1 Month Down!!

A couple of days ago we celebrated 1 month down of this deployment, whoo hoo!! I have to say that it's flown by so far.  I was so incredibly nervous for this deployment because I really didn't know how I was going to do it all on my own.  Brian is such a wonderful hands on father and husband that I didn't know how I could possibly keep it all under control and keep my sanity at the same time.  It was a huge help to go to Minnesota the first week, have grandparents visit the following weekends, and just to overall be very busy! The days honestly just fly by. I'm either nursing or feeding a child, changing a child, putting a child down for a nap, cleaning up a mess, feeding/letting out/giving the dog his insulin shots (yes, Rascal got diabetes the second week of the deployment), cleaning the house, doing dishes/laundry/random housework, or doing activities or playing with a child! I fall into bed each and every night absolutely exhausted!  But I'm doing it and I've honestly never felt prouder of myself!  Hiring a sitter to come twice a week so I could grocery shop and just get out was a wonderful, wonderful decision as well!  And it helps to have supportive friends who are going through the same things to get together with and we can commiserate! We miss Brian so much and can't wait for him to get home!  Little Layla is growing up so fast and Brady is learning more and more each day, I don't want Brian to miss a second of it!  Here are some things that help me get through this deployment:

 

My loves.  Some days they make me want to rip my hair out but most days they melt my heart and make all that hard work with it!

Brady and his friend Luke playing cars at our weekly Orange Leaf date.  A couple other spouses and our kiddos get together and do this. Their daddy's are both gone so we get together every Monday, have frozen yogurt, and let the kiddos run around and play.

All 3 boys throwing pennies in the fountain (a big favorite activity!)

Checking each other out to see who has the best pennies!

 

Whee! More?

 

The kiddos with their daddy's after their first deployment. Now they're all gone and deployed to 3 different places.  The kiddos have changed so much since then!

 

Judah, Brady, and Luke today.  Judah is 18 months, Brady 2 years 4 months, and Luke 22 months.