Sleep Fairy, Where Are You?!

Caution: this post contains talk of bodily functions of a two-year old.  Consider yourself warned.

I think every deployment should come with a sleeping fairy.  It never fails that I can never sleep, despite how tired I am, once the kids go to sleep.  Tonight is no exception.

I was doing so well, I got The Boy in the bath early, Sissy and I even joined him.  Then, as he was brushing his teeth he found it funny to put the brush waaay back on his tongue.  Bad idea.  He throws up at the drop of a hat on a regular basis and it didn't take much to get him started.  He was more worried about his towel being dirty than anything else.  Once he was cleaned up (again) he was good to go.  He sat on the couch with his "bottle" (it's really just milk in a cup, but that's what he still calls it) and Sissy was playing with hers when he started burping.  He thought that was soo funny till he threw up all his milk.  And then, for good measure, threw up the rest of his food as Grandma and I carried him into the bathroom.  My poor boy. 

After another clean-up and tooth brushing he was back to normal and no wanting to sleep.  And then Sissy didn't want to sleep.  So we found ourselves in my bed watching TV and tickling each other.  It's such a warming feeling to see the baby laughing and cooing at her big brother.  And the smile on his face when he's playing with her melts my heart.  As much as I really need sleep and enjoy the quiet after the storm it's hard for me to pass up moments like these.  These are the moments, sans puke, that make being a mother totally worth every sacrifice of down time and sleep.  My only wish is that The Hubby could be here to savor the moment with me.  I am one day closer and nothing stops time from ticking.

It's Tough Being a "Single" Parent

I'm sure any fellow milspouse who has ever moved in with family while their husband is deployed can relate the the stress I sometimes find myself in.  Don't get me wrong, my parents are wonderful.  They watch the kids for me anytime I ask so that I can go to work, run errands, or see friends.  They help me pay for our essentials like food, diapers, etc. I am very fortunate that I have such a wonderful support system.

Despite all the bells and whistles that come with moving back in with my parents come the negatives.  For instance, my Dad does not understand or accept, depending on how you look at it, that he can't be the grandparent all the time when his grandchildren live with him.  There has to be a line.  I am forever telling The Boy he can't do or have something because with the grandparents he always can.  Now Mom is a little better at this than Dad, so I'll give her some credit there.

Tonight I just become overwhelmed by it all.  My dad gets so mad when I put The Boy in time-out for telling me "No" or refusing to eat his dinner because one of them mentions the word 'ice cream' as a snack for later.  I am the only parent, despite all the assistance, I am the one who has to be the enforcer -- all the time.  It stinks.  Dad told me today he didn't understand why I wouldn't give him a cookie when he asked.  I told him, in probably not the best way, that he didn't need a cookie, he hadn't eaten anything to speak of besides popcorn and whatever snacks he found while I was at work.  He had slept through lunch and it was apparent that we weren't fixing dinner due to our late lunch.  He just didn't need a cookie and I said "No."  Needless to say that conversation didn't end well, but I am his mother for cryin' out loud.  End vent.

Luis tells me all the time that I am too hard on them and they are trying to help, blah, blah, blah.  I just keep telling myself I'm not the only one who has been down this road, and this too shall pass.


On a random side note: Luis started a blog as well.  He did pretty good for his first one so please take a moment and check him out at A Soldier's Quest. 

Back on track!

I went on a short hiatus since I was sick for a week with a terrible sinus infection.  I could barely function to play my roles as mommy, worker and Cinderella, let alone blogger.  So, now that I am feeling better I can get back to documenting our days.  Here's a recap of what everyone missed in the very exciting life that is mine.  (That was a joke, it really is rather dull without my hubby around.)

April 16: I took the boys (Gabe and Xa) to sign up at the YMCA since it was free that day.  Gabe loved the daycare and Xa enjoyed the rec room.  They have a great facility with a trail, a pool and tons of equipment and staff that will show you how to use it and train you - all included in your membership.  Xa was even more excited when I told him they had a spy day camp this summer.  He can't wait to go!  After the Y we headed to the movies.  It was Gabe's first time ever at a movie theater.  Since we were running late I wasn't able to get his picture since the previews were running by the time we got our seats.  He did such a good job -- better than I expected.  We saw "Rio" which I thought was a cute little movie.  We finished the day by celebrating our next door neighbor's 89th birthday.  Gabe was so excited to help him with his cards and of course, the cake.  He only likes the icing so Dad helped him finish his piece.

April 17: We cleaned out the fish pond in the backyard and let Gabe and Xavier put the fish back in.  Gabe was insistent on touching/holding them but when give the chance declined.  He still had a good time "helping."  Lilli lending a hand too, of course!

April 18-21: I can't think of what we did so it must not have been worthy enough to write about.  Except for the day when Luis sent me flowers since I had been feeling down.  He's such a sweetie.

Finally, today:  We started our day off with breakfast at IHOP, which let me tell you is NOT on my new diet, so I guess I'll start it again next week.  Or maybe the week after since I'm headed back to Texas for vacation...  Anyways, after breakfast everyone took naps, except me of course, who had to do laundry and finish the diaper cake I've been putting off for over a month now.  And then after Gabe's nap, with inspiration from my good friend Laura and the cricut, he made sun catchers for his teacher appreciation cards and a butterfly for Mother's Day coming up. All the websites I looked at online said tissue paper and contact paper is a great project for toddlers.  They were right.  Gabe loved doing them.  Although towards the end he decided it was more fun to crumple the paper than to lay it on the paper flat.  They still turned out beautiful. 

We went out for dinner to a local pub restaurant for catfish (Gabe and I had chicken strips) and headed back home before the storm hit -- again.  (Side note, earlier during the week Mom and I went to Target for a birthday card and ended up sitting for 45 minutes in the back of the store with all the other crazy storm shoppers.  Not fun.)  The sirens kept going off so we turned on the news and sure enough there were two super cells north and south of us.  We barely got any rain but for good measure we camped out in the basement eating milk and cookies watching the news about all the damage from the storm.  It tore part of the roof off the airport, shattered windows and moved a shuttle bus on top of a building.  Gabe liked that picture, he kept asking how they would get it down.  Such a curious little boy.  After an hour or so it was safe to head back upstairs where my sweet babies are now snoozing away.  And, I, about to join them.

Where is my energy?!

I don't know what it is, no scratch that, I know it's this deployment that makes sleep evade me.  When The Hubby is home we are in bed by 9 pm and snoozing away in about an hour.  However, trying to stay connected on opposite sides of the world makes my bedtime hover somewhere between 11pm and 1am.  Staying at home with the kids would make you think I could squeeze in a nap, but that is hardly ever the case.

Today was a pretty easy Sunday.  I was able to sleep in till about 9am with a few interruptions in sleep around 7am or so from The Boy.  After breakfast we headed off to Lowe's to get some pegs for our pantry and some recycling bins.  Mom and I have been reorganizing the food supplies so we can make our shopping lists easier.  Also, this past weekend was Sissy's first time sitting up in the cart alone.  She loved it.  She didn't know what to look at!

After that I cooked pulled pork for dinner; it was delicious, got lost driving to a friends house and watched a movie with The Boy.  He's getting so big so fast that I treasure the times when he wants to sit in my lap and give me kisses.  He melts my heart and brings tears to my eyes.  I can't imagine Sissy being as big as her brother, but I know that day is coming.

Back to our regular schedule....

I had to take a break for a few weeks since Luis had to come home suddenly on emergency leave.  Gabe was so excited to see his Daddy at the airport!

Unfortunately his brother was shot and killed by New Hampshire police and Luis was able to come home to pay his respects.  His brother was trying so hard to make something of his life, it's sad to know it was shortened and with no explanation given to us from authorities it makes the tragedy harder to bear.

January 15, 1982 - March 2, 2011

Despite the reason for his homecoming we did make the best of our time together and greatly enjoyed spending time with his family, some of which he hadn't seen in over 10 years.  It's so wonderful for our children to grow up and know everyone in the family.  I know Luis was limited in the family he was able to grow up with so I'm ever so thankful we have these opportunities to see everyone and share our time together.

Alfonso and his grand and great-grand kids

Grace, Alfonso, Luis and Johnny

Once we got back from New Hampshire we spent time with the kiddos visiting the St. Louis Zoo and we went up in the Arch.  The Zoo and the Arch are probably the first things I would tell people visiting the area to check out.  The Zoo, unlike any others I've ever been to, is free!  It is full of animals and will take you all day to take in all that it has to offer.  For additional charge they have a Children's Zoo which allows the kids to get closer to the animals.  They have an indoor area where you can pet rabbits, guenea pigs and they had the owls out when we visited.  There's the outdoor petting zoo with goats.  There are places for them to climb and explore - it's just wonderful for them.  They also have a stingray tank, a carousel, and a train ride. 
  

Watching the Elephants

Children's Zoo

As for the Arch, just visiting the grounds is a great start, but for even more fun you have to go inside.  The Westward Expansion Museum, undergournd, is neat.  They have displays of animals and talking wax figures that give a little history about the movement west.  There is a small, and I do stress small, elevator that takes you to the top of the Arch, 630 feet above the ground, for breathtaking views of the city: both the IL and MO sides.  If you stand still you can even feel the Arch sway from side-to-side.  It's just something you have to do at least once in your life!
 

Looking down below

Elevator to the top

After we spent some much needed quality time with our kiddos we needed to get away for a free days and recharge.  So we headed off to Branson.  We had a great time.  We stayed on the strip at the Holiday Inn Express, caught the Dixie Stampede dinner show, ventured around Silver Dollar City and saw the Yakov Smirnov dinner Adventure show.  They were both great, although Luis' favorite parts were lunch/drinks at the Rowdy Beaver and Ernie Biggs Piano Bar.  We also hit up the Tanger Outlet Mall, The Shops at the Grand Palace and the new shops at the Landing.  It was a good two days of rest, relaxation, fun and shopping!  I can't wait to go back with Gabe - he'll love all the city has to offer. 

After all our sight-seeing adventures we wound down our two weeks together with a trip to the Park for kite flying.  Gabe loved holding the string, but when he was done he said: "Don't let go..." and promptly let the string go.  Our friends Heather and Lorenzo darted up the hill across the park to try and catch the kite.  It was a great day.

It's always sad to see Luis go back to "work," as Gabe calls it.  It hurts my heart even more to hear the sadness in my little boys voice when he asks to go with daddy and is told no.  I know he'll be home soon.  His grandfather always tells me, you can never stop time.  It will always keep going and I'll be one day closer to seeing my love, safe in my arms again.