1/2 Mile Fun Run

Gabby's school had a 1/2 mile Fun Run this morning. Gabby was dying to run in it. I have to admit, I was skeptical but she wanted to. So she went this morning and ran her half mile. She did a great job and had a lot of fun. She was excited to get a medal at the end. Maybe next year brother can run too.

Zoo

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium

That's one big fish.

Sam thought the goat was hilarious!

Gabby and Sam being spiders.

Gabby loved the mermaid horse.

We went to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium yesterday. We went with a couple other moms and kids. The kids had fun being there and being with their friends. It was a beautiful day. Sam really got into the animals this trip.

Pink Boxers

I may be slow to see this since I never watch the news anymore and only occasionally pick it up online. Does anything happen outside my house? Probably, but I'm too tired to notice! Anyway, I saw this story and just want to share it in case you haven't seen it. I love this!! Our soldiers are without a doubt the best there are!! And I'm glad they are!

Story

Mother's Day

No, I don't have a picture of myself and the kids on Mother's Day. Just never happened. Doesn't seem to happen when Robert is home, either, so it's not a big surprise. We had a good day. We went to church and then went to a friend's house for a potluck brunch. She is not military but her and her husband both work at the hospital and he was working. She had her other friends whose husbands were working too so it was a girls' day. She had a wonderful meal and we enjoyed ourselves. Afterward we came home and played in the yard. Or, the Jeep. We had taken it out just to drive it every now and then and the kids were playing in it while I was trying to get it stored away again. You can tell Sam had a long day - he curled up in the Boppy with his blankie and baby while I was fixing his milk and fell asleep before I could get back to him.

Planting Flowers with the Daisies

Sam always has to get in on the action.

Gabby planted flowers with her Daisy Troop a couple of weeks ago. Her little plant is now blooming. I'm not sure what it is but I am the one with a black thumb.

Gabby, on the other hand, loves to grow things. And anything will grow for her. Little plant brought home from preschool in a paper cup? Yep! We had a huge marigold that bloomed all summer and a nice sunflower (till the bugs ate it.) Ten year old seeds thrown into a pot? No problem! Bloomed. Tomato, pumpkin and various flower seeds thrown into the ground in a hurry, way too late in the season, in a bad spot and given no attention? Sure. Tomatoes and flowers all summer. Our pumpkin grew and bloomed but we weren't smart enough to make it pollinate so we never got pumpkins. The deer got our blueberry bushes. So this year we have planted strawberries and tomatoes. Our strawberries are growing well. Our tomatoes don't look so great but I think it was my fault. We're not giving up on them anyway. I even heard from a neighbor in NC who said her gardenia bush that Gabby loved has not bloomed since Gabby left. And this lady had a green thumb. I make sure she touches every plant that we attempt.

Lunch

So I'm sitting at the table reading an article about how bad school lunches are and the reasons why (Which are valid, by the way, they don't have near enough money to make them healthy. It costs to be healthy in this country.) Anyway, I'm reading because my dear Gabby had a field trip today and is not home yet. Usually I am listening to her chatter. So there I am reading all the criticism on school lunches and then I look at Sam. He's eating yogurt and cheese for lunch. He is kind of picky and sometimes I just don't fight it. As for myself, the picture of health, I am eating chips and guacamole. So much for healthy lunches. On the upside, Sam has discovered he likes guacamole. Finally, something green. Not the best thing but it is a step to get something green in his mouth!

As an mostly unrelated note, Sammy used the potty again today. He's done it a few times but I haven't pushed it, mostly because the idea of potty training in the portapotties at T-ball is not my idea of a good time. I didn't think he would since his diaper was full when I took it off but he wanted to sit so I let him. He came out a few minutes later and there was peepee in the potty. What a big boy!

Oldest Soldier Killed

Link to story

Robert had a couple of Vietnam Veteran sergeants when he was in ROTC. By the time he came on active duty in 1996 most of them were gone from the Army - retired. For a while there combat patches were rare and meant Vietnam, Panama, or the Gulf War. They were not awarded for Bosnia or the Kosovo Campaign (both of which he participated in). When he was in Iraq the first time we had a Reserve Chaplain at Fort Riley who was a Vietnam Veteran. I was surprised when he said he was since I hadn't seen one on active duty in years.

I am honored that Maj. Steven Hutchison felt called to serve a country who so mistreated his service the first time. I truly hope he receives every honor he deserves. We can never repay his sacrifices.

Mommies revisited

So on church on Sunday, the chaplain said basically the same thing I did last week. He said it a lot better but the message was the same. And it came from a man. But anyway, he said we need to stick together as moms and encourage each other as much as possible. Yes, he also said everyone else needs to encourage us too. We're staring down a bunch of deployments in the next year here so if your soldier is still here now, they'll be gone soon. Everywhere you turn we are trying to build up the families as much as we can before this comes - chapel, PWOC, etc. But that was his Mother's Day message. I guess I'm not the only one feeling it!

Mommies need to stick together before we all fall apart!

I have had a bad few weeks. Anyone who keeps up on Facebook or has seen me in person already knows that. My dear, sweet, wonderful son Samuel spent about three weeks waking me every night around 2 (sometimes earlier, rarely later) and somehow we didn't manage to get back to sleep until around 5. At five up here in the north, the sun is coming up and by 5:30 it is full daylight. So going back to sleep at 5 is not fun. I was only getting 3-4 hours of sleep a night. This for my two-year-old. And no one to take a night for me or let me sleep in one morning. Needless to say, I was exhausted. Completely worn out physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Funny how sleep affects every single part of your life. Nothing was getting done except the bare minimum and that only getting half done. We've been dressing from the dryer and setting the table from the dishwasher for a while now! Not only was I worn out, I was getting pretty whiny about it. And I hate to be whiny. I hate to admit defeat but I was there.

Thankfully on Monday Sam started sleeping again. I promptly came down with a sinus headache for four days but that is starting to go away. I've gotten to sleep for three nights now (although we were up at 5:30 this morning -ugh!) I feel like a whole different person than I did three days ago. Still tired? You bet! Way behind in every part of my life? Sure thing! Overwhelmed by what needs to be done? Yep! Still want to whine about it a little? Of course!

I was resting yesterday - still taking the opportunity to rest when I can- and watching Nanny 911 on CMT. (I have to say I can't figure out why CMT thinks showing a week of Nanny 911 honors Mother's Day, but I was watching it!) There was a lady with three little ones under 4 whose husband was deployed. My heart went out to this lady struggling through what we all know to be so hard with little help. Then in the last couple of days I have heard from two younger mamas of their first babies who are struggling. Worn out. Lonely. Just want to go to the bathroom by themselves. Or sleep all night. Or do something when the mood strikes them. Or have two hands free.

What we do is hard Mommies!! Why do we feel like we don't want to admit that to anyone else? Why are we so tough on ourselves? Sometimes it sucks! Sometimes I know that the next time someone yells "Mommy!" I'm going to scream! Yes, I do feel like locking the bathroom door just to get a few minutes of privacy! I do fondly remember my days before kids! I do dream of sending them off to college! Or at least to school! (God bless the homeschoolers!) Or of giving them some magic potion to make them sleep for 24 hours so I can sleep! You know what? It's ok. It's ok to feel that way. It's ok to say it. Share it with the struggling moms around you. Even if your kids are at college or past, let them know about the times you felt that way. I was so thankful for a lovely lady with kids in high school when Gabby was a baby that said she remembered being overwhelmed by all the little socks in the laundry and thought she just couldn't deal with another one. Made me feel like I wasn't crazy for feeling the same way. Stand by your fellow Mommies this Mother's Day weekend. We have to stick together or we will all fall apart!

By the way, this was really hard for me to post. I'm still being hard on myself. I do, however, love my kids like crazy. Of course right now one is sleeping and the other is at school - LOL!

Gabby as Catcher

This picture was from two weeks ago. It rained at the game this past week and I didn't get any pictures. Gabby had been dying to play catcher this year. She was so excited when they sent her there and so cute sitting there. She looked like a pro sitting out there. However, she didn't like the way the helmet fit (it was a bit big) so she now thinks being catcher is no fun. Glad I got some pics of it because she probably won't do it again.

Sammy's Birthday!

My little birthday boy! He's a big boy of two now. He had to spend the morning in childcare, but had a big afternoon. It was a nice day so we went outside and played, opened presents and had cake. Our next door neighbors came over for a few minutes to have cake with us. I baked the cake and Gabby decorated it. Well, she helped me mix it up too. So I just did all the hard parts and she had the fun! He got trucks, trains and Queen stuff. All the things he loves! Happy Birthday Baby Boy!!