Gosh can you believe we’re in the final countdown of this deployment?? I mean…We’re counting DAYS people!! Ok, we’ve still got weeks in there but I can finally see the end.
I also finally got what I think are the right shoes. Ladies and gentlemen meet my new Nike Pegasus shoes! Aren’t they pretty!? Haven’t had a chance to test them out yet but soon!!
My birthday is Tuesday and when my daughter and I got home from our fun day of shopping and going out to eat, THIS was on our front door step.
Yup. That’s my hubby’s trunk from overseas!!! Wooohoooooo!!
Also, it wouldn’t be a good post without pics of my beautiful daughters. These two ladies have been my rock over this last year and I couldn’t have done it without them, and the help from a couple close friends.
Lastly. This quote rings true as this deployment ends.
I’ve learned a lot this last year. Who my friends are. How strong I am. And that above all else, my family WILL get through this time apart. I couldn’t be more proud of my daughters and my husband and his troops. May God continue to watch over us all.
Thanks all for your amazing love and support over this last year! I’ll never forget it!!
What shoes do you run in?
Have gone through a life changing event and realized you don’t have as many friends as you thought?
Well I swore I’d keep posting at least once a week, and even though I really contemplated posting that I’d be taking a break from the blog I decided to slap myself in the face and at least write SOMETHING.
Last week, I worked out….ONCE. Yup. Just once. Did I mention I have a half marathon (of which I originally signed up for the full) coming up in three weeks? #allthesuck
I just had too much on my plate. My work days equate to nearly 10 hours with my commute. Rushing home to pick up kids, go to my dental appt. Tuesday, my kids dental appts. Wednesday and getting my youngest to dance class on Thursday completely consumed the evening of last week, which is usually when I work out. The little bit of free time I had was spent cleaning, doing laundry, making lunches, paying bills and trying not to go nuts all in one breath. So Friday we went out for dinner to start our weekend right. I did however spend the rest of my evening cleaning, but hey, what can you do?
My beauties
I did decide to cut myself some slack and just have a FUN day with my girls on Saturday. My youngest and I ran errands and took the dog to the groomers while my oldest took her time getting ready (Seriously, HOW does it take TWO hours to shower and get ready??? LOL!!!!).
So handsome!
We picked her up, and headed out to see the movies. We saw The Jungle Book, and it was REALLY good. I was highly impressed with the special effects, and have been told the only “real” thing in the movie was the little boy. WOW! We then ate at one of our new favorite places in Geneva, Hache’. Our food was good, but sadly our service wasn’t on point. We chalked it up to “everyone has a bad day” and will definitely return. My youngest daughter came down before going to bed, and presented me with this. Yes, we had a good cry…#allthefeels
Sunday I decided May is a new month, and I will be holding myself accountable by planking every day. No matter if it’s a minute or five minutes I will do my best each day. I’ll be posting my planks on my FB, so feel free to join in.
My youngest and I finished our puzzle, and we spent the most of Sunday relaxing and doing laundry.
I did bake some yummy trout!!! I simply seasoned with salt and pepper and a little extra virgin olive oil, and added shallots, garlic and lemons and dried basil. Wrap it up in parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.
Sunday evening we got our last call for a bit. It was an emotional call, and seeing my husband tear up nearly broke my heart. He has been so strong through all of this, and I suppose a part of me secretly needed to see that he missed us too. Two months down, 10 to go!!!
How was your week? Do you find it difficult to juggle all the things?
I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the weekly wrap! Please make sure to head on over and give these amazing ladies some love!
One of the many reasons I have been struggling with the absence of my husband, is that he makes me smile, daily. The very presence of him, calms me, motivates me, inspires me, etc. When I say, he is my person…he really IS. I don’t have a female “Bestie” or “BFF” like most women do. Sure, I have girl friends but they’ve all got their lives and their friends that they are much closer with so without my husband, I get pretty lonely to say the least.
I was having lunch with my sister on Friday and we were talking about how when my husband talks to his soldiers, the room instantly lights up and you can FEEL how they respond to him. The inspiration in the air is tangible. He is a TRUE leader. He is where he is meant to be in life. And then it hit me. Like a ton of bricks. He does all that for our family too. For the last 5 weeks, you can feel the void left in the house so strongly that sometimes I dread going home after work.
And that sucks.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO because I am tired of these sad, Debbie downer sad posts, I am going to make a list of things that make me smile. Because I need to find my smile again. My kids need me to find it, too.
SnapChat. I made an account a while back, but didn’t understand the purpose of this app. I mean, are you supposed to take selfies of yourself over and over and send them to people? I don’t like pictures of myself, so there’s that, too. So after last week’s YUCK fest I invited my teen to join me for my youngest daughter’s dance class. We had a little fun with SnapChat and by the end of the 1 1/2 hours we were laughing so hard tears were pouring down our faces.
Cute, right?Like my facial expression? ROFL!!!
My sister. Last week I wanted to literally hole myself up and just forget the world. But she won’t let me, and for that I am forever grateful. She lets me be me, with all my faults and is there for me always. She had my kids spend the weekend with her because 1. I am working all weekend again and that sucks for the kids, and 2. They sure could use a break from reality for a couple days. #sistering
Seeing my husband’s face. I’ve asked him to try and send pictures when he can. Yesterday while I was working, I got this picture to brighten my day.
Support. Between my Mom and my sister checking on me several times each week, to one of the Army wives who texts me every day, along with my friend Andrea who also texts me every night (for the last 5 weeks nearly!!!) “NNT” which has always been our thing (Night Night Termite) when we talk, I feel so very blessed. AND, I came home last Tuesday from work to find my neighbor had mowed my lawn! How awesome is that?While I may not have a female “BFF” I do have a lot of people who make the time to show they care.
That’s love right there, LOL!!! ❤
Running! Of course! I ran twice last week, and am hoping to get a few miles in tomorrow since it’s my day off! I have concluded that I don’t like the Brooks Launch 3’s as much as the 2’s. The toe box is just a little different, and they don’t have that same airy feel.
Doesn’t everyone lounge around the house in their old marathon running shoes?
With that, I bid you all a happy weekend! Tell me something that makes YOU smile?! Ready, GO!
This marks the first week we’ve gotten through with my husband being gone. Ok, tomorrow is technically one week, but who’s counting.
To say the week was hard, is an understatement. With as much as my husband travels, I thought that this truly would be easier. But it’s not. And more days than not last week I wondered how on earth I would get through this next year without him?
I don’t want to cook, don’t want to work out, don’t want to even watch the shows he and I watch together because honestly it just hurts. I attempted Sunday supper last night to try and get back to our normal routine, and the emptiness of my husband’s chair made it painful to even eat. We all feel his absence, and it’s hard to even put into words the raw ache I feel in my chest.
So here a few highlights of my week.
Does drinking wine alone make mean I have an issue? LOL…The kids and the dog are in the house so it doesn’t count as drinking alone, right? HA!
I worked out, ONCE last week. And was sore for 2 days afterwards, LOL. #outofshape
The girls and I got to Facetime with my hubby and it was GREAT. We went out to eat to celebrate Saturday night. Ok, I just didn’t want to cook.
My youngest also got her first slide phone. With the recent nanny issues, and my husband being gone, I just wanted to be able to communicate with her at all times. Call it paranoia? Normally I wouldn’t allow a cell phone until middle school, but I think this time my change of mind is warranted.
My hubby sent me a selfie of him and one of his troops. LOVE!!
Well, my lunch break is up, so I better get back to work!!! I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the Weekly wrap up! Make sure to check them out!!!
How do you get back in to a routine after a traumatic event? What age did your kids get cell phones?
I missed out on the weekly wrap this week, and honestly hadn’t planned to post until my husband leaves next week. It’s now very real as he is home packing up all of his gear today. #allthesobs after seeing these pics…
Someone isn’t pleased…Time to pack…I’m not ready.
But I am trying to focus on the good, so here goes…
Our weekend was wonderful, having spent it with my parents as they flew in from Arizona. We visited the city, ate yummy good food, and just enjoyed each other’s company. We went to the city on Saturday and enjoyed the unseasonably warm Chicago weather we were given that day (it’s snowing today…really?!?). We took the train down, and hit up our favorite places to eat, Quartino and MK. We also did a bit of shopping, but more so just walked around and had fun together. My parent’s had NEVER been to The Bean, so we of course had to get an obligatory Bean selfie. I skipped my long run this weekend, and am 110% ok with that, especially since we walked over 5 miles on Saturday. I’ve pretty much decided I will only run the half in May, but that’s another post in itself.
Waiting for the train!Our favorite!YUM!Just us!Shopping at Eataly#beanselfieDinner at MKHe truly is the love of my lifeDaddy and his girlsGrandparent LOVE!When they brought this desert out to him, he lost it…”I’ll see you in my dreams…”
Sunday, we got home from having lunch with my sister’s family and wishing my parents safe travels home, and I was feeling pretty sad. Yet here’s what changed my mood: My neighbor AND girlfriend made this beautiful flier for me, passed it out to the neighborhood, and a neighbor that I hadn’t met had stopped by to offer her support. I was just in awe, and am still so touched there really are no words.
In less than a week, he will be gone and I still have trouble imagining this next year without him. I know, it’s probably tiring to read the same thing over and over, but I somehow have to get it off my chest because it literally feels like an elephant is sitting on my heart. BUT…the day he leaves, starts the countdown to his return and I found this super cool app for my phone.
Thanks for all of your amazing support and prayers. We truly appreciate it!
How’s the weather where you are at? Have you had to scale back on a race due to real life before?
Since this wrap up is focused on my birthday weekend, I wanted to start this post out in the most positive of lights. I took Friday off from work, because, well, I needed a day off to rest and regroup. I don’t take enough time off, and soon I will be on full time work AND single Mom duty. These jobs aren’t for the faint of heart, so I am doing what I can to take care of ME before I run out of gas.
We started the weekend out by going out for lunch to one of our favorite casual places, California Pizza Kitchen. We followed that up with errands to Costco, getting my Jeep’s oil change and the tires rotated, and picking up dog food for Sammy. Yup, I lifted that. LOL!
Aren’t they pretty?Costco Churros, rock!hehe, feelin’ strong!
Friday afternoon, I downloaded the Tracy Anderson workout series on our XBOX and it totally kicked our butts. I took the rest of the weekend off from working out, but look forward to continuing with the series.
Friday night was just spent cleaning, and putting together my youngest daughter’s American Girl doll high chair that I got her for Christmas, but forgot I got for her, so it ended up being a late present, LOL! My brain is obviously in a million places.
We got this!There is always time to be silly!
Saturday was more cleaning, and more errands and even better, a GREAT surprise from my tribe! They showed up at my door, 5 of my amazing friends AND my sister with flowers, food, wine AND cake. I was beaming with happiness. My husband even arrived home at around 7:30 to help celebrate despite being exhausted. It felt so wonderful to be remembered. I love my tribe.
We love being silly!Several members of my tribe!! ❤
My birthday was a quiet day starting out with breakfast in bed made by my daughters, and I almost canceled my massage appointment with temps below 0 degrees, and a windchill in the minus teens.
Breakfast is always best when cooked by your daughters!
I am so glad I decided to go, because my back that is full of more knots than my youngest daughter’s hair, was so relaxed afterwards. I spent the rest of the day with my daughters, relaxing in our jammies on the couch. The only thing missing was my hubby. Here goes the not so positive part of this post… He got home from training really late, and all he could do was hug me tight, apologizing for missing the majority of my birthday. I responded by burying myself in to his chest, and quietly sobbed trying to hold myself together. This was one of those moments where I question myself, and my ability to do all the hard things. Because at that very moment all I wanted to do was curl up in to a little ball and cry for hours.
So happy my hubby made it to the party!
But then I am reminded, by my parents, sister, and friends that they are here for me always. They SHOW me they are here for me, and I just can’t even describe how blessed that makes me feel.
My husband deploying (for the second time) is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and trust me, I’ve been through a lot of hard things. In 6 weeks I’ll have to say my goodbyes to the man I call my very best friend. The one I laugh with, cry with, act goofy with, and spend my life with, and for a year I will be without all of those things I love most about him.
But I’ve got my tribe. More so, they’ve got me/my back. And I need to remember that fact, always.
So here’s to the age of 43, and 2016. May this year go by smoothly, and quickly. ❤ I apologize for my lack of posting, but I am really trying to step back this year and focus on my family. For they are what matters most. I hope to continue to post at least weekly, but time will tell. Thanks to all of those who’ve joined me on my #keepmovinforward journey.
I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia again, for the Weekly wrap up!
How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you prefer quiet parties at home, or would you rather go out?
Movin' it with Michelle 