Trying...

Like so many women I know, I try very hard to be a good mom.  But by Sunday evening, sometimes I just feel like screaming!

On Saturday night I let one of James's friends spend the night-- they watched movies and had fun while I popped popcorn, ignored the disastrous slumber party area, and made everyone pancakes when they woke up.  I even remembered to put the eggs in the batter this time!  Score.

Coming up with ideas of things for our family to do, without Chris, that appeals to ALL of the boys, can be very challenging.  I don't want the boys sitting in front of the TV all day long.  But things that would be fun and appropriate to do with a 9-year old (say, going to the movies) just aren't practical with a 3-year old.  Nor would James and Peter have any interest in watching the same movie.  Of course shopping is out.  Walking around the mall is out.  We went out to eat on Friday night and, believe me, that was enough for the entire weekend.  They play with their friends constantly so I usually deem Sunday a "family-only day."  So… coming up with things to do in this town every weekend from 7am until 7pm with three little boys on my own can be hard.

It was very cold and windy here yesterday but I came up with an idea I thought everyone would enjoy.  "Kids!  Put on your sweatshirts and grab your bikes.  We're going up to the middle school track so I can run and you can ride your bikes."

WINNING!  Right?  That's what I thought too.

Except everything was soaked in water and mud…

…which the boys LOVED.

Me?  Less so.

The boys had a blast but all I could think (after I enjoyed their initial squeals of delight) was how much MESS it would be to clean.  And those three muddy bikes had to return home by way of our van.  Yikes.

Only James stayed dry and did a few laps around the track with me.

After the little boys were thoroughly soaked, we drove around to the park at the elementary school.

Even though Pete and Henry were soaking wet from the waist down, the wind was whipping, and the overall outside temperature was maybe 40 degrees, they had a great time.

So what to do after getting completely muddy?  After I made the boys strip their wet clothes off in the garage, it was bath time of course….

Where Peter swore up and down he wasn't splashing.

Hmmm.

So after I cleaned up that mess, it was only 11am.  Yikes again.

I'll spare you the play-by-play but it went something like this:

We brought out EVERY SINGLE TOY we own.  And my partner loves to sit thisclose to me the entire time we're playing.  (I think he was over pictures by this point.)

We put together just about every puzzle in the house, pulled out all of the annoying Play-doh cartons and accoutrements (which, incidentally, leave me feeling like I want to stab myself in the eye.  I would rather suffer that pain than the pain of Play-doh), played Left Right Center (without alcohol, unfortunately), painted and did various arts and crafts, got on ABC Mouse on the computer, and Minecraft on the XBox… 

It was the never-ending day.

And then I happened to see this on Facebook…

And I realized how true it is.  So I did my best to enjoy the never-ending day with my favorite little people.  While folding the never-ending piles of laundry.  :)

One month...

Chris left about 5 weeks ago now.  To celebrate, we went out to dinner on Friday night with a few other 2-504 moms and kids.  (Unfortunately Heather's son picked up a nasty stomach bug so they had to bow out last minute).  We had a great time together.  I really enjoy the other wives in our unit.

Before we left for dinner, Peter kept asking me to ride his bike up to Cortney or Summer's house.  

"NO!" I kept telling him.

To which, of course, he replied, "Whhhhhy???"  

"Because, Peter.  I have to get ready for all of us to leave and all of the Daddies are coming home for dinner and I don't want you on the road without me watching you."  

His little face totally lit up.  "DADDY is coming home??  For dinner??" 

"Oh.  Ohhh, no, babe.  No.  I'm sorry.  I meant… the other daddies are coming home for dinner and I don't want you on the road without me."

"Oh."  And his entire little face fell.  :(

But... we are already over a month down and right now it looks like Chris will be home early June.  We are taking it one day at a time, which is all anyone can ever do, and June will be here before we know it!

Signs of Spring...

Spring is slowly creeping in.  The weather has been pretty up and down lately-- we get a few really nice, 70-degree days and then the weather switches back to cold, 45-degree days.  We are anxious for the nice weather to stick around!

Here are a few glimpses we've gotten of spring…

Spring Soccer started last week.

Peter starts T-ball next week.  He is super excited and has told everyone.  His teachers are planning to come to a game too.  How sweet.

 The boys have spent lots and lots of time riding bikes…

 Everyone got shorter hair cuts for the warmer weather...

And, perhaps best of all, wine outside with friends!

I think this weekend is supposed to be in the 70's again.  I can't wait!

A fun night!

For Nicolas's 9th birthday, Cortney and Jeff surprised him and James with tickets to see the Harlem Globe Trotters!  The boys had a blast!

Cort got tickets for the boys to play around with the Globe Trotters before the actual game.  How cool!

While the boys were celebrating with the Trotters, Gabby had a slumber party with us!  She and Pete took a bubble bath...

 Then all three of them (Henry is hiding under the covers) watched Despicable Me 2...

 And then they conked out around 8:30pm, both in Henry's twin bed.  Even though we had three unoccupied full/ Queen-sized beds...

And if you've ever put a toddler to bed, you'll love this article.  I laughed out loud since SO much of it is true!  How to put a toddler to bed

It's supposed to be 75 and sunny here today and tomorrow (and then cooler and rainy on Monday) so hopefully the boys and I will find lots of fun things to do outside this weekend.  Happy Saturday!

Roll-up...

Things that make me happy…

1.)  This face…

 2.) Warm, homemade banana bread early in the morning...

 3.) Henry's outlook on life...

4.) The fact that James drinks hot tea with me every day now...

 5.) Receiving this adorable Asian-lady drawing and note from a few of the best kids I know!  Audrey, Luke, and Ella Jones sent me a surprise package and it absolutely made my day… and the premier spot on our fridge!  I hate being so far away from them...

6.) Catching a few fun minutes of the 82nd All-American Band at the elementary school today, who sang a bunch of current pop songs to the kids (who LOVED it!)…

Things that make me pause and say HMMMM….

1.) Cleaning out the van and finding this gem.  A shriveled up, dehydrated sweet potato that's been in the car for God-only-knows-how-long...

2.) Finding OJ in Charlie's water bowl this afternoon (thank you, Peter)...

3.)  Finding mouse droppings in our kitchen towel drawer!!!  YUCK YUCK YUCK….

Things that motivate me...

Happy Wednesday, friends.  Seize your perfect, crazy, fantastically-original day!

2 Years...

Two entire years without Dad.  It's hard to put how I feel into words.  In some ways it seems like he was here just last week.  But in so many other ways it seems like forever ago.

I remember that day.  I remember the days before it.  I remember the doctors and how their eyes told the real truth.  I remember the nurse who came in and took him off the ventilator.  I remember her peppy, high-pitched voice and feeling like it was inappropriate for the situation.  I remember the young, thin, kind Indian doctor who took care of dad… and mom… and me and Megan.  Who looked so sad and sorrowful giving each round of new, bad news.

I remember the horrible, painful, debilitating year before.  I remember begging God for mercy.  No one, I thought, should have to suffer like this.  How could someone so dependent on an equal balance of food from his diabetes be struck with a cancer that affected every single thing he ate or, in his case, couldn't eat?  How can any human being be expected to go without FOOD for an entire year?  To consume all calories through a tube.  To not even be able to swallow water.  How?  How can anyone be expected to handle that?  To suffer like that every single day?  And even worse, to live through that.

I remember Dad's last breath and asking if that was it.  Was that really it?  Final?  Forever?  No way, I remember thinking.

Turns out I was kind of right.  It wasn't the end.  Because I feel my dad… and see my dad… and think of my dad…all of the time.  Yes, he is absolutely gone.  But he's not far away.  I spent 35 years watching my father, listening to his words, watching his mannerisms and studying his body language.  That's not something I could forget in just 2 years.  I can still hear his voice in my head and in any given situation, I can almost recite verbatim what he'd tell me.

A friend of mine posted on Facebook the phrase "Feet don't fail me now" before she ran a half-marathon this past weekend.  I immediately thought of my dad-- he used to say that!  Feet don't fail me now…

And he would often sing the song,  "Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life.  End over end, neither to the left or the right. Straight through the heart of them, righteous up right.  Drop kick me Jesus, through the goal posts of life" and then dad would laugh.  And we'd ask him to sing it again.

So how is it exactly that life has passed without him here when so much of it reminds me of him?  I know that people come and go.  That time passes and life changes.  But I will never get over losing my dad.  And I suppose the good thing is that I don't want to even if I could.  So today, like every day of my life really, I think of my dad.  I would give just about anything to sit at the kitchen table with him and hold his hand and kiss his cheeks and take it all in… just one more time.

Weekend with friends...

We had such a nice weekend with Sherry, Jack, and Lily.  What Sherry and I continue to find amazing is how the children can literally pick up right where they left off, even when months of time have passed.  Which is not unlike my relationship with Sherry! :)  

Unfortunately Sherry and the kids got stuck in a bunch of traffic on I-95 on Friday, so they didn't arrive until almost 9pm.  Believe me when I tell you that James was on pins-and-needles waiting for their arrival.  Jack finally walked through the door, James asked him a question about their previous visit (over Thanksgiving), Jack responded with intense laughter and some mumbled answer and the two boys took off.  We hardly saw them for the two and a half days they were here.

The weekend weather was beautiful-- sunny and 70-- so we took the kids to two new parks...

 On Saturday, our friend Holly invited us all over to have a bbq at her house.  Between our 5 kids, Holly's 4 kids, and Jen's 2 kids (who also drove up from Savannah for the weekend), it was quite a party!  The kids had a blast.  Here are just a few of them...

Army life can have its "downs," but I don't believe there are any friends as wonderful as those you make in it.  We will always be grateful for our friends we consider family.