Thread: Don't lick the dog!

Well, the holiday comes, wether we're ready or not...
My mom came up on the train Friday so Zac and I could do some holiday things. Friday night we went to a party at his commander's house. That was fun, I drank too many margheritas. After we went to the pub and deli on the base, OMG, the old stomping grounds. That was wierd, fun, but wierd. Saturday, Zac and I went shopping for the kids. That was FUN. The crowds sucked, but it was fun getting all that stuff for the kids, playing with all those toys. That night we went out to dinner with an old friend of mine and his wife. Went to one of our favorite old places (a brewery). Due to my overindulgence the night before, the last thing I wanted to do was drink, so I designated myself the driver. My friend's wife can TALK, woo. It took us 20 minutes to tear ourselves away in the parking lot, and it was freezing! He gave me some homemade Guinness, what a guy .
Sunday I had to take mom to the train, then I ran out and grabbed a couple things for Zac for Yule. Once Aidan got up from his nap, I took him out to see the Incredbles, his first movie in a theater, EVER. IT was fun, he did really well. As we were leaving, he said, "I was a good boy at the movie", lol.
I have SO MUCH to do, I really shouldn't even be posting. This time of year is CRAZY, and it's made worse by the fact that Zac is leaving 5 days after Christmas. This, sucks...

Okay, so much has happened. Let's call it a terribly UN-lucky streak.
A couple days before Christmas, Zac tried to drive out of the garage before the garage door was all the way up, destroying the bottom section of the door. Wooden garage doors are hardly made anymore, the piece had to be re-created to the tune of 300 dollars. I have yet to prime and paint it (although, I did manage to get myself to Home Depot for the primer, paint, and brush).
The holiday went off without a hitch, the folks came up, I cooked almost constantly the whole flippin weekend while dealing with what I was thoroughly convinced was a sinus infection. I later went to the doctor (why do I always get sick Friday night, when I can't do anything about it?) who said if I waited much longer, I would have a SI, but not quite yet. He then gave me some recipe for a hypertonic solution to shoot up my nose three times a day, that did the trick. It's horribly unpleasant, but hey, it works.
The night before Zac left for school, I had this romantic evening planned, much of it taking place in out big bathtub surrounded by lots of little candles. What REALLY happened is I stressed all day, and had this headache that got worse throughout the day. After the kids went to bed, I couldn't see straight, I threw up everything I ate all day long, and Zac had to feed me a Demerol, and put me to bed, VERY romantic... I felt so bad about it. Anyway, that migraine drained me for the next few days.
The day he left, I needed to go get some formula for Indigo (who still nurses here and there, but just can't be bothered to sit still long enough to eat). I was walking out the door in my coat, holding the baby, rooting around in my purse and I thought, "where the heck are my keys?". I looked all over, then called Zac on his cel. He was in Idaho by this point. Anyway, long story short, the day before, we went up to the video store and over to get Aidan and Zac haircuts, Zac drove my car. Well, when we got back, he put the keys in the down vest he was wearing and forgot about it, packed it in his Jeep to take to Colorado. So, my keys were with him, in Idaho, soon to be in Utah, fabulous. That was Friday the 31st, a Federal holiday, the first, Saturday, another holiday. I couldn't get my keys sent to me until Monday. I had to go to my neighbor's house and ask someone to go get me some formula for Indigo, and oh yeah, incidentally, I had no cash, so I'd need them to loan me the money until I could get to an ATM, or I could write them a check right then (of course, they wouldn't hear of that). So, my neighbor's son went and got me a can of formula, I"ve since paid him back, but I felt awful about having to ask in the first place.
It cost 45 bucks to overnight the keys to me. You know, in the grand scheme of things, 345 bucks is no big deal, I"m just glad no one got hurt, and I now have my keys. At the same time, I was asking myself, what the hell else could possibly happen right now, and wondering if maybe the gods felt I'd had enough for the time being and I can maybe have a streak of luck for once.
So far, so good, minus one baby with a mystery fever...

So, we're 3 weeks down, 3 to go. Thursday, I"m off to Colorado. I get to see my husband, I get to finally meet my friend Danielle (after two pregnancies and nearly 4 years shared), I get to see my best friend Matty, gawd, how I've missed him. I've never been to Colorado, I'm so excited!!
I went to my parents house last weekend, that was a mess. I was falling apart, I was so lonely, I needed to get out of here for a bit and just be around adults for a while. I got next to no help with the kids, there was a sheet of ice covering Portland, so I never made it down there, and I got to be in the middle of my parents never ending fighting. Once I got home, I took this deep breath and realised there are worse things than being alone with your children for 3 weeks with no help, a garage door to paint, a house to clean, and little to no adult interaction. I had never been so happy to just be ALONE.
I finally, after 3.5 weeks of having the garage door fixed, got a coat of primer/sealer on it. I love the rain, but it sure makes getting things done outdoors, quite difficult.
Taxes are done, we are getting 2000 more than we thought, wow, that's nice, real nice. If anyone could use a little extra money, it's us. My dear husband has a way of making expensive mistakes.
I've started the use of the naughty chair. Okay, I ripped it off from Super Nanny. I was at my wits end, and I saw kids in that show literally 10 times worse than my kid, and I thought, "If it works for them, it'll work for me". We've got a lot of structure in our lives, we've got a schedule, what we were lacking was a form of discipline that worked for us. After just one day, he was noticably different. After only 3 days of this, I need only mention the naughty chair, and he changes his tune. It's effective, it friggin WORKS I think I"m on the road to a much improved relationship with my child. Ahh!!!

I've been sooo MIA. It's been the classic story of, Life Gets in the Way.
I went to Colorado, had a pretty good time, except for the part where my husband had the flu, struggled to make my time there great, and we spent a whole day in the ER. I returned home with the flu myself, and had to stay another 3 nights at my parents house because I was too sick to drive the 2 hours home. When I finally did get there, I got a fever over 105 degrees myself that night. I finally did get well, finally.
I've had Aidan tested, both with the speech pathologist, audiologist, and also with the school district. He's NORMAL. Am I really just impatient? As soon as I got all the testing done, his speech and sentences took off yet again. The kid is holding out on me. It's hard, I see how smart he is, and not just because I"m his mommy, he's intelligent, it just seems that orating is not his preferred method of self expression. I am learning as I go, I'm just trying to be his mommy, however he needs mt to be that.
Indigo is the most amazingly fun, happy, sweet baby I've ever encountered. Comstantly picking up words, babbling, running all over the place, playing, laughing. She's fiercely independent, but still loves to snuggle up with me and just be together. I adore that little girl, from the sweet little blonde curls at the nape of her neck, to her chubby toes, those big blue eyes, that sweet disposition, that little dimple in her left cheek that just drives me gaga.
My husband has been busy, but he's doing so well. Recruiting is really a great place for him. He's definately got an amazing attitude, and a real love for the work he's doing. I'm proud of him. I just wish we saw more of him, the work is demanding. I am immensely grateful that he's so happy with what he's doing, it makes all the difference.
For now, I'm still a SAHM, it's beautiful, and it'sa challenge. I'm sorting out finances in order to start school next Spring. I'm wading through reading requirements for doula as well, another road I've decided to go down. My career path is laid out, and I'm making my way, slowly, but surely...