Fun at the pumpkin patch - my pirate, black cat, and Cinderella. Mean Mommy refused to buy costumes this year due to lack of funding and the amount of costumes we already have. This is what they came up with themselves. Aren't they adorable?
Ready for Trunk-or-Treat at church. Here they are with their decorated pumpkins.
Watch out!!!
When my kids burp I always say "Excuse you, Delaney/Madelyn/Sophia " to them and then they say "Excuse me, Mommy" right back.
Well, just now I burped really loud and from the other room Sophie yelled "SCREW YOU, MOMMY!"
Nice.
Holy Moly, I ended up paying $38.85 for it.
It didn't help that I had Delaney egging me on;) Even Ryan was in on it, feeling my pain from 9 hours away.
My sanity. Priceless.
First of all, Happy Anniversary Keri and Chad!!! 14 years!
Ryan has been gone for 5 days and I have not been eaten alive yet. That's good news;)
The kids and I are adjusting... just doin' our thang... school, work, gymnastics, soccer, church, gym, violin, eat, play, sleep, repeat. Something like that, anyway. I'm having a hard time falling asleep at night - but I'll get used to it sooner or later.
Ryan made it to Georgia just fine. He has been appointed Class Leader, whatever that means, so he has more duties BUT gets to keep his cell phone on him all the time. The other class members have to leave theirs in their dorm rooms. Yes, dorm rooms. It's like college with lots of P.E. He was telling me about the cool stuff he's going to be learning the first half - interrogation, weapons handling, bomb stuff, apprehending criminals, etc. Trust me, he made it sound a lot more technical than I am. I tend to forget all the terminology and use the word "stuff" instead. He also said it's pretty intense and the threats of getting kicked out for minor screw-ups are serious.
We had a good weekend with family. Ryan's parents came Friday afternoon to see him off. After Delaney's soccer game Saturday, we went to Baton Rouge, had lunch with Keri, Chad, Austin, Nick, Jason, Mandy, and Dixie. It was great. Then later we attended a beautiful wedding for a friend of the Dick family. Then, back to Keri's house to spend the night. Keri, the boys, and Dixie went back to my house with me until Monday afternoon. Y'all please pray for Kerri (Ryan's sister). She's going through and incredibly rough time right now and could definitely use some strength.
So, that's my life in a nutshell right now. I'm sitting here sweaty and stinky because I worked out this morning and came home to no running water. Yea.
Oh, tell me if this is crazy... on Monday Sophie left her pink "bwangket" somewhere (either at the Dr.'s office or Delaney's school) and it can not be found. I've called and stopped by both places... numerous times. She is mostly fine without it, until it's time for nap or bed. That's when the sadness begins. It's not like a fit or meltdown, it's more of a deep, sad, moaning of "bwangket... i need my bwangket... bwangket." Over and over. See, she was completely off the "noonie" for 4 days when she lost the stinkin' blanket. I wasn't strong enough during a moanfest and I caved and gave her the noonie so she'd just go to sleep and I could get some peace. Well, I have looked online for days and found ONE on EBay - no where else - it's not a common blanket that can be found at WalMart OF COURSE. Is it just absolutely crazy to buy a stupid blanket on EBay for $30 plus $10.50s&h??? I am currently weighing my empty wallet and my sanity. We have no money... but I'd much rather her be attached to a blanket than a pacifier. Oh, what shall I do? I currently have 5 hours and 41 minutes to decide.
Speaking of no money, our house hasn't sold yet. As a matter of fact, hardly anyone is even looking at it. We dropped the price 10 grand and still, nothing. We could use some prayers for this please. I know it's silly, but I'm not sure how we're going to make ends meet if we don't sell this house soon. Also, I'm looking for another job because the hospital is seriously cutting back our hours. As a matter of fact, our department is closing the entire month of December. Yea, good timing. Ryan's paycut plus my not having a paycheck = sucky Christmas. Sucky and Christmas should NOT be in the same sentence, I know, because presents aren't what it's all about (and we DO always stress that)... unless you're 8 and 5 and 2 want a Nintendo DS, American Girl everything, a bike, and whatever toy is on every TV commercial right now! Uggg. I'm sick, sick, sick because we haven't had credit card debt for 5 years! and now we're having to use it again and cut back on savings. I know there's a light at the end of the tunnel, but this stinks. I told my sister that I just read the Prayer of Jabez again and have been asking God specifically to find buyers for our house and send some money our way (and ways to save and make more money). He answered in the form of a $560 check from the State of Louisiana from 2006 taxes! God is good... and funny sometimes. We know many families who are being harder hit right now than us so we are grateful and continue to pray for an answer in this country.
Allright, I really have a ton of things I need to be doing (most importantly, take a shower, but that's not going to happen). So, check ya later.
Added moments later: Sophie and I checked Ebay just now to see her "bwangket". She was trying to grab it through the computer screen. She had such a pitiful look on her face. She said, "I need to get it, Mommy. I need to be happy." So sad. Oh - and it's up to $32.00 already. Is it possible that there's another little girl out there in the universe jonesing for her "bwangket"? Frick.
The panic is setting in. Military wives know what I'm talking about. The panicky, clingy, ridiculous feeling that overtakes you the last week he's home. There's not enough time and there's too much time. You're overly affectionate and bitchy at the same time. You're grasping for moments to remember to get you through how ever long until you see him again. For me... ummm... 171 days. Why the heck did I just count that out?? Dummy. 6 months actually sounds like less time! Bitchy because it makes it easier for him to go and you to let go if you're "mad" at him. I'm making up things that I won't miss about him... his laundry, his sandwich crumbs on the counter everyday, his "dump spot" in the corner of the bedroom, his coffee cups he leaves lying around and coffee drips on the counter, the incessant noise of a football game on the T.V. Stupid things that I'm actually going to want back in a weeks time. There is a pit in my stomach and a lump in my throat every minute that ticks by. I just want to scream "LEAVE ALREADY!!!" so he can get back sooner. It's torture.
It's harder now that the girls are older. Delaney is getting hives again. She gets them when she's stressed. She got them every day for weeks before she found out we aren't moving. Then they just stopped. They are itchy and miserable. We're just going to have to take this day by day and pray that no one gets seriously ill. Especially me. We've all had our flu shots hoping that will help.
Part of me is so happy for him. But part of me is sad for him. He's going to miss out on a lot... Thanksgiving, our 11th anniversary, Christmas, New Years, Sophie's 3rd Birthday, Mardi Gras, Valentines Day, and all the even more important days inbetween of just living, loving, and laughing together. I want time to fly by, but I don't want to miss that stuff either. It has me asking myself how I'm back in this predictament again. I'm the one being left behind - not that I'd rather be the one going - but still. How did I end up with this life? Of course I wouldn't change it for anything.
What I do know is... Whether we are together or apart... We are so blessed.
