Letters Of Intent

Oh Friday..... I have been dreaming of you! Not all Fridays, just THIS Friday. Today Charlie is making his 12 hour drive HOME! Technically I still have to be single mom all day today, but tomorrow I plan on relinquishing that title to Daddy. Have fun Babe! I will be back.... lets just say don't wait up, okay?



Dear Self,

Charlie being gone does not affect the mail. It still comes. Check it please. The mail man probably thinks you are dead inside the house or something considering you only remembered to check it twice in 12 days. Write it on a sticky note lady!

Signed,

Your Other Half

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Dear Other Half,

Easy for you to say.

Signed,

Self

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Dear Children,

I made you from scratch and carried you around inside my womb while you baked for 8 some odd months. The least you could do is pretend that you love me. I am going to name every single one of my wrinkles (which I am bound to get prematurely thankyouverymuch) Lula Mae and Jayce. Ever.Single.One.

Signed,

Over Worked And Under Appreciated

What I Noticed While People Watching At Disney World

Fanny packs are making a come back.... sadly.

I counted nearly 10 people with mullets. Are they coming back? I would say that is worse than the fanny packs.

Super high side pony tails are working their way back onto the scene. Can we call say..... OH NO! Ladies, just say no. Just say no to the horrible look of the late 80's and early 90's, especially the side pony. Don't you dare.

While on the subject of late 80's and early 90's fashion.... all the neon colors are not cute on anyone. Some fashion should not be brought back. I guess this is another year where I will look out of style cause there is NO WAY I will wear the big baggy off-one-sholder shirts in traffic cone orange. You may as well wear a trash bag ladies, it is just as attractive!

google

Life With A Literal Child

I have mentioned before how literal Lula Mae is, and I just want to give you a little snap shot of what I mean.

On our trip together we stopped in to see Esther and Scott. Scott was leaving for work and said he had to hit the road:

Why would you hit the road Scott?

I'm sure in her mind she wanted to know what the road did to Scott to deserve to be hit.

We worked on a some rhyming and spelling this past week at school:

Mommy, what rhymes with monkey. Hey, donkey looks like monkey! Mommy, you have been saying donkey wrong. It looks like monkey so they have to rhyme.

I know one little girl who is NOT going to enjoy learning the rules to the english language!

Lula Mae has been taught since birth that we invite Jesus to live in our hearts and today she asked me:

Mommy, does Jesus wiggle around in there when I dance? Does it make him dizzy and fall down?

A few moments later:

When I get a boo boo on my toe does he swim down to make it better? How does he get to my toe to heal it if he is in my heart? Or on my head?

Life with a literal child is quite interesting, to say the least.

Letters Of Intent

To The Past 6 Days,

I'm gonna pretend you did not happen, because if I don't I am afraid to think of what I might do.

Signed,

Frazzled

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Lula Mae,

Where are you? There is this little girl here that looks like you.... but surely, SURELY it isn't you. You see, my little girl is sweet, and kind and loves Jesus. This little girl is mean, and hateful and clearly does not know who Jesus is. Please, come back and send this imposter away! I miss my precious little girl. I miss her so much.

Love,

Not A Fan Of The Toddler Years

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Dear Money,

We recently discussed you learning how to multiply. Any word on how that is coming? Making any headway?

Sincerely,

Wishing I was An Athlete Who Got Paid Stupid Amounts Of Money To Play A Freaking Game

Domino Math

Lula Mae has been doing simple math for quite sometime now. Lula Mae is a child who learns well visually, but she also works well with manipulatives. Math is an easy thing to teach to little ones because they haven't figured out that math is not fun (I was not a fan of math.... AT ALL in school). Today I used dominoes to help her with addition.


I had her count the dots on one side, write the number, then count the dots on the other side and write that number. Then she counted all the dots together and wrote her answer.


Since she has been doing addition for a while now I used this particular activity to help teach her the proper equation format. We worked on putting each number in the right spot, where the plus sign should be as well as the equal sign. Then we talked about where the answer should go. It was an easy and quick activity to get together and do with her. She really seemed to love it!

Single Parenting

Makes you shutter a little doesn't it? Yeah, me too. Unfortunately it is a very real part of my life. I have no reason to complain though, because I have a husband with an amazing job. Trainings and deployments just come with the territory. Every job has its pros and cons, these just happen to be our cons.

Charlie is away for 12 days. Training. He drove alone, 12 hours straight and made it safely. And so begins my stent of single parenting.

Right now I have two kids in two very trying phases. There are lots of tears, lots of the word 'no', lots of battles. With two parents it is hard... alone it seems nearly impossible. I have rules for myself when I am going at it alone.

1. Nap time is for Mommy. No work is to be done during nap, unless it is folding a load of clothes. I make myself relax and take time for me.

2. Don't make plans. I take every day one step at a time. One battle, one fit, one moment at a time.

3. Pray. Pray. Pray.

4. Ask for help. This one has taken me a looooooong time to realize.

5. Don't miss the gym. It is great time to focus on my health and talk to God. The kids get about an hour and a half to play with a few other kids and enjoy their 2 wonderful teachers in the nursery.

I can make it without Charlie, but the kids have a rough time. They don't understand why Daddy is gone all day and not coming home for dinner. They make me miss him, for them. I miss him, but we are use to this time apart and we thrive on it. Sounds crazy, I know, but it's true. The next 12 days will be long, but I am sure I will learn a lot. I will be cleaning (cause that's what I do when he leaves) I will be organizing, I will be keeping myself and my kids busy so that the next 12 days goes quick.

Letters Of Intent

Dear Toddler Years,

If you begin with the word "terrible" you are not aloud in this house. Ever. I refuse to let you drag me down. Go ahead and pack your bags and GET OUT!

Sincerely,

The Mommy Who Can't Take Much More

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Dear Disney,

You never disappoint. I am smitten with you and that is no secret. When I die I want to be cremated and scattered all over Magic Kingdom. I wish I was kidding. Sigh.

Love,

The One Who Can't Get Enough

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Dear Single Parenting,

You suck and I do not look forward to the next two weeks I have of you. Especially considering the current stages my dear children are in at the moment. Please be nice to me...

Sincerely,

Tired Just Thinking About You

Stand In Awe

There are things in life that literally take your breath away.

I have experienced this before... when my babies were born, when I came to terms with the fact that Uncle Larry was going to die, the moment I thought Jayce was dead...

Heather's pregnancy is the only things that has ever repeatedly taken my breath away.

Every time I think about her positive pregnancy test.

Every time I see her belly that I thought I would never see.

Every time she calls with a crazy pregnancy question.

Every time I think about her delivering that baby.

Every time I think about holding that miracle baby.

Every.Single.Time. It all takes me breath away. God has taught me a lot through Eric, Heather and their baby. More than I can honestly explain to you.

I can't wait to get my hands on that baby. I was excited for my babies to be born, but I am overly excited about this little girls arrival!

I can't help but wonder what life will be like for Heather once the baby comes. We all know she will be overjoyed, a little tired, proud, slightly emotional... but what will it be like to be a Mom for her? It will be different than when I became a mother. Very different. I wasn't told "you could possibly never get pregnant". I didn't go through the heartbreak of the type of loss that they did with their first baby. The life that she is about to lead is one that I will never fully understand. She is about to walk a path of infertility that some never get to. I can imagine that she will feel grateful for this precious gift... but at the same time guilty that she was chosen and not the others. I have been praying that as the time comes near for her to walk this road, she will be ready.

Ready for the roller coaster of emotions that are about to hit her.

This little girl is gonna be so rotten folks. So, soooooo rotten!

Letters Of Intent

It's a sad day blog world. Julie is soon to be retiring her Letters Of Intent link up (because all you slackers won't link up anymore. Sigh.). I still plan on carrying on her tradition, although you know me... sometimes my blog falls to the way side. Life happens and the blog is the first thing to be neglected. Better my blog than my children, ya know? So please do me a favor and head over to her blog and show her some love! I hope you all enjoy your weekend, I know Lula Mae and I will!

Dear Long Drive,

Please don't suck as bad as I am anticipating. This is my first solo drive to my home away from home so be nice to me.

Love,

Slightly Nervous

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Dear Lula Mae,

If you touched it 3 days ago.... you aren't technically "playing with it" my dear. You have to stop being so stingy or you won't have any friends. No one likes a no it all, which you tend to be, and no one likes that kid who won't let you touch anything! You gotta lighten up!

Love,

Your Mommy Who Is Getting Tired Of Your Mean Streak

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Dear Water,

Could you please taste like Coke so I will enjoy drinking more if you? That would really be great!

Sincerely,

Coke Tastes WAY Better

A Strange Thing That Makes Me Happy

Planning Disney vacations.

It is not because I love Disney (even though we all know I so do) I think it is more because I love planning.

The ability to say "On this day we are going to eat here at this time" makes me happy. Why?

I like control.

There are few things in life (basically nothing) but Disney planning... I have control over.

I am pretty glad that Charlie is a go-with-the-flow kinda guy or I might not enjoy these plannings so much.

After Lula Mae and I return from our mother/daughter trip I am gonna work on a post of my best tips and tricks for an affordable Disney vacation. I LOVE saving money and mixing that with Disney.... well it makes me giddy.

Because these two kids....

love them some Disney, but they also enjoy eating, so budgeting is quite necessary :-)

Letters Of Intent

Friday is here and I think I will join in with the wonderful Julie in some letter writing fun. No need for any further introduction, here we go!


Dear Fellow Shoppers,

I would like to bring to your attention that wearing headphones while you shop is quite inconsiderate. Basically you are saying, "I'm so important that you need to look out for me because my listening to music is more important than looking out for you". Don't look so confused when you get rammed with my buggy. When you can't HEAR PEOPLE COMING it makes you a prime target for me to hit. Not on purpose... okay possibly just a little bit on purpose. That song better have been amazing, that's all I'm saying.

Signed,

Fellow Shopper

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Dear Lula Mae,

If only you knew I was taking you to Disney World for our special trip. Sigh. Then perhaps you would not test my every nerve. I am begging you to lose the teenager attitude. It is NOT FUN! You don't want to mess this trip up, trust me.

Love,

Your Mommy Who Loves You.... But Not Your Attitude

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Dear Money,

Could you find a way to multiply? Just a suggestion. I would really love your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Constantly Working The Budget