a bit of a revelation

i was driving home from walmart yesterday and i realized that i am happy. really.

this may not sound that huge to anyone else but to me it's big. i've spent a lot of my life wishing i could be like someone else or look like someone else or just BE someone else.

i am happy with my children, happy with my spouse (for now, i'm sure he'll do something dumb soon though), happy with all the choices i've made or am making, and happy with my body.

then we got home and reese threw a huge bratty fit and i mopped the kitchen and vacuumed the carpet. life returns to normal, even after you realize you love your life.

one month from today...

looks like we might have a renter for our home here in CT. we don't have a contract set up yet, i'm waiting to hear painting estimates (and time estimates for the painting) before we come up with a date just yet. the movers will be here june 11, 12 and 13, so hopefully painting can begin right after that. give me a day to tidy the house up and then the renters can have it. oh, and i need to have the carpets shampooed. add that in too.

i'm flying my dad here so that he can help us drive to georgia. if it was just the kids, i *think* i could handle it, but we're dealing with 3 kids, one cat, and one dog. and traveling down 95 sounds a little scary so my dad & i might head off the beaten track. i've never seen the appalachians before so seeing a few of those might be neat. of course, after we've been on the road 3 days, i might change my mind and just try to get there ASAP. i'm looking forward to the move, believe it or not.

rob will be gone when we arrive, he's deploying soon. the good news is that this "deployment" is insanely short. while he's gone, i'll be house hunting and hopefully we'll have somewhere to call home by august 1st. he is renting an apartment locally right now, so we have some where to hang out. a total bachelor pad, which will be why i'll be house hunting!

i counted it up the other day and rob's been gone for 4 months. he left in early january and then came back for a visit or 2. the last time we saw him was 5 weeks ago. he's going to be so surprised by how much elisha has grown. i'm surprised at how much she has grown.

it will be work to be a family again, but it will be worth it.

the ultimate challenge

my children hate me. they know that when i was younger (and skinnier and smarter) i loved sleeping. on weekends, i wouldn't get up til at least 10am...during the week, waking around 8 was early for me.

during the last week, reese & cade have both been up around 5:45 am. and if they're awake, you KNOW they're going to wake the baby. i honestly feel like this is some sort of competition...who can last longest with the least amount of sleep. the worst part is that after i tuck them into bed each evening, i seem to get my second wind and often end up staying awake til at least 11pm. add in several interruptions each night from elisha (who is still sleeping in bed with me) and the kids are in danger of winning this one.

just another reason we need to get our asses moved down to georgia...i can't hold on much longer.

updates and more updates

i've been forced to assimilate my blogger acccount with a google account. i have no clue what i have done but it wouldn't let me into my blog without me doing it. and we all know how VITAL it is that i get in here. i mean, my audience would really miss me. right? right???

this time THREE months have passed since my last post. wow. that's not very good at all. i guess i've been busy...

here's elisha's update:

• she is crawling.
  
• she is also pulling up on stuff.
• she just climbed a box yesterday.
• and she clapped
• and she has 2 teeth that she loves to bite with! ouch!
• she says 'mama'
• when she wants me, she chases me down and head butts my leg til i pick her up
• she's still sleeping with me and scared of the crib (or scared of being alone, i'm sure that's really what it is. she's used to having 2 older entertainers around constantly.)

here's cade's update:

• he's almost pottytrained! yee haw!!! he wears undies during the day and pullup at night. he's usually dry in the morning but i have a lot of pullups left over so we're going to use them.
• he's singing. some people may not be excited about this, but i remember reese doing it and i love that he's singing and remembering words and was paying attention to me when i sang to him all those times.
• he's now sharing a room with reese and bedtime is so much easier. for me. maybe not for reese. she takes the role of little mommy and makes sure he stays in bed.
  

here's reese's update:

• she's about 6 weeks away from turning 5. wow. a 1/2 decade. she's getting so old.
• she has started giving back what i give her. sometimes i am too impatient with her and tell her to hurry up. she fires right back with 'i'm BUSY, mommy.' so i guess she's learning to stand up for herself???
  
• she's also about 6 weeks from finishing her year of preschool
• i *think* she's reading. or else she has a photographic memory. the books she brings home from school are simple but she's reading them. and then talking like them. these books drive me crazy because they'e so simple...."i like you. you like me. here we go, up up up." etc.

and my update:

• i've been doing weight watchers since march 1st and have lost about 30 pounds. this is huge for me. i was growing out of my size 20 pants and now i'm fitting comfortably in 18s and a few 16s. i have about another 30 lbs to go until i reach what i weighed when i got married.
  
• major diet changes...no high fructose corn syrup (or at least in very limited amounts), low sugar, high fiber, low fat. my mood swings have really stopped...i can't believe how hfcs can really affect a person's moods. i'm doing similar things for the kids' diets (except the low fat part, i know they still need fats for good physical & mental development).
• the house *might* be rented out very soon. a couple came and looked at it, loved it and are submitting the paperwork to the property manager for approval. we might be moving very soon! hopefully after reese finishes preschool though.

so those are our updates. see you in another 3 months. :b