Week one: Practice

Last week when I came home without Brandon I told myself that this was just a "practice week."  Nothing that happened this week would count.  Good, bad, or ugly - it didn't matter.  I'm happy to report that there was a whole lot of good.  A tiny bit of bad.  And one really ridiculously ugly night.    

Let's start with the ridiculously ugly.  Saturday night I was caught up in a perfect storm of unusually loud neighbors, restless kids, and a head cold.  Between the kids who were riding their bikes in the breeze way at 11:00 PM, the loud conversation across the courtyard at 4:00 AM, and the fact that Derrick/Lydia/Charlotte kept waking up I only got 2 hours of sleep!  It would have been a bad night even if Brandon was around.  The fact that I was alone made it worse.  

At 6:00 AM I was mentally going through the list of people I could call to take over while I took a nap.  I knew I needed someone who would be comfortable in my house with my kids for several hours.  As I thought over all the branch members, friends, and neighbors I realized that I really just wanted my mom.  And as an added bonus I knew she would be awake at 6:00.  I called her and within a few minutes she and my dad were on their way.  When they arrived I gave them a few instructions, took a dose of NyQuil, and went to bed.  I emerged four hours later as a new person.    

Thanks to my parents' help I was able to be awake enough to go to church and teach my first lesson as the Gospel Doctrine teacher. (It went awesome if I do say so myself.)  They stayed with me until about 5:00 PM.  After they left I  took care of the kids and felt like a competent mother again.  And Sunday night went just fine.  Which further proved what an anomaly Saturday night had been.

About the only bad thing that happened this week was that I didn't have any plans for Saturday.  A fact I realized almost too late.  Thankfully my friend Jeannette answered my facebook plea for someone to hang out with.  I took the kids down to Riverton to see her and her little boy.  We had a great time. 

However, that was just in the morning.  When I came back home I still had a whole afternoon and evening stretched out before me.  I tried taking the kids on a long walk, but one of the tires on the stroller went flat.  So we turned around and went to the park.  There was some sort of family reunion going on at the park and I felt like every adult was watching me and my three babies.  So then we went home and tried watching a movie, but that fell apart too. In the end I just gave up on the day and put everyone to bed at 7:00.  I learned I never want to be home alone on a Saturday again.  Most days I can pretend Brandon is just at work, but lonely Saturday's are pathetic. 

Despite those two little blips this week has actually been really really good.  Here are some of those good things. 

On Thursday I took the kids on a walk to the library so I could return books. I noticed a sign for "toddler story time." I've always wanted to take the kids to that, but felt they were too young.  Since we were already there I decide to give it a try.  It went really really well.  And I plan to go back there at least once a week.  The girls need the socialization. Heck, I need the socialization.  Oh and I should mention that Derrick was very well behaved and didn't cry even though he had a poopy diaper the whole time.  (I didn't plan on staying out long enough to need diapers) 

Friday I took the girls to the local splash pad.  I also brought my neighbor Caleb along.  Caleb lives upstairs and has become an honorary uncle to the kids.  He comes with us to the park sometime and the girls copy everything he does.  Which has lead them to become the park daredevils as they play on equipment that they are way too young for.       

I'm glad I took Caleb along to the splash pad because he was the only one who enjoyed it.  For some reason the girls were terrified of the water.  They've been to this splash pad before and loved it so I'm not sure what was up.  They did have fun playing on the nearby playground.

 Friday night I had a movie night with the girls.  We put all the blankets and pillows on the floor.  We ate popcorn and oreos.  We watched 101 Dalmatians.  The girls loved pointing out all the dogs.  It was a really fun night.   The only downside to the whole thing was that Brandon called, and I missed it because I couldn't hear my phone in the other room. (He later called my parents and let them know that he is doing well.)

Tonight I had Caleb and his parents over for dinner.  I had all the ingredients to make Lasagna, but I didn't want to eat it all myself.  They came over and helped me eat it all.  Plus they kept me company which was really the point.

Some other things that happened this week include:

I quit nursing.  I've planned on doing this for a while.  With Brandon gone I don't have the luxury of sitting on the couch and nursing.  Plus Derrick can hold his own bottle now so (in my opinion) it's kind of a waste of time to breastfeed.  And the final factor in the switch was Lydia started trying to climb into my lap every time I started nursing Derrick.  So I'm done now. It was nice while it lasted, but I don't miss it.

I started weening the girls off their binkies.  I didn't plan this one at all.  But the other day I realized that I only knew where two of the green soothie brand binkies were.  I didn't want to buy more and I didn't want to lose one and then have the girls fight over the last one. So I hid them both.  The girls reluctantly transitioned over to the more traditional style binkies.  Charlotte had an especially hard time.  She kept asking me for her "beesy."  But after a day they both accepted the new binkies.  Little do they know that all the binkies will disappear as soon as Derrick no longer needs a binkie. (I have no idea when that will be, but Brandon did mention that he'd love 3 binkie weened children as a Christmas Present.)   

So to sum up, we are doing just fine without Brandon.  We all miss him, but we are okay. The girls ask where he is and they totally accept "he's at work" as a valid answer.  On the other hand Lydia is very upset that the red balloon in the book, "Goodnight Moon" is not in every picture of the great green room.  She keeps asking me, "ballooo?  ballooo?"

Of course there are moments when I miss Brandon, but he is exactly where he needs to be right now.  So bring on the next 15 weeks.  I'm ready for them!

Staying busy

You all know I have no desire to buy a house anytime soon.  I do, however, often wish I had a yard.  Luckily, my parents let me come over and do "foster yard care" for them.  For weeks I've been itching to put in a paving stone path and move the clothes line.  I've been saving these projects until now that Brandon is gone.  I've seriously had thoughts like this.  "I'm really going to miss Brandon . . . but once he's at basic I get to go work on Mom and Dad's yard.  YAY."

Anyway, my parents have had a clothesline in this spot since they bought the house in 1992.  Back then this location made sense, but over the years things changed in the yard and now the clothes line is in the way.  

 A few weeks ago I had the radical idea to move the clothes line.  I can't believe I never thought of it before.

Digging holes is one of my favorite things to do so I spent most of the day digging the new holes for the posts.  Then I dug out the posts.  One of the posts had wasps nests in it.  Hillary and I bundled up so the wasps wouldn't sting us.  We looked more like we are trying to terrorize the wasps.  Then we went out and moved the post.  My mom and the kids watched us as we tried to move that post and it's heavy cement ball.  She said it was hilarious to watch us wimpy girls struggle. By the time we got it to the new hole, both of us were missing our men (Hillary is sort of waiting for a missionary).

 It was totally worth all the effort.  Here is the after picture.  Oh yeah, I also put all these stepping stones in today.

 Here is another view.  That pillar thing has been there since before my parents bought the house.  We've always jokingly referred to it as "The Nephite Alter."

 We need to figure out what to do with it now.

 And here is what the new clothes line looks like.  The girls were getting antsy to go so I didn't have time to tie the ropes back on.

Oh and in addition to everything I did in the back yard I also found time to swap the living room and family room couches.

After today I decided it's good I didn't move in with my parents.  I would probably channel all my "missing Brandon energy" into remolding their house in 16 weeks.   

It was really fun to spend the day there and work on some long anticipated projects.  Tomorrow I'm planning on staying home and getting my house cleaned up (again).  I'm not as excited about that.

One giant leap forward

Brandon was sworn into active duty in the army today.  I took the kids out to my parents and then met Brandon at the MEPS place.  We waited FOREVER for his turn to get sworn in. It was nice to see him again, but oh my gosh it was boring.  I'm so glad I didn't bring the kids.  There is no way they would have been good for even 5 minutes of waiting.   

 Eventually they took Brandon back, and I got to wait some more.  Then they took the family members into a room where the solders were standing.  Brandon and two other guys were standing with their hands behind their backs and staring forward.  It was kind of unnerving so see him so still and silent.  I was afraid that I would make eye contact with him and then start giggling.  So I stayed behind him most of the time.

 A Sargent came in and talked to us about what an honor it is to join the military.  Less than 1% of the United States population currently serves in the military.  Only 50% of applicants actually qualify to be sworn in.  He said that it is an honorable thing to do.  He also said that whatever our reasons for joining the military are, they are all good reasons.  He said that the swear in ceremony represents a giant leap forward in the life of the soldiers.

 After Brandon repeated the oath he was able to actually talk to me again.  I'm so proud of him.

 Brandon's dad was able to be there as well.  He served in the National Guard in the 70's, and he is very proud of Brandon too.

I could have stayed at the MEPS place with Brandon a little longer, but I was pretty sick of that place.  Plus I just wanted to say goodbye and start moving on.  So I gave Brandon one last hug and kiss and I was out of there.  He's still in town until tomorrow so technically I could have taken the kids and seen him again tonight, but I felt like we've already drug this goodbye thing out long enough.

Here are some answers to the questions I've been getting a lot over the past few days:

Where is he going?
He is going to basic training at Fort Benning in Georgia.

How long will it last?
16 weeks.  He will be on leave again around from the middle of December until January.

What is his MOS (Military Occupation Specialty)?
Special Forces, also known as Green Beret.  He doesn't know what he will specialize in yet
.
What is his rank?
Specialist.  That's higher than a Private.  He starts out higher because he has a college degree.

How are you doing?
I'm actually doing just fine.  For real.  I've been waiting for this day for so long so it's nice to have it finally happen.  And there are so many good things that come with this change.  For instance, Brandon has health insurance for the first time in over 2 years!  And Brandon will be making more money than either of us have ever made before.  Plus there is a housing allowance on top of that.  So we are going to be able to afford making double payments on the student loans.

Won't you be lonely/need help?
Well, my sister is moving in with me to help with the girls and to make sure I eat more than just cereal all the time.  And if tonight is any indication of things to come my neighbors will make sure I'm okay.  In the half hour after I got home I talked to about 8 of my neighbors. Two of them held Derrick while I "took the girls on a walk."  As I put the girls to bed the RS president knocked on the door to tell me that my car door was slightly ajar. (At least I didn't leave a kid in the car). After I put the girls to bed I went outside to throw away the trash and check the mail.  I ended up being out there for 20 minutes because I ran into the RS President and her husband, my upstairs neighbors, and then my friend Danielle.  I finally retreated into the house when I saw yet another neighbor drive up.  I wanted to get inside before I had to play another round of "is Brandon gone, and how are you?"  

What do you plan to do while Brandon is gone?
Everything!  I have a huge list of things I want to work on at night.  And during the day I plan on playing.  Consider this an invitation.  I want to hang out with YOU. (Yes, even you people who think I don't remember you.  You'd be surprised how many people I remember)  Facebook me, call me, comment, whatever.  Let's get together.  I have a car all to myself (for the first time in my life) and I'll come to you if needed.  

So yeah, things are great.  I'm so glad we are done waiting for this day to come.

The last of the salad days*

Well, it happened.  I dropped Brandon off at a hotel tonight.  Early tomorrow he will report to the Salt Lake Military Entrance Processing Station and be sworn in as an active duty member of the United States Army.

And how am I doing?  Well right now I'm just fine because I get to stay up late and play around on my blog.  Once I turn off the computer it might be another story.  Tomorrow I'm going out to my parents house as soon as I get the girls dressed and fed.  I have plans to pour all my sadness into digging lots of holes in their backyard.

Anyway, let's recap the last several days.  Brandon's last day of work was a week ago.  We've enjoyed the last week together as a family.  It's been nice to just relax and soak up valuable time together.

Two Friday's ago we went up into the mountains above Bountiful.  We haven't been up there this summer so it was fun to take the jeep and go exploring.  I love living in Davis County because you only have to travel a few miles East or West and you end up in the great outdoors.

 We stopped at the end of the road and had a picnic dinner.

 The girls went on a walk and were so cute together.  I don't know why I dressed them in white when I knew we were going up in the mountains.  They both ended up so dirty.  But oh well, that is what Resolve laundry spray is for.

 Brandon was a stud and fed Derrick.

 Derrick loved being outdoors.  Of course it's kind of hard to tell because he flashes that amazing smile all the time.

 The girls loved walking around but they got scarred when a dirt bike went by.

 On the way back down the sun was amazing.

 We stopped to look at the aftermath of a natural gas pipeline that was put in last year. You can see this trench all over the mountains above Bountiful. This is right where it goes over the mountain.

 The sun was setting as we went back down the hill.  We stopped to watch it set behind Antelope Island.

 Saturday we had the goodbye party that I already blogged about.  Sunday we spoke in church.  Monday wasn't very special because Brandon still had to work.  Tuesday was his last day.  When he came home we had dinner and then took the kids to the Brigham Young Memorial Park in Downtown Salt Lake.  We went there to hear Cherie Call sing.

 The kids all loved hanging out on the blanket.  Charlotte claimed her spot with her Daddy.

 The girls went for an little walk and started holding hands.  All summer I've been trying to get a picture of them doing this.  They always seem to hold hands whenever I don't have the camera.

 But finally I had the camera with me and I could get a few pictures.

 There were lots of people there to hear Cherrie Call sing.

 We sat in the back and enjoyed her uplifting music.  I was afraid she would sing "Leave it like it is" and then I would bawl.  But she didn't.

 After the concert we took the kids to look at the temple.  I explained that Dad and I were sealed in the temple which meant we would always be a family. The kids just wanted to get in the reflecting pool.

 We walked over to the City Creek Center so we could make sure the triple stroller fits in elevators.  It does.

 We stopped to watch the fountain dance.  It was such a perfect evening.  The air was warm, but not hot and the kids were in good moods.

 On Wednesday we took a drive up to Brandon's parents new house.  Or rather the site of their new house. Brandon's dad was working on getting the footings for the foundation poured.  Here is Steve working on the footings for the garage.

 And here are the footings for the house.

 Steve has wanted to build his own house for years.  I'm so happy that he finally is able to do it.  If you click here you can read his blog about the process.

 Wednesday afternoon we took the kids to my parents house so Brandon and I could go run some errands.  We ran the errands and went out on a date to Cafe Rio.

I can't remember anything specific that we did on Thursday.  I think we just hung around the house and enjoyed being together.  Brandon rigged up this toy thingy for Derrick.  Brandon was feeling bad for Derrick because the girls always steal his toys.  So far they have left this alone.

Friday afternoon we went for a drive to the Farmington Bay Bird Refuge.  We've wanted to go there for a while, but it closes at 5:00 so we've never had a chance.  We walked around for a little bit.  There was a storm coming in and there was lots of thunder and lightning.  Soon we all ended up in the front seat of the jeep while we waited for the storm to pass.  I'd forgotten the camera so Brandon took this picture with his phone.  

Friday night we had Brandon's cousins over for dinner.  In the course of the evening Brandon started telling his famous "Grandpa Stories."  Right before he really got into them I remembered that I've always wanted to film him telling these stories.  So I hurried and set up the camera.  You really should watch this movie- it will make you laugh.  Sorry for some of the background noise.   

 Saturday we went on a walk to the park and enjoyed a picnic. The picnic included oreo's which the girls loved.

 It stared raining during our lunch so we were joined by a soccer team and their fans while they waited out the storm.

 The rain passed and we went out to play.

 The girls love to swing.  They could do it all day.

 Here is a little random moment from Saturday.  Charlotte started out in the box.  Lydia joined her.  And then they both pointed to Derrick and then to the box.  So I added him as well.

 I realized I hadn't taken pictures of the kids sleeping in a while.  So I took this one of Derrick. He started sleeping though the night last week!  Sometimes it's all the way through until 8:00 and sometimes is only until 6:00.  I'm happy I don't have to wake up at 1:30 any more.

 And here are the girls.  Thankfully they haven't figured out how to climb out of their cribs.  We have no plans for moving them into toddler beds any time soon.

 On Sunday Brandon gave each kid a special present.  A framed picture of him and each of them.

 We keep these pictures on a shelf where the girls can reach them.  That way they can hold the picture whenever they want.  I want them to remember that they have a Daddy even though he isn't around.

 Brandon also gave each of us a priesthood blessing.  I have faith that the blessings will help the kids understand why Brandon is gone.  We also took the kids up the the Bountiful Temple.  We told them that this is where we were married.  Once again I got lucky and was able to take this super cute picture.

 Something else happened on Sunday.  I got a new calling!  I'm now the Gospel Doctrine teacher for adults in our branch.  I am so excited for this calling.  Especially since it gives me something to think about besides Brandon's absence.

We spent today doing laundry and packing.  I wanted Brandon to pack up all his clothes so I wouldn't miss him every time I saw them.  Plus my sister Hillary will need the closet space when she moves in.  I laid on the bed and watched him fold up all his shirts and pants.  As I watched him I couldn't help smiling.  He folded everything so precisely.  He's going to do just fine in the military.

The last thing Brandon did before we left was vacuum the living room floor.  The girls got on the couch and shrieked with joy every time he ran the vacuum into the couch.  Then he helped put shoes on the girls' feet and put Derrick into his car seat.  We all went out to the car and drove to the hotel.

At the hotel he gave each of us a long hug and a kiss.  I started to get a little sad.  But I put on a brave face and got into the drivers side of the car.  I hoped to get out of there as fast as possible.  But the car wouldn't start!  All sad thoughts instantly disappeared as I became the one in charge and responsible for solving the problem.  Fortunately, Brandon came back and helped me out.  After waiting a few minutes the car started just fine.  The engine was flooded somehow (which was my first thought anyway) I think it was Heavenly Father's way of keeping me from having too much of a pity party.

I brought the girls home and we all ate ice cream.  I told them that Daddy going into the army was a happy thing.  Then they bounced off the walls for awhile before it was time for bed.  Bedtime went just fine and so here we are: the kids asleep, me blogging, and Brandon gone.  The next phase of my life has just begun.

     

*for those of you who are wondering, dictionary.com defines salad days as "a period of youthful inexperience"