To recap the past six weeks or two months or however long it's been since I've been here:
- I ran my first 5k with Skinny Stephanie. It snowed and I wore mascara I'd never worn before, so it looked like I cried through the entire thing. (Although my fat was definitely crying.)
- Molly is now one year old. People ask me if I can believe it. And yes, I can. I have been here for every single minute of it. And it felt like a full year to me. Maybe even two if I didn't know any better.
- Sam is starting to speak REAL LIFE WORDS and in sentence-form sometimes. Blows my mind every single time I hear it.
- If you are what you eat, my kids are destined to be oven-baked chicken nuggets. I have zero desire to cook anything. (Other than a nugget, obviously.)
- On a related note, Molly refuses to be spoon-fed anymore. And it's just as well, because I have zero desire to spoon-feed her. So a typical meal now consists of me placing appropriately-sized food on her tray and then her flinging it off with a crazed look in her eye. Then I set her on the floor and she eats her food down there. Again, I DO NOT CARE. This might scare or even offend pre-deployment Jenn, but as of right now, two shits are not being given about the eating situation here. So long as they are properly nourished, I don't particularly care if they eat the food off of a plate or the side of a plastic dump truck.
- I am so thankful for my friends. They are real-life heroes that save my sanity daily. Sarah comes over at least once a week to let me run errands sans kids. Like this past week when I decided that payday Friday before Easter was a good time to buy Easter dinner groceries at the commissary in the rain? Yeah, some sanity was definitely saved. She also brings her husband over to do yardwork that I really should have done sometime during the fall months of 2012. Aggie always invites us over to dinner and cooks delicious food and deals with listening to my kids whine about random things like being stuck at the top of her stairs, or falling down her stairs (SAM OMG), or how I didn't pack 15 squeezies for them to eat. My neighbor Vickie can regularly detect when I need saving and lets me pass my kids to her over the fence for some babysitting. I cannot imagine what I would do without her. And sweet Lauren sends the BEST care packages at just the right time. I swear she could not have planned that last package out any better. It came on a day when I seriously needed some help. And she delivered- in the form of good wine. So many blogger friends have texted and emailed to check on me and I sincerely appreciate every last word of encouragement and support! It feels like we're so close to the end of this deployment, yet when every day seems to last eleventy billion hours (minus naptime of course), it still feels hopelessly far off.
- We're still chugging along with preschool, although this past week was spring break. And I feel like I can speak for every mother in town when I say- the man that created this "spring" "break" needs a good shanking. "Spring" consisted of two snow days and a bunch more rainy days. "Break" is laughable because what do these babies need a break from? Coloring? Listening to stories? Ridiculous. We all know that preschool is glorified daycare. Let's just call it like it is. No spring break for preschool. That is crazy.
- Totally unrelated to the last bullet point: My kids watch tv regularly now. I held out with Sam until he was two. And even then he didn't seem to care about it one way or another. But somewhere around the beginning of the year, we have started watching about 30 minutes of tv before bedtime. Molly is hooked. Sam asks for "shows" and "Nina" (the nighttime lady on Sprout) and Jesus take the wheel, I know far too much about Caillou's daily life and I can't help but wonder why he has no hair. I feel like I've crossed into new mom territory and I kinda can't wait til Steve gets home so there can be a different distraction from 6-6:30 and this current phase can end. (Kid tv makes me wanna stab my eyes outttttttt.)
- As much as I hate this deployment and as much as I miss Steve, I am thankful every day that I have something worth missing so much. I cannot wait to get him home.
So happy to see you posting!! :) I hope you have a wonderful Easter, hugs!!!
ReplyDeleteI have a laundry list of complaints. Like, I could talk for days...it's actually a struggle to blog through it, so I understand your reasoning for the non-blogging. If I had two kids to keep me busy, a deployed husband, a move to Korea, AND a list of stupid things, I probably wouldn't have much to say either.
ReplyDeleteWhy is the army life so difficult? All we want to do is serve our country. I wish more people would appreciate that.
Okay. Done with my rant.
Happy Easter!
Well I'm glad to see a post from you :) but I totally understand the lack there of!
ReplyDelete5k girl I'm soooooo impressed!
Yeah the whole real talking & sentences thing still gets to me around these parts too! And some days I can't help but to laugh at what little ones can come up with.
And I'm sorry I haven't been more present via email/text - days can be crazy around here and others I have no excuse for shame on me! I miss you and I know you are busy busy!
Hi sweet friend!! It is so good to see you here, I have been checking your blog often for an update just incase it wasn't showing in my feed. I can't take credit for an email to check on you because you know how crazy busy life is but I have been thinking about you and hoping everything is going ok. Just want you to know that you are never far from my thoughts. Anyone who goes through a deployment with children is an absolute hero to me because I have been there and done that and it isn't easy. Missing someone is the worst ever!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't mind the bullet points or any whining you may want to do, it is just good to hear you're doing ok :) You hang in there, you're a wonderful mother and your family is a blessing for doing what you all do. Thank you xoxo
P.S.
How long until Steve is home?
What do you do at night to pass the time; watch TV, movies, or read etc?
Are you getting out with friends to break up your days??
I love this post simply because you referred to me as skinny stephanie? and that MAKES MY DAY! bahahaha but seriously! and I so agree on spring break (one long ass week!), tv, chicken nuggets and much much wine. play date soon!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you back, your posts ALWAYS make me smile and laugh.
ReplyDeleteI hope the rest of the deployment flies by! When do you guys PCS?
Good to hear an update from you! I haven't checked in with you as much as I should have, but I feel like I get a little check in on IG, so, uh, there's my excuse. You're doing so great for being so far into the deployment!! It's at this point that I was pacing the floor, wringing my hands, and just doing whatever women do in Victorian novels. Seriously. And here you are, thriving away, with happy littles. Great GREAT job, mama. You're amazing.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to see you posting :) I was thinking about you the other day and wondering how the deployment is going....then I forgot to actually text you. We need to meet!
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing wrong with chicken nuggets or them eaten off the floor. You gotta do what ya gotta do to make it through. Anyone with kids during a deployment understand this. I think the end of the deployment is the hardest, it seems like it will NEVER end. But remember, it will end and you will be soooooo glad it's over. Please text anytime. :) I don't care if all you want to do is wine, I know what you are going through.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we watched a LOT of Sprout during our deployment and I cannot stand Caillou! I'm sorry but a 4 year old with no hair who never gets in trouble, so unrealistic. Nothing wrong with a little TV to get them calmed down before bed. :)
YEA for Sam speaking in words and sentences!!!! That's awesome news!!!!
Keep your chin up! You're almost done and you will be so proud of yourself when you look back and realize you made it!! :)
My heart just let out a giant ache for you. I've been thinking about you all a lot lately... hoping all is going well. I can't imagine it being easy.. but I am always hoping it isn't too hard. You are so very strong Jenn! I hope you know that!! Anywhodude... now that I've sapped it up all over the place. I will hop off the soapbox and idk... wait for the next post I suppose. :D
ReplyDeleteBeen thinking about you a ton- wondering where you've been.. Praying for your sanity!
ReplyDeleteLoved this post! When does He get home?
Need your address.. Phone gonna die! Xoxox
Food off the floor is good for them, as is TV (although Calliou, really? I need to talk Sam out of this one. Try Daniel Tiger, he's simple and much less annoying. My personal favorite? The potty episode. The rest of the day you will be singing "Flush and wash and be on your way!" and will text me death threats. But hey, at lest he doesn't whine). Another month is down, you can do this!
ReplyDeleteAnd you could always re-post the bikini post you wrote for me- already done and so entertaining. Win-Win
Don't leave again, please??
ReplyDeleteParenting pretty much flies out the window during deployment. Shitty food, shitty tv.. It's such a pain. And so hard to recover from! I still haven't had a full day away from these little monsters, so sometimes it feels like we're still in the routine and I can't get a damn break!!! Deployment will be over before you know it. I hope.
BTW. I'm convinced that you cursed me. Since you told me about your guys pooping in the bath, I'm not sire if we've gone more than 3 days without it happening.
I'm still reading...I just don't have any other non-poop or cartoon related questions to come up with either. Right there with ya...except, ya know, it's worse for you since your man is still gone. Blah! Yesterday I went to a gym class for K and there was a girl there with children who were 12 months apart. They were both running all over creation. I thought to myself- at least A can't move around. You are a rockstar mama. Miss hearing (reading) from you.
ReplyDeleteThere you are!
ReplyDeleteOnly 30 minutes of TV? Really? Impressive! If it's time that their dad would be playing with them and giving you a break, it totally doesn't count ;) This winter (plus pregnancy and then the newborn) has made me super lazy and willing to let my kid watch more than that.
Um, so long as children and fed (and floor food is fair game) and somewhat clean and most importantly ALIVE, you're winning (to quote creeper Charlie Sheen). And the fact that you ran a 5K - all at one time - pretty much means you're the Queen of Deployment. You got this! Oh and I was at the gym picking up the girls from the Kids Klub! and started full on singing along, in front of other adult people, to the Nick JR song on the tv that was playing. I'm not sure if I should be more embarrassed that I know the Fresh Beat Band songs, or that I unabashedly sing along with them? You're doing a great job and you have so many people rooting for you!
ReplyDeleteYou don't blog for almost two months and yet you get 17 comments. LONG comments. THE PEOPLE LOVE YOU!!!!!! Doesn't that make you feel popular?!
ReplyDeleteYou could always write about the bomb threat at the commissary. If that doesn't want to make people come to Fort Campbell I don't know what will! (That's a joke by the way. You're going to the other side of the world just to escape.)
Hey Jenn! I'm a new follower to your blog - a few people pointed me to you because we just found out we'll be going to Korea too!
ReplyDeleteChantal @ Scattered Seashells
www.scatteredseashells.com
I've missed your updates!
ReplyDelete