counting by weeks

This deployment is 64% over, according to my DOM.

I counted days at first, but got discouraged.  Then I counted by months, but time just seemed to D-R-A-G on forever when I did that.  So I focused on the pregnancy, which of course was counted in weeks.  At 32 weeks gestation, I told myself I had 8 weeks left until baby arrived.  At 38 weeks I knew that I was being induced in a week, and now I sit here today, on my 'due date' with a perfect little one-week-old replica of my husband staring at me.

He seriously looks JUST like his daddy!  Well, to be more accurate, he looks exactly like his big brother, who looks just like daddy.

Check this out:

Knucklehead and Daddy (see the resemblance?)

Knucklehead and Bobblehead

Bobblehead

Knucklehead as a baby

SPITTING IMAGE.

Honestly, this just makes me miss hubby more!

But this deployment is 64% OVER. 

As in, "deployment, you can SUCK IT, I'm totally stronger than you!"

So now I am counting baby's age in weeks, and even better......

(THIS IS EXCITING.....)

I'm counting the WEEKS until hubby returns!

WEEKS! 

yeah, those are still in double digits, but WOW it feels good to say it as "weeks".

Technical Difficulties

Yesterday I finally got to welcome Baby Bobblehead (birth story and pictures coming SOON to the pregnancy blog) and while I was in the hospital I got an email from my awesome bloggy friend Brie. Brie designed this blog for me, and she was writing to notify me of a new glitch - which she will fix for me. So, if you notice that my blog looks kinda funny right now, just keep an eye out for the new updated blog COMING SOON.

(Thanks Brie!!!)

I blog, therefore I AM.

I know I keep saying this, but I really do MISS blogging! I can't wait to get back to daily blogging - I need this therapy.

For now, though, I try my best to store little notes about things I want to blog about - and will do my best to do all those topics justice as soon as I can sit upright again with some measure of comfort. :)

Which should be in, like, a week? Maybe two?

Actually, I will be updating my pregnancy blog with little Baby Bobblehead's birth story VERY SOON. Probably even from the hospital, since they have wi-fi for me there!

(wish hubby could get to a decent internet connection, so we could at least Skype the birth, but as of right now there is a VERY good chance he will at least be able to be on the phone with me when the time comes)

I'm going to the hospital to have labor induced in less than 60 hours, and am so excited! I'm beyond impatient, because of some really ridiculous Braxton Hicks contractions - and the accompanying lack of sleep.

So if you really really MISS ME and my archives just aren't cutting it, keep an eye on my pregnancy BLOG for something current.

ALMOST FORGOT! My D.O.M. shows 59% completed! YAY! If I don't get to that 150th post giveaway before I reach 75% completed, then I'll have to celebrate the 75% with a giveaway instead.

My patriotic KIDS

I'm always proud of ALL of my kids - even little miss 'Airhead' who I am often also ashamed of, and even 'Bonehead', who generally pisses me off, and of course Knucklehead.

But today I am especially proud of both of my boys.

Knucklehead is a 5th grader at the school where I work as a crossing guard. Well, technically I am now on maternity leave, as of a few hours ago. So this afternoon at the end of my shift, I had to meet up with the girl who is subbing for me for the next few weeks. We waited in the nearly deserted school parking lot for a few minutes, and suddenly my sweet Knucklehead looked past me and stood up straighter and placed his hand over his heart. I turned to look behind me and saw the reason for this - the school maintenance man was taking down the flag for the day.

I joined Knucklehead in solemn silence, overwhelmed with pride that my son would so automatically show his love for Old Glory, but I was also privately dismayed by the LACK of respect that the maintenance man showed for the flag. He tossed it over his shoulders while he secured the rope into place and locked the metal door that protects the flag pole from vandals, and then casually folded the flag (THE WRONG WAY) as though he was folding a towel. He did, however, notice my son and I standing with our hands over our hearts, and seemed to at least realize for a second that he was doing something important.

Later, Bonehead (the teenager who is also the source of MOST of my headaches during this deployment) overheard me talking about this experience, as I wondered aloud whether it would be appropriate/well-received if I approached someone at the school about adding some sort of 'ceremony' to this daily routine. Bonehead, who is a fanatic about his high school JROTC program, offered to come to the elementary school at least one afternoon a week with one of his JROTC classmates, on their 'uniform day', and officially perform the TAPS ceremony that they usually do at the high school.

Of course the school might say 'no thanks', but I am going in first thing Monday morning to talk to someone about it.

And tonight I am SO STINKING PROUD of my patriotic kids!

Deployment Letter ('guest' blogger)

Birdie at No Model Lady wrote a beautiful post recently that I just HAD to share with you. Be sure you check out her awesome blog if you're not already following her!

Now go grab some kleenex and enjoy her "Deployment Letter":


Deployment Letter


I have a friend who is not yet through her first week of her first deployment.
Being the rough and tumble deployment veteran that I am, I wrote her a letter of support.

Dear Friend,
It's hard seeing you struggle with the conflicted emotions you're going through right now. Part of you is so proud of your husband and happy he is fulfilling his life's dream of serving his country. The other part of you misses him so bad it hurts.

It's a pain that no one can lessen, because the only thing that can ease it is him, and he's on the other side of the world.

I feel your pain, but I really have nothing to offer you besides a few words of sympathy and encouragement.

I know the sadness that creeps over you when you see that pile of dry cleaning that he kept asking you to take but you never did.

I know the feeling of disappointment when you accomplish something that only HE could appreciate but he's not there to celebrate with you.

I understand not wanting to get dressed or make an effort to look pretty because no one else's opinion matters to you.

I get it. I've been there. You are not as alone as you feel.

When people are catty or hurtful the barbs will stick much longer because your #1 moral supporter isn't there to lift you back up.

When the phone rings you will be disappointed every time it's not him. I won't be offended if you don't sound ecstatic to hear my voice, because I know it's not the one you really want to hear.

Keep tissues by the TV and in the car. You will see and hear commercials or songs that have nothing to do with him but suddenly become meaningful without him there.

You will miss that man-smell from his truck and gear that you once couldn't stand.

You will have moments when you entertain those dark "what if" thoughts and they will terrify you and put you in a state of panic.

Don't worry, you will become masterful at driving them away.

As bad as it gets, it will also get better.

You will become totally self-sufficient.

You will become stronger and smarter than you thought you were.

You will accomplish more than you thought possible.

You will find comfort in God, even when you don't ask for it, because he doesn't like to see you hurt.

And at the end of it, when you feel like you can't do it much longer...

There he'll be, like he was never gone.

just you WAIT....

I've never been very good at waiting. I can't keep a secret, and frequently snoop and ruin surprises for myself. About the only place I display much patience is on the road, as I hate to be one of those jerks who RACES toward a red light. (This has more to do with saving gas than it does with being patient, but I have to claim SOME level of maturity somewhere, right?) Why exactly are people in such a freaking hurry to WAIT at the red light though?

I never wait well unless I am forced to. Even then, I probably don't do it all that WELL.

Right now, waiting is just freaking KILLING me! Waiting for my hubby to come home, waiting for this baby to be born (not in that order, of course) waiting for a nice fat reimbursement check in the mail - oh THAT is really pissing me off, because the check was mailed August 18....I never got it, so I called the company last week and they are going to stop payment on that check, and send me a new one - after a 7 to 10 day waiting period while they confirm that the original check was not, in fact, cashed yet. And when it finally comes, the amount is larger than what I normally deposit into my personal checking account, so my bank will likely put a 3-day HOLD on the check (MORE WAITING?!?!).

tap....tap....tap......

The other night I wanted a root beer float REALLY bad. I finally caved in and drove to the nearby grocery store to buy some ice cream and root beer, and stood in the loooongest line EVER waiting to pay. Seriously, by the time I got to the front. my ice cream was MELTING! I will say, it was totally worth the wait though - best root beer float I have had in years!

Wanna guess what I am doing right now? YUP, waiting! Waiting for the wash cycle to end so I can put the clothes into the dryer before I go to bed.

Oh, and waiting for real labor to begin, of course!

Speaking of which, did you enter my contest yet to see who can guess baby's birthdate? Click the link in my right sidebar (cute green button with the belly on it) so you can post your guess and be entered to win a gift card. What are you waiting for?

CONTEST

I'm holding a contest over on my Pregnancy Blog to see who can come closest in guessing WHEN this little Baby Bobblehead will be born.

Cool prize, no cost to enter (you just have to be a follower of that blog) and of course bragging rights if you are the winner!

Check it out, leave your guess in the comments over there!

(entries left on THIS blog are not eligible, sorry!)

AMAZING Birth Story

WOWOWOW!

My little sister had her baby last night, with the shortest labor I have ever personally heard of.....

This is the same sister who was 'supposed' to be my labor coach for my impending delivery, but she is obviously a little 'unavailable' now....which is OK because we have known since about March that she was due about 10 days ahead of me. My BFF is next in line to be my labor coach, and if she can't come I have more back-ups on my list.

So, my sister called me last night at 8:12PM to ask if I could come over and watch her kids (ages 2 and 4) while she went to the hospital.....her original plan was to have her in-laws come and spend the night with her kids next Wednesday night, because she was scheduled for induction early Thursday morning - but that changed last night around 8 PM when she started having REALLY painful contractions, virtually one on top of the other, and she KNEW she had to hurry to the hospital.

I live almost 20 minutes from my sister, and she lives almost 20 minutes from the hospital.

Thankfully her kids are ANGELS and they go to bed early, so they were sound asleep and blissfully unaware of any of the drama unfolding around them.

I got to my sister's house at 8:38 PM.

She got to the hospital and into a room at 9:00 PM.

Her son was born at 9:08 PM.

NO JOKE.

He weighed 6 lbs 13 oz, which is a very respectable weight for a 38 week term baby :) He had some trouble breathing at first, because of the super-fast delivery, but did not need to be put on oxygen or anything. He is in great health, and my sister is recovering - and RELIEVED.

Have you personally known anyone (EVER) who only had a ONE HOUR LABOR???

Her first two were both induced labors, both taking about 5 or 6 hours - which is already pretty darned SHORT.

But seriously, AN HOUR????

WOW.

I have been praying for a short labor with this one, but I don't think I want it to go QUITE that fast....After all, I may have to wait as much as half an hour for someone to give me a RIDE to the hospital, and then I also live about 20 minutes from the hospital. I think 2 or 3 hours would be good though, don't you?

S.H.I.T. (So Happy Its Thursday)

This week has been an unbelievably crazy roller coaster ride, and I am so incredibly relieved that it is almost OVER!

Bonehead's blowups have been pretty ridiculous since he moved back in a couple weeks ago - it's like he is two years old or something!  But in a scary, almost 6-foot-tall, man-sized version.  Fortunately I have not had to call the police (yet) but I nearly sent him back to my parents' house the other night.  I know his needs are not really met there, but if I am AFRAID of him, I can't very well meet his needs here, either.

He has also had a few blowups AT SCHOOL.  We started our school year here 3 weeks ago, and already he has had multiple run-ins with campus security, campus police, and various other staff members.  I don't know how many negative encounters he has had with other STUDENTS, because those go largely unreported.  He's not completing his schoolwork, and doesn't give a crap.  We have an IEP meeting scheduled for TOMORROW, but I don't think we'll be able to do anything for him; he has to WANT success, and right now he just doesn't.

Last week we had a very intense heat wave.  As in, 108 degrees daily in my backyard.  We expect these heat waves 2 or 3 times a year, for a few days, but this one came with crazy thunderstorms, which we are NOT used to here in southern CA.  CRAZY storms.  Very sudden, lots of wind blowing in all directions, & lightning everywhere, which ignited multiple brushfires, etc.  Thankfully that's all over with, and we even got a break of nice COOL weather for a few days, before returning today to 105 degree heat - which is expected to last through Saturday or Sunday, and then become bearable again.

Back-to-school-night for Knucklehead's school was a roller coaster in and of itself.  Knucklehead always LOVED school until last year - his fourth grade teacher was so strict (and 'mean') that he actually missed more school days than he was 'allowed' to, last year, mostly due to mysterious headaches and stomach aches, etc.  This is a kid who had a PERFECT attendance record before 4th grade.  I volunteered in his classroom every week and watched for signs of bullying or anything else that could have made my 'star student' suddenly NOT like school, and found that it was THIS TEACHER, and her overly stressed teaching style that had turned him against school.  I wanted him to switch to another class, but he is "GATE Identified" (GATE = Gifted And Talented Education) and this witchy teacher happens to be the GATE coordinator for the entire school...and was therefore the ONLY teacher available for 4th grade GATE students last year.  Of course there were times that I sent him to school WITH a 'tummy ache' or other malady, knowing that he wasn't really sick.  In the end, I had to admit that Mrs. Grumpy is a good teacher, but I was so happy when the school year ended.  So was Knucklehead. 

Fast forward to the beginning of 5th grade, and guess who Knucklehead's teacher is????  Oh yes, Mrs. Grumpy again.  Only this time she is teaching a 4/5 combo class! I was upset about BOTH the combo class placement AND the mean teacher placement, UNTIL I walked in for back-to-school night and found out about the new 'technology grant' that Mrs. Grumpy's class received - over the summer they installed some of the COOLEST GADGETS EVER in the classroom!  And Knucklehead was selected as one of two Student Mentors to attend some saturday trainings to become the new "gadget guy" for his class, to teach everyone else how to use the new tech stuff.  SO COOL!  (You already know I am "Gadget Girl" right? I wrote about this in a guest post on Flip Flops & Combat Boots awhile back.)  Oh, and the combo class is ALL 'gifted' students, so even the 4th graders will be offered the extra learning extensions that  the GATE program is supposed to provide.....I think I am OK with it for now, especially because Knucklehead LOVES school again - for now.

The main reason I am literally happy that today is Thursday is that my OB appointments are all on Thursdays....and today was my "37 week checkup"!  I am not QUITE to the 37 week mark, but am very anxious to meet this little (or maybe NOT so little!) guy.  Details about the checkup can be found on my pregnancy blog if you're interested, but overall, the pregnancy is going GREAT.  I am finally in that uncomfortable/miserable/impatient stage now, so blogging is even harder to do at the moment.

More soon, though, I PROMISE!