Ho, ho, ho

I just wanted to say to everyone, have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! We love you all and hope you are doing well.

On a happier note

I know after last night's post it might seem like nothing good has happened lately, but that is not true. Sarah has been exploding in the development stage. Just this weekend, she started pulling herself to her feet against the furniture. She can flip herself out of her Bumbo, she can go from a stink bug position straight to her booty, and according to Whitney, she said "Dada". It was more of a "thatha", but Whitney wanted to count it. I wasn't going to shatter his illusions. Jacob and Jared love Sarah so much. They love having her in their room to play and have a bad babit of waking her up when she is sleeping. They are good boys(for the most part) and they are good big brothers.

The kids playing in the leaves in the front yard.

Sarah joining the boys.

My cute kids.

My strong boys. We took family pics too, but I didn't like any of them enough to use. We are taking more this weekend.

ALways a first time

So I realized that I was feeling pretty smug about how I have been handling Whitney in the academy. I thought, oh this is not as hard as everyone says. So he's gone all week. At least I get to see him on the weekends.
I was already used to having him gone at night from the night shifts he worked. But it was not seeing him at all that was hard, and I was handling it pretty well. And then came Friday. I swear, everything the kids did that day just drove me nuts. But 3:30 I am watching the clock because I know in an hour and a half he will be starting his leave and on his way home. Then what do I do while he is home? I spend the next 12 hours criticising everything he does as pertains to the kids. What is my problem? I couldn't wait for him to be home, then I'm stressing because are making me insane, and then I get upset and frustrated at everything he does. No wonder he was pissed at me Saturday morning. We worked it out and are fine, but I felt like such a shrew. I have decided it will be good for me to get away for a few weeks. I think I need the break. I could tell he really didn't want to go back tonight, and as he got in the car with Jimbo, I started crying, but I didn't let him see. I didn't want him to feel bad. He already felt that our Christmas will be a lot less than we planned because his check was a lot smaller than we thought (hoped) it would be, but there's nothing to do. We will have Charlie Brown and always remember it. It will give us a chance to really focus on the Savior. And that is so easier said than done, gosh dangit.
Wow, talk about emotions. I just feel like I am getting worse every week. I feel more stressed and tense with each passing day. I pray and ask the Lord to help me but I still feel tense and stressed all the time. What am I doing wrong? Why can't I be strong like everyone thinks I can? Why can't I stop snapping at my kids and feeling like a horrible mom? Why can't I just be better? How am I going to make it another 23 weeks?
Okay, I am going to go to bed before I soak the keyboard. thank you all for your love and support.

Week 1

Wow, has it really been a month? I am BAD!! Well, three important things have happened. One, Sarah has two teeth. TWO!! She is 5 months old! But she has only bitten me twice whie nursing and I'm sure she is very sorry. She is such a sweet baby. And so dang happy!! Except, of course, when she's not. Two, Whitney started the ACADEMY!!! I am happy and frustrated at the same time. He just started week 2 today. Week 1 went well. He said it was better than he thought it would be. But when you're expecting hell week, I guess anything is better than that. However we have heard that it's actually going to get worse, if you can believe it. He's tough; he'll do well. I thought it would probably be easier if he had done this while still single and I told him so. He said he would have no motivation. I asked him what he meant. He said that when he was on the floor, thinking he couldn't do one more push up or one more crunch, he would think of the kids and I and remember he is doing this for us. I have no doubt that he could do this on his own, but it is nice to know that he needs me just as much as I need him. Sometimes I feel like this need is more one-sided. I prayed last night that nothing would happen to him. I know that the Lord knows best and we will do his will, and I pray that whatever happens I can accept it with all my heart, but I pray for him, everyday. I know there is not much risk while he is in the academy, but once he is on the road, anything can happen and I pray every day that the Lord will protect. I never want that phone call or have to sit through a funeral where they give me a flag.

Sorry about that. I guess it's on my mind, just a little bit.

Okay, third thing that happened is that between Friday night when Whitney got home and Sunday evening when he left, Sarah is now crawling all over the house. She can barely sit up!!

She goes eveywhere now. NO place is safe. However the boys have been wonderful. They have wanted her in their room while they play. They never hit her or push her away. Sometimes in their enthusiasm there might be cause for concern but I know they would never do anything to hurt her. They love her so much. I love seeing it.

This picture Jacob took. He's taken some good ones. As to last week, Sarah got thrush and is now feeling better. Jared threw up Friday night, twice before Whit got home and 3 or 4 times after. And so far this week (it's only Monday, mind you) Jacob is now throwing up. Oh, the glamorous life we mothers lead. I love my children and my husband and I know all of you are supportive and reliable shoulders should we need them. Thank you. If I don't post before Thanksgiving, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

One more

Since most of you live in California, you are well aware of the Prop 8 issue. I guess you could say I had my first encounter with the opposite opinion today. We have a sign in our yard to vote yes on 8. well today I am sitting on the couch when I hear noise outside. I usually have the window open slightly on days like this. So I look out the window and see some kid throw a mangled sign in front of the window. I hop up and get out of the house as fast as I can so I can blister him verbally. I went out and gave him a piece of my mind. I keep waiting to see if he and his friends will pass by and take down the two new signs I put up. Since we have plenty in our garage, for every one that's taken down, we will put one up.
I don't understand. They say they are just after equal rights. And yet people will infringe on my rights to express my opinion. It's called the first amendment. In being faced with this issue I have realized that if Prop 8 is defeated, it will do much damage. In changing the meaning of marriage, our school systems will teach that about same sex marriage. In Mass, parents had no right to object to their children being taught that. They also had no right to know when the schools would be teaching it. They were teaching it to 2nd graders!! If Prop 8 is defeated, churches who don't accept same sex couples will lose their tax exemptions. Priests or bishops who refuse to marry same sex couples could be sued. I have nothing against same sex couples. However, I don't think it is right for them to define marriage for the rest of us. Anyone have any questions on what else would happen, visit http://www.protectmarriage.com/. I usually don't pay attention to politics or really the issues that we are voting on, but I won't ignore this. Neither of the presidential candidates support same sex marriage. I worry for my children who will be starting school in a couple of years. It is not the job of the school system to tell my children about marriage. It is my right and duty as a parent. As domestic partners, same sex couples have all the rights that a married couple does. Look up the facts and find the truth before Noevember, I urge you. This is an important issue. Those judges in SF shouldn't have turned over a decision that Californians already voted on. Help us protect the sanctity of marriage. This is not a civil rights issue, its a moral issue.

Worst week

Ok, so that new show on CBS has nothing on me. What do you do when your kids get up in the morning, like they normally do, watch Disney, like they normally do, and then eat all the crackers, pretzels, and today it was cookies. Actually, after I sent them to their room and called Whitney to complain, I found probably ten on the couch. So it looks like they only ate half the bag, thank goodness. They have been bouncing off the walls this week as it is. I don't mind letting them have sugar, but they never more than a couple of cookies in a day, or a small bowl of ice cream. The only time they get spoiled with more is if we're at familys' house. I guess I'll just have to to take them to the park again today. Any suggestions on how to keep the kids from eating all the food before I even get out of bed? I know I could get up earlier, but I really don't like that idea. They get up about 7am and I usually get up about 8. IS that so bad? Advise would be helpful.

The yard is still under construction, but should be done by Tuesday or Wednesday. The last and final step will be to get us a lawn mower so we don't have to hawl over Dad's stuff every other week in the van. But they have an extra one that just needs to be fixed so I'll prod Whitney to get that done before the end of next week. I am so excited for the yard!! Well, I guess that's the list of complaints for today. I know I don't just get on here and complain but today it feels like that is all I do. Thanks for listening!!

This is blog worthy

Ok, so I must amend my last entry. It wasn't really Medic's fault. Whitney takes responsibility, of course. But it still sucked. Then he called me before he left for work and wanted to know what I thought about him picking up a 24....right. Anyway, by the time he called dispatch to tell them he would take the shift, they found someone else. So I got to have him home on Tuesday, which was nice. What is not so nice, is that he will practically get no sleep this week. He worked last night and today Rick stopped by to look at the progress Whit's been making on the backyard. Then he had to go to Fairfield to a meeting about one of his calls he had back in May. Then he had to have his snuggle time and fell asleep on the couch for a couple of hours. Tonight he works and tomorrow he's supposed to get Dad from the airport, and will probably want to work on the yard. Then he picked up a shift for Saturday 7a to 7p. So he will finally get a solid eight Saturday night. Poor guy. Pray that he gets some sleep at work between now and then.
Now, moving on. Today we had a little adventure. I realized the best blog material is the stuff that happens everyday with the boy. So, today I decided to plant some flowers in the front and the boys were helping. Jacob came over and asked if I could get the blue ball out of his nose. What? I remembered seeing him play with a little pellet-sized blue plastic ball. I looked in his nose but I couldn't see anything. I grabbed my phone and wanted to call Whitney but he was in a meeting. Figures. So I called the doctor's office and was on hold when I saw the boys playing in the neighbor's driveway. I went over and Jacob was trying to get a little blue pellet from between the cracks. He said he "smelled the ball out of my nose". I asked if the one on the ground was the one that had been in his nose and he said yes. When Whitney got home we got on film Jacob telling Whit what happened. the nurse I had talked to gave me pointers in case he decides to shove anything else up his nose. So now we know. We had a little talk with Jacob about putting things in his nose. Like I said, an adventure.