Happy Day :)

I was awaken at 7:05am, not by Julian (he was still sleeping!) but by a phone call from Andrew!  What a beautiful voice to wake up to.  Julian woke up just before 7:30 and came running into my room.  He wasn't really interested in talking to Daddy, he had his focus on a cup of milk-straight away!

Julian started a Parents Morning Out program at church this morning.  The teachers said he behaved wonderfully and was an excellent example to the other children.  I thought maybe they had me confused for someone else and were telling me about someone elses child.  When I was walking out the door after dropping him off, I heard him slam his body in a fit against the door of his classroom.  So surely they couldn't have been talking about my son?  But sure enough, they were!  I am so pleased!

I had a nice break while he was at PMO.  I went to Walmart for a few things and came home to clean.  But then Andrew called on Skype!!  I talked to him for at least 45 minutes.  Cleaning can always wait, but seeing my amazing husband never can! 

Julian had another wonderful afternoon.  We went for a long walk in the neighborhood and we even met a new friend for Julian.  He is a 17 month old named Jayden.  They played outside with chalk and a football and there was NO fighting! They got along so well!

Peak: Getting to talk to Andrew-TWICE.
Pitt: Cleaning poo out of the garage after making sick Abby sleep out there all night.

Andrew Update: He looks and sounds great!  He has been very tired though.  Seeing him on Skype makes everything better :)

I have finally put some pictures of our weekend on the computer.  Here are a few to enjoy, the rest are on facebook.

Poop and Tears

We made it home safely from South Carolina this afternoon.  It was a very quiet afternoon/evening with just Julian and I.  Tonight is our first "normal" night since Andrew has left.  Normal as in "normal for the next year" meaning just Julian and I, 7:30 bedtime for him, and me sipping wine (and/or eating ice cream) while watching tv in an all too silent living room.  The only thing that made this day go a little haywire was the fact that Abby is having her "anxiety poops"--the big problem is that she never once asked to go outside to take care of business and instead took care of it twice in Julian's room and once in the living room.  Tonight I would like to thank God above for putting whoever invented the Bissell Spot Bot on this earth. 

Also, I would like to thank my sister who will be taking Abby off of my hands when I travel to Maine in June-she just isn't fully aware of it yet.  I'll get her back after Andrew comes home.  I don't think Andrew will like it very much if I do that though.  I have also considered the option of getting another, much calmer dog to give her someone to play with and learn some manners from.  Britt saw two miniature dachsunds the other day on a busy highway.  If we hadn't been going away that day, we would have definitely gone back to get them.  That would be perfect for Abby the psychopath, anxiety ridden, can't hold my poop in long enough to get to the door dog!  Again, Andrew probably wouldn't like that either.

I did shed quite a few tears today.  Not only every time Abby pooed inside my home, but once when Julian and I were sitting in chairs on the back porch just enjoying the beautiful 65 degree weather...in January!  It was one of those overwhelming moments that literally makes your heart hurt when thinking about how much you miss someone.  I would have given so much just to have him out there with us.  No matter what we are doing, I always feel like I am forgetting something.  Sitting outside I figured out what it was-the missing link to our family, Andre/Daddy.  50 more weeks, 22 more paydays, 350 days.

Peak: The weather and taking full advantage of it by relaxing on the porch and Julian's fabulous mood that lasted from the time we stepped in the door all the way until his head hit his pillow and he went right to sleep.
Pitt: Abby. Did I mention she started this crap (no pun intended) almost immediately after I gave her a bath and washed her favorite blanket?  Little shit (pun intended).

Andrew Update: I didn't get to talk to him today as I was driving home when he had free time.  He did talk to and Skype with Fred, Joan, Angela, Christine, and Isabella though.

"It gets funny..."

Today was a much dryer, warmer, and sunnier day.  It is January, but we went to the beach without jackets.  It was beautiful.  The kids had a lot of fun running around, and I only had to run into a wave once to save Julian the Brave.  I got some really great pictures of him and I can't wait to share them with Andrew.  He will be a little jealous I'm sure, but he will be glad to see his "little buddy" having so much fun.

The girls have been talking about "Blue Bell" ice cream since we got here.  I finally had some of that today...twice.  I definitely met my goal of having ice cream at least 4 times this week-in fact, I nearly doubled it!

Right now we are watching America's Sweethearts.  We wanted to watch another funny movie and since it started Kim has said "don't worry, it gets funny!"  It's a "cheesy" kind of funny and almost over I think. I'm not sure, I just can't pay attention anymore.  Clearly Kim can't either, she's been asleep on the couch for about 45 minutes!

I got to Skype with Andrew this morning.  Julian was up too (since 5:45am, ugh!!)  Skype was slow so I think Julian was a little confused as to why Andrew wasn't moving very quickly (especially since he is so used to watching the videos that Andrew made).  He got bored pretty quickly and went off to play.  He came back a couple of times to wave and he also said "Daddy" as clearly as he ever had.  I am so happy Andrew got to hear that, and he looked pretty happy to hear it too. 

Peak: Watching the boys run around on the beach (oh and my new boots that kept my feet dry!), but the boys can't really compare to new boots.
Pitt: The early wake up call per Julian

Andre Update:  He is back at his home base-Clark.  I am not sure how long he will be there for and even if I knew, I can't discuss movement for OPSEC and safety purposes.  He looks great and seems happy besides missing his family.  We love you and miss you so much babe!

Charleston = Wet

Our first day of seeing the Charm of Charleston was a good one, but a wet one.  It poured all day but
thatdidn't stop us from making the most of it.  We went to the marketplace in downtown, did a little shopping, a bit of oohing and aahing over the beautiful homes, and a whole lot of eating.

After finally giving in to the fact that we were freezing and wet (pruney fingers and all), we came straight home to Kim's Mom's house, changed right into dry, warm sweatpants, dove into the oversized, luxurious couches and have been here ever since (aside from the 100 times we had to separate the little monsters just before one took the other out).

Headed to bed now, it's been a long day!

Peak: Seeing Charleston
Pitt: I only brought flat shoes so my feet and pants were soaked to the knees.

Andre Update: I'm sorry to say I don't have one. No word today :(

So here we are!

We (Kim, Britt, Nathan, Noah, and Julian) made it safely to South Carolina.  I can also proudly say after three years of living in the south, I have finally tasted Sonic.  The verdict is...delicious!  Although, come to think of it, I love food of all kinds so I am not a very good critic.

This will be a short post tonight. I'm exhausted and Kim's computer is making me want to hit things.  I can't wait to see the charm of Charleston tomorrow!  Goodnight 'ya'll'!

Peak: Road Trip to South Carolina!
Pitt: Julian was supposed to start Parent's Morning Out at church this morning, but they forgot to put his name on the list and it was full.  It made me a little curious about organization, but I love my church so I am going to trust the program also!

Andrew Update: I got a quick phone call this morning.  I missed his first call due to the very annoying fact that TLC autowash now makes you vacuum out your own car after an oil change (they used to do it for you!)  If I hadn't been vacuuming, I would have heard the phone ring!  He did call an hour later so we got to talk!  Not long though, but I don't care, I still got to hear his voice.  He has a cell phone now that he can call home with, but it takes up a lot of minutes to call home, therefore all calls from his cell phone will be quick!

When life hands you lemons...

I have a new deployment goal.  When a friend asks to hang out or go on a weekend road trip, do it!  And say yes right away without any reservations! 

This week I have witnessed my friend Britt's spontaneity.  On Monday I called her at the last minute to go to Red Robin, she was there in minutes!  Tonight, Kim asked us to go over and watch the Bachelor. She was immediately all for it.  Before leaving Kim's, we asked her to join us on our weekend getaway to South Carolina, and again, without a doubt she was in.

 I often second guess myself on going out or going on trips.  I think of Julian and uprooting him. I think of how tired I am and how I just want to go to bed early (although here I am at 11:00pm again!)  And lately I have been thinking about how I need to get into a routine of being on my own.  I recently told my mom that I really need to get used to this whole deployment thing and doing everything myself.  It was the biggest part of why I didn't want to head to Maine.  I feel a little guilty for heading out to South Carolina, which has made me second guess my decision to go.  However, there is a big difference of going 3 hours south for a weekend compared to driving 2 days north for a couple weeks only to stress out about getting around to see everyone.  I want this deployment to go by quickly, I want to become more independent.  I can begin to accomplish that by being more spontaneous; by dropping everything to have a little fun and adventure.  I also can't continue to worry about Julian's routine.  I know deep down he is flexible and schedule aside, he absolutely loves seeing and doing new things!  Everytime we have a family outing, or even just go to the library, he always drops what he is doing for a second to run over and give me a hug and a kiss.  I feel like it his little way of letting me know he is having fun and is enjoying our outing.

That's my rambling for the night!  Thanks for listening (reading...whatever).

Peak: Having pizza and brownies and watching The Bachelor with Kim and Britt
Pitt: Day 2 of No Nap and No Andre Call

Andre Update: No phone call again today, but a nice email this morning.  Andrew is traveling between the 3 FOB's (forward operating base's) that his soldiers are stationed at.  I can tell you that he is not at his "home" FOB for the next couple of days.  He does still have access to email and phone, but he is what we call "The Man" so we can't expect to hear from him everyday :) 

The Next Best Thing...

Just as I was about to turn my computer off last night due to a "critical battery" I heard the best noise in the world (Julian's giggle and Andrew's voice aside).  It was the wonderful world of Skype calling me, and on the other end was ::pause for dramatic effect::  Andre!  It was very slow, but I got to see his lovely face and even many beautiful smiles.  I really needed to see that he was doing well, especially with all that has happened since he left.    The feed was painfully slow, but not enough to keep me away.  I can't wait until we can find a time to skype while Julian is awake.  He loves the videos Andrew made for him before he left.  We watch them often. So often in fact, I can recite entire fables and stories.  It was something I had hoped I wouldn't be able to do for a few more months, but trust me, I have no problem letting J watching them as often as often as he would like.

Onto to today's events...crap, what did I do today?  Oh! I got a ticket to the red carpet premiere of Dear John on Fort Bragg.  Nicholas Sparks, Channing Tatum, and Amanda Seyfried will all be there.  This is like the next best thing to being famous right? 

I didn't really do anything else exciting other than go to the orthodontist (wooo).  But when Julian attempted his nap today (and failed miserably), I let him out of his room after an hour of trying only to realize he had taken off all of his clothes!  He was working on his diaper when I walked in and just started laughing hysterically!  After catching his breath my little streaker baby ran through the house to wake up Memere from her nap.  I got see Kim and Audrey for a few minutes today too.  Always perks in my book!

Finally, because I'm a dork and I think about blogging before I go to sleep, last night I decided to add a peak (the best part of my day) and pitt (the worst part of my day) to the end of each blog, in addition to Andrew updates.  I may repeat something I already said (with much less detail of course) but you'll learn to deal.  So here is the start:

Peak: Getting a ticket to the red carpet premier of Dear John.
Pitt: Julian didn't take a nap.

Andre Update: No word today, only skype last night.  He looks and seems well.  Gosh is he handsome!

PS. After mom leaves I will probably be heading to bed earlier, at which point I will have the time to spice up my blogs more with pictures and more fun!