in a flash!

last month was full of milestones.

it marked a halfway point of being without pat. we are starting the being legs of the downhill slope, and i believe that things can only get better.

it was the also the last month of no school for liz. for the next (hopefully) 17 years or so, she will always have to go back to school in september. i am super glad for her to be in kinder though. not only does it give us some much needed time apart, but jake isn't picked on all day, and i am able to get a lot of housework done.

speaking of housework, sometime last month i washed and folded my 200th load of laundry! there is something to be said about that! i wonder exactly how many tshirts, how many sheets and towels, and how many "little clothes" that actually is. my poor washer is getting tired. i am thinking that along with a new car, this new baby will be needing a new washer dryer. our set was used to begin with, so who knows what hell went through before it got to us...

which leads me into jewelry. ( i know... good segue, huh?) so, while i am pregnant, i can't wear regular tshirts. i can't wear anything aroung my neck that could be constricting, as it leads to a day of nausea, and overall irritability. but, i do continue to wear my necklace. with liz i had a pendant with the infant Jesus, with jake, i was never without my St. Christopher. this wee babe is different. with this one, i don't feel the nervousness, or the need to be inspired by the life of a particular saint. with this one i simply feel the need to get stuff DONE! i feel like i never have time to take for myself. my days are filled with cleaning, and my nights are filled with homework help, and getting the littles ready for bed. so... see? i am always having to DO stuff. and so, i have been wearing the necklace my husband bought me at Graceland. it is a lightning bolt with the initials TCB. it pretty much sums up the boost i need. TAKING CARE of BUSINESS- IN A FLASH!!! it makes me smile that Elvis used it for everything, and it brings me a little closer to my huz... as he IS the one that gave it to me.

we still have a bit of time before pat comes home, and I will probably finish almost three hundred loads by then. but when he comes home, i should probably take off my TCB... for at least a while, i won't want anything to happen in a flash. i want time to slow, and relish the fact that my family will be complete again.

i am turning a new leaf...

or at least i am going to try to. the last couple of days have been really trying for me. i find that i am just plain exhausted! i don't know if it is the pregnancy hormones, or the fact that i have been a single mom for a month, without a babysitter or break. i need to remember, that as much as i want to finish my sweater, i don't HAVE to. it has been chillin' since january... i amsure it won't mind. (although i am sooooo close. just one more sleeve!!!) i need to remember that as much as i miss pat, the kids miss him too. this deployment isn't just happening to me, i shouldn't take it personally. and if all the bathrooms aren't sparkling clean like the commercials that is okay too. as long as they don't smell, i should be okay with it. and i need to remember that as titilating as the laundry is, it is even less exciting to the kids. basically i need to take it easy. care a little less about the cleaning (but not be slobbish about it), and care a little more about having a good time. maybe the long weeks will go faster that way, and i won't miss pat so much...

AUTO INSURANCE!!!

i am on hold with met life. the only way i could get to a representative was to press a whole slew of buttons on the phone. there is no "talk to a real person button". i think i am going to cancel my policy and go with costco. they are cheaper, and a whole lot easier to get in touch with. anyone have any ideas of who else to go with?

today is one of those days. those days where it isn't even ten yet and already iyou wish it was time to go to sleep. thanks to our dog, i have been awake since five thirty, my kid followed me downstairs screaming, i am fighting non stop with my daughter, the coffee is cold, i have to go to the commissary, and don't have a car, there is mail that needs to be sent off, all of the bathrooms need cleaning, my elbow hurts, and even though i am eating a tad bit better i am still managing to gain weight!

on top of all of that, it feels like me and the kids are on our own little island. just us. and there is nothing here. no awesome waterfalls to swim in, no dharma to keep us mystified. just a tree. the island fever i had living in hawaii has nothing on what i am feeling right now. if it wasn't for the kids i would be depressed and sleeping, but now i am just mad and tired. i need a vacation.

it isn't that i don't like holidays...

its just that they never feel like holidays anymore. especially today. pat is gone, and it is just me and the kids. so i made some faux barbecue chicken in the george foreman, and we ate some jelly beans. i figured since pat will be home next weekend, what is the harm in postponing easter a bit. plus i can go to target tomorrow, and get a bunch of stuff half price.

i guess it is just that i am a bit tired, and there is still so much to be done before the house is fully unpacked. and on top of that we are finally getting over these colds we got, and are just dealing with allergies. a bit of a funk is all...

i just don't really want to think about what it is like next month when pat deploys. i hope i make some friends fast...

or maybe some come out to visit me...

speaking of mr. billy mays...

is there anyone else that has decided they can't live without oxyclean? it got out some gnarly stains from the kids, and even some gross puke stench from liz's stomach flu. i love Love LOVE it. it is my new Mrs. Meyers. i used to love that too, but i can't seem to find it here in virginia. her lemon verbena countertop spray was magical. and harmless to my wee babes.

my other "secret" ingredient to a clean happy kitchen is baking soda. i use it on all my dishes to get the stuck on, baked on gunk off. it cleans my sink, and it keeps my fridge smelling nice (well not right now... i have yet to put one in our new fridge, and it got the funk). and it is a wonder at cleaning the stove top. and again, i don't have to worry about chemicals. well harmful ones at least....


is there a magical cure all for you?