Day 4: Surviving this TDY

I'm so good at being a tough guy. Ice cold. But seeing my husbands bruised and swollen face on skype...melted me to a puddle. I miss him. heaps and heaps. Today was a day when Emily was being cute, but still quite destructive. I'm debating between staying up later to do the dishes and getting up early to do the dishes. the laundry didn't get finished being folded, and the floor needs mopped...again. ps. Day 4 sucks.

Day 3: Surviving this TDY

Thank Heavens for best friends and Ben & Jerrys. Today it was super nice to pal around with my good friend Kara. Emily as always provided us with tons of entertainment and laughs, and acted a lot less like Emily Rose, and a lot MORE like Emily Grace. I was able to chat while doing the dishes which made it suck a LOT less. Erik is cleaning his room, Emily is sleeping on my bed (someone didn't nap until we were on the way to get brother from school) and I'm about to clean her room and mop the floors. Dinner is a simple raviolis, green beans & apple slices this evening, followed by a  family game (note to self, look up a toddler level game that BIG E will also enjoy), showers and bed time. Tonight is SUPERNATURAL.  Yes Jensen Ackles I will marry you...just kidding, LOVE YOU HONEY!!!! This week is spirit week at E's school in honor of Red Ribbon Week. SO far we have had backwards day and blacked out day. Tomorrow is sunglasses day I believe. Thursday is denim day leaving friday as pajama day. Pajama day was always my favorite in school. Waking up and changing from Pajamas into usually cute new pajamas!

Missing my honey. Wish he were here. Busy schedules and girls days are fun, but they don't replace having my hubby home.

Surviving The TDY: Practice for Surviving the Deployment

So in preparation for his deployment that is coming up, my husband had to fly to Texas for training. He is going to be gone for 17 days. Then he will have more training in January. During these times it hits me the hardest that I am a military wife. I signed up for these longs weeks and lonely nights. Pulling double duty as mom and stand in dad. When he is away the work load goes from 100% to 200%. I have a few local friends who have offered to help, and lots of people sending their prayers, well wishes and advice from afar. It all helps. But the only way I am going to survive this TDY, the next TDY(temporary Duty Yonder) aka my husband is away on military training...and ultimately this deployment, is to of coarse BLOG about it! Most days will be short accounts for the days events or lack there of. Maybe a few emotions and meltdowns thrown into the mix of my attempt at making light of the daily chaos. So, here ya Go! Here is the first two days of this installment.


Day 1: Day 1 of surviving the TDY(aka practice for surviving the deployment): Mommy got both kids to clean up their rooms, I made dinner and cleaned the kitchen and the rest of the house. Both kids are showered and in bed. It may seem like just an.ordinary night. But it's day 1 of a lot of days and weeks of doing it ALL alone.

Day 2: Part 1: Day 2 of surviving the TDY my car battery died while sitting at Eriks school. thank God Kara was still there to take me back home get jumper cables bring me back and give me a jump....
Day 2: Part 2: Day 2 Part 2:Surviving this TDY: The rest of the day didn't go much better. Emily has perfected the art of the tantrum, im talking jumping (flailing) up and down, throwing her self on the floor whole nine yards. To which I reply with swiftly putting her on her bed for a time out. Then the rest of the day was chaos with the kids alternating between destroying the house while playing nicely, and screaming bloody murder at each other...There are still a few scattered toys on the floor and I haven't unloaded the dishwasher yet. I have NO IDEA what to pack erik for lunch tomorrow because I KNEW had i treked to the store with two brats in tow...one or more of the three of us wouldn't come back alive...So The score stands, Mom:1 Kids:1. I guess I take the next 30 mins for dishes and straightening, then Bones at 8 then bed time at 9. Good Grief and good night!

The Nostalgia of Home

“We are homesick most for the places we have never known.” 

― Carson McCullers

nos·tal·gia

  [no-stal-juh] 

noun

1.

 a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

A Swiss physician named Johannes Hofer coined the term nostalgia in the late 17^th century to describe what he considered to be a cerebral disease unique to Swiss mercenaries fighting wars far from home.

Maybe He wasn't too far off. Nostalgia can work one of two ways. It can bring a memory to mind that makes the future brighter with hope and newness. Or it can remind us that the good things, the good people, the good times, good memories are behind us now. Leave us with a longing to go back. 

Often time in our adult lives we have a longing to go back 'Home'. 

Where is home? A better question might be, When is home?

Home is a ballerina 4th birthday party with a black and sparkly dress.

Home is warm buttery pancakes on a Sunday morning.

Home is pink shag carpet and a barbie dream house. 

Home is endless movies at grandmas house. 

Home is huge piles of leaves in the fall. 

Home is the time when love is never a question.

Home is pictures over the fireplace and sports trophies on the mantle.

Home is wild flowers that outlined the garden.

Home is bike rides until dusk. 

Home is weekends at the lake sailing and swimming. 

Home is the light in the hall when monsters take hold of your dreams.

Home is the shelter from the darker side of memories.

Home. Home was.

Home is all the things I wish I could go back and freeze. . .

Home has to change over time.

As we grow older, and years pass, we adapt. We evolve. 

Home becomes the smell of a newborn baby.

Home becomes the walk around the duck pond on a sunny spring afternoon.

Home becomes the smell of a pie in the oven.

Home becomes the embrace of your loved one after weeks of work required separation.

Home becomes watching your babies sleep in their beds. 

Home becomes coloring pages of homework.

Home becomes a new paint color on the walls.

As Home becomes we become. New.

Then again even later in life, Home changes yet again.

Home is now your children returning home for the holidays, birthdays and BBQs.

Home is now the journey of new hobbies.

Home is now the kind of love that remains the same through the years.

Home is now coffee with an old friend. 

Home is spoiling the grandkids with cookies before dinner. 

Home becomes finding your self, in your lovers arms.

So when you think of Home, don't look back on days gone by and wish they would return. They were here or their season. Instead look to the home you have now. Hold it close. And never let it go. 

The not long, hopefully not boring blog

So I heard that my blog was putting people to sleep. Too many words I guess. SO here's a blog for those who just want something quick to look at. With out words there isn't a whole lot to convey...so I'll just clue you in on what my family has been up to lately.

Erik started Kindergarten August 14th. He is in Mrs. Gutierrez's class. So far he is doing REALLY well.

The first few weeks we had to learn about sitting quietly and raising our hands.

We had our first parent teacher conference yesterday. He knows a LOT of what he needs to pass Kinder. We just have a few letter recognitions to work on and penmenship. She said he is a great helper to his classmates and when he's given a task he performs very well. We are VERY proud of him.

It's hard to believe my baby is already in school. 

In Other News:

Yummy dinners. This is the only one of my masterpieces that I remembered to get a picture of...
and it was probably the LEAST photogenic..but SOOO tasty! Southwest Chicken & Bacon wraps with triscuts, salsa and apple sauce.

I guess I wasn't making dinner FAST enough for Emily.

Family Nights in the backyard

A little experimenting with some artsy fartsy editing ^

Duke being....duke. \/

AND....we have of coarse added to the family ....again.
Barry and his OBSESSION with the fish tanks. What started out with a $7 carnival fish...has become a new lifestyle.
New to the family are two cat fish, tagger and stripes. Then Barry saved 3 albino cat fish, not yet to be named. And one night he SNUCK in Freckles, the other catfish...and some new tank decor. THe betas, and all the catfish minus freckels are in a separate divided 20 gal. tank and the rest are in a 55 gal tank.

Pre-Deployment Photos

 Last June

 Daddy's Princess

 My Soldier and Me

Partner in Crime

My Partner in Crime

   Most days right about now, it is so blazin' hot here in the Mojave desert. I pray for rain, and dream of days when I will be able to wear my hoodies again! They call my name from the closet each morning as I get dressed and take Erik to school. One of my fondest memories is when summer gave way to fall and the leaves started to change. There was a clean, crisp, coolness to the air as I walked to high school. But as much as I long for the heat to fade away, I would give anything for this summer and this fall to last forever.       You see, this winter, my soldier is leaving me. The sheets will be cold in february, with no one there to warm them up next to me. There will be no cocoa on the couch watching Just Like Heaven, for the 1,000th time, with my partner in crime. Day's of 'Hey honey, how was your day? Dinner is ready.'...will turn into days of 'Come on kids! It's time to skype daddy!'. I miss him already and he hasn't even left yet. Home will not feel like home. Because home is where his boots are....and his boots will be far far away.

   I will try to keep my self busy. I will extend invitations to ANYONE who wants to come for a visit. I will pack the kids up once a month for a small trip to visit others. But it still won't be the same. My partner in crime is the only one who can fill those boots. But I know that God (and skype) will help me keep from going completely insane. 

   I WILL put out this notice...To any one who knows me, you know it is NOT easy for me to ask for help. I will have a brave face for my kids, and for my husband who will be missing us just as much. I will say that I can do everything on my own. I will learn to fix leaky faucets, I will set a schedule to make sure that everything gets done in a timely manner and that the world doesn't fall to utter chaos. I will count the weeks until he returns because counting days makes it seem soooo long. 

   But then I will fall asleep with tears on my pillow. Because the other half of my heart is 10,000 miles away. I will have days when I sit on the couch and watch comedy after comedy trying to make my self laugh, then settle for just not crying. I will NOT watch the news. I will work out every single day for 7 months wanting my husband to be proud to come home to a fit wifey. 

   I will call on my family and friends. To be there, to share a meal. To be there to take the kids to the park. To sit and have a cup of coffee with me. I will need you. I will need you especially when I've worn my brave face for too long. I will need you to know that though I look strong, most days I will be crying on the inside. I'll need you to just be there. 

    There are a lot of things that are uncertain about being a military wife. One thing I know for sure. I will miss, my partner in crime.