And gone again.

Damm left at 0520 this morning for the airport (his dad drove him, we stayed home). I didn't cry a whole lot, and in fact seem to be resuming our normal schedule with ease. I did cry quite a bit this weekend, which stinks because he was actually here, but oh well. We had fun. And I now have possession of his cool new phone-I think it's an LG Envy or something like that. Mine died, and with two little ones I don't feel safe being without a phone. So I got Damm's, and his brother is being awesome and sending his extra phone to Damm.

So ... 54 days til November.

I'm thinking I'll start preparing for Christmas in October. Hobby Lobby already has their Christmas stuff out ... I adore Christmas. And of course you can't ignore Thanksgiving/fall themes so we'll be doing that as well. Am I alarming those of you who don't really think of Christmas until after Thanksgiving? It's the fault of Barnes & Noble. We-I guess now I should say they-start receiving Christmas stock in June. And after 9 years of working for them (more or less) I start thinking Christmas earlier than the average person.

And today is Labor Day. The last Labor Day I worked (hehe) I got sent home early because the anticipated crowds did not come. After that year I switched from full to part-time and just never got scheduled for holidays. This Labor Day I shall join the crowds I once envied: the mother-in-law and I are going shoe shopping in El Paso. She's the one looking for shoes. I only get excited about running shoes.

And this weekend I really missed WoW, that being the major activity Damm and I engaged in while we were in Monett, and I'm having huge moments of nostalgia. Once he gets back I'm getting a new laptop (or he is, I'm not sure) and we'll both be rejoining the game. Of course we'll have considerably less time what with school and two kids but I think we'll have time at night. Some nights, anyway. Miniorc is beginning to sleep through the night (insert heavenly choirs), the Orclette always has, so by the time Damm gets back we should be good.

Time flies. Already I need to get us ready for El Paso. I only have one hour ... :D

Whee!

Damm will be here tonight. He's gonna spend the day waiting in the airport in hopes he can get an earlier flight than his scheduled one. I also think he's just glad to be off-base. As I've probably said before (I've noticed that I repeat myself a lot these days) he's here all weekend and then leaves early Monday morning. And then we begin the 8-week countdown to November.

That was the Whee part.

I have to say, I am full of nothing but admiration and awe for those parents who have to go it solo. I've only got 2 months to go through before my other half is here to hold Miniorc, distract Orclette, and make my coffee in the morning. To never have that expectation of help has to be so hard. But you do what you have to do. Like this morning. We slept well: heck, I think I got a full 8 hours. But I was still very blah this morning. And then the Orclette told me she had a poopy diaper. And Miniorc's diaper was feeling very wet. And I hadn't finished my first cup of coffee nor had I eaten anything. But I dragged my weary self off the couch and changed all the diapers that needed changing.

That's not the hardest thing in the world, but it sure seemed like a lot of work before my coffee was finished :D

I read a post today (by a professional writer who during her first pregnancy started a blog about it and which I thoroughly enjoyed so I still read her stuff) about pre-school. The Orclette will be homeschooled so she won't be enrolled in preschool but the thought of 3 hours 3x/week that she would be fully occupied elsewhere is an attractive one. And so I've been busy this morning thinking about various activities that could provide a similar experience. Gymnastics, playdates, etc. I figure I'll start the soccer mom lifestyle when she turns 3. So next fall. That'll be fun (I'm serious not sarcastic).

The joys of motherhood: I've got an Orclette hanging on me begging for attention. Til later.

Small things

Yay for small things. Miniorc, for the past two nights anyway, has slept a solid 6 hours straight. And there's a huge difference between getting 6 uninterrupted hours and 6 hours made up of 2-hour blocks. I also managed to fall asleep during naptime yesterday. Small victories, but they make all the difference.

Another minor happening: I went runnin! Only 4 minutes, and after those 4 minutes were over I concluded that I really need to wait another week or two before attempting to run again, but I am back. Woot! The mother-in-law has been kind enough to watch the little ones for an 1 1/2 each morning so I can go to the gym. I'm going to buy her sugar-free chocolate and a nice card because I feel like a real person again thanks to those outings.

I don't know how much I weigh this morning but a week ago I checked the scale and I had dropped about 25 pds. I gained a total of 40 and so I figure I have 10 pds to go. I didn't lose the last 5 pds with the Orclette until she was fully weaned so I anticipate the same thing happening this time.

The Orclette ... when I can hold her she doesn't want me to hold her. When I am occupied with Miniorc she cannot get enough of me. Sigh.

Damm is coming home for the weekend tomorrow. Happy happy joy joy.

And I am drinking fully caffeinated coffee again. I loves it.