Displaced

Last Friday our region had a wicked storm. I had never seen anything like. The rain came pouring down in buckets and the the thunder and lightening rivaled each other in intensity, coming one right after the other for at least an hour.  We lost power late Friday night. We've been in our home for 5 years and have lost power briefly a few times, but never for very long. Even when we had snowmaggedon a couple of years ago, we were the lucky few who never lost power.

Knowing that the temperatures would climb into the upper 90s over the next few days, Hubby and I started making contingency plans about what we could do with the kids to keep them cool and out of our soon to be hot house. Fortunately, my father called early in the day to find our status. We live in the same community as my parents, just in another part of the development. They were able to keep their power and invited us to come over. It was a real blessing to be able to have somewhere to go. I think if it had just been Hubby and me, we would have stuck it out. But with 3 little ones, that really wasn't an option. I have found that having kids really does help you prioritize your situation.  I am grateful that we had somewhere cool to go to stay out of the heat, that there was no damage to our home, and that we were all healthy and safe. We were also able to save a lot of our food by bringing it over to my parents house and storing it in their extra refrigerator.

We were driving through the neighborhood the day after the storm and I was shocked to see how much destruction was left. So many trees had limbs and treetops snapped off as if they were no bigger than toothpicks. While there was a lot of debris, there seemed to be minimal destruction to property. Praise the Lord!  We were fortunate to be back in our home the next day.

My kids loved having an impromptu sleepover with Lolo and Lola and loved that Hubby and I were there as a part of the adventure. While we were displaced from our home for a short time, it was a true blessing for us to be able to take refuge in their home and greatly appreciated.


I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. 
 (Psalm 4:8)

Evening up the Score

The day after Hubby left for his trip was rough. The day he left, it was fine. But by 6am the next morning, I felt that I was waaaaaaaay behind.  Bug had woken up around 3am with a wet pull-up that had leaked. Fortunately, if she ever wakes up wet, she automatically changes her pull-up and goes straight back to bed. But if she's leaked, she lets us know and one of us gets up to change her sheets.  At 3am, I was too tired to do it and had her crawl into bed with me after she changed.

I sleep very lightly when Hubby travels, so all 5 times my son woke up to use the bathroom, I also woke up to listen for him and to make sure he made it back to bed alright.  By 5am, Mr. Bananas woke up and I nursed him. By 6am, I put him back in his crib, left Buggy in my bed, and got up to start my day. By this time, I was completely done.  I felt like I dragged all day. It felt like "kids 2, mama 0."

 However, the day was made immensely easier when my mother showed up unexpectedly to pick up Boogie from school. This allowed for the little kids to nap longer and because of her help, they were able to get an extra hour of sleep they so desperately needed. Not only that, Mom took Boogie home with her and offered to take Mr. Bananas while I took Buggy to dance class.  I dropped him off on the way to class and for the first time all day, I felt that I was able to relax and breathe. Bug danced and I crocheted. It was peaceful...except for when she fell and bit her lip hard and bled all over herself. But even then, I was thankful that Mom had the boys and that I could pay attention to Bug when she needed it. She was able to go back to class and finish up.

Mom and Dad met me at my house. They brought over dinner, bathed the kids, and put them to bed.  As awful as the morning started, it ended on a high note. 

That night was better. Boogie got up only once. Bug woke up once, changed her pull-up and went straight back to bed, and Bananas woke up once around 5am to be nursed. All in all, better. Not great, but better.

Thursday night was wonderful! All 3 kids slept through the night and got up at 7:15am. I felt like a new woman on Friday.  It also helped that Boogs had his Spanish class and the little kids were able to nap an extra hour before we picked him up.  We went out to dinner with my parents and then the big kids went home with them for a sleepover. Bananas and I came home and he went to bed immediately. He did not sleep as well as he had the night before, but I noticed that he's getting his molars in, so that could be it.

We are still missing Daddy a lot but with my parents help, it's been easier than I had expected.  It also helps that technology has come a long way since I was a kid and my dad went out to sea.  The kids get to see Daddy through Face Time, and he's sent us videos of him singing the good night song, and our good morning song. The kids love seeing him.  When he called yesterday afternoon, Bug jumped up and down and yelled, "DADDY!!!!!  Face time! Woo hoo! Face Time, Woo hoo!!!!!"  If that isn't a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is!

The big kids are spending the morning with my parents. They're supposed to go out for a movie and lunch and come back for naps.  I've been able to relax a little, plan out the day, blog, and eat breakfast.  It's been nice. I look forward to seeing them this afternoon. I no longer feel it's "kids 2, Mama 0." I think we might have evened up the score with Lolo and Lola's help. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Blessed

Yesterday, I woke up with a stomach bug.  I woke up and realized that I did not feel well. I had a slight fever and my stomach was making all sorts of weird gurgling sounds. Knowing that Hubby has been working late and working really hard on his current project, I knew that I wouldn't be able to ask him to stay home to be with the kids. However, he did offer to call my aunt and ask her to come over to watch the kids while I stayed in bed to rest as best as I was able.

He ended up speaking to my mom who was able to take a day off from work and came over to take care of me and the kids.  Hubby went in late to get the kids ready for school and to prepare them for the hand off to Mom. Mom took over breakfast and walking Boogs to school. She spent the rest of the day playing games with Bugs and looking after the baby. Unfortunately, we realized later that the baby had the same yucky stomach bug I had. Ugh.

Mom was a trooper taking care of mealtimes, naptimes, homework, and baths.  I was able to spend most of the day in bed/bathroom.  I was too weak to help out and the smell of food was nauseating.  She really stepped up and the kids LOVED the extra time they had with her.  As an added bonus my dad came over after work. He brought dinner and helped to take care of the kids. He even brought over milk when Mom looked in the fridge and realized I was running low.  Grocery shopping had been on my list of things to do yesterday, but that obviously didn't happen.

While Mom bathed the kids, Dad took care of the kitty cats, and took out my garbage and diaper pail.  After baths, Dad took over bedtime routines.  This was a huge blessing to me, especially since Hubby had to stay late at work and didn't come home until after 1am.

I hate being sick and I especially hate asking for help. But with my parents, there was an even flow and they stepped in when I had to take a step back. I didn't have to tell them what to do. They naturally fit into the everyday movement of my family.  I feel very blessed by their help and support. It also reminds me that I am not alone and that I have help if and when I need it, I only have to ask.  It also makes next month look less daunting as Hubby's project takes him out of town for nearly 3 weeks.

Thanks, Mom and Dad. Thank you for being there for me and my family! I love you!

Lola's Birthday

This year Lola's birthday landed on Thanksgiving.  My kids love birthdays and they were really looking forward to celebrating my mom's birthday.  The night before we weren't sure if we would see my mom for her birthday. My mom hadn't decided whether or not she would join us for her birthday breakfast. While my husband and I were discussing the schedule for Thanksgiving day, my daughter very excitedly said, "And we'll celebrate Lola's birthday!" I looked at her and said, "Baby, I don't know if we'll see Lola tomorrow. We'll see."  She very dejectedly put her head on the kitchen table and sighed. She wasn't happy that she might not see her Lola on her birthday.

My mom decided to come over and we did our traditional birthday breakfast in the midst of getting ready to host Thanksgiving dinner. The kids were so excited and I think my mom enjoyed herself. She is a tough lady to shop for because she really does have everything. I crocheted her a scarf and the kids made birthday cards. They were so excited to see her.

Mom's not real big on birthdays for herself or for anyone. She doesn't want anyone to fuss over her, but I think that having grandkids trumps that wish.  They want nothing more than to celebrate her and pour love all over her. I'm glad she let them do that. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Ohana

I haven't been blogging because I've been away for the last 2 weeks in beautiful Maui. We had a mini reunion with my side of the family.  We were able to spend time with my parents and my brother.  We haven't seen my brother in 18 months and he's never been to Maui, so this was a good opportunity to spend  time as a family.

In Hawaiian, ohana means family.  We were definitely Ohana-ing it in Maui.  My kids got to spend some time with their grandparents. This was a great opportunity for my daughter to get some individualized attention from my parents.  When my son was born, my mom took care of him for 2 years while I was working.  After I stopped working, she went back to work. She hasn't been able to spend the same type of quality time with my daughter as she did with my son.  I'm glad that they had this time for bonding.

My brother lives in another state and hasn't had much opportunity to spend any length of time with the kids.  The last time we saw him was for Thanksgiving 18 months ago. Buggy was only a month old at the time.  He was a trooper. My kids woke him up everything morning and I think my son wore him out by asking him to play with him all the time.

This was the first vacation that Hubby and I have had where we actually got to relax together a few times. We were able to sit by the pool while the kids were napping because inevitably the grandparents were there napping, too :)

This is the first time in about 12 years (I think) that my side of the family lived under the same roof. I have to admit that I was a little worried about the dynamics. It's never easy to travel and it's never easy to travel with someone other than your immediate family (in my case meaning my kids and Hubby). We all have our idiosyncrasies, and sometimes they don't go well together. But in our case, we really seem to vacation well together. This is the second big vacation we've taken with my parents and that went well, too.

Maybe there is something in the Maui air, but it seemed like we rarely treaded on each other's nerves. Maybe a little towards the end with the stress of packing up again and going back to our busy lives, but overall not too bad!

I even got to spend some one-on-one time with my brother. One night when everyone went back to the room he and I spent some time talking over some fro-yo. I go to hear about what's going on in his life in Nebraska and hopefully connecting with him again as adults.  My brother and I are fairly different.  He's outgoing, social, devil-may-care, easy going, relaxed, friendly. I'm definitely more up-tight, a rule-follower, a planner, more shy, hesitant, a list-maker, deliberate.  Growing up it made things difficult, because we couldn't relate well to one another. I'm hoping now that we are adults, that it won't be so hard to connect. Maui was definitely a step in the right direction.  He was so good with my kids and for that, I am very grateful.

We are back home and trying to get back in the swing of things. I hope that maybe my brother and I can spend more time together, maybe through Skype so that he can see the kids and maybe the kids can get a chance to talk to him. I hope that spending extra time with my daughter, that my parents feel as if they've connected with her a little more.  We are a still a little jet lagged at my house, but at least it's summer and we've got time. Life is good!

A week in the Life: Day 7

Day 7 in A Week in the Life. Last Day, Enjoy!

Bugs ready to go to Boogie's T-Ball game. Very hot yesterday!!!

The family stylin' with their sunglasses and ready to roll to the game.

 "Holly Hobbie"

Waiting for his turn at bat.

Aim for the fences!

Very tired Buggy after the t-ball game!

Trying to be more organized:  Carolina Pad 13-pocket file folder for coupons, small file folder for receipts, my Brother Labeler, and a card holder to lessen the junk in my wallet...

Dinner out last night! A very belated Christmas gift to my in-laws.

It took 3 tries, but I got everyone to smile. Hubby with his parents after our dinner.

Night sky on our way home, last night.

Starting to de-stress

I was so grumpy all week. A lot of things were on my mind a lot of it being how to organize the next 3 weeks with one of them having my husband gone on business. I was also stressing about how I was going to juggle running a local 5-mile race in 3 weeks and yet get my son to his t-ball game and have someone watch my daughter. Before it was going to be me running the race and my husband taking the kids to the t-ball game. I was sad I would miss my son's last game, but happy that my husband would be able to do it.

 Unfortunately, we just found out that he would be out of town and might possibly get in during the wee hours of Saturday morning.  Not the greatest because he would be tired from all of his traveling and then having to juggle the kids.  Now we found out that in order to be home for the game, he would have to take the red eye back and not get back until around 7am, and by the time he got home, the t-ball game would have already started, which still leaves us with the dilemma of what to do with the kids: pull out of the race? Run the race and have someone babysit the kids and miss the t-ball game? Call on friends or family to take both kids to the t-ball game?  All of the options have been running through my head. None are ideal and I absolutely loathe calling friends or family for favors because I hate putting people on the spot.  I always try to handle it on my own if possible.

Fortunately my husband does not have this problem.  He explained the dilemma to my parents last night and asked my mom to watch the kids and I held my breath. My dad was listening and offered not to run the race with me and offered to help my mom instead. Sigh of relief. This will work out.  I hate asking my parents to watch the kids, because I never want to seem like I'm taking them for granted. I really try to space out when asking them to watch the kids and have started calling a babysitter more often to watch the kids when we go out (though I only ask my parents to help out about once a month, apparently that's too often).   My parents have admitted that watching both kids is very tiring and hard for both of them. They love the kids, but my son is super active and my daughter calls everyone Mommy, making my mom think that my daughter is constantly calling for me (which she isn't). This causes them to become very tired. I should also clarify that both my parents work full-time and my father plays drums in a band. Both are in their 50's. They're tired.

It's amazing that having this one very stressful dilemma solved has made me less grumpy. I think my grumpiness is a side affect of my anxiety.  It's usually the reason.  I'm still concerned about the next 3 weeks because it will just be crazy busy for us, but I feel like I will be able to get things done.  Big thank you to my BFF, Jessica, who knows of stress and is bringing her girls over for a play date with my kids next month so that I can get a few things done.  I am so grateful!  Let the good times roll!