Day 7

Today was a better day than yesterday. It helped to get the cry out. I knew that you e-mailed mom because you mentioned us going over there for dinner and that conversation happened after I e-mailed you. 

I am sorry if my e-mail this morning hurt your feelings. I know that you are busy and working hard but you haven't been communicating much at all. I would e-mail almost everything that happened during the day and you would respond with 1 sentence. You would not be happy if I just e-mailed you one sentence every day. You would feel so left out and that is how I felt. So, thank you for the e-mail. I like knowing what you are doing and thinking. I miss not talking to you everyday and knowing what you doing and feeling. 

Small group was really good. We talked about Communication; I thought that was very apropos. It was good to talk about everything and learn some communication mistakes that we can all make. We had our baby shower for Jillian. I think she was a little embarrassed/overwhelmed but I think that it was really good that we did it. i hope that it made her feel special and let her know how much we enjoy her. 

Casey won his big trial to the tune of $70 Million for the company. Sarah said he was pretty happy. Evidently his company closed Ruth Chris down last night celebrating. Sarah was very proud of him which was really cute.  She told me that she is giving him tomorrow off so the plan is to take the kids over there for a play date and to hang out while Casey does his thing.  Hopefully that happens because I know how much H will enjoy playing with them. 

I ordered the pants & shirts from The Limited. With tax and shipping everything came to $126 but I saved $167 so that is pretty cool.  I am excited about them and hope everything fits. Then I can wear this stuff on a date and be pretty for you. 

Your son got dressed this morning and said "Everything is beautiful" when he looked in the mirror. I have no idea where he got that from because I definitely don't say that. 

H broke my heart today. On the way home school today he told me that Sarah shook her head and told him that she did not love him. Why would she say that? He was very sad about it when he told me. I can't believe that he is 3 and someone has already told him that they don't love him. 

I have put a towel down by the outside door in the living room. We are supposed to get some more rain and I am hoping that this will help keep the rain away from the wood. 

It was pretty cold here today; 46 when I was getting H home from school. I looked it was colder in Jacksonville, FL than in Frankfurt, Germany which kinda blew my mind. Pretty much everywhere in the world is supposed to be colder than Florida; except for Tropical places. 

Kristin is not coming in town today but she might try to come tomorrow. I don't think that they should drive all this way for 24 hours but she has done it before and I am sure that she will do it again some time. She should just be with her puppy and then come down at the end of April like planned. She sent me a text about 7:30 telling me that the Dog is doing good but has yet to say whether they are coming down this weekend or not. 

I finished 11/22/63 today. It did not end how I expected it to but it was a good read and I enjoyed kinda thinking how things would be if we went back in time and changed one thing. 

Dinner with Mom & Dad went well. A now says NIENIE (pretty much the say as when she says Nigh-Nigh) & Poppa. She sure took a loving to Poppa tonight. She didn't want to do anything without him. It was nice to spend time with mom & Dad and have to kids happy again without it being me that took care of everything. You were EXTREMELY right about what we did for dinner; and it was good. I had my first glass of wine, or any alcohol, since our date night. 

I love you and am kinda excited about e-mail "texting" this weekend and kinda getting to talk to you more. I miss you terribly and really don't like that I don't know every single thing you are doing or thinking. 

Day 6

Today has been kinda a weird day. It started with me taking a pregnancy test. Clearly it came back negative because you would not be finding out this way if it was positive. My period is 10 days late. I am sure my period was postponed because of the stress of you leaving but 10 days late is a long time.  Maybe I am going through menopause or something. 

I have to admit, I was kinda sad. The thought of a third kid scared the crap out of me but bringing another one of our amazing kids into the world seemed kinda cool. Also, I figured, if I was pregnant then God REALLY wanted us to have this baby since he gave it to us after your vasectomy.  Then I started to think about all the money this third kid would cost us; bigger house, bigger car, another crib or clothes if it was a boy, another breast pump, another car seat, another kid to put through college, wedding, etc, etc, etc, etc. After thinking about all this, I decided that I am really glad that I'm not pregnant but the idea of a bigger house did kinda get me excited. 

Mrs. Davis' (H's teacher) birthday is next Tuesday so I had H paint a card for her. I don't know if he enjoyed doing it because I stressed out a little about it. It didn't seem very kid friendly but I thought that he would like doing it. I tried to quiz him on his colors while he painted and he could not name a single color. I am hoping it is because he was a little distracted/excited. 

No Julington Creek Pest Control today. Starting a 9:30 this morning it started raining and the rest of the day is like 80%-90% chance of rain. Because of the rain the kids started to go a little stir crazy. We watched a movie in the afternoon with some popcorn. H loved it; A was not impressed but then again, nothing with TV really impresses her. 

I am tired of being an only parent. I have noticed that I am quicker to get angry and I am just tired all the time. Man, I hope this is just my period about to finally start. 

I found some pants that I like. The Limited is having a sale and I could get 2 pair of pair of jeans and 2 shirts for about $100. So, hopefully they will still be on sale when you get back because one of the jeans is a nicer jean that will be good for dressing up. 

We need to do something about the weatherstripping or lack there of on the door to the living room. I have noticed that water is getting in when it rains and wood is warping and getting discolored :(

The sunglasses from Carters came in today and are super cute. It makes me sad that A's sunglasses fit me but that doesn't surprise since she did inherit part of you big head. 

I love how they look in the sunglasses and how much they like them. Neither one wanted to put them on when I first got them but once I hold H how good he looked in them, he was all about them. 

I really do think that A's gap is getting bigger. After you get back I think I will take her to the dentist to see what they say. I don't really want her growing up with the gap. 

The kids played very well after dinner. They played in A's room and pretended to scare each other. A loved it and would jump around with happy feet and laugh every time that H would scare her or me. It helped to brighten my day a little bit. 

I can not find the cereal that I bought anywhere. I looked at the receipt and I know that I paid for it, but it is not in the back of the car or in our house. I am bummed and will have to get some more tomorrow. I was pretty bummed today so I am going to treat myself to some Dunkin Donuts tomorrow. 

I love you and hope that you had a great nights sleep and a good morning. 

Day 5

I found the Chromecast wall plug in and Chromecast worked perfectly last night. I was able to watch 3 episodes of House of Cards in bed. That was great but I might actually start watching them in the living room again because while I am in bed I have no self control and will continue to watch episodes even when I know that I should be asleep. 

Speaking of sleep, how do you like sleeping in a king bed and not having to wear your mouth guard?

The kids have been waking up in great moods, per usual, but it really helps this not-a-morning-person mama get going a little faster in the morning. I love to have breakfast on the table for them when they get out of their room. I think the smell of food just makes those 2 happy.  They come into the play room and jump around the laugh and smile. It is good for me to start me day with those smiles. I have been steering away from cereal the past 2 days. I don't think that it is filling enough for H and he really doesn't eat as much as he would for a waffle. So, they have been been getting waffles with some apple or banana. 

So far the "no TV if you ask about it" has gone pretty well. This morning he didn't ask about TV, maybe because he had a dirty diaper he was more concerned with, so he got to watch Mickey Mouse Road Rally with breakfast. I made a big deal about him not talking about TV so that is why we were able to watch it.  He actually did a good job during the day with me telling him No. No whining or anything. 

Julington Creek Pest Control is coming out tomorrow. If they get rained out they will be out on Friday. I must be getting old because I am pretty excited about getting someone to come in and take care of the lawn. 

Dinner with your dad was really good. We went to La Nopolera and the kids were excellent. Your dad seemed impressed with them. Your dad said that Kristin might not come down this weekend. Their dog "Puppy" has like colon or liver cancer and they might have to put down in the next day or so. Its pretty sad. I will miss having them here. Your dad joked that if Kristin comes down they are going to want to stay with us. I let him know that is fine. They can have our bed. I think Kristin would love seeing the kids all the time. 

Your dad left us a check... for $750.00. He also mentioned us telling him how much our flights are because he is going to have us book a ticket for Kevin and he will pay us back. So, if Kevin goes to Conors wedding, he will be traveling with us!

Stinks about no Cuckoo clocks. I am sure you will be able to find some other cool thing for them to get. 

As you saw when we Skyped, H is very into his "Go Noles" hat and we played "baseball" in his hallway. A was not that great at throwing the ball but VERY into it. H had great form and would have played it all night if I let him. It was really cute how excited he got about throwing the ball back and forth. He would yell "I'm a baseball player" every time he threw. I tried to get a video of it but he got very shy. 

A is once again obsessed with her owl hat. She took it to bed with her tonight along with her PooPoo Bear.  The things that she becomes obsessed with amaze me. 

Mom sent me a video one of the teachers took of him at school. It isn't interesting but I thought that you might like to see it. 

I love you and hope that you had a great night & day. 

Day 4

Today I had planned on taking the kids to the new Members only Tiger Exhibit. I did not do that. Yesterday was gorgeous but today was gloomy and cold. After the kids woke up from nap I didn't feel like being outside. So, we are going to wait and see it with you when you come back. 

No one really slept well last night. I don't know if it was the weather cooling down but A woke up early, H woke up a couple of times during the night and I just could not stay asleep. 

I tried out a new show during snack time from Disney Jr. It is called Ella the Elephant. After we watched it, I asked H if he liked it. His response, and I quote, "No. It stressful." So, we are not going to be watching Ella the Elephant because it stresses our 3 year old out.

I went to yoga this morning. It was awful! Big girl was in my spot which completely threw me off. If I ever try to tell you I am not a creature of habit you can laugh at me. I could not concentrate and my balance was way off. It didn't help that Big girl was modifying all the poses to add her own stuff. Just so distracting. Sarah started her period so she wasn't there this week but I am MAKING her come next week to enjoy the show with me. 

A repeated the word "Purple" after I said it. I was kinda impressed. She has also started calling Pooh Bear "Poo Poo Baby." I laugh every single time she says it.  She also said Amen at the end of God Our Father at dinner & before bed. I know that they say girls are more verbal than boys; it is just weird to see it played out. 

Julington Creek Pest Control came out. I really like the guy. He was very nice and seemed really knowledgeable. I showed him our problem spots and the backyard. He actually told me that when you put plugs down, you need to step on them once a day to sink them into the ground. He said not to twist and turn on them but step on them to make sure they stay down. He was very impressed with all that we had done with the yard.  It is going to be $60 every 6 weeks for treatment which I think sounds reasonable. I am loving that they spray for flea & ticks. Darby has been scratching a lot again. I am going to give her a bath tomorrow when i shower. 

Today wasn't as great as the last 2 days. Like I said, I think being the only parent is wearing on me.  It might have been not getting a good nights sleep but who knows. I also got Wendys for dinner. After making dinner AND cleaning up last night I just didn't want to do it again tonight. Also, dinner ended up not filling me up last night. I got seconds around 8 pm and ate some snack and dessert. I will probably be fat by the time you get back. 

I felt better after talking to you. I know that we don't have a set schedule of when we talk but starting around 1 pm I stay near the phone and computer and was stressed out until you called. I didn't want to miss you.  The kids played really well after we talked. We had dessert in the play room and then H invented a game where he turned both toy strollers on their sides and he and A pretended to race down the hall. Both kids LOVED it! 

The day ended on a better note than it had been. I love you and hope that you had a great nights sleep. 

Day 3

I got off my bum and tried Chromecast in the Living Room. It worked great so the problem is our TV which bums me out because I really want to lay in bed and watch House of Cards. I read online that people have unplugged one end and plugged it into the wall adapter. If ours came with a wall adapter we should do that in the room. Maybe I will look for one. 

A has discovered the ability to walk backwards a few steps. She spent all morning taking 2 steps forward and 2 steps back. Cracks me up how excited she gets about it.  She has also taken to walking around with a stroller and cell phone. So... she is a mini-me. 

The weather was beautiful today. I went out back and started to pull up all the tall grass like you asked. There sure is a lot.  H & A loved to help out with it. I got all the big ones up. I will slowly work on the little ones but it is hard because that ground stays permanently wet and I sink down into it. A got so dirty while I was pulling weeds. I feel like she was falling down on purpose. 

It kinda amazes me that life is going on as usual. I didn't really expect the world to fall apart while you were gone but I did expect things to feel different, weird. It does feel weird not to have you here at night or in the morning but the days are exactly the same as they always are. CRAZY.

I plan on taking the kids to the zoo tomorrow for the Tiger Exhibit.  I think that H will love it! Especially since we have watched them build it and he still loves to pretend to be a tiger.  I am going to see if Sarah wants to come to with her kids. H would love that. 

I called Julington Creek Pest Control (that's who mom & dad use for their lawn). Someone is going to come out tomorrow to look things over and give me an estimate. I will share that with you and then we will see if we want to use them. 

The kids have suddenly taken to books like crazy today. A has been pushing a Llama Llama book around in her stroller all day and they both put books on the ground and "read" them after dinner. Super cute.

After we got off Skype with you A sat there and continued to make kissing noises at the computer. She sure does love you. Have you noticed that her hugs are way better than H's. She actually wraps her arms around you and squeezes. After I got her out of the shower she wrapped her arms around me and would not let go. Like seriously would not let go. It was kinda nice to have her derive such comfort from our hugs that she doesn't want them to stop. 

I made BLT pasta for dinner. I thought that it was delicious. A ate all but the lettuce and H didn't like any of it. I finally just asked him to eat only the pasta and bacon.  I know that you won't like it so I will keep it around for when you are out of town. 

H and I had a great night after A went to bed. We played hide-and-seek. I taught a new hiding place behind our curtains and the kid cackled every time on of us would hide there. I am sure that he will use it next time you play with him. I have decided that I am really going to work on him actually counting things. He can count but not accurately. After hide-and-seek we went into his room and played with his train. I showed him how to use his legs as a tunnel so we spent the next ten minutes watching the train go through each others legs and laughing. It was very nice to have a day with little whining and lots of laughter. 

So, today was a good day. I hope that you had a great day as well and got a great nights sleep. 

I have attached 2 pics of the kids. 1 of them reading after dinner and then other one of H SUPER excited to go to school. 

LOVE YOU LIKE WHOA!!!

Day 2

Day 2

​

So Darby and I did not sleep well. Any time she heard a sound or I rolled over she went looking for you. It was a LONG night so I started House of Cards. It is well written appears to be very intriguing. I think you will like it. Chromecast stopped working during the second episode. My phone just stopped registering it. It seems to have shut itself off and I couldn't get it to light up again. I am wondering if it got a little to hot behind our TV. I am going to try it out tonight and might have to buy another one tomorrow when I go to get groceries. 

The kids woke up at exactly 6:30 which is good because I did too. The morning was very normal. We ate breakfast and played until it was time for them to hop in the bath.  We did get to Skype with you which was nice. It is night to know that we will see your face for a little bit each day. H seems very confused by the whole thing but poor A could not stop waving Hi to the computer. Even after we were done Skyping and the computer was closed!  While they were playing in the bath I actually made coffee for myself and then got busy and forgot to drink it. I am sure that won't be the case tomorrow. 

We made it to church and everyone looked good and clean. I ran into Olivia and Liz while putting A in nursery. I stopped by to say Hi and the next thing I know church is letting out. I am a little mortified that I missed church to talk to Olivia and Liz but I really enjoyed it. I might try to get together with them another time. 

Mom and Dad took pity on us and took up to Red Elephant for lunch. The kids were AMAZING . We might be able to take the restaurants again. Mom and Dad laughed that H & A acted like they had never been out in public the way they were starring at everyone and everything. A was at the end of the table and spent much of lunch turned around waving and saying HI to everyone that passed.  It was pretty cute. I had the kids share grilled cheese and some fruit. I was upset to see fruits that the kids wouldn't like in the dish but A ate it all (not a shocker there). What did shock me was that she ate PINEAPPLE! What 1 year old (or 30 year old) like pineapple? Once she discovered it, that was all she ate. Made me smile. Just when I don't think that her eating habits can amaze me more, they do. 

I have tried to make out a grocery list a couple times today and so far nothing really sounds good. All I have down to make this week are Boiled Eggs, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip muffins and a BLT pasta. I just don't know what to make for the kids. I don't want to make big meals every night for the 3 of us but I am already kinda tired of fast food. 

We are had macaroni and cheese and Hot Dogs for dinner tonight. As soon as I decided to do that, I knew it was because of you. I would NEVER desire to make this if I wasn't married to you.  It really didn't taste good but the kids ate it up. 

Chromecast keeps shutting off after 10 minutes in our room and then I can't get it start. I know that we didn't have this problem in the living room so I am thinking that maybe it isn't getting enough power from the TV in our room.  The non-lazy thing for me to do would be to get out of bed and try it in the living room but that seems too easy. 

I love you and I hope that your first work day goes well and that you get to eat some German food!

Day 1

JJ has left for Germany for 2 weeks with work. This came up extremely last minute (we had 2 days to prepare). This is a great opportunity for his professional career but I am sad to be left at home with the kids while he is off to Europe. 

So, he doesn't have a lot of free time so these are my letters to him about the going-ons of our life while he is gone. 

Day 1

Yes, I am writing a summary for Day 1 at 7 pm. I just got done putting H to bed and am exhausted. Crying really takes it out of you. 

As soon as you shut the car door after saying goodbye to A, she started to scream. She screamed until we got on 295. I don't think she liked being in the car and seeing you walk away. She cried until we got home. H didn't really cry. I think his sadness will hit tomorrow or Monday.  I was sad too but it was tripled listening to A scream from sadness. 

We didn't do chick-fil-a for dinner.  With A crying I really didn't want to extend the trip any longer than I had to. I decided comfort food, McDonald's, is what we all needed. I got the kids Happy Meals with chocolate milk. That was a huge hit. As was the apples in the meal. Both kids really are them up. I am going to have to start buying apples for the kids. 

As soon as we got home A seemed to calm down. Both kids were overly excited to see Darby. H even told me as we were pulling into the neighborhood that "no one took Darby while we were gone." So weird. 

We ate, played and watched a show. A went down immediately at 6. She wanted a bear with her in bed and was sitting up hugging it as I left the room. She is such a lover. H was in a very imaginative mood so we acted out what was happening on Doc McStuffins. He seemed to enjoy doing that. H requested his fire truck PJs but didn't want the striped ones so he settled on Monkeys. He was really good the whole time until it was time for me to leave the room. That is when he realized that you wouldn't be reading to him too. I calmed him down by telling him we would be taking a bath and going to church tomorrow. 

I am now cuddled in bed with Darby reading 11-22-63 and eating cookies while watching The Office. I figure I will read The Shining during the day and this at night since it isn't scary. 

I love you with all my heart and missed you before you were gone. I hope that you have safe flights. Can't wait to hear all about it.