Let the record show...

.... that I take Steve for granted far too often!! He has been gone for a work trip for a whopping TWO DAYS and here we are at the end of day 2 (although to be fair, today did last for 36 agonizing hours) and I am completely worn out. I don't give the man enough credit for coming behind me and tying all my loose ends. And it really is amazing at how quickly I have gotten used to having him around all the time. August 3rd Jenn would be knocked on her ASS if a deployment came a-callin'!

Oh, good morning! I thought I'd get you up early today so you would have time to clear all the crap off the top of the dresser. Honest update: it's all still there and I DON'T CARE.

Sending a group selfie to Daddy

The hell is everyone crowding around my office for?

As much as they drive me up the wall sometimes, they provide approximately 94% of Will's daily entertainment so I will pretty much be lost when they start school. What does one do with a baby?

I can't even remember what we did the first day he was gone. Laundry, I think. Oh and a Target run because we were dangerously low on wipes. Never a good situation to be in in this house.

We ended up going to the playground at Ft Totten in the afternoon (because Will thinks naps are for BABY babies and not him) and Sam and Molly instantly made some friends. These friends (a brother and sister) spoke Spanish as well as English and would often speak to each other in Spanish only. Molly, always eloquent, asked, "WHY YOU TALKIN' WIKE DAT?" (all caps because she truly has no volume control and almost everything comes out at a yell) The girl explained that she speaks Spanish, to which Molly replied, "UM, I GO TO PWEESKOOH AND MY GWAMMA TEACHED ME SPANISH SO I KNOW SPANISH TOO."
Spanish girl- "Hola! Como esta?"
Molly- blank stare
Spanish girl- "Hola! Como esta?"
Molly- "UNO, DOS TWESS, SEEYETAY, COTTWOH, DEEYES."
Spanish girl- blank stare

And that was that.

Sam found another little friend (and by little I do mean the Jolly Green Giant's offspring) and they started playing chase. The other boy was a bit faster than Sam (which Sam is not at all used to because HE IS THE FASTEST) so Sam was running behind him screaming, "OH MY GOSH DO YOU EAT BROCCOLI????" The boy runs while giving a weird look to Sam. "PEAS? DO YOU EAT PEAS???" And on and on down the list of veggies Sam won't eat that we tell him will make him fast. Finally the boy told Sam that he actually eats a lot of pizza. Which is the last thing I need anyone telling my children because who doesn't love pizza? I told Sam that surely that boy was telling him some sort of a lie and we'd better get going......

We are going to visit Steve's parents in PA and everyone is just a little bit anxious to get going.

Nothing but the essentials, of course.

I put everyone to bed early last night because EXHAUSTION, but then of course I was basking in my alone time and had a hard time going to bed with Steve not being home. So just as I turn the lamp off at 11pm, Will starts whining and screaming and crying and that, my friends, was the beginning of the end. He slept until 4:30 and after that, it was go time.

Sam got up and asked why I didn't just sleep in a little longer? You look so tired. Gee, thanks, I know, I get that a lot. It might be because I only got to sleep for five hours while having THE most bizarro dreams ever. Will was so kind as to take a 30 minute nap while I frantically rushed about making breakfast, swapping laundry, eating breakfast, cleaning up breakfast, making lunches, getting dressed, stuffing diapers, and tidying up the house. After he woke, we loaded up and headed to the pediatrician's office.

Molly is behind on vaccines (because I trusted NO ONE at the Camp Casey clinic) and Will was scheduled for his 7 month well check. Molly was oblivious that she was part of the visit. Sam made sure to interrupt the doctor to ask if his sister was getting any shots. Super helpful. Will checked out fine- finally broke into 20lb territory! (20lb 2oz) Growing nicely and almost perfect in every way (sorry Will- you'd be 100% perfect if you'd just SLEEP). He got two shots and Sam started bawling as the doctor was getting them ready. He is such a tenderhearted big brother! Did not want to see Will get hurt. Will of course, did not even flinch. He looked mildly displeased that someone squished something into his thigh, but did not even cry.

And by then, we had to break it to Molly that she was getting some shots too. Cue hysteria. Molly rarely gets too upset, but man oh man she freaked out. I picked her up and set her on the table and reminded her how brave Will had been. She calmed down and the doctor told her to give a little cough, and idk what that trick is, but it worked. No tears, no screaming, nothing. She watched the doc give her two shots and that was that. Thank goodness I had that 30 minute nap to prepare a picnic lunch for us because after we got out of that office, we made a beeline for the local park and had a nice picnic in the shade!

Goof troop out in full force today

We had a nice lunch and played on the playground until some kid almost poked Sam's eye out with a stick. I tend to take those instances as our cue to leave, so we did. Will was nodding off in the Ergo. Cue my panic. I instructed Sam and Molly to keep him awake until we got home. Womp womp.

The 20 minute car nap was all he was giving me for the afternoon. I don't understand it. And I desperately needed a full-length nap from him today. But there is no forcing these things, especially when you've got your windows open and live within talking distance of 30 other people. So I tried to get things done around the house- as much as I could with a baby that never wants to be further than three inches away from my hip. I probably recorded a solid four hours of video of him today- mostly me pleading with him to say "mama" while I had my phone out. I've heard him say it plenty of times now, but never when I'm recording him of course, which obviously makes me a liar.

Around 3:30, I walked out of the kitchen to see Molly laid out on the couch with her eyes disappearing into the back of her head and shouted at her to GET UP NOW NO NAPS WHATSOEVER. Then I yelled for Sam because he was nowhere to be found. He responded that he was in his room, fixin to take a nap. So I yelled for him to come down too because NO NAPS. I need everyone to be thoroughly exhausted come 7pm so I can toss every last one of you in bed. I can't let anyone nap and have some sort of reset. No way in hell. I had Molly sort shoes from the shoe basket- it's getting a little overfilled and some of the shoes have been outgrown. She loves matching and sorting and lining things up so she was absolutely thrilled to be in charge of that. I found a lot of tupperware and set Sam up at the sink to wash it all. He's been begging to help me wash dishes at the sink for a while now, and good golly, I wanted to make his little dreams come true.

He's such a sweetheart. I am already dreading the start of school.

Also purchased a DustBuster the other day to encourage the mess-makers to help clean up after themselves a bit more. We don't have a broom, I don't want a broom, and while I vacuum the floors regularly, we needed something that could be brought out quickly after each meal. Because my children are that messy when they eat. I can't have them undo train tracks every few hours so I can lug the vacuum out and clean all the floors (because if I lug it out, I'm cleaning everything). And this has worked nicely so far.

Will tried melting down at 5pm because re: 20 minute nap at 12:30, so he took an extra long bath. He was nice and happy after his bath so I played with him for a bit on my bed. Molly wandered in with a slice of cheese. I told her to please stop grabbing food out of the fridge, the kitchen is CLOSED. Many moons later, I finally got Will to bed and went downstairs to begin the damage control that Steve normally spearheads for me, only to find the fridge door FLAPPING IN THE BREEZE. I shut the door and clean the kitchen and pick up the clothes that have randomly been flung across the house throughout the day. After I get the big kids bathed, teeth brushed, prayers said, and tucked in, I go downstairs to lock up the house and start the laundry and dishwasher. Only I find that the door to our house was locked but never shut. Are you seeing how badly we need Steve around here? I am waving the white flag! Come home! We miss you and appreciate you and never want you to leave us again amen.