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Deployment and Finances
Deployment … Changing of the Guard … Total upheaval … “Change” doesn’t even begin to describe what deployment was for my family. I was juggling so many balls while my husband was gone for a year that they could have put me in the circus… (or possibly the funny farm?) One of those proverbial balls: Finances. The family budget and bill paying are somethings that my husband does for the family, and he does it well! Bills are paid on time, the budget is allocated correctly, and interest-payments are kept to a minimum. So what was one of my major stresses in the months before and after he left? How…
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Emotions Run Amuck
Wow, my middle-child started kindergarten this week. Oh dear, sweet *C*. He went from the ‘baby’ of the family to the middle-child this month after his baby-brother, *L*, was born… and now he is a big kindergartner, getting on the bus and out of my view for 8 hours each day. My emotions have run amuck! *C* lives in a dream world. I’m not sure if it is the age or the personality but the phrase “Stay on Task” echoes through our house when there are things to be done. It is easy to find him in another part of the house, doing something unrelated to what needs to be…
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Changes
I’m feeling *very* fortunate. I have my boys tucked into bed and my feet are up for the evening. *E*, 6 years old is already snoring softly in dream world. *C*, 3 years old, is turning his little-lamp by his bed on and off, on and off, on and off. He is trying. This is what happens when he takes a nap during the day … bedtime comes and he has no interest in sleep. Who can blame him. But this Mommy craves… desires… NEEDS her “quiet time” as I refer to it after 8:00pm. So in spite of naps he still has to stay in his room till he…
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What a week!
It is finally Friday and I am utterly exhausted! I had one of those weeks that I would prefer to just let go down the bathtub drain after a long soak … Yet through it all I can be so very thankful for support, for friendship, for prayer, for understanding. Some of it stems from earlier troubles. I have felt that my six-year-old is still not adjusting to this deployment very well. (Deployment Troubles of a 5 year-old) I berate myself for being an ineffective mom and then tell myself to quit being so hard on myself – all in one breath. I finally called MilitaryOneSource on Monday when all…
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Smile! Wait my mouth is not down at my ankles…
What I said… What he heard…How do I look? “Oh, Great” snap, flash…Me to Dale: Do I look pretty… like I feel… not like the mirror dictates?He to me: I have you right in the view fiinder… got’cha!Results: sigh, ugh… who is that? What I said… What he heard… How do I look? “Oh, Great” snap, flash…Me to Eli ( age 4): Honey… I’m up here…He to me: I know where the picture taker button is!Results: great picture of my knees. What I said… What he heard…How do I look? “Oh, Great” snap, flash…Me to Joshua (age 13): Are you looking at me?He to me: Grandma… stand still… there is…
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The Beauty of Routine
Oh How I love Fall! There is a chill in the air, the leaves are starting to change and school is back in session! I dropped my 4-year old off at preschool for his first day last week. Oh how we were both so excited. Not because I was glad to say good-bye but because I was, and remain, ready for some routine! The boys know what is expected of their day and its no longer my time-line that tells them what needs to happen next. The lazy-days of summer sure are nice but by this time of year we are ready to move and groove. With autumn comes soccer…
