My Half

I've got 115 blog entries to read in my blog reader right now. I'm really not subscribed to too many blogs, but it's been weeks since I've had a chance to sit and read. Then there are all of the private blogs . . .

The night Rob left I had some stomach pains. An hour after losing my stomach I finally fell asleep (at 1:30 am). Not a great way to start out.

I'm constantly sleep deprived. Last night was particularly bad. Cooper woke up just as I was going to sleep, so I fed him, simultaneously nodding off throughout the process. Then he woke up at 5:30 this morning. He wasn't happy about something (still never figured that out), but he cried for 30 minutes before finally calming down enough to eat. He hasn't cried like that since he was a month or two old. Which reminds me, today he is 5 months old. Last Sunday I put him in a 6-9 month dress shirt for church. I couldn't even button the top two buttons because it is already too small. I'd already put a onesie on underneath, so it stayed on, just unbuttoned. It was the first (and last time) he wore that shirt. I'm hoping he doesn't grow too fast in the next few weeks - I only packed 6-9 month clothes for this last month we're in Utah.

Guy's doing better at sleeping through noise. The 3 of us sharing a room right now is working better than I expected. We could spread out more, but I know Guy likes being in there with me and until I let Cooper cry it out, I want him as close as possible.

One of my saving graces this month with be the Bakker family. Their mom was my visiting teacher while we lived her before and we've kept in touch. Her 4 kids love the boys, and are wonderful with them. Her oldest, Dani has been a huge help with Guy (watched him the first time we went to the base), and takes both boys for times like my orthodontist visit (since I lost my retainers in the move). Today she and her sister took the boys to the Dinosaur Museum for 3 hours. It was my first break during normal waking hours where I didn't have to get something done that I can remember in a LONG time. She has plans to take Guy to the farm at Thanksgiving Point next week. If her sister is around, Cooper will go, too. They wear the boys out, who then come home to eat then nap, and I feel rested for the first time in again, a long time.

Sunday evening we went over to their house for snow cones and we all loved it. They pass Cooper around, Guy entertains and is entertained, and I mostly just sit and chat.

It's such a HUGE blessing to have people that care close to me right now. I felt like I was a mess for the first week. I kept finding out that things were lost - almost every time I needed something I couldn't find it. Yesterday I finally found everything that fell into that category - checkbook, a lost check written to me for $500, some gift cards, Guy's socks, etc. A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders in that regard, and I'm grateful to once again gain my bearings. Now I'm just hoping to get back on the bike, get in shape, and go shopping before leaving for Ohio.

Now for some photo updates if Guy doesn't wake up before I can finish . . .

More of the Record

Talked to Rob for less than 15 min. today. 

Guy actually got to talk to him for a little bit before he went to bed. It was really cute to listen to their interaction. Guy, on his own, asked Rob how he was doing. I can't believe how grown up this little kid is getting!

Things are insanely busy, but he's doing alright. He said he drilled for about 5 hours today. His Flight Commander is a nice guy who corrects errors in marching, but says he doesn't know it too well himself. during uniform inspection today he got 3 demerits, which he said was better than average. One guy got 12. I'm just happy to report that he's not sure if he wore the uniform that we paid to get patches on, or if he wore the one that I did after seeing them sewn on.

he's got blisters like crazy from his boots. tomorrow is the pt test, so he's a little nervous about that.

for some reason he can't log into his military issued computer, so he and his roommate borrow other peoples' to get necessary work done. 

in the meantime, on our end, i've realized things just aren't going to slow down. big surprise, right? cooper is teething, so sleeping a lot, which helps. but i feel for the kid, i hate to see him hurt.

guy misses dad and keeps asking to go home, but overall he's handling things well.

some things are challenging, but that never stops now, does it? :)

His and Hers

I'm not sure if we should do separate blogs - but for now this is how it works. I was thinking about his days compared to mine so far. I know he's tired, but it's definitely a different kind of tired.

Never again will I move four days before he ships out. I really hope that stands true for the rest of my life. Life has been EXHAUSTING. I'm grateful for the 2 evenings we had together before he left for 5+ weeks, and I really wish we'd had more time to just relax. No such luck with all the craziness going on, but everything has worked okay, so far.

The boys and I are at my folks' house, and I think without their help I would have gone crazy already. As it is, Bob Simons, in my parents' ward, had to go get Guy out of the men's bathroom at church on Sunday. Guy misses his dad tremendously, especially when he's wishing for a different answer to a question (wanting to eat or do something). Rob's not a sucker, by any means, but Guy just keeps hoping this approach works somehow. Anyway . . .

One of the ways we've tried to help him is to have him wear an Air Force pin every day. He knows that Dad gave it to him and he loves it--with the exception of when he's crawling over furniture and it scrapes his chest. Then he requests to take it off.

In the moving mayhem, I've lost a check written to me, our checkbook, my retainers, cash, and all sorts of other stuff. Fortunately, some things have resurfaced. Other things have been replaced. And, when looking for the checkbook this evening, I found the lost retainers. Unfortunately, I've already gone to the trouble of getting fitted for new ones. Oh well, my gap was already coming back hard and fast, and eventually they'll break sometime, anyhow.

Last week we bought a minivan on Monday. On Tuesday morning the boys and I went to the zoo with cousins. On Wednesday Guy played with the same cousins all day, and I worked with the movers (and cleaned the house around them). Rob helped with cleanup when he finally got away from work. On Thursday we went to a farewell lunch for Rob at work and finished cleaning the house. Friday was Rob's last day of work. After his 1/2 day, we went up to the Draper Temple (Guy loves seeing temples) and just walked around outside, then we finished shopping for Rob's COT necessities. That night, we went out alone, for just a couple of hours. On Saturday we took Guy to Boondocks in the morning, while Eden and other family members generously watched Coooper who was much more fussy than usual. I remembered to utilize the military discount for the first time ever at Boondocks. It was after they completed our transaction, but they were helpful and pleasant about re-doing that. Saturday night Rob and I discovered a restaurant we wished we'd found months ago (an Italian Bistro on State and 114th South). Sunday morning, when Guy woke up, Rob left. Never a dull moment, right?

Since then, things have been plenty busy - with the 4th on Monday (the Provo Parade), registering the minivan, a run to the bank, and the orthodontist's visit on Tuesday. Swimming today. I now sit here thinking, it's a wonder that Guy's had a moment to miss Rob. And it's no wonder that I'm exhausted. Holy cow. I need a break!

Thankfully, there's a family in my parents' ward that loves Guy. They played with him while I was at the orthodontist, and now they've volunteered to take Guy and/or Cooper to the Dinosaur Museum next week.

I'm not going to lie, I'm really looking forward to that break, already.