Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Bucket List

The last week was rough (it usually is, no matter how long the deployment) but we managed to start on our DC Bucket List. 

I drove the boys to Annapolis for coffee on a freezing, rainy day.




We also drove the GW Parkway to Great Falls on a different rainy day and hit the National Air & Space museum -Udvar-Hazy Center. 


Nothing huge, but it's a start AND we are on our way to a MUCH better week! 


Friday, February 22, 2013

Picking Up The Pieces




As a mom, I find myself always picking up: the toys, the dishes, the laundry... It comes with the territory. You get used to it and, somehow, you manage to find the humor in the day-to-day. 

What you don't get used to as a military wife is picking up the emotional pieces. I remember when John and I first got married, we moved out to San Diego and then to Japan shortly after. Half a world away, I had to pick up my own emotional pieces when he was gone 290+ days of our 14 months there. What if I wasn't meant to be a Navy Wife? Why the hell did I leave EVERYTHING and EVERYONE I knew? 

It took a lot of soul-searching to realize I was just becoming a full-fleged adult living away from anything and everything I ever knew. I picked up my pieces and moved on. 

Enter kids. 

Our first deployment post-kids wasn't terrible. I mean, I WAS pregnant with our third son (and may or may not have had an actual panic attack for the first time) while caring for two toddlers four hours away from any family. It was EMOTIONALLY exhausting. I found myself aggrivated. A lot. Not at my kids, but at the situation: 18+ months of no Daddy around had me feeling like I was a single parent. {John didn't even know Eli had learned to walk!} It's hard not to feel that way, but I was able to keep my emotions in check as realized I signed the dotted line when I married this man. The entire duty station left Turner angry and that was very hard to deal with. I picked up the pieces. 

Another deployment, another age group older. Each of the kids manifested different "symptoms" of deployment. One of the more difficult was Eli; he immediately stopped talking about John. Instead, Eli talked about his "grandfadder." John's dad is someone we never talk much about since death is hard for kids to understand. Eli, however, is a sensitive soul and understood more than we ever knew about his Grandpa. Eli completely eliminated John and talked, instead, about Jonathan. That was really hard -realizing that Eli's coping skills involved building an impeneratrable wall. I, again, picked up the pieces. 

We have moved now (again), and I feel like emotions are at a high (again). Turner is mad at me, Eli put up his wall (actually, he told our neighbor that John is dead) and Deacon is nothing short of violent at the mention of John's name. Monday evening, I picked up the pieces. Tuesday, I picked up the pieces. Wednesday, I had a big glass of wine and picked up the pieces. Thursday, I picked up the pieces. 

Today, I pick up the pieces and put them back where they belong. One day this will all be worth the time spent apart. Some times, I wonder...but in my heart I know that as hard as it is to watch my kids go through these big emotions our life is worth it.

Again, I pick up the pieces. 

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Derby Time!

Turner has waited his entire life (yes, really) to join Scouts. He was so happy this past September when the time had finally come for him to join our local pack! 

We've had a busy few weeks with my new business, John's schedule and then finding out deployment and our move is going to happen earlier than expected! We did make time for Turner to design and make his first ever derby car, though. 


Turner's design. He wanted a medical humvee. The next day, the handwriting
lesson involved properly spacing words...

cheese ball in the garage


John was great about letting Turner really do the work!





The finished product. Very unassuming, but it had great speed! 
The Scout was very happy with his 3rd place win! 

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

School Update

Things are moving right along here at Full Sail Academy!

We did some school work immediately after returning from a trip to New Jersey just to try to get back in to the groove quickly. This week is supposed to be our week back to normal (whatever that is) but our Monday started off slow. Daddy's alarm clock mysteriously turned itself off at 5am so we all got up late! 

The big boys were very in to Legos so instead of interrupting that, Deacon and I cleaned up his room and played with cars. 

For the start of the new year, the plan is jus to continue on our current track. Turner is plugging along with Miquon (math) so instead of moving over to Singapore math like I intended, I'm going to let him stay with Miquon. I think by using that and reinforcing with fun games it's making more of an impact for a child with zero interest in math. 

Eli is fascinated with letters and sounds so I'm taking the opportunity to really dive in to this with him. He's a creative soul, so art and creating are a huge part of his day right now. 

That's all for now! This week is all about keeping it easy since I'm trying to balance the new job with this homeschool thing! 

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Jumping In...To BUSINESS!

Yikes. I just said it out loud...

One of my goals for 2013 is to focus a little more. On life, on my daily tasks, being present with my kids, on my workouts and races...all of it! I had no idea that it would entail owning my own small business. 

About a month (or two?) ago a friend messaged me on Facebook. She told me about her new business venture and said she had thought of me. I thought "Yeah, right." A.) I don't do "business" B.) I'm kinda busy here C.) I'm not selling a dang thing and D.) I'm SO not having a "toy"/bag/candle or whatever else party! 

So I let it go! 

Fast forward a few weeks and I was in Arlington, VA, looking for our next home. I found our next home and as I was emailing back and forth with the current owners I noticed something. The woman's signature mentioned the same business my Facebook friend was trying to tell me about. 

Huh. That was weird...and interesting...

I email the Facebook friend back and found out about Rodan + Fields and the opportunity to become part of a very supported team. 

So I stewed on it for a few days. Could this actually work? I talked to John about it and did some research homework. With a money back guarantee, why not jump in for a bit? Wet the feet, give it a good row...

So, here I am. A stay-at-home-homeschooling-part-time-working-from-home-mom. 

Joining my team is easy and I have a feeling that it's going to be lots of fun. At least it's something all of my own and I'm quite excited about that!