33

Thirty-three today.

Seems pretty old.

No, seriously.  I'm 'in my thirties' now.

Justin out did himself this year.  He managed a surprise gift (difficult now that I'm the one looking at all of our accounts) that he shipped to his mom's house.  She brought it to me this morning.

Not bad, right?
I sort of feel bad, I'm not one for being overly excited for gifts, or at least showing it.  I was pretty excited when I saw this little box.

It was perfect.  I've been wanting a mother type necklace for a while now, couldn't decide if I wanted charms, or their initials, or what.

I think this will do just fine!

My mom came down and took us all to lunch (me and the kids) and brought a gift for me from the kids.  (A sleeve for the Chromebook I'm buying for myself later this week).

Kate used the potty this morning, and if I can manage it at least once more this afternoon that might just be the best gift of all.

That, and maybe eat some sugar.  Anything with sugar in it sounds nice right now.

Uncharted territory

So... I really wasn't kidding when I've told people over the last year or more that Justin being gone for a week or so was practice for this deployment.  The most he's been gone was 15 days I think, and once or twice he'd be gone for a week or two and then home for a day or two and then off again for another trip.

The good thing is, we're pretty used to the daily routine of not having him around.  It makes it a little easier, I think.

So, we've passed the 2 week mark, and this week Justin is 'in the army' doing weapons training.  He's still able to call in the evening and we've texted a few times during the day.  And email.  I'm obviously handling a lot of things that Justin used to.  I doubt I'll ever get the hang of the business finances, but I'm getting closer.

For anyone that knows Justin, he LOVES mail!  If anyone wants to send anything to him, he'll get it if it's sent by this coming Monday (March 18th).  I'll post his mailing address in Afghanistan when we get it.

LTJG Justin Lafeen
Charlie Company: Platoon 1
5395 Leesburg Road, Bldg 3931
Eastover, SC 29044-9189

March 2-10

Once again, it's been more than a week, but that's okay -I at least took the daily pictures.

Mar 2
Making one of two cakes for the night.  Not sure what happened, but the batter had been in the oven for 45 minutes and came out like soup!  I was trying to get them out of the oven to start over, and this happened.  Took the next 45 minutes cleaning chocolate goo off of everything.

Mar 3
Potty training this week.  That's all I want to say on the subject for now.

Mar 4
I entertain the kids with the bathtub on the days I do my hair in the morning.  Don't judge me if that's not EVERY morning.  Most days they get an actual bath, but there are a few days where they just play around in it.

Mar 5
Finished cakes for the Young Womens auction.  White cake with a fresh strawberry buttercream frosting (and chocolate covered strawberries on top) and a chocolate cake with peanut butter cream cheese frosting and a peanut butter and chocolate ganache.

Mar 6
Back on the wagon tracking my food and exercise.  It was a good week.

Mar 7
Milo decided to finally roll over tonight.  A couple of times.

Mar 8
Kate in her cute, baggy underwear.  Don't worry, they were clean, just a little saggy.

Mar 9
Milo and I had more than 24 hours by ourselves!  I wish I could have appreciated how easy one baby was when I just had one baby.  I thought it was the hardest thing ever.

Mar 10
More Milo.  Asleep at church.

A day in the life...

Today was not my typical day.

My typical day begins around 7 am, give or take 20 minutes (usually it's Miss Kate who wakes us all up if Milo has been kind enough to let me sleep -which he does more often than not).  Kate is super happy and LOUD in the morning.  That girl currently has no volume control anyway, so maybe it just seems louder in the morning.  She can't open the door yet, so she tries to get Hyrum to get up if I don't open the door fast enough.

 Sometimes there's water in there

Usually we spend some time in the bed together, maybe with an iPad or iPhone on.  Bath, showers, getting Milo up and fed, and breakfast.  On a school day we have to leave by 8:45, but either way we're usually done with all of that by then.  Milo is typically ready for a nap by then too.

Hyrum is at school Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I do anywhere from 2-3 (or more if it's a bad week like last week) runs to the auto shop and the bank, typically after we drop off or pick up Hyrum.  Kate is potty training, so last week, and probably the next couple of weeks we'll stick close to home and limit our outings. I try and grocery shop during preschool too -one less kid running errands makes a big difference!

Mondays the kids go over to a neighbors house in the afternoon while I go with her daughter to the church and teach her how to play the organ.  Wednesdays I teach piano to a neighbor boy.  And right now, our friend Erin comes over right after.  So far I've managed to go to the gym during that hour.  Tuesdays or Wednesdays one of the big kids goes to sleep at Mimi and Papa's house (when they're in town) and always come home the next morning with pumpkin bread from the pumpkin bread store (also known as Starbucks).

I've decided to bake a casserole of some sort at least once a week and eat that a few times during the week -until we get sick of it.  I originally told myself I'd make dinner at least 4 nights a week.  That's not going to happen -so, one home cooked meal and maybe another will get us through the week.  Kids are easy!

I exercise once a day.  I'm looking forward for the weather to warm up so we can start our walks, but until then it's been you tube videos, things I find on pinterest, or this pilates chair that Jodi let me borrow.

Sundays, of course, are different.  Get up, get dressed and ready for church (me).  Get the kids bathed, then breakfast, then keep them mostly clean and feed them periodically until we go to church at 11.  Kate and Milo are beyond tired when we get home (it could be worse, it could be 1-4).

That's a typical day (or week).  I do my best to try and keep the house and working order, enough clean clothes for us to wear, and food to eat.  (Not to mention more paperwork on the computer than I have spare hours in the day to complete).

Today was a little different.  The big kids are spending the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Lafeen.  I thought it was just one night, but it ended up being two... an entire day with just a baby?

I started by cleaning out the kids closets, and I got about 60% done with that.  Then I started cleaning out the kids toy box(es) upstairs and down.  I got about 90% done with that.  Milo and I went to the bank, post office (mailing Justin's first package to Afghanistan),  Shopko, Savers (dropping off a big box from the toys and closets) and got me a couple movies from Red Box.  I managed to get caught up on paperwork (I've seriously spend 3-4 hours on the computer during the day) keep the house clean, contend with a more-than-usual needy baby.  I made dinner for a neighbor and planned on walking it over to them.  I realized I forgot to get a bag of chips at the store the night before, (Milo and I went grocery shopping as soon as the big kids left) so we walked to Walgreens and back and then took the dinner over to the neighbor.  I exercised and now I've blogged.

If I was this productive all of the time I'd run out of things to do by next Wednesday.  Or, I could actually pick up a hobby or something!

Foto Fly

I almost forgot to post the remainder of these... most of you, I'm sure, have already seen most of them.
Next time I won't book our little family the hour before our big family, it was just too long!  Milo was a little sadder than usual and we didn't get to catch any of his cute smiles, but other than that, it was a great experience.  And by great experience, I mean I'd like to not repeat it any time soon.

37 Very random questions

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?  Yes, sort of.  After a girl my mom used to babysit.  She liked the name (and the girl)

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Mmmm... probably on Sunday.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? When I take the time to write nicely.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Uh... yes

6. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?  Not as much as I did when I was younger.

7. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes

8. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?  I almost did it twice.  I'd like to say yes.  I'm not sure though.

9. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Maybe Special K or Golden Grahams.

10. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Not usually.

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?  It rotates between cookies and cream, something with caramel, or cheesecake.  I like ice cream.

12. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?  I can only pick one?

13. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?  I should probably say my husband, which is probably the true answer.

14. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?  No shoes.

15. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Wasabi Almonds.

16. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Whatever Hyrum is watching on the iPad.

17. FAVORITE SMELLS Rain, melting butter. baby lotion.

18. HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS TO YOU?  Pretty important

19. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?  Depends on the season, but I think I prefer the beach.

20. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH. Red Sox baseball.

21. HAIR COLOR Brown, blond-ish

22. EYE COLOR Blue

23. FAVORITE FOOD?  I like pulled pork sandwiches, a good steak usually grilled by my father in law, sweet potato fries, nearly anything with bacon and avocado on it.

24. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?  Sad endings, I'm a sucker for the real life indie type movies.

25. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?  The Master

26. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Red

27. SUMMER OR WINTER?  Summer

28. FAVORITE DESSERT?  Usually ice cream.

29. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?  Both.

30. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?  TV

31. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?  Don't have one

32. WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?  Waiting to start my new book club book, and I'm half way through The Women In White... but I don't think I'll finish it

33. FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC?  Soundtracks, Broadway musicals, and Alternative.

34. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?  New Zealand.

35. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Provo, UT Don't judge me, it wasn't my fault.

36.   WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?  Brown

37. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?  Blue van, white car