Last week

went pretty well, despite going into it with a bad additude! We stayed pretty busy with some organization projects in the house and kids activities and some 'date nights.' Our wonderful babysitter, M, is home for college break so I've been taking full advantage of her time the last couple of weeks! BG had gymnastics Tuesday night and it was great to leave the other kids at home and take her by myself and watch a little bit and then actually get a workout in at the gym... Also got a pedicure and lunch with some girls in on Tuesday. Tried a Greek place we hadn't been to before and probably won't go again... Didn't know phyllo could be that texture... Then Wed night I had to take BB up to the ski area to get fitted for his snowboard equipment and we made a date of it with dinner and a haircut for him after. He chose Texas Roadhouse for dinner and still amazes me with his appetite: 6rolls, half rack of ribs (we shared a full rack dinner), part of a bloomin' onion, couple bites of rice and veggies and a Sprite! He's asked to go back almost every night since then... Then Thursday night we went up to the ski area (only 25 minutes from here) for his first snowboarding lesson. 2 hours later he was ready to try skiing instead, but decided he would stick it out and see if it gets easier. I'm also going to give it a try this week when he goes for his lesson and also trying cross country skiing tomorrow! I've said this before, but I am always refreshed when I get to spend time with my kids one on one. They are so different by themselves and we all need that reconnection so I don't throttle them when they're fighting with each other or destroying the house or waiting until I'm on the phone to get my attention... Friday, BG recieved an award for Peacemaker of the Month for the value of Compassion and then we had a great time at dinner with 4 other families (minus daddies) to include 18 kids. Luckily our friends have a huge house and they were all able to spread out and we could all relax and enjoy. Then Saturday we attended a birthday party at a place with a huge bouncy house/play area and laser tag. Twins ended up coming too, since they supposedly had no room for them (another story) at the Saturday care. BB lost his other front tooth during the party after LG kicked him in the mouth on the way there. We topped off the week with another great dinner with our friends down the street last night. So, the busyness and the great friends and support and the reconnecting with my kiddos were just what I needed to get through another week! J should be home sometime this weekend (YAY!) so this week is busy getting his office put back together, haircut for me and the usual activities. My prayer for the week: God please give me the energy finish what I start.

I am so ready...

for my husband to come home. For 'good' would be nice, but I'll take the two weeks he gets coming up in the latter part of January. All the little things (including the little people) are starting to add up and wear me down. Weary would be the word that best describes my attitude right now... Not quite to the point of not caring, or that I'm going to lock my children in a closet just yet, but to the point where I'm going to scream if I can't even sit down for a cup of coffee without the powdered sugar being dumped all over the kitchen. I know the powdered sugar shouldn't be within reach, but we had just finished breakfast and I wanted coffee before cleaning up! Weary of being sick and tired too and wondering when my energy levels will come up or if this is going to be it for the rest of my life. Weary of worrying about it. Weary of having one 'productive' day out of three. And you're probably weary of the whining already! I am ready for the big kids to go back to school tomorrow and I am ready for J to be here just to give me a break and a few days of sleeping in to recharge for the next four months.

I originally sat down to write about resolutions but you got whining instead and then I got to thinking that I don't feel a whole lot of resolve right now to do anything which brought me to how much I really need my husband home for a little bit... So after I make it through the next couple of weeks, I'll look back on this to remind myself of my goals for the New Year.

The main thing is health:
1. Spiritually, I'm feeling the void from not attending church regularly and my prayer life could use a boost.
2. Physically, hoping the cancer thing is under control but won't know until March, but taking the steps I need to with diet and exercise to help that along. Feeding my children better food.
3. Financially, doing a better job on sticking to our budget and cutting out the 'impulse' buys.

I'm sure there are a lot more things I could be resolving to do, but I'll be happy to get one out the three listed accomplished...

Reflections...

on 2008. New Year's Eve seems like a good time to look back at the year and take it all in and put it to rest... I started this blog last February and I just reread most of it and am so glad I wrote down many of the things that occured in our life this year. The one thing that stands out for me is God has carried us through another year with the help of friends, family, neighbors and community. 2008 was not an easy year, with what seems like more downs than ups, but I would not trade any of it, if it meant losing out on the relationships built and strengthened between family, friends and God and self. Sure, there is room for improvement (especially with the self part), but that's for the New Year... So a prayer of thanks tonight for the year past and of continued blessings and strength for the year to come... Happy New Year!

Favorite Christmas Carol...

...Feliz Da-di-da

Tucking kids in bed on Christmas Eve they asked again if Santa was real. And they wanted to know for real this time, so I told them he was a real person but the part about him flying around to everyone's house and sliding down chimneys was a myth.

BB: I still believe
BG: You're wrong, mommy.

Guess they weren't really ready for the truth or they think they won't get any presents if they don't believe... And BG was convinced there would be more presents from Santa when we got home. She missed the one he left for her at Pop-pops and Mom-moms.

Christmas

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We sure did, despite Daddy being in Iraq we had a great Christmas spent with Pop-pop and Mom-mom Adams and aunties and uncle and cousins. I'm a little bit wiped out from the driving and the persistant coughing, but it was worth it to see the kids' and the grandparents' enjoyment! We spent Christmas Eve with sister-in-law V's family and in-laws at a beautiful church service and party afterwards and then back to Pop-pops to snuggle the kids all warm in their beds, recite the Christmas story (glad I learned it when I was a kid) and talk about God's gifts and then I stuffed stockings while mom-mom proceded to stack presents and presents and more presents under the tree. Everyone was shocked and awed to see so many presents! LG wasn't too happy about being woken up, but the other kids weren't waiting any longer. She was fine as soon as she started pulling stuff out of her stocking and soon got into the swing of opening presents. LB was a bit overwhelmed with it all and wanted to play with the guys he got in his stocking, forget opening anything else! I spent the rest of the morning fighting to get stuff out of the industrial strength packaging and then we went over to sister-in-law D's house for delicious Christmas dinner and eggnog and more presents! Then the rest of the evening and the next morning spent on the unpackaging war and load plan for the van. And I thought I wouldn't use my Army skills as a stay-at-home mom... We went for a drive that afternoon out to the Barnegat Lighthouse and then stopped at a little beach for a while just to feel the sand on our feet and draw some sand pictures. Finished loading the van and the next morning we said bye to Pop-pop and Mom-mom and headed over to Aunt V's and Uncle B's to spend some time with the cousins. Had a great time at Storybook Land all lit up for Christmas and the kids wore themselves out playing and finally fell asleep where they crashed. Drove home the next day with a long stop at Ikea in Philly and made it home about 9 pm. Van is still not completely unloaded as I have to make some room in the house for everything! Overall a great trip and I'm glad we got to spend Christmas with family. I do look forward to travelling with John when he gets back though! Enough of the single parent gig... Here's some pics from our trip:

Lots of little random stuff

Well, since my computer was choked up with viruses for a couple of weeks, I haven't really been on here to update like I wanted so here's a bunch of random things from the last couple of weeks starting with Thanksgiving!

We had a traditional 'Army' Thanksgiving spent with our friends the Clarks after wondering if we would make it out of our driveway from all the snow the night before and all that day! So glad we made it and enjoyed spending the time with friends who treat us like family. Had a little trouble getting out of their driveway but the roads were clear on the way home and we were all content and thankful and ready to start the Christmas season...

the next morning the littles and BG went to hourly care while BB and I did some Christmas shopping and managed to get most of it done in one trip! I've picked up a few more things here and there but for the most part have avoided the crowds and busyness which is a good thing since I've been sick or babies have been coughing for the last 3 weeks! During a lull in the illnesses, I got some Christmas lights up on the house and we put a big tree outside by the front door and a Christmas 'bush' inside the house 'cause we can't fit a full size tree... It was fun decorating with the kids and pulling out all the old ornaments from my childhood and the ones they've recieved since they were babies. BG was really interested and kept asking where each one came from and excited to put them on the tree, I think she's taken half of them off the tree since then and played with them all over the house, which is probably not a bad thing since LB has knocked the 'bush' over twice.



In health news, I started seeing a different endocrinologist for my thyroid care and she questioned how my primary care manager and surgeon went about diagnosing and treating the thyroid cancer. That's never a comforting conversation finding that things could have been done in a more efficient, possibly less painful manner. And whether doctors mean to do it or not, they definetly use our fear to get what they want. Anyway, lessons learned, less trust on my part, internet research is my friend, and don't be afraid to get a second or third opinion... Also, got my thyroid hormone increased so maybe I'll get that at the right level sometime soon and feel like a whole new person, right!

Ken doesn't stand a chance, GI Joe gets all the girls in our household... even a Navy Seal one...

In sleep news, we've all been disfunctional the last few weeks. There have been a few nights where I've woken up laying across the foot of my bed while my little angels are all across the top! Thank God for king size beds. I've also moved to another bed in the house when I get pushed off...

And probably the best news in a while, LB decided he wants to use the toilet so we've been working on that the last two weeks. LG not interested at all, so I'll give her a month or two just like with most other stuff, she seems to follow him by about two months. I think the only reason she was born first is because LB kicked her out!

Other than that we've spent some nice times with friends decorating gingerbread houses and BB's Christmas concert and BG and I went to see a local production of The Nutcracker today. It seems to have become a tradition as this is the fourth year in a row we've gone, just in a different city each time. So far my favorite was in Portland, OR and the kids enjoyed the 'Southwest Nutcracker' in Tucson, AZ because they had coyotes instead of mice. I've got a lot to do tomorrow so we can leave to spend Christmas in New Jersey with Pop-pop and Mom-mom Adams and the rest of J's family. Only one missing will be J... We were trying to figure out how many Christmases we've actually been together (because we like to wallow in our depression) and it came out to be only four Christmases apart in 14 years, unfortunately all of them since we've had kids. LG has only had one Christmas with Daddy that she remembers and that was last year! Before that, even though we weren't always stationed together, we managed to see each other over the holidays usually by one or the other of us flying to Korea... OK, need to stop dwelling on it. And this is getting quite lengthy and now that my right arm (computer) is reattached I won't have to save it up!

Conversation with BB

After school the other day BB approached me with this (condensed) discussion:

BB: Mommy, don't be mad, but I have a girlfriend at school, her name is Destiny.
M: Oh, really. How do you know she is your girlfriend?
BB: I heard some other boys talking and they said she liked me and because I love her.
M: Does she know she's your girlfriend?
BB: Yes, but she likes another boy sometimes too.
M: So what to you do with Destiny?
BB: We talk and play.
M: Well, daddy and I don't want you to have a girlfriend until you're ready to get married, then you can worry about having a girlfriend.
BB: So I have to wait until I'm in fifth grade???
M: Yeah, we'll discuss it again then...

I'm so not ready for my 7 year old to be worrying about girls! After our conversation, it was apparant that it's all very innocent, normal, little boy, little girl, second grader behavior, but the worry is there that I don't know how aware he is of 'grown up' relationships and I don't want him growing up too fast. We also talked about saving our hearts for the person God wants us to marry when we're older and his answer was "But we can love everyone!" I was so proud of that answer because he is a loving, compassionate boy and it's apparant that he's not aware of 'romantic' love with one person yet or that his heart can be broken. I did warn him that 2nd grade girls are known to change their minds at the drop of a hat though... And my hope is that he does continue to talk to me about all this stuff.