A Few Random Late Night Realizations

1. A big swimming pool is AWESOME in the summer heat. It has kept my big kids busy all day long! Just strap on their floaties and they go to town! I think we swam for 7 hours today. I even got in for a while when Bitty was napping. It keeps the kids from being bored and I am a HUGE fan of outdoor play. It gets the kids away from the TV and allows them for physical play along with the use of their imagination! Today the pool was everything from a volcano to a stage to a far off land to a baptismal font. (Yes, my kids proceeded to baptize each other. LOL)

2. I really really really miss just looking at my husband. I miss just watching GI Joe go about his things he does everyday. Get dressed. Shave. Play with the kids. Put his boots and dogtags on. Smile at me. I just miss being able to look at him. Yes I have pictures, lots and LOTS of pictures, but they aren't the same. I just am missing the guy like crazy.

3. Red onion and sausage pizza at midnight after a long day of swimming and missing your husband is really really very extremely good!

Why Is It...

....that big crazy thunderstorms happen at like 5am? Late enough that my kids have slept a while and aren't in that deep-deep sleep anymore? But way too early to get up? And then I have 3 kids crying, in my bed, and I cannot go back to sleep at all due to the nursing a fussy baby and telling my 4 year old to stop moving around.

...that my husband always calls at the most inopertune time, like when all the kids are on crack and a tornado seriously ripped through my living room and it was apparently covered in peanut butter?

...that cars always break down, kids always get the stomach flu and unexpected bills arise always when my husband is deployed?

...that I always forget to take the trash can down to the curb on trash day only when it is REALLY full?

...that all the kids grow into new size clothes at the same exact time?

...that we run out of every cleaner and toiletry and paper product at the exact same time also?

...that I always forget to bring my cell phone in the bathroom with me while I am taking a shower until I am already sopping wet, so then I have to get out and leave wet footprints through my bedroom?

...that on days where I really need the extra sleep and Bitty is actually sleeping well I have deployment insomnia?

Just One of Those Days....

Today was a hard day. Just one of those days that I really miss my husband. Someone to lean on. Someone to give me a backrub after a long day. Someone to commiserate with. lol

Bitty has been extra fussy the past few days and today was the epitome of that. I spent a totaly of 8 hours trying to get him to nap and fall asleep today. I am exhausted, physically and mentally. It's one of those days where you make ramen for the kids for dinner, don't brush your teeth until 4pm and snap at your kids because you literally have no patience left.

I love the little guy, I do. He is one of the sweetest things ever. His sweet smile and little asian eyes just make my heart melt. But he really is a high needs baby sometimes. He thrives on a schedule and it is so hard to keep him on one when I am a busy, involved temporarily-single mommy of three.

And just typing out that he is difficult makes me feel like a terrible mommy.

But thanks to a few very special friends, I feel a bit better about saying that. So here is my shout out to Kristy, Karla, Celia and Vera. Thanks for cheering me up ladies. :)

So Bitty is finally sleeping. For how long, I have no idea. But I am off to head to bed and try to get at least some semblance of a night's sleep. I'm leaving the dishes in the sink(shhh don't tell FlyLady! lol) and leaving the laundry in piles on the floor of the laundry room(and my bedroom... and the hallway....) and I will get to that tomorrow.

But for now, I am off to kiss my babies to sleep and tuck myself in bed.

Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon...

What My Life Consists Of At The Moment...

LOTS AND LOTS of This:

And then I came into The Boy's room after doing above and found my lovely older children had dubbed Bitty "The King" and had created a throne around him:


This is what my day encompassed. (Along with laundry, dishes, cooking, taking to and from school, changing diapers, nursing, cleaning up play-doh, a board meeting for my women's group, a luncheon, etc... God help me to BE STILL and hear you in the silence...) I'm excited to see what tomorrow holds. LOL

Some Roses are Red, Some Roses are Orange...

I got a package in the mail today from GI Joe. It was my Mother's Day gift, arriving slightly belated. It was 2 dozen orange roses. Beautiful really(except for the fact he also bought me chocolates which turned into one ooey gooey mess in the box in the FedEx truck in the hot Texas sun all day... and if you read my Not Me Monday post, you also know that I came about this close to still eating them lol) and after I rearranged them, they looked great. I used to be a florist way back in my pre-mommyhood days. I knew those random skills would eventually come in handy. As I placed them on the dining table and admire their beautiful orange color, I started wondering...What do orange roses mean?

I know that red signifies romance, yellow is friendship, but what is orange?

So I did some research and here now, for your reading pleasure... everything you ever wanted to know, and more, about various rose colors and what they symbolize.

Rose Colors: The Definitive Reference Guide - From 1-800-Flowers.com

RED-This rose's color symbolizes one thing above all else--love. For hundreds of years people have chosen one color of roses above all others to convey their most heartfelt feelings (experts believe that the red rose first became a symbol of love around 1800). When the message you want to send is "I love you," it's always red roses. So for occasions like Valentine's Day and a wedding anniversary, there is simply no other option.

WHITE-If you're looking for a flower that's the right fit for a bride at her wedding, the right rose colors are white. The same reason the bride wears white is the same reason the roses are white. This flower symbolizes purity above all else. Keeping with this, white is also the appropriate color rose for a confirmation or any occasion celebrating a new beginning.

YELLOW-Yellow is perhaps the color rose with the most diverse history of meanings. Over the centuries, they have been given to convey everything from "welcome home" to jealousy, of all things. Today, however, rose colors in any and all shades of yellow embody friendship more than anything else. Best friends, new friends, old friends--they will all understand your message of everlasting friendship when you send yellow roses.

ORANGE-If you're fired up about something or someone, orange color roses will let them know. Enthusiasm and desire are the primary meanings of orange roses. And while colors like red and white may symbolize everlasting love and pure love, respectively, it's orange that says burning love. However, as with most rose colors, there are other occasions where orange is the right fit; Halloween, for example, and to express feelings of admiration or pride in another.

PURPLE-Purple, or lavender, color roses are just right for love at first sight. Purple has long been associated with passion, luxury, and even magic, which makes this rose's color just right for expressing all the enchantment that only new love delivers. Additionally, purple represents royalty, so if you want to make someone feel like a queen, there may be no better rose.

PINK-While yellow may be the color rose with the most diverse history of meanings--though today, they primarily mean friendship--it's playful pink roses that have the most diverse meanings today. Admiration, appreciation, joy, thanks--roses in any shades of pink say it all. There is a happiness conveyed by pink rose colors that is simply undeniable and always appropriate.

PEACH-While appearing only subtly different from orange roses, peach color roses send an entirely different meaning. Typically, peach colored roses are sent to communicate appreciation, sincerity and gratitude. They're ideal for business gifts or as gifts for Teacher's Day, for example.

So, GI Joe has a hunk-a-hunk of burning love for me, does he? How many more months do we have left of this deployment??? He better hurry his little booty on home to me ;)

And I love the *disclaimer* they place at the bottom of the page:

Remember: when you send roses, you're not just sending flowers. You're sending a message, and the rose color your choose can greatly and easily impact your message. We hope our guide will help you send the exact message you want your flowers to convey.

Ah, words to live by...

A Conversation with GI Joe

I got to talk to GI Joe today online. It was nice because lately he has been going on all sorts of missions that occupy a lot of his time, and then in his downtime, he is always so exhausted. So it was really nice to "hear" from him today.

As we were about ready to sign off, I reminded him that today used to be our special day. 11 years ago, we were talking on the phone late at night(shhh don't tell my parents I was up late talking to him lol). He asked me to be his girlfriend. So cute huh? I remember it like it was yesterday, yet it seems so long ago at the same time. Funny how that happens.

Well, GI Joe then said, no, it was ME who asked him out. Oh uh-uh. I did no such thing! I am a lady, for goodness sakes! ;) The conversation then went like this:

GI Joe: Well, you are the one that called me first.
Me: Well yeah, but not that conversation, you had called me.
Gi Joe: Well the first time we talked, you called me.
Me: Well yeah, I got your number from M(my BFF.) I thought you were cute. So sue me. lol
GI Joe: Nah, I'm married to you. That wouldn't work.
GI Joe: You stalked me.
Me: Oh I did, did I? So you like stalkers?
GI Joe: Only the pretty ones.

♥

Four Little Thoughts

I must share with you my four thoughts for the day....

1. The new Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry is super delicious. I have already consumed 4 of my 12 pack I bought yesterday. Go out and getcha some right now. Yum-O.

2. The Pioneer Woman's Garlic Cheese Bread is probably the best thing I have ever tasted in my LIFE!! I made it tonight to go with our spaghetti and I barely touched my noodles. All I wanted was this bread!! It made my life complete. You can take me now, Lord....

3. Why must ALLLLL the lightbulbs in the house burn out when my husband is gone?!?! Seriously over TEN lightbulbs have burnt out in the last 4 months. Here's a little tidbit for ya, I researched it, turns out I probably have a voltage spike problem. I need to buy 130 volt bulbs instead of 120 volt. You learn something new everyday. Like how awesome Cheesy Garlic Bread is. Oh yeah.

And finally 4. I am going to start Flylady again. Seriously if you have never tried it, her plan is AWESOME for jumpstarting your cleaning/decluttering habits. Babysteps. It worked wonders for me during our first deployment in Germany. And with 3 kids, I need my life to be as neat and organized as it can me. You know, me and my ADD. If it isn't well organized with lists and plans, I'll get distracted. And along with my ADD I also have a touch of OCD when it comes to organization. Lately I have been getting the heeby jeebies(yes that is the official medical term) when I walk into my kids rooms knowing their toys are NOT organized in labeled bins like they usually are! This third kid has turned me into a slacker! But no more. Flylady here I come. Watch out world. And watch out soap scum. I'm comin' for ya!