar. It was weird and my thought was "Great! This will be fun." He ended up being really nice. He talked to the girls about Curious George and played them a very quiet song on his guitar and then let THEM play it. Then just when I was thinking "Oh boy, now he won't stop talking." He did! It may not make much sense to read but it was neat. It was a neat reminder not to judge by looks and that their ARE people who do not mind being in a VERY small room with wiggly little girls. It got our morning off to a great start! We also spent about 2 hours out by the pool and got to see my husband for a few brief moments! YEA!