11/12 - When life gives you lemons ...

I feel like life has given me a nice huge basket of lemons lately. Brad has lived in our house for 2.5 weeks and that's it. We were here for a week unpacking and then moved my mom out of her apartment and in with us and helped her get unpacked. We then took a family vacation and were back for a day and then boom, he was gone. He was due back on Oct. 17 but we knew he would probably have to stay a little longer and in our minds, that was till the very beginning of November. Last week, someone left a basket of lemons on my doorstep. OK. So not really a basket but that's what it felt like. We got the news that Brad is in a unique situation and nothing can be altered about what he needs to do. Since he came from a school (where he was not flying and thus not current in his qualifications) he is a different category and has to do everything by the textbook. Originally they told him he could come back in January. Brad pushed for a different date so now we are praying that they can push him through very fast and that he can leave San Diego by Dec. 18 and it will take him 4 days to drive back here so hopefully we can celebrate Christmas together.

So what did I do with my lemons? I threw some of the against the wall and pouted for the evening. The next day I told the boys the news. I then threw out most of my lemons. When Brad told me the news there was no reason at all to be upset. He was upset. He was frustrated. He wants to be home with his family. I quickly realized that while I wanted to complain and be upset, there was no use for that. I vented to a friend for a bit via text messages and that was my throwing a few lemons at a wall. I then bagged up the rest of the lemons and threw them away. I don't wanted rotten lemons. So now we trudge on. I'm not sure why God has made a 2.5 month training take 4.5 (we are praying for not longer than that) knowing that Brad will start work-ups soon and then he has a 9 month deployment. At times I feel like Satan is trying to knock on the door to our house and is seeing if we can handle everything he throws at us and I pray that we can handle it. That God will provide our family with the strength to handle the times apart that we have coming up.

11/1 - Did Halloween just pass?

I've gotten quite behind on everything to be honest. I had quite a hiccup with my new medication and it took me out for a bit. It does a great job of giving me a good nights sleep and condensing my REM sleep into alot at night BUT there is one minor  major problem - it makes me nauseous. I'm not talking a little bit either. I'm talking I wasn't able to eat for days. Literally. I couldn't touch a bit of food (usually a cracker) until mid-day and then it was a handful of crackers and a few bites for dinner. So I have this amazing medication that has sorta given me my life back it makes me really nauseous and then to further complicate things, the medicine that I take during the day to help me stay awake makes me dizzy. Needless to say, I've had to play with my medications a lot and figure out the right combination for me. Oh yeah. During all this, my awesome doctor has stopped practicing medicine in Florida and is moving to NC and my primary doctor (her nurse actually) can't understand how to write a referral to get me to another sleep doctor. After weeks of playing with my medication myself and medical personnel having no idea how to write referrals, I have switched my insurance so that I don't need referrals anymore, and I'm down about 15 lbs. On the upside, I just got an appt for next week with my new sleep doctor and the nauseous is finally starting to subside (so thankful for this) and I haven't been dizzy in almost 2 weeks which has felt AMAZING!!

Eli had to get a few vaccinations a few weeks ago and he had a reaction for the first time. He got the shots on Friday (Brad had to take him which was a first for him and Eli - he visited at just the right time) and on Sunday evening I noticed his arm getting all blotchy and red and very warm. After talking with a few friends and reading up on it, I took it as a mild reaction but definitely something I need to tell the doctor about next time. I'm not even sure what shot caused it because they gave him all 3 shots in the same arm (great idea for quickness, horrible for reactions). It took a little over a week to go away but thankfully all was fine.

My mom got really sick after Brad left and was out of commission for a few days. She literally slept almost the entire day for a few days. That said, Aiden had an in-service day on a Friday but I knew my mom couldn't stay awake to watch him so I had to bring him to work. I made him a little corner but at the last minute moved him to the back of the class. He did pretty good. He started standing up and making noises towards the end of class which was really distracting to me but thankfully most of the kids didn't even know he was there until I pointed it out. I was in a bind this day because Eli had testing through the school system and I wasn't allowed to bring Aiden. Thankfully Kia was also out of school and she watched Aiden for an hour while Eli did his assessment. Eli is being referred on through the system for further evaluation because .... he's just so inconsistent. When the woman tested him on his colors he only got 4 right. She asked him again mid testing and got 7 right and then asked him again at the end and he got the same 4 right he did the first time. Very bizzare. That and he won't hold a pencil, marker, crayon, etc in anyway resembling the correct way to hold something. It doesn't help that he keeps switching back and forth from a lefty to a righty and then lefty again. Mrs. Jen had made the boys pumpkins and they were pretty excited about it.

I decided to take the boys to a pumpkin patch and found one not too far away. It was definitely aimed at their age group which was good. There was a tractor ride, a mini barrel ride, a maze (man I miss the Maryland corn mazes), bounce houses, playgrounds, and even a mini petting zoo which the boys wouldn't go near because it smelled too bad. Even though it was the 2nd week in October, it was HOT!! Man I was sweating to death and the boys' faces were all red from running around and jumping in the bounce houses. After 2 hours we left and got a bite to eat on the way home.

The boys don't get much time together at home anymore it seems since we started Tae Kwon Do so I think they are appreciating it a bit more when they do get it. Here they are wrestling and being silly. For the last 2 weeks almost we had a cold front (in Florida it's considered that) and the day temperatures have been in the 70's and low 80's. It was awesome!!!

Rusty, Aiden's former therapist, suggested I try something with Eli and I was all for it. I recorded each segment and then sent it to her so she could see for herself. I asked Eli about his colors and shapes in a book that we have by quizzing him. He got the majority wrong the first time. I then put him in the swing and twisted him all up and let him go a couple times. He was laughing and loving it. We did that for a while and then I re-tested him (I never told him the correct answers before) and he did SO MUCH better. It was quite amazing. Not only did he get most of the answers correct, but he was actually sitting still and attentive when I was asking him which was not what happened the first time I asked him. So now I will let Eli "play and swing" some before I work with him and he actually does better. So amazing.

The boys decided bike riding was how they would get their exercise last weekend and said that was great. I was just following them around everywhere and remembered/realized a few things. They love hidden sidewalks and secret paths. They really do enjoy nature and ask awesome questions about things. They are getting very fast and I can take them out jogging now!!! And finally, I think Eli is ready for those training wheels to come off.





My friend Sue has a Halloween party every year and this is her last year throwing it. I invited Grace and Mike (and Arin when she got off work) to meet us there. I grabbed dinner for the boys on the way over and they ate it once we got there. Aiden wanted to be a bat (not batman) for Halloween and Eli's was Superman. It took three tries to make those bat wings for Aiden using different materials and different measurements because he's so sensory overloaded and many things bother him. The boys had a blast with Grace. Once it got dark and they needed their finger lights, they really started to have fun. They jumped in the bounce house with their lights too. Once it got pretty dark (7:00ish), we watched a Shrek Halloween movie. It was too loud for Aiden so we ended up missing most of it because we had to find Sue and see if she had any headphones Aiden could use to block out the sound. Eli, Grace, and Mike had fun watching it though. It was a fun outing for all of us.

On Thursday, Aiden had to dress up as a book character for a Character Parade his school hosts for the K-1. He went as a pirate. His teacher asked me to come help and that was a lot of fun. I actually didn't get done until he did (it was a half day) so I just brought him back home. My mom took Eli to daycare and then stayed there to help with Eli's school Halloween festivities. I'm not excited about his teacher right now at daycare. He really enjoyed his other teacher but the class was so big that they divided the kids up and Eli needed to be separated from this other little boy that would kick, hit, bully him everyday. Please send a prayer up for me to do the right thing for Eli and his daycare situation. We've never had problems like this before at a daycare and I just don't know what to do. I'm paying a lot of money right now for what feels like babysitting, not teaching. We'll see. I'll continue to go in at random times to check to see what is going on. I went this morning and was totally not impressed with what I saw for 30 minutes!!!

Nana was pretty tired from working outside all day at Eli's daycare so she rested at home some while I took them to Chick-fil-a to trunk or treat and get some dinner. here are my silly boys. We came home and went out around our neighborhood. This is what I posted on Facebook when we got home later that night: "Call me old fashioned but here are my rules for trick-or-treating: walk to the houses (not ride golf carts or piles in trucks when the houses are all close together), don't walk in other people's grass (use the driveway and entry path), when people offer you a bowl of candy you take ONE piece unless they say you can take more, you politely take what you are given and don't ask for a specific kind of candy, and finally, say thank you. What are your expectations on Halloween? Man I'm getting old apparently."

I was exhausted from running around with them but they had a great time. There favorite time was trying to chase people down to give candy to once we got home. They love it when trick-or-treaters come and really like to give them candy. It's just too cute to watch. I will plan better for them to be able to give out more candy next year by getting home a little earlier. I never put a decoration this year and usually I do. I just didn't have time. I even got a pumpkin but didn't carve it ... until tonight. The day after Halloween. I even got all the tools for 50% off!! Better late than never. I've just been burnt out and feel like I'm just always playing catch up. Brad was supposed to be home 2.5 weeks ago but we knew that wasn't going to happen. We are praying he comes home in mid-November but we will have to see. 

10/17 - Papa and Brad were here

So things have been very busy since I got back from Vegas visiting Brad. My dad stayed the whole next day which was great. The boys had a great time seeing him Aiden says to me in the van a few day after Papa left, "Papa likes to tease people." Aiden learned a lot about Papa while I was gone. :)








My sweet dad tried to help me change Aiden's bike tire. I bought a new tire for Aiden in Vegas because I couldn't find the size in Jax. It ends up it was still too big so I went to a proper bike shop (Open Road) and got the right size. I couldn't get the new tire on myself (I can do it on my road bike) so I ended up taking the wheel to the shop with me and they put the tire on the wheel. I get the tire back on the bike and the training wheels but I can't get the chain on. In fact, I can't even get to the chain because of the chain guard. A day or two later I take the bike to the store with me and they (after a lot of work from a very experienced guy) he gets the chain on. FOR FREE. They put the tire on the rim and then also put the chain on for free for me. That was awesomely nice.

A few days after I got home I promised Aiden I would go have lunch with him at school. He brought his poetry journal for me to see. I was so surprised. He is doing such a good job drawing things or at least trying. Before he was so scared to make a mistake or not know how to draw something that he wouldn't try so I love that he is being forced to at school. He even drew his stuffed animal Iggy and colored it. 

We went to Home Depot on the first Saturday of the month and made a plane. They had a helicopter fly in and Aiden wanted to sit in but Eli wanted nothing to do with it which was a little odd. The boys had fun and I finally got a new air filter for our main air conditioning unit in the house (it's a really weird size so I got stuff to make my own). They had police cars there but the boys didn't want to go see them because they kept making so much noise with the sirens. We were able to watch the helicopter take off and the boys thought that was pretty cool and very very windy. 

Awana just started at our church the 2nd weekend in October and the boys really wanted to do it so I signed them up. I love the Awana program but am not a fan that it is starting to late and the kids won't be able to finish what they need to this year to stay on track but I need to put aside my desire to finish things and embrace the big picture of the boys continuing to learn about God and how amazing He is. Here they are at church wanting me to take their pictures with the dinosaurs.  

The boys and I had been talking about doing karate or taekwondo. We finally went for it and tried this place that gave us free uniforms and 2 classes. The boys are enjoying it (Aiden more so than Eli) and I just signed them up for a month. I think Aiden enjoys the structure and Eli enjoys the activity but Eli doesn't care for all the rules and he wishes there were more than 2-3 water breaks in a 30 min class!! 

Karate Kid Aiden

Punching Eli

Aiden is already saying he wants to earn the yellow belt. We shall see. I just wanted them to be involved in something. It cracks me up that Eli keeps saying he wants to do soccer when the kid can't stand to walk and wants a water break every 5 min in taekwondo. When we go to the putt putt golf course the kid will run around the course for about 15-20 min straight though so maybe I should let him try it. 

Grandma Jo and Grandpa Dave sent Eli a birthday package a few days ago. Eli was really excited and loved all the stuff. (Look how he is holding that pen Rusty - he flips out if I try and correct him). Thanks grandma Jo and Grandpa Dave. Aiden loved his Brain Quest questions too and he even carries them around with him. 

Brad and I started talking at the beginning of last week and I said I would love for him to come home. Well, he came home. It was Change of Command at the training squadron and things would be shut down for a few days and the following monday was Columbus Day (a holiday in the Navy) so he came home late on Wednesday night. I had to include this picture because the poor hubby was trying to find something to eat on and eat with and he had a hard time with that. I forgot that he was only there in the house for about 2.5 weeks before he had to leave (compared to the 2.5 months he's been away). The boys woke up on Thursday and we super excited to see daddy here. Brad was a trooper and got up at 6:30am Florida time to see the boys. 

Brad even walked Aiden down to the bus stop and Aiden was pretty excited about that. The boys were glued to Brad the entire time he was here and the awesome thing was that Brad didn't mind a bit. What a great daddy. 

The boys were super excited to show daddy their new skills they have learned in Taekwondo. Here they were goofing around either before or after class. They are so cute. Brad enjoyed watching them do their thing.

We all went and had lunch with Aiden on Friday at school. Aiden was really excited to show Brad his science journal. It also happened to be the same day the firetruck came to his school so he was all decked out as a fireman.

Aiden's 1-384 dot-to-dot picture

On Friday night we decided to go out for pizza and use Aiden's first Pizza Hut coupon for reading for September. He was so excited to go which cracked us up because he doesn't even like pizza. Well, he likes crust but not the cheese. As we were waiting for our food he was doing a dot-to-dot (1 to 384). I think he's in the mid 200's. The writing is so small but he can see it all and is finally almost done with it. Eli wanted to play on the iPad some. 

Eli playing Subway Surfer

Aiden really enjoyed reading to Brad. When Brad left Aiden couldn't read at all. Now Aiden is reading any BOB book and lots of other stuff too. It's amazing how fast they learn. Aiden will only check out "real" books at the library. I finally figured out what he meant by that when I went to his school and we were in the library. He means non-fiction. I told him it was okay to read pretend stuff and he said, "no, I like learning and I want to learn about real things. I will not read those other books." It's too funny because that is something that I would say (but I've never said that to him).

Great Grandma Hagan sent the boys something last week. She sent these two car rugs/mats with a set of construction vehicles for both boys. They love them. Aiden's is all folded nicely with his cars inside and Eli's is the one that is a ball of mess in the box we keep them in. Aiden has a rock collection and decided to get out his rocks and use them for real while playing on the mats. 

Aiden swimming over to Brad. This is new for Aiden!

It has been crazy chilly since the day Brad came here. On Sunday, it started to warm up a tad so we headed down to the pool. The boys have been so anxious to show Brad what they have learned. It was FREEZING. The boys didn't skip a beat and jumped right in. I jumped in because it was too cold and painful to try and do it slow. Brad eased his way in. The boys had a blast and finally Eli was shivering too much and his lip was blue so we decided to get out. It was great though. There were only like 1-2 other people at the pool since it was so cold so we had it all to ourselves pretty much. 

Eli posing with me. Love his smile.

The boys wanted to ride bikes and play when we got home. Aiden stayed outside with Brad for while and they baseball. Aiden is getting pretty good hitting from the tee and Brad throws it to him.  Eli went inside to get warm but then eventually comes out in the garage so Aiden can show him something. The child comes out in his undies. I asked if he's so cold why is he wearing just undies. He says "it's the sun that was making me cold. I'm okay inside." He's such a confused kid. Aiden thought it was pretty neat that his remote control truck can skid all over the garage floor and was anxious to show Eli. 

We ended Sunday night with family time and some wrestling. The boys really enjoyed seeing Brad and Brad managed to get all the things done on the list I had for him. He read them their story on Sunday night and then we all said prayers together. I can't wait until Brad can come home to stay for a bit. He's balances me out so much which is great for me and even better for the boys. That's one of reasons God gives us partners and I forget about that when he's gone for months at a time. Things are hard when he is gone and I'm stressed because there is always a ton of stuff to do and not enough time to do it and I feel like the boys deserve so much more than I can give them but I have to assume God paired me with Brad for a reason and He'll get me through all the times that Brad is gone. It was great watching all of my boys together on the couch. 

On Monday morning Brad got up with me and we left work. He went to my class and then we walked around campus measuring things to help one of my students out for a test he has to do. We ate lunch at Chick-fil-a on campus and then hurried off to a dr appt I was able to make the same morning. (I'll update on that next). After the dr appt is was off to the airport with Brad. It was so hard to say bye to him. I really miss him and we function SO SO SO much better as a family when he is around. I'm a better mommy and person when he is around. 

 

The day after Brad left it rained and this beautiful rainbow came out. It seemed so close like we could drive right under it. I've never felt a rainbow so close before. 

And to close out this post about Brad, he got to fly 2 times this week. That's the same amount he has been able to fly over the past 2 months he's been gone!! He is praying he is home by Thanksgiving, I'm praying he is home the first or second week in November. His orders say he is supposed to be back yesterday.  :(   It's out of our hands but we can still pray every night for him to come home soon.