On the road again

I was reading a friend's blog earlier where she posted pictures someone had taken when their family said goodbye to her husband before he deployed.

No matter how many deployments you've been through, they're never easy. You find different coping mechanisms to help you during the months your spouse is gone. Many times the crux is if you have kids, their ages, what you're involved in, etc..

Each deployment changes both of you. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes not.

I don't think I've said goodbye to Jason without crying. His last deployment I ended up leaving with the boys because I couldn't stop crying. They didn't need to see me this upset nor did Jason need his wife bawling more then the other spouses. I'll also throw in how late it was and the company not heading out until the wee hours of the morning.

All of this reminded me of a bittersweet goodbye which also had us laughing. Jason had come back to Germany on emergency medical leave since Colin was in the kinderintensivstation, aka NICU. He stayed home for a month before leaving again. Colin was home for all of two days before we headed out to the airport at Rhein-Main for the second time that day.

We're sitting in the car outside of the terminal around 2am waiting for the flight. In front of us on the curb was a soldier and his girlfriend making out. I'm not talking a bit of kissing here and there. The only thing keeping them from having sex were their clothes. I don't think being outside would have stopped either one of them.

Jason commented he should stop them since the soldier was in uniform, they were on base and out in the open for everyone to see. Only he didn't because we knew his goodbye was imminent as were the soldiers. Oh yes, there were two of them making out. The other was in a car parked a few spaces away. They gave us quite a show too.

As we watched them make out, we joked they weren't married or had kids. They had the boundless energy of new sex with new people. Those were the days.

Mrs. Hewitt

Over the weekend Jason helped raked the leaves in Mrs. Hewitt's backyard. He'd come home when she was leaf blowing her front yard and offered to help. The boys and I caught her raking after we came back from our nap. We walked down with a rake, brooms and kid energy to help with the rest.

She is 90yrs old and has lived in our neighborhood for 54 years. I only hope I'm as spry as she is, being a young 90yrs old.

Call me Grace.

What's the last bit about locking myself out of the house with Jake in the van? I have one-upped myself. I locked Jake and I in their bedroom last week. This meant I climbed out the bedroom window. Not exactly an easy task since the windows are high on the wall. Great for privacy. Bad for needing to break out of your own house, especially since the windows are just as high on the outside.

I'm hanging onto the windowsill with Jake gleefully watching along when I realized I hadn't a clue how far I should jump and where exactly the basement window well was located. I eased up a bit only to break the well covering. A slight move to the right and I dropped down. During all of this, I could feel the brick digging into my arms and stomach.

Dusting myself off, I look at my arms. They're scraped in several places along with my stomach. Not even a week later, the bruises are turning yellow thanks to copious amounts of Hippie Goo slathered on. Half of my right arm is a giant bruise. The scrap near my elbow hurts from cellulitis. Fortunately I haven't visited the ER for more drugs since it's not spreading.

Sadly, my friends are not surprised I've done this. Nor am I.

Comedy of Errors

This is what happens when I try doing all of my errands in one trip. Jake and I headed out for H&M at Tysons Corner for wedding attire. Uncle Snippy knows we're not fancy schmancy in our house (nor is he) so not having the boys in little suits wouldn't be an issue. Still, I didn't want them looking like our hillbilly cousins either. IF H&M didn't have anything decent I'd be hitting up Old Navy.

I did find sweater vests and shirts for the boys at H&M. No pants thinking I'd find something usable amongst the boys clothes. Jason felt khakis of some type would be best. Only everything the boys have is beginning to show wear and tear from either grass stains or knees becoming worn. Never mind there not being any sort of khaki type pant in Jake's size.

On the way back for our trip to Wegman's, I realized I didn't have my shopping list or coupons. Not a problem. I'll swing by the house for the missing items.

Jake and I pull into the driveway. I tell him I'll be right back while leaving him buckled and locked in the car. He can't escape out of his car seat and I was running in for a pee and the list. Only as I left the house, pulling the door shut behind me, I didn't have my keys. The house was locked up and so was the van.

I stood there by the front door trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to do when I remember the windows are open. Fantastic, I'll break into my own house. Only, as I'm thinking this, Jake unbuckles enough so he can lean forward to open the van door. The alarm goes off. Even better.

I go into 'deer in the headlights' mode before running into the yard for the ladder. I'm on the ladder looking into our bedroom wondering exactly how I'll enter the house. Our windows open on both sides with only a screen on one side. Only, they're higher up off the ground so the drop inside the house is higher then normal. They're also narrow so it's not easy hiking a leg over.

Fuck it, I thought as I leaned forward grabbing onto the headboard. I slowly eased myself into a somersault position knowing my legs were flailing before my head reached the mattress. At this point I got myself onto the bed with nothing more then a few bits of mulch decorating the bed.

As I grabbed my keys, heading out the door once again, I kept my fingers crossed no one questioned the van alarm wailing or why I broke into our house. Maybe our neighbors have realized how crazy a household full of males can be so nothing is questioned.

Dear weather,

my sinuses hate you. Yes, I said hate you with a passion. Waking up in the middle of the night with sinus pressure is not pleasant. Please get on with the rain so all can be right in my head.

Sincerely,
Niki's sinuses.

It was bedtime 30 minutes ago

I'm sitting here on the couch listening to the boys talk in bed. Loudly. Brendan and Colin have always chatted for a bit after being tucked into bed. Now that Jake is sharing the room? We're lucky if they actually fall asleep under an hour.

Jake's also taken to coming out every minute for hugs. While I love the open arms, small grin tugging at his mouth, enough with the hugs already! I know the day will come when I'll miss the hugs. Tonight isn't the day.

All of this is coming after a day of sick kids. Colin spent most of the morning either communing with the toilet or holding a bucket in his hand. He crashed in our room for a few hours this afternoon. Jake woke up snotfilled and coughing. I kept reminding him my shirt isn't a kleenex.

We were also to have driven down to Atlanta. Dealing with vomiting wasn't something I wanted in the van on a 10 hour drive. If we'd gone down on Sunday as originally planned, the hoarking could have commenced at Mom's. Instead the HVAC delay kept the illness confined to our house.

On that note. Off to beat submission into the boys. Until the door is shut so the giggling starts all over.

I'm going back to school. Maybe.

I've been thinking about finishing my AA for awhile now. We're in a position where this can be done. Northern Virginia Community College offers almost in-state tuition for members and dependents of the military, which is another plus for finalizing my AA at this point in time. And the no cost on our part thanks to the military offering grants for spouses to finish their degrees or certification training.

I finally mentioned this to Jason last night during a conversation about a former coworker who is here in D.C.. I'd joked about her giving me a job. He said I wouldn't like it because of all the complaining old biddies. I responded maybe I should finish my AA instead, which he is perfectly okay with my doing.

While I desperately want a job, I keep forgetting the realities of childcare. It's more expensive in this area and I don't think I'll have ready access to childcare on post unless I take a job on post. Jason's commute is all over the place still since George Mason hasn't started fall classes. I really don't want my kids in daycare at the ass crack of dawn until 6 or 7pm at night.

If I go back to school, hoping I'll only need a few classes to finish my AA, it'll be easier to find someone to watch Jake. Amy's already offered and there's a potential of an in-home childcare down the block from our house.

I've sent in my application for starting in the spring. This'll give me the chance in finalizing paperwork, getting the grant and seeing if the school will accept all my old credits. I have 61 under my belt if they accept them all. I'm hoping they do so I don't start from scratch.