Like coming home

There is something about a place that just feels welcoming and inviting that makes you feel like you're home. For me, at this point, it is my in-laws house. Just coming into town, seeing the familiar shops and streets and finally their home makes me feel safe, comfortable and welcome in a way that nowhere else seems to do right now.

Needless to say, it was nice to get "home" last night. H remembered where every toy was hidden and every fun thing to do was stashed, and he too immediately made himself at home, breaking out most of the toys as well as the playdoh and paints (within a very short period of time). K took a few more minutes to get into the mix, but trust me when I say she remembers this place on some level as well, even though she was barely past one year when we visited last and is coming up on two before I can blink.

We're heading to the beaches of New Hampshire today, and I am really looking forward to the possibility of a little R&R in the midst of this exhausting journey. With sixty-some days to go 'til my due date, the long days of driving and running around are starting to catch up with me, I fear. Of course I hate to admit exhaustion, but the slowness of my body and quickness of my temper are both testaments to my quickly fading energy each day.

Both kiddos have been clamouring to get home lately ("Mom, I wanna go home," when asked what they want to do that day, although H sometimes alternates that with, "go to the zoo and see animals") and I can't say that I really blame them. We will spend the next few nights at the beach with family as we have done each year since they have been born, including when H was only a month old. Following that, we'll spend a few days here at the in-laws, then travel home to Mississippi.

I really hope that a few days at home will give us a chance to settle in and get back to normal, or as normal as we can without daddy around. (Of course, said routine will last only as long as baby-to-be stays put, then we have to find a new normal. Ah, the joys of military wife-hood.

On the road again

Okay - here I am up bright and early, coffee brewing, already showered and dressed, car is (nearly) loaded and after I figure out what I want to eat before we leave, I think we're hitting the road. I am slightly more apprehensive about this leg of our journey, but I also know that both of the kids are ready to get home, as am I.

Yesterday, H got upset about something or nothing, and went into the bedroom and started crying, which is completly unlike him. He didn't have tears, but was visibly upset and just looked like someone had killed his (non-existent) puppy. I went in and hugged him and asked what was up and he looked at me with an expression that will haunt me and said, "I just miss my daddy." Of course I couldn't help but cry and tell him that I miss him too. We talked for a few minutes and cuddled and tried to figure out what we'd like to do while waiting for daddy to come home or until he called again and we could talk to him. H swears that when F calls again, he wants to tell him how much he misses his daddy, but since he has been reluctant to even say hello lately, we'll see if that happens.

With the self-imposed stress of packing for the trip and things that will take place over the next few weeks, I'll admit to being tired and a little off my game, but this incidet with H threw me. He seemed to have recovered (have I?) and moved on and had a blast watching fireworks last night. We went to the school across the street and played on the playground until Mommy got a little nervous about K's lack of balance at night and being 5' off the ground, and we moved to a smaller/lower play area and the kids went on the swings and watched for a while. I don't think we saw many from the Fort, but there were plenty of private shows that were enormous and unbelievably expensive, I'm sure, and they just seemed to keep going, and lasted long enough to wear us all out (mostly).

And so I rise, bright and early, get showered and dressed and ready for the day. Maps are packed, toys and clothes all stashed into the van, and all that is missing is a bit of last minute laundry and the monkeys. Wish us luck and pray for us over the next week of driving adventures! We should be at the family reunion for Thursday, and my cell is always on (signal, well, I can't guarantee that I'll have that).

Been a few days

We're all moving on in the next few days. F is heading to Papua, New Guinea and the kids and I are off on another road trip here in a few days. We're in the process of packing up the toys and clothes and miscellaneous equipment required to travel with small children, and having a tough time dealing with cherished items being packed up for the next few days.

I think each of them will get a box of "stuff" that they are allowed to destroy and re-pack for the next few days, and they can each chose which treasures will go into those boxes. Beyond that, its all getting stuffed into the car again for another adventure.

Although its inevitable, we seem to have a great deal more "stuff" than we did when we arrived, to the point that I am seriously considering boxing some of it up and sending it along home. My only fear there is that the temporary forward I put on the mail will end up returning it all here, as the USPS does its highly efficient job of reading simple requests (no offense Auntie A!)

As for the purpose of this whole journey, the new Mr. and Mrs. S are on their mini-moon to Bonneville Hot Springs, to be followed by the official honeymoon in December to the warmer climes of Mexico. The bride was beautiful and I only hope that the flower girl didn't steal the show. I apologized in advance for the photographers taking as many photos of K as they did the bride and groom (or so it seemed). Not really my fault that the photographer fell in love with her cute little face! She was quite the ham, and I swear half of the table cameras probably have K playing with bubbles too.

The ceremony itself was beautiful, and it was tough for many not to cry - even the minister/stepfather of the groom. A's dad couldn't get the "her mother and I do" out when asked who gave her away. The new bride and groom did wonderfully, and the guests will never know that the silly Maid of Honor who offered to take care of holding on to the Bride's vows until the ceremony walked out to the staging area without them and had to do a mad dash (29 weeks pregnant in high-heeled flip flops) back to the Bride's prep room to retrieve them just in time to walk out with the Best Man. Okay, so not my finest hour, but we got them in time and didn't miss a step!

Following the wedding, the kids got to play with their cousins (H says they are his new best friends, not his cousins). We even managed to make the trek to the top of Multnomah Falls, which is not a bad hike unless you attempt it with 4 children aged 6, 3 1/2, 3 and nearly 2 years old! Dedicated hikers, they are not! K stayed in her carrier for the most part - on the front on the way up (where she fell asleep) and on my back on the trip down, during which she pulled my hair and sang to me. The boys all did really well, but wow, that was a long one mile in each direction!

H is very sad that his new best friends are gone, and I think all of us are ready to get moving on the next portion of our adventure. We had intended to wait for Monday to leave, but now I think we're heading out Saturday sometime. Family reunion, here we come!

Cold & flu in Spring?

So, K and I have head colds to beat the band and now poor H is starting to get a runny nose. I was wondering how long it would take before all of our travels and the weather changes and the new germs acquired along the way caught up.

But, we're going to try to tough it out and we're heading out on the rails today for H's birthday celebration continuation. Th Chelatchie Prairie Railroad will take us to a waterfall where we can walk around and splash in the water and such. When we return, hopefully H will nap for a few so we can get his balloons inflated so that when he wakes from his nap he gets the full on Buzz party he is hoping for. And hopefully the fresh air will do us all some good and get this cold out of our systems!

40 days, 40 nights

No, its not Lent, and no I haven't misread the calendar; rather Frank has now been gone for 40 days and tonight will be the 40th night. It is also H's third birthday, although, if you ask him, he's still just turned twelve. Today was a fun filled day, that started with H's final swimming lesson of the session. He got a certificate (award) stating that he was a Pre A swimmer, and a list of skills he can do.

After swimming, he asked for pancakes (there is a big surprise) and strawberries, so we went out to breakfast for the Birthday Boy's requested breakfast. We squeaked in to Grandma's house just in time to get ready for our big afternoon trip. We packed some sandwiches and snacks and piled back into the van with Grandma for a trip to the ZOO!!!!! We got to check out most of the animals (elephants, giraffes, zebras, eagles and bears were among the favorites) then hit the Zoo Train that takes you to Washington Park and the playground there. Daddy called as we were boarding the train and H told him about the animals and the train, and probably talked to him more than he has at any one time than since he left. After half an hour or so at the playground, we headed back to the zoo to see a few more animals, including penguins and sea lions.

Then, we went to the gift shop, and H got a new Dinosaur (T-Rex) that "eats" things by picking them up with his mouth at the end of a stick. K got a White Siberian Tiger kitty and both kiddos fell asleep on the way home.

To top the day off, I am under the distinct impression that the turkey baster on this baby is about to say that he or she is done baking. While my belly button never "popped" with H or K, I am feeling like that might happen with this kiddo, which just reinforces the notion that each pregnancy and each child is different. Also, a head cold that K and I have been experiencing is knocking us both out and making us feel crankier than normal. I've been super-dosing the kids with Vitamin C and I think they are feeling that as well. I hope it helps this pass quickly for K and skip over H altogether.

In any case, 40 days are down, and although I don't have a countdown yet for when he'll return, I think we've all gotten into a routine that will allow the next few months to pass quickly. On his end, he has stayed up late and gotten up early to call us so that he can hear those jealously guarded and softly whispered "I lulv you, dadda's" and "I misshyou" on those days that the kids will talk on the phone often preceded by many "no, I don't wanna talk's" or "my turn talk" followed by silence while holding the phone.

On our end, we've kept busy with swimming school and playgrounds or playlands, and trips to various local attractions and points of interest to the average 2-3 year old (or at least to our extraordinary 2-3 year old). Soon, the wedding celebrations will begin and end and then we move on to our next road trip and adventures.

Of Birthdays and (heaving sigh)

So, H's big third birthday is next week, and all he talks about is his "Buzz Birthday" and how he's going to have a Buzz cake and Buzz balloons and Buzz, buzzz, buzzzzz like a bee. Unfortunately, Buzz is just not the "in" thing right now and it has been next to impossible to fulfill every one of his requests, but we're working on it. By the way, if you ask him how old he's going to be on his birthday, he says twelve every time. I ask him if he means three and he says, "no, twelve."

I've found a design for the cake that I think I can work with, and will make it myself. He wants strawberry, and I found a pretty neat site with some tasty looking recipes for strawberry cake (among other things), so hopefully that will work well for us. I think I have cake covered. Buzz cake-check. Balloons, however, uh.... yeah I can only find those online and I'm not exactly sure how you get a mylar balloon filled if you order it online? The only place locally that I haven't tried is florists, which I just thought of, so perhaps today I'll be calling around to local florists to see who might have a Buzz Lightyear balloon.

Aside from pre-occupation with birthdays, we've been trying to keep busy in the rainy, freezing weather. Perhaps I became too acclimated to the south too fast, but now its downright freezing here. Seriously - its snowing on Mount Hood and they are still skiing (pesky pregnancy keeps me from enjoying some northwest spring skiing - boo hoo!).

Speaking of baby-to-be, things are going pretty well. 99 days until baby's due date - woo hoo for double digits! Blood sugars are pretty solid and baby has generally only been jumping and active when everyone else is, which is a blessing at this point. I miss solid, undisturbed sleep more than anything else from my pre-child days, but they will only be little for so long, I know.

K has been having nightmares lately, complaining of H taking her toys (meanwhile he is snoring beside us) and last night it was "Momma, wait for me" as if I leave her behind on a regular basis or something. I wonder if there is a dream analysis lab for the dreams of a 22 month old? Of course, I would generally love to know what she is doing/thinking when she is awake too, as she takes a crayon and draws on the bottom of her bare food while I type.

Going swimmingly

Things here are going rather well, with a few minor exceptions; the kids have decided that they shouldn't really attempt to sleep until at least 10:30 or 11:00 at night AND H has decided that he no longer requires naps. Put this together with swimming lessons that begin at 9 a.m. and it all makes for one sleepy Mommy. That said, we did make it on time both days this week (so far) and after each day's lesson, we've gone and spent some fun time with the kids.

Yesterday, we went to a local park downtown and the kids played on the playground and made friends with others their ages, followed by a trip to Jantzen Beach Center (or whatever is called these days) for a ride on the carousel. We also got to see the Budweiser Clydesdales, who are in the parking lot on display. They have them in little stalls (well, the stalls are very little for such big animals) and their names are listed above each one, so H had a good time trying to learn and remember each name.

Today, we made a trip across the river to the Children's Museum that is up by the Zoo. Since we have a pass to our local museum, it was a free entry, and therefore, we only had to pay gas to get there and back, which was handy. It is right next to the Zoo, and I think we'll definitely have to make another trip that way on a nicer day to hit the Zoo and go on the Zoo Train. In the meantime, there is a pretty neat water works exhibit that the kids really enjoyed, and K LOVED the music room, while H was really upset being asked to leave the Dinosaurs and the digger room (fake rocks and stones with all kinds of shovels and trucks and conveyor belts.

Two more days of swimming lessons this week - hopefully Mommy makes it through!