So it's been a long week. Richard has been out of town on a business trip in Colorado and it's just me and the kids. This is the first time I've had all three by myself 24/7 and it's been a little exhausting. The one saving grace I have is that my little angels go to bed at 7:30 on the dot. Jameson has his bottle, I put him in his crib and he falls asleep on his own. I read the girls a story and then they hop into their beds and fall asleep. How did I get so lucky with this? I don't know. I would probably lose my mind if they were up until 9-10pm. There have been a lot of times that I wished Jameson would go to bed later so he would sleep later in the morning instead of waking up to be fed at 3am. But now that he seems to be all straightened out, I am happy for this earlier bed time and happy that I don't have to train him to go to bed earlier. He has been sleeping so well (I hate to jinx it!) and has gone until 6-7am without waking up since Richard has been gone. And even before that he was sleeping well too. Life is so much better when your kids are sleeping through the night and you're getting more consecutive hours of sleep!
Anyhow, Monday was my first evening alone and after I put the kids to bed I went on a cleaning rampage. I picked up all the toys, tossed some old and broken ones in the trash, vacuumed, swept the kitchen, mopped, put things in their places, did a load of laundry, cleaned the downstairs bathroom and in the end, I had a sparkling downstairs. Ever since then I have been meaning to tackle our bedroom and bathroom, but I haven't had the energy or the motivation.
Tuesday was a fun day; I was trying to keep my days somewhat full so they would pass quickly and we wouldn't just be sitting around the house all day, where I would go even crazier. Calli went to preschool and I had a friend come over with her daughter. After I picked Calli up from preschool we went to the gym, where I ran two miles in eighteen minutes, my fastest two mile run in awhile, and Calli did a kids' yoga class that she really enjoyed. That night was bath night for all and then I painted the girls' toe nails, which was fun!
Anyhow, Monday was my first evening alone and after I put the kids to bed I went on a cleaning rampage. I picked up all the toys, tossed some old and broken ones in the trash, vacuumed, swept the kitchen, mopped, put things in their places, did a load of laundry, cleaned the downstairs bathroom and in the end, I had a sparkling downstairs. Ever since then I have been meaning to tackle our bedroom and bathroom, but I haven't had the energy or the motivation.
Tuesday was a fun day; I was trying to keep my days somewhat full so they would pass quickly and we wouldn't just be sitting around the house all day, where I would go even crazier. Calli went to preschool and I had a friend come over with her daughter. After I picked Calli up from preschool we went to the gym, where I ran two miles in eighteen minutes, my fastest two mile run in awhile, and Calli did a kids' yoga class that she really enjoyed. That night was bath night for all and then I painted the girls' toe nails, which was fun!
The next day was just your typical MOM day. I probably had a bit too much going on, but it was one of those days where everything that can go wrong, does. First of all, it was raining and it has been raining nonstop for the last three days. This place needs the rain, but when it is constantly coming down with no end in sight, no sun peeking out, it can begin to wear on you. I remember these days very well during the Guam rainy season (I remember during the first year we were there it rained for three weeks almost nonstop!) and even the summer we had here two years ago where it rained almost every day. It gets old fast. So it was raining and of course I had scheduled the kids' pictures for this day at 10am. I got everyone dressed in their adorable outfits, hair done, etc. We got out the door and I was stressing how I would get from the car to the mall without the kids looking like drowned rats for their photos. Luckily since the mall opens at 10am I was able to get a very close spot since there weren't a lot of people there. I loaded the little ones in their double stroller with the shades over them and put Calli's rain coat on and we booked it inside.
The pictures went okay. Serena is getting better, but still not totally willing to smile for the camera (I look at the bright side: at least she's not crying!!). And Jameson, my little ham, wasn't feeling it that day for some reason and we could hardly get him to crack a smile! I now realize how easy I had it when I just had one child's photos to take; trying to get three kids all sitting still, looking at the camera and smiling is a pretty impossible task! Nonetheless there was one picture that turned out pretty cute and one is all I could really ask for. Of course I forgot all my Sears coupons for photos and had to pay almost full price, which really ticked me off. I was so mad at myself!
After the photos we went to pick up my glasses, stopped in another store and then went to the food court to eat lunch. The girls were content with their happy meals from McDonalds and Jameson was enjoying his pureed fruits. I gave him small pieces of chicken nugget too because he has been eating more solid foods lately. When we were ready to leave I picked him up to put him in his stroller and before I put him down I noticed something brown on my arm. I looked at the back of my son and there was poop all over his new, white shirt and khaki shorts. I stuck him back in the high chair, which also had poop on it and laid a blanket (thank goodness I had one!) on the stroller so he wouldn't get it all dirty. I then laid him down and started the trek across the food court to the bathroom. Serena decided this was the optimal time to get out of her stroller (she wasn't buckled) and I didn't notice she was sliding out and she got pretty mad at me as I was running her over. I felt the same way toward her and picked her up to put her back in the seat and she just had an absolute fit. Her arms flailed and she hit me in the face with her juice box as I strapped her down. So not only do I have baby poop all over my shirt, but I am drawing attention to myself now with the temper-tantrum-throwing-two-year-old. THANKS SERENA.
I get to the bathroom and realize that I don't have my wipes. I LEFT MY BABY WIPES IN SEARS. I had been wiping the kids faces before the photos and the last thing I remember was Serena playing with them. So I had to try my best to wet paper towels to clean up the mess. I threw the shirt, shorts and blanket in the trash and went to work cleaning up my lovely son. I didn't really have a change of clothes for him and had to make do with a pair of jeans and his zip up hoodie. So he was all taken care of, but I was in desperate need of a new shirt. I headed to Gap to see what I could find. I also wanted to get a new pair of jeans here so I decided to do both. I grabbed the things I wanted to try on, headed to the changing room and looked at Jameson. I saw these white things in his mouth and realized the little booger had never actually swallowed the chicken I had given him earlier!! I can't even understand this because he was never making any chewing motions after being at the table so he must have just had them sitting in there. All of a sudden before I know it, he is gagging and starts spitting up his entire fruit puree lunch all over himself and his stroller.
Let me tell you; I wanted to have a meltdown right there. I had no more clean clothes for him, I still didn't have any wipes and I had nothing to clean up the stroller, let alone for him to lay on so he wouldn't be sitting in the mess. Luckily the sales associate brought me some paper towels, which definitely helped, but it was a pretty hopeless situation. I ended up leaving the store just wearing the shirt I had bought and heading to The Children's Place for some clothes for Jameson. At this point he was just in a diaper and I briefly looked through Baby Gap, but decided against spending $25 on a shirt for him that I didn't even like.
Once I got him new clothes, I felt a little better and took the kids to play in the play area. Calli had been asking about it and I promised her we would go and I knew if we didn't she would have a meltdown, which was just about the last thing I could handle at that point. I ended up calling my friend and being able to vent to her about everything; thank goodness for good friends!
We came home and went to Calli's dance class, only the road that we normally take was closed because it floods if the city gets more than a half inch of rain (seriously!!!). So I had to go around and got stuck in the lovely freeway traffic, which only added to my frustrations. And then to top it all off, we went to the gym after dance class where I nearly died trying to run four miles. I finished it, but seriously, it was HARD. I usually feel this way on my Wednesday runs because it's my third day in a row of running and my body gets tired, but I had never felt this bad before. I just kept thinking that I would have two days rest and then my race coming up this weekend and I just had to make it. I finished in 41:50, which is probably pretty normal for me. I know I could have slowed down, but honestly if I go too slow it almost makes it worse because then I feel like I will never finish. I'd rather run faster and just get it done.
It was one of those days where you just want to go home and curl up with a strong drink. It was also one of those days that I wish I had my Mommy and Daddy around. I know I could have gone to their home after a day like that and my wonderful mother would have cooked us a nice dinner (as opposed to the kraft mac and cheese I whipped up for my kids!) and opened up a bottle of margarita mix while my dad entertained the kids for a bit. I know life isn't supposed to be easy and I know there are a lot of people out there who have it harder than me. Every time I want to complain I feel guilty. There is always someone worse off than me; I have three kids and there's always someone else with four or five or more. My husband is gone for a week while someone else's is gone for a year. I don't know how the military wives deal with those deployments and raising the kids alone for months or years at a time. So whenever I think about how bad of a situation I might be in, I feel guilty because someone else has it worse. And that's not really fair because I think I'm allowed to complain a *little* bit. Even though it's only for a few days, it's hard being a single mom to three kids! We've done it completely alone, being away for the last seven years. As I said, I know life isn't supposed to be EASY, but I'm ready for it to be a little easier sometimes.
So that's our recap for the week! It's been a little stressful and we are for sure looking forward to Richard getting home tomorrow! The kids and I have a playdate with a soccer friend and we're headed to a children's museum in the morning, which should be fun. Saturday I have my first race, which gives me butterflies in my stomach thinking about it! I picked up my packet today and I am number 592. The rain is supposed to be gone by tomorrow and Saturday morning is supposed to be beautiful. Here's hoping for NO WIND :).
Sweet, sweet girls! Serena is loving having her picture taken now most of the time (as long as I'm the one behind the camera, that is!)
The pictures went okay. Serena is getting better, but still not totally willing to smile for the camera (I look at the bright side: at least she's not crying!!). And Jameson, my little ham, wasn't feeling it that day for some reason and we could hardly get him to crack a smile! I now realize how easy I had it when I just had one child's photos to take; trying to get three kids all sitting still, looking at the camera and smiling is a pretty impossible task! Nonetheless there was one picture that turned out pretty cute and one is all I could really ask for. Of course I forgot all my Sears coupons for photos and had to pay almost full price, which really ticked me off. I was so mad at myself!
After the photos we went to pick up my glasses, stopped in another store and then went to the food court to eat lunch. The girls were content with their happy meals from McDonalds and Jameson was enjoying his pureed fruits. I gave him small pieces of chicken nugget too because he has been eating more solid foods lately. When we were ready to leave I picked him up to put him in his stroller and before I put him down I noticed something brown on my arm. I looked at the back of my son and there was poop all over his new, white shirt and khaki shorts. I stuck him back in the high chair, which also had poop on it and laid a blanket (thank goodness I had one!) on the stroller so he wouldn't get it all dirty. I then laid him down and started the trek across the food court to the bathroom. Serena decided this was the optimal time to get out of her stroller (she wasn't buckled) and I didn't notice she was sliding out and she got pretty mad at me as I was running her over. I felt the same way toward her and picked her up to put her back in the seat and she just had an absolute fit. Her arms flailed and she hit me in the face with her juice box as I strapped her down. So not only do I have baby poop all over my shirt, but I am drawing attention to myself now with the temper-tantrum-throwing-two-year-old. THANKS SERENA.
I get to the bathroom and realize that I don't have my wipes. I LEFT MY BABY WIPES IN SEARS. I had been wiping the kids faces before the photos and the last thing I remember was Serena playing with them. So I had to try my best to wet paper towels to clean up the mess. I threw the shirt, shorts and blanket in the trash and went to work cleaning up my lovely son. I didn't really have a change of clothes for him and had to make do with a pair of jeans and his zip up hoodie. So he was all taken care of, but I was in desperate need of a new shirt. I headed to Gap to see what I could find. I also wanted to get a new pair of jeans here so I decided to do both. I grabbed the things I wanted to try on, headed to the changing room and looked at Jameson. I saw these white things in his mouth and realized the little booger had never actually swallowed the chicken I had given him earlier!! I can't even understand this because he was never making any chewing motions after being at the table so he must have just had them sitting in there. All of a sudden before I know it, he is gagging and starts spitting up his entire fruit puree lunch all over himself and his stroller.
Let me tell you; I wanted to have a meltdown right there. I had no more clean clothes for him, I still didn't have any wipes and I had nothing to clean up the stroller, let alone for him to lay on so he wouldn't be sitting in the mess. Luckily the sales associate brought me some paper towels, which definitely helped, but it was a pretty hopeless situation. I ended up leaving the store just wearing the shirt I had bought and heading to The Children's Place for some clothes for Jameson. At this point he was just in a diaper and I briefly looked through Baby Gap, but decided against spending $25 on a shirt for him that I didn't even like.
Once I got him new clothes, I felt a little better and took the kids to play in the play area. Calli had been asking about it and I promised her we would go and I knew if we didn't she would have a meltdown, which was just about the last thing I could handle at that point. I ended up calling my friend and being able to vent to her about everything; thank goodness for good friends!
We came home and went to Calli's dance class, only the road that we normally take was closed because it floods if the city gets more than a half inch of rain (seriously!!!). So I had to go around and got stuck in the lovely freeway traffic, which only added to my frustrations. And then to top it all off, we went to the gym after dance class where I nearly died trying to run four miles. I finished it, but seriously, it was HARD. I usually feel this way on my Wednesday runs because it's my third day in a row of running and my body gets tired, but I had never felt this bad before. I just kept thinking that I would have two days rest and then my race coming up this weekend and I just had to make it. I finished in 41:50, which is probably pretty normal for me. I know I could have slowed down, but honestly if I go too slow it almost makes it worse because then I feel like I will never finish. I'd rather run faster and just get it done.
It was one of those days where you just want to go home and curl up with a strong drink. It was also one of those days that I wish I had my Mommy and Daddy around. I know I could have gone to their home after a day like that and my wonderful mother would have cooked us a nice dinner (as opposed to the kraft mac and cheese I whipped up for my kids!) and opened up a bottle of margarita mix while my dad entertained the kids for a bit. I know life isn't supposed to be easy and I know there are a lot of people out there who have it harder than me. Every time I want to complain I feel guilty. There is always someone worse off than me; I have three kids and there's always someone else with four or five or more. My husband is gone for a week while someone else's is gone for a year. I don't know how the military wives deal with those deployments and raising the kids alone for months or years at a time. So whenever I think about how bad of a situation I might be in, I feel guilty because someone else has it worse. And that's not really fair because I think I'm allowed to complain a *little* bit. Even though it's only for a few days, it's hard being a single mom to three kids! We've done it completely alone, being away for the last seven years. As I said, I know life isn't supposed to be EASY, but I'm ready for it to be a little easier sometimes.
So that's our recap for the week! It's been a little stressful and we are for sure looking forward to Richard getting home tomorrow! The kids and I have a playdate with a soccer friend and we're headed to a children's museum in the morning, which should be fun. Saturday I have my first race, which gives me butterflies in my stomach thinking about it! I picked up my packet today and I am number 592. The rain is supposed to be gone by tomorrow and Saturday morning is supposed to be beautiful. Here's hoping for NO WIND :).
Sweet, sweet girls! Serena is loving having her picture taken now most of the time (as long as I'm the one behind the camera, that is!)
I love the way Calli is holding onto her baby sister
Kisses for sisters! Don't you love Serena's kissy face?
Serena and Mommy!
Me and my babies!
What is she wearing?? I wasn't quite sure so I knew I had to take a picture of it!
Serena having her toe nails painted. She did so well!
Both the girls' feet, toe nails painted! (I had a photo of just Calli, but it didn't upload for some reason and I can't go back)
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