Sniff... I'll miss you, dear friend!

If you see me hugging the TVs at the nearest electronics store, don't be surprised.

Hubby decided that we are not going to get the cable hooked up at the new house. I haven't told the kids yet, lol. I'm having enough struggles at the thought myself!! How will I get fresh ideas for decorating my new abode if I can't watch those decorating and decluttering shows? *insert ringing of the hands and loud wailing*

Seriously, I have my shows I will greatly miss. (At least Gilmore Girls had their series finale before we cut the tv off!) And it will be requiring some creativity on my part, as now I sometimes use the tv to distract the kids while I do a chore they cannot be a part of. Or if I need to doze on the couch for an hour. Or if I need a shower. LOL

On the flip side, I won't have tv tempting me away from those other projects that I've wanted to do for awhile. Or needed to do, lol.

So I've included a haiku entitled, "Farewell, Boob Tube." Enjoy.

Farewell, Boob Tube.

How I will miss you,
Little box of phosphorus.
Say hi to tivo.

Jeopardy question of the day

Question: What is, "Throbbing?"

Answer:

Sunshine told me, "Mommy, my cheek is breathing." After listening to the story of how she and her little sister had collided, we discovered she was feeling a throbbing in her cheek. Don't you love her attempt at describing the feeling?

Hello... Goodbye... Hello

Life until we close on the house looks like this: hubby gone during weekdays 4 hours away at his new post, home with us on the weekends. He's staying in the barracks there while we are still here with my parents.

Knowing we are saying goodbye for only a few days at a time is so much better! It is a bit confusing to our 3 yr old, especially, but hubby and I are much happier. He called me last night and said, "This is our first night of just two nights apart." What a wonderful realization! He was teasing me that it was all for the best, easing back into seeing each other regularly. Because, afterall, there's all those socks of his to pick up now. :)

FYI

At the gentle push and nudge of a certain bloggy friend, and you know who you are *wink, wink*, I added the option to email me to my profile. So if you'd like to drop me a line one day, now you may do so.

I wanted to add it directly to my blog, but I must be challenged in this area, as I could not figure out how to do it. Any tips would be appreciated.

Overheard the girls talking

We have all sorts of ants around here - different colors, different sizes. The girls think that, in life, anything smaller is a baby and anything bigger is a grownup. So the girls saw a stray tiny ant exploring, and this is what ensued.

Both exclaiming over and over in tiny, adoring voices: "Oh, look at the baby ant! Mommy, did you see the baby ant? It's so cuuuuuute! That baby ant is so tiny! Mommy, did you see the baby ant? Awwwww!"

Sugar-n-Spice, in a very pitying voice: "That baby ant looks lost. Poor. baby. ant. It needs its mommy. I bet it's cold. It needs a pillow and a blanket."

Sunshine, who has suddenly lost her cutesy voice, now speaks in a scornful tone: "Ants do NOT use pillows and blankets. It's an ant."

Me these days

I'm having so much trouble being motivated with hubby here. Do the rest of you experience that, too? Even when life was "normal" and he had a day off, it felt like I did, too, and housework almost always went out the window. And now? Multiply that feeling by about 3000%. I'm getting the absolutely bare minimum done around here. Which I feel guilty about. I'm the only one cleaning and cooking for this household of now 8 people. (Well, the girls help, but they depend on me for the prodding, and when you are having trouble prodding yourself, how much prodding of others do you get done? Exactly.)

I've even been slack on exercising. I just would much rather lie in bed with him in the mornings, instead of rising at 5:30 to exercise. Hmmm, cuddle with my man or get up and sweat alone before the sun is up? Cuddle? Sweat? Cuddle? Sweat? Yeah. It took me about 1.3 seconds to decide that one.

Emotionally, I'm a whole mess of weird. Excited about the new house, happy he's home, preoccupied with thoughts of what-color-will-I-paint-that-room, and then, outta nowhere, I'll feel like bursting into tears. I just want to sit down and bawl, but I can't do that. Then hubby would want to know what's wrong. And I just don't wanna have that conversation.

I dunno, maybe I'm just having a reaction to fi-nuh-lee having him home and the emotional stress it was to have him gone, especially under the circumstances. Or maybe its the stuff that I know isn't fixed between us yet. Or maybe its the stress (though exciting) of a new house and moving again... who knows. I just wish it would go away.

Speaking of an exciting move - I am SO eager to get going! That house is so big, and after being cramped up in our old place for so long, and now more than a year in my parents' home (too small for both families), I'm ready to breathe. I'm eager to unpack our things and rediscover all my own stuff again. I am so giddy at the thought of arranging the rooms as I like it and living in clutter-free spaces!!!!!!!!!

Sweetheart and Daddy bonding

Sweetheart was only... let me do the math here... 16 months old when we moved here to my parents' home and hubby was gone in another state. From time to time, we'd get a short visit from hubby, but no significant "bonding" happened between them, really. Sweetheart does remember him, but Daddy means something completely different to him than he does to the older girls.

Sweetheart is very intimidated by Daddy. I can see why... Daddy is a big fella and has some pretty intense eyes. And Daddy just has that something about him that can be pretty intimidating.

When Sweetheart is scolded by Daddy, Sweetheart cries pretty hard, but tries to hold it in, like he's afraid to even cry. With Mommy, Sweetheart wails his little heart out and lets me know exactly what he is feeling. But he acts like a deer in the headlights with Daddy. And when Daddy tries to show Sweetheart lovin', it doesn't always go over well.

So Daddy has started something new in the morning - he makes coffee for himself and Sweetheart. Sweetheart's "coffee" is just a smidge of coffee with a more-than-generous helping of milk and sugar. They go out on the front porch together each morning and drink their coffee. I have to say it is the sweetest thing I've ever seen.

Hubby and his dad never were very close. Hubby's dad just isn't a people person (which is funny, as he is a pastor). He'd be very happy to be a hermit with his books. Truly. He did love his boys, but he didn't do dad stuff with them, and my hubby wants differently for his boy and himself. It's going to be a challenge with hubby gone so much. But I love that he is actively seeking to get that going.

I love that when the kids are outside, he runs at them and tackles them to the ground. I love their squeals of delight and surprise. I love that he "wrestles" with Sweetheart and does those chest-bumps that fellas do.

It does my heart so much good to see them together.