Updates

Well, Steve has been gone for five days. It feels like five weeks. I'm not exaggerating; I seriously feel like I've been on my own with these kids for weeks! It's absolutely blown me away how slow time is going without him around. I have truly acquired an appreciation for my husband that I haven't felt since he was in training three years ago. I fully recommend spending time away from your spouse if you're having trouble!!! It definitely slaps you in the face and shows you how much that person does for you that you wouldn't otherwise notice. I'm hoping he's getting the same feeling about me, but I kinda doubt it... he's in Washington D.C. with a king size suite all to himself! haha! Life can't be too miserable. :) I suppose it's my turn, though... I've left him here in Kansas all alone a few times, without even the kids to keep him company!

My weight-loss plan is NOT working out as planned. Remember how I was going to lose 10 lbs while Steve was gone? Well, I've officially lost .2 lbs. That's right.
.2!
I'm extremely frustrated with it, because we've had such bad weather that I haven't been able to even walk the kids to school and back, let alone do any extra exercise. I can't even let the dogs go outside in the pouring rain. Needless to say, dieting alone isn't doing quite enough. My body is starting to look better, though, and my pants are fitting better... the number just isn't going down. Oh well! If there's one thing I know about a post-baby body it's that numbers on a scale mean very little about the look of your body. At my very smallest, I was a size 4, but I still weighed 130 lbs. It's all relative when it comes to the post-pregnancy body. (But if I'm still stuck at 125 lbs next week, I'll be preaching a much grumpier story.)

Asher is having a really hard time without Steve. I always knew the two of them were close, but I've been surprised to see how difficult it's been for him. Every hour Asher says something about his daddy. Yesterday he came down for breakfast and said, "Daddy? DADDDDDDY?" looking around for him everywhere. He keeps saying "Daddy get off plane?" It's especially hard for him when Josh goes to school... every morning when we drop off Joshua, Asher cries and cries. "I don't WIKE IT Joshy school!"

And you know how they say children who have recently been potty trained regress when they have a major life change, like moving or a divorce? He's all but abandoned his potty training and gone back to having accidents since Steve left.

Joshua has been doing so great at school. Everyone there really likes him, he has tons of friends, and he's doing really well on his homework. His handwriting has gotten much better (although he's always been quite good at it), and he's even started writing Joshua instead of JOSHUA. They're learning the lower-case letters, and he's even learning some sign language. I love that he tells me all about school every day, down to what he ate for lunch. A lot of the other parents say their kids don't tell them anything about school, so I feel pretty lucky he's willing to talk about it with me. I'm hoping to keep that communication going! I'm so scared of him shutting down one day and not talking to me anymore.

Well, there's not much more to say... things here are the same all the time. The only difference is while Steve is gone I have time to read! I've been reading my dad's book and The Truth About Cheating, which isn't really what I'd planned on doing while Steve was gone, but it's been pretty theraputic for me. It feels good to concentrate on something other than housework! :)

Although... my house could use some attention. So I'm off to take care of that... babysitting two other boys tonight, so I better get some things done! :)