Coming Home

~We interrupt this Anniversary Trip recap for a real-time update. Lovey dovey thoughts will return soon.~

I have experienced two moments of extreme gratitude this week.

At the beginning of this week I flew solo with the girls for about 48 hours, as M was at a work conference in Nashville for a few days.  Our first night without M in the house, C was up multiple times and N once... I think they sensed the absence of his strong reassuring presence.  When my sleep wasn't interrupted by children, it was fitful and plagued with nightmares of people breaking into the house.  M has been away for work before, but for some reason this time seemed more difficult.

M took a video of his plane taking off on his phone, and sent it to us.  L watched it on repeat for about 45 minutes.

At my Mom's invitation, we came down to her house on our second day without M.  That first grateful moment came when I sank into my bed at Mom and Dad's house at around 11 PM Monday, with the girls sleeping peacefully and me having just had my first shower in two days, a deliciously cool shower on a hot humid night.  I heard the rain falling softly outside my window, laid my exhausted head on the pillow, and rejoiced in the fact that we wouldn't have to spend another night feeling alone.  I breathed a prayer for all the moms out there who have husbands that travel regularly for work, are in the military, or are just single Moms.  This parenting thing is a two-person job (at least! sometimes I wish there was a third set of hands!).  I was so grateful that we had a place to go-- that I was welcome to "come home".

The second moment of gratitude occurred around 3 AM this morning when M crawled into bed, exhausted, gathered me up into his arms and kissed me.  I had slept fitfully up until that point, worried about him driving home from the city after a 2.5-hour flight that didn't take off until 10:45 PM.  I kept waking up, worrying all kinds of worries, wondering where he was at each 30-minute interval.  And then he was there.  He "came home".

And now the girls and I, too, have "come home".  Even with Grandma & Grandpa's help, it was a bit of a difficult stretch of days, with the girls overtired from much traveling and excitement.  Grumpy voices, furrowed brows, and sibling squabbles were at an all-time high, and I was too exhausted to deal with them diplomatically.  It feels very relieving today that everyone got a good sleep in their own beds last night, and long naps are currently happening for the youngest girls, and we're all just taking it easy until Daddy comes home from work today.  Here's what we've been up to (other than laundry and unpacking, of course)...

After a trip to Ikea with Grandma on Tuesday

(oh here's a picture of that by the way)

(note to self... kids eat free at Ikea cafe on Tuesdays... all 5 of us had lunch for $7... great summer time escape from a hot house, and a balm to grumpy souls)

we obtained a new bedspread for C (she had been using the tiny baby-sized quilt from her crib, which doesn't quite keep her warm enough when the air conditioning is on, resulting in a multitude of 5 AM wake-ups) and a new area rug for the big girls' room, meaning that we could move their old flower rug to C's room... and it matches her new bedspread beautifully.

It's so nice that, not only will she sleep better (hopefully!) under a warmer cover, but her room now has a more finished look.  One of those little things that is very satisfying.

The big girls' new area rug also matches the colors in their room much better than the flower rug did...

This rug also provided a new home for the girls' Hot Wheels cars, and a source of entertainment for most of the morning:

Such a relief to have something new to do... it was seeming like every activity I suggested lately was met with a "been there, done that" grumpy kind of attitude.

We went outside and harvested the fruits of our garden since we've been away... two zucchinis, a cherry tomato and a pickling cucumber.  (All of our pickling cukes seem to be growing very short and squat... are they supposed to be that way?  This little guy we have been waiting to pick for a week, because I expected him to get a bit longer, but instead he just kept growing fatter and fatter.  So I went ahead and picked him.  We did end up training our cucumbers to grow up a trellis; hopefully that will help future crops to be more normal-shaped.  I could write a whole post on all my gardening blunders this year and what I have learned for next year... perhaps soon.)

The oppressive humidity that has been relentless for most of this week finally lifted as we drove home from CT last night, and today has been crisp, clear, and wonderful for enjoying the outdoors.

I finally got out our stepladder and hung a rope swing that we've had for a couple years and never managed to get up in the tree:

That's Luke Skywalker in too-short Jedi robes on the swing, while Princess Leia (who looks more like Mother Mary to me) looked on, and C climbed back and forth across the stepladder that was laying down in the grass.

Yes, those are leopard-print pants under Luke's robes.  He's a fashion-conscious Jedi.

A curious thing is happening with C... when we are home, she is completely potty trained and does great with getting herself to the potty if she needs to go.  But whenever we are out anywhere-- the grocery store, the library, and unfortunately Grandma's house-- it's like she has no awareness of potty functions and just goes in her pants (or on the floor) with no warning.  Actually, it's not a curious thing, but a very normal thing, if I think about it.  I can remember both older girls having issues at first with using unfamiliar potties or relaxing enough to "go" in a place that was too exciting or distracting.  But nonetheless, it is a relief to be back home and be able to have her in panties.  She has gone on the potty three times this morning with no prompting at all from me.  I'm very much enjoying the break from having to watch her like a hawk and whisk her to the potty and/or resort to a pull-up.  We'll keep working on the away-from-home potty skills.

A welcome relaxed day, and I'm feeling so good I just wanted to write about it.  So there you go!