Today was a very long day. I got up at 8 and hopped into the shower. By the time I was done showering, the baby was up. I grabbed her and a handful of Cheerios and turned on an episode of Sesame Street so I could dry my hair and get dressed before getting us both a proper breakfast.
We scarfed down a bowl of cereal each and started the very long trip to pick up my husband's sons who are visiting for the next couple of weeks. It is about a 2 1/2-3 hour drive on a normal traffic day to get to the meeting place, then we usually spend about an hour eating, transferring stuff, and using the restroom before heading back. We hit a really rough spot of traffic but made good time the rest of the trip and were still under three hours.
We managed to make it through another (second this week) trip through Wal-mart and home in just about an hour, which I thought was amazing with three kids who'd been locked up in a car all day. We then put away all the groceries and decided we were too tired to cook (I was too tired to cook). Middle Monkey wanted Chinese food, so rather than completely blow my diet by heading to a buffet, we went to Panda Express. I was really good and looked up what to order before I got there. Even with nibbling on Lil Bit's lunch a tad and snagging a bit of her cookie, I was under my max calories for the day. It felt good to make Middle Monkey happy. Eldest Monkey got shrimp, his favorite, and was happy too.
We came home and set up the new sprinklers. We're going to try to water every morning and night before Chad comes home. The water bill will be atrocious, but at least the grass might look a little less ghastly when he comes home. There are spots that might be beyond help, but we're gonna try. Then we took a walk to try to dry off a little from where the sprinklers got all of us. Lil Bit had climbed up on her swing set and was shrieking with joy every time she got doused. It was funny.
After our walk it was time to get into pj's. The boys are 12 and 13 and are growing. Once we got into their drawers, I just decided we might as well tackle another headache and sort through what fits and doesn't. They are only here for an odd week here and there so clothes get bought and worn randomly. Sometimes something lasts a few years because we bought it big and we can pass it from Elder to Middle Monkey before it needs to join the Goodwill pile.
We managed to go through three drawers worth of pants and shorts, whittle it down to now two drawers, and add a nice couple of stacks to the bag of things I have to donate. Everyone had a quick dessert, brushed teeth, said prayers and went to bed. I'm the last one awake and I'm about to head that direction myself.
Driving with the baby wasn't fun, but the way the boys' mother and I worked it out, made it easier. She napped for about half of my solo trip and the boys played with her the whole way home. She still got fussy and cried a few times, but not too terribly badly. The boys were well behaved and very helpful. We tackled three chores this evening after getting back to town and now can relax a little more tomorrow.
Having the boys here will mean having some help getting things finished before Chad arrives, but it is hard to know how hard and fast to push when we just aren't sure how much time we really have. We may have a week, we may have 3-5 days. We may have nearly two weeks or, heaven forbid, longer. They aren't telling them anything at all. We may actually get notice before he does. Although he will obviously know when they move from Iraq to Kuwait, which should give me a general time frame. Once he is in Kuwait, I'm gonna prepare for a 72 hour countdown and worst case scenario have a day to rest before the plane lands.
We're gonna try our best to have some fun, let the boys bond with their sister, and plan a special celebration for their dad. I may need a nap by the end of the week, but I won't be quite as lonely and I will definitely be busy. As much extra work as having two more kids is, I am so glad the boys are back in town. I missed them. It will be nice being a family again.
We scarfed down a bowl of cereal each and started the very long trip to pick up my husband's sons who are visiting for the next couple of weeks. It is about a 2 1/2-3 hour drive on a normal traffic day to get to the meeting place, then we usually spend about an hour eating, transferring stuff, and using the restroom before heading back. We hit a really rough spot of traffic but made good time the rest of the trip and were still under three hours.
We managed to make it through another (second this week) trip through Wal-mart and home in just about an hour, which I thought was amazing with three kids who'd been locked up in a car all day. We then put away all the groceries and decided we were too tired to cook (I was too tired to cook). Middle Monkey wanted Chinese food, so rather than completely blow my diet by heading to a buffet, we went to Panda Express. I was really good and looked up what to order before I got there. Even with nibbling on Lil Bit's lunch a tad and snagging a bit of her cookie, I was under my max calories for the day. It felt good to make Middle Monkey happy. Eldest Monkey got shrimp, his favorite, and was happy too.
We came home and set up the new sprinklers. We're going to try to water every morning and night before Chad comes home. The water bill will be atrocious, but at least the grass might look a little less ghastly when he comes home. There are spots that might be beyond help, but we're gonna try. Then we took a walk to try to dry off a little from where the sprinklers got all of us. Lil Bit had climbed up on her swing set and was shrieking with joy every time she got doused. It was funny.
After our walk it was time to get into pj's. The boys are 12 and 13 and are growing. Once we got into their drawers, I just decided we might as well tackle another headache and sort through what fits and doesn't. They are only here for an odd week here and there so clothes get bought and worn randomly. Sometimes something lasts a few years because we bought it big and we can pass it from Elder to Middle Monkey before it needs to join the Goodwill pile.
We managed to go through three drawers worth of pants and shorts, whittle it down to now two drawers, and add a nice couple of stacks to the bag of things I have to donate. Everyone had a quick dessert, brushed teeth, said prayers and went to bed. I'm the last one awake and I'm about to head that direction myself.
Driving with the baby wasn't fun, but the way the boys' mother and I worked it out, made it easier. She napped for about half of my solo trip and the boys played with her the whole way home. She still got fussy and cried a few times, but not too terribly badly. The boys were well behaved and very helpful. We tackled three chores this evening after getting back to town and now can relax a little more tomorrow.
Having the boys here will mean having some help getting things finished before Chad arrives, but it is hard to know how hard and fast to push when we just aren't sure how much time we really have. We may have a week, we may have 3-5 days. We may have nearly two weeks or, heaven forbid, longer. They aren't telling them anything at all. We may actually get notice before he does. Although he will obviously know when they move from Iraq to Kuwait, which should give me a general time frame. Once he is in Kuwait, I'm gonna prepare for a 72 hour countdown and worst case scenario have a day to rest before the plane lands.
We're gonna try our best to have some fun, let the boys bond with their sister, and plan a special celebration for their dad. I may need a nap by the end of the week, but I won't be quite as lonely and I will definitely be busy. As much extra work as having two more kids is, I am so glad the boys are back in town. I missed them. It will be nice being a family again.
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