Let the craziness begin!

Tim is home and there is SO much to be done before he leaves again. I can't reveal exactly how long he's home for, but thankfully it is longer than the couple of days we thought we might have between outings. In fact, he should be home long enough this spell that we can get everything done on the "to do" list! Whoopee! That never happens. For those of you who aren't familiar with what typically gets placed on a military family's "things to be done during the very brief times you're here in the house with us" list, it looks something like this:

1. Spay the dog (because she's 50 lbs. of hyper puppy and I can't get her and two toddlers to the vet and calmly sitting in chairs while I talk to the vet, write the check and maneuver the busy parking lot).

2. Stain the fence.

3. Uproot our dead tree in the front yard and plant a new one. (Because my 100 lb. 5 foot-ness makes this very difficult to do). NOTE: I did do this BY MYSELF yesterday to help reduce Tim's list. Oh yeah-hear me roar...

Replacement for #3: HA! What do you think about painting the kitchen blue????

4. Teach J. how to hit a ball in case he plays tee-ball this year (because that's just something dads do).

5. Clean the garage (has been on the list three years running. Will it get done this time? I'll throw down $2.00 for "no", but you never know-miracles happen!)

6. Fill-out the funeral arrangements for the chaplain. Or at least check last year's to make sure nothing has changed. For instance, that's REALLY what you want written on your tombstone??? (Note to non-military: if you talk openly and joke about this form then odds are you won't have to use it. Or so goes the illogical rational).

7. Do the taxes.

8. Fertilize the lawn (Tim actually put this one on the list. How's that for stereotypical husband vs. wife priorities!)

9. Break C. from the pacifier. (I know you're thinking, 'Tiffany, you can't do that?' Well, remember I was going to have him off of it by 6 mon. Then by 1 year, then 15 mon... I'll summarize by saying that last night, two hours after putting C. to bed, the WHOLE family was in C.'s room. C. was sobbing. He wasn't tantruming, but sobbing big fat tears, pleading with me for his paci. It was as if he was saying, "That's the only comfort object I have; that's where my peace comes from; that's what keeps the nightmares away; why, Mommy? WHY can't I have my bestfriend? PLEASE, Mommy! My body aches for it so much that it physically hurts me. See-I can't breathe I'm crying so hard. PLEASE, Mommy, don't take away my bestfriend!" Which explains why I was rubbing his back, sobbing, saying, "Be strong C. Tim, can't we try this again next week? You're a big boy, C. Tim, I can't do it-just give it to him. I know you can do it, C. And some other mumbo jumbo about teeth, bites, speech development and palette formation that he certainly didn't understand. J. was plugging his ears saying, "C. be strong!" And Tim was saying, "Tiffany, this is hurting you far more than it's hurting him. Just get out of here and I'll stay with him until he falls asleep." I could do a whole blog post on this experience, but I won't. Suffice it to say that C. went down for a nap today, after saying he was very strong, without one tear and NO pacifier! Woo Hoo!)

(C.'s "I'm so strong" pose)

And last but not least, #10. Kiss your wife and hug your kids.

There's a lot more on the actual list, like all the actual military preparation stuff, but this is a snippet of our upcoming days together. We'll try to squeeze in a date-night or two, and treasure every moment. The light at the end of the tunnel though is that he should be home for the holidays at the end of the year and it SHOULD be his last big deployment. If that isn't a silver lining, I don't know what is. And with that hope, I can make it through the year.
And don't think we're ignoring you if we don't answer the phone, return calls or get out much. OK-we are ignoring you, but not to be mean! We're just being a little selfish with our time together. It's 80 degrees here today, so HAPPY SPRING!