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As I think I mentioned in an earlier post, a decision has been made and we are in the process of moving back to Texas to be near family during this dreadful deployment.  Unfortunately, that means leaving behind my MomTalk team.

Although it took a lot of praying and fighting the right answer because I didn’t necessarily WANT to do it, I know that I need to do this.  I’ve definitely had my fair share of answered prayers so I know when to listen to the spirit, even it means leaving a place that means so much to me.

The kids are sad to be leaving new friends that they’ve acquired over the year of living on base.  They’re sad to be leaving their school that’s so close to home which allows them to ride their bike or walk to school.  They’re sad to be leaving our awesome house with a playground just across the street.  BUT, they’re happy to be near old friends and family that will distract them from what is looming over our heads like a dark and dreary cloud.

I just wanted to write this post and direct it towards the readers and my fellow bloggers here at MomTalk.  This will be my last post which brings a tear to my eye, but new adventures mean new opportunities and I’m excited to see what lies ahead.  I’m so grateful for THIS opportunity I had to share my life with you, to open my home and my heart to you.  I’m even MORE grateful for the opportunity I had to get to learn about each of YOUR wonderful families through your blogs.  You’ve definitely made me cry AND laugh a time or two and I’m thankful for that. And thank you readers for sharing your stories and notes of encouragement!

I won’t say goodbye because I’ll still be checking in on all you lovely bloggers from time to time and commenting when I have two cents to put into the conversation.

Again, thank YOU for allowing MY family to be a part of such an awesome team!  I’ll see you around!

Peace Out!

Isaak's Photoshoot

Do you ever wonder if the personality traits and interests your kids exhibit when they’re little will translate into what they become as an adult?  I do.  I think about it all the time.  I think Jakob will become a Marine for sure.  Kora I’m not completely sure yet, but I know she’ll be something that requires a TON of confidence.  Miah is going to be into motor sports, something outdoorsy for sure.  Gus is a little too small to tell just yet, but Isaak?  Oh yes, I know what Isaak will be.

Isaak has a SMALL obsession with taking pictures and by small I mean that he wants to do it 24/7 snap, snap, snap, picture after picture.  He loves to be behind the camera, he loves to be in front of it, he just LOVES the camera.  I have to be careful about where I put my camera because it never fails, he finds it and then runs off to some secret place to begin a secret photoshoot.

Just the other day, I was busy doing SOMEthing, and realized that Isaak was being WAY too quiet.  As with most homes that house a toddler, quiet equals bad.  I immediately ran outside, assuming that he had gotten out and run to the park as he does most of the time.  After a thorough search of the playground and still no Isaak I started to worry.  I ran back inside, calling his name with no answer in return.  I started going room to room looking under beds, in closets, in cabinets until finally I found him.  There he was, crouched into a little ball in a back closet with a blanket over his head and all I could see was the flash of the camera brightening up the blanket.  I peeled back the blanket slowly and found a smiley little Isaak, clutching my camera and looking as cute as ever.  I SHOULD have gotten on to him, but since he so sweetly said, “sotty mommy”, I couldn’t bear to be mad at him.  How can you tear a kid away from his dreams?!

What do you think YOUR child will be when they grow up?

Well, it’s official.  I am now a part of the deployed spouses club.  Not necessarily the type of club I’ve ever dreamed about being in, but nonetheless, still in it.  It’s only been a few days and it already feels like weeks.  I stare at my calendar flipping the pages to the return date and it just seems so FAAAAAR away.

The kids seem to be doing just fine, thankfully.  I think they must be WAY stronger than I am.  The two big kids have emotional breakdowns every now and then over silly things that translate into, “I miss dad”, but other than that, they’ve been great.  Miah, my middle child, hasn’t shown any emotion whatsoever.  He completely took me by surprise because he’s my MOST emotional kid by FAR.

Isaak has actually been the worst with the new changes.  Granted, he’s been without his dad for longer than a few days, but this time is different.  Call me crazy, but I really think he senses that this time will be for much longer.  I tried my best to prepare him before Austin left, telling him that daddy was going bye bye for a LONG time so I think that’s why he seems to be reacting in a much different way.  He’s been crying and whining over everything and he’s my LEAST whiny child.  Nothing seems to satisfy him when he’s crying and it’s frustrating yet painful for me all at once.  I want him to understand so he can have peace of mind, but he just won’t.

Thankfully, I bought the recordable books Kelly Mulder suggested from hallmark and he requests to listen to his book every morning when he wakes up and every evening just before bed.  I also bought one of the Christmas ones to save for Christmas Eve and surprise the kids.  I can’t wait to give it to them!

The hardest part for me is obviously being alone, without my best friend, but I’m also sad every time I see the kids say or do something and normally I would just pick up the phone to tell Austin.  It’s the little things that maybe I never noticed before, like tiny toes that dangle out of the stroller, all precious in their tiny flip flops.

Ughh.  Hurry home Austin!  We miss you!!  In the meantime, I’m taking LOTS of pictures for you!

What do you fill your days with to keep your mind off of sad things?

It happens every time I walk through the grocery store.  I get that itch.  I go down the baby row and I just stand there and stare at all the fun little baby food.  All the meals and snacks call my name for me to buy them and try them out.  All the jars reach out for me to take them home.  I always see all these cute moms feeding their adorable babies wearing bibs, making airplane noise and wiping their messy mouths with the spoon.  I want to be that mom!  I want to feed my baby!  Sometimes I give in and I load my cart up with a million different choices that I just KNOW Gus will HAVE to love…this time.

But alas, it never fails.  I end up with a pantry or fridge FULL of opened jars that I TRIED to feed Gus and he just wouldn’t eat them.

Hello.  My name is Jessica and I have a picky eater.

There, I said it.  It doesn’t make it any better, but at least I’m admitting to it and I’ll stop this crazy baby food buying spree that I go on once a week.

I’m just so frustrated with it though!  I want him to EAT like normal babies eat.  All he wants to do is drink a bottle.  The kid BARELY enjoys eating crackers for crying out loud.  He’ll usually take one or two bites and them crumble the rest of the cracker up and throw it.

Bananas?  No.

Carrots?  Never.

Squash?  Not in a million years.

There’s pretty much only ONE item that I can always get him to eat.  Noodles.  The kid LOVES noodles.  Noodles with butter, noodles with cheese, noodles with red sauce, he loves them all.  But what about his protein!?!?  What happens when he turns one and he’s not getting all his vitamins in his formula anymore?!  Oh help me.  I have GOT to get this figured out and FAST.

Any suggestions!?

After watching my Lover push my babies in our double stroller at the zoo last week and almost drooling all over my shirt, I realized that the things I find attractive in men has changed significantly since I was a teenager (which was the last time I was even looking at other men, ahem).  I decided I’d like to list the top 10 things I think are THE HOTTEST things my Lover does.  In no particular order, they are:

1.  Wear his wedding ring even though I know how much it drives him crazy to have jewelry on.

2.  Offer to push the babies in the stroller and then TRY to fold it and put it away.

3.  Mop the crusted cheerios and sticky juice spills off the kitchen floor.

4.  Clean the bathrooms which are covered in tooth paste and wet balls of toilet paper.

5.  Wash and vacuum all the crumbs out of my baby laden car.

6.  Cut big pieces of chicken into tiny little bites for tiny little mouths.

7.  Wash baby bottles.  Especially Dr. Browns bottles with all the tiny little parts that require lots of time and energy.

8.  Give the babies a bath and gently wash their tiny heads making sure not to get bubbles in their eyes.

9.  Read books or make up silly songs to sing to the kids and make them smile or laugh.

10.  Take time to give special talks to his kids to tell them how much he loves them and how special they are.

I have to say, it was hard to make this list because I have SOOO much more to say and narrowing it down to 10 was pretty difficult.  I sure do love my Lover.  Not only is he my best friend, but to me, he’s the greatest man I’ve ever met…AND the hottest! *wink*

The thing I love about our family is that we do our best to make big decisions together.  Austin and I love to sit down with the kids and openly discuss what our options are so they feel involved and know that their opinion is valuable.  We don’t always see eye to eye on decisions and we don’t always base the answer on what the kids want, but this time it worked out in their favor.

The kids LOVE Texas.  They’ve lived there for most of their lives and they have a lot of old friends there that they are really close to.  When we told them that we had decided it would be best to return to Texas during my husband’s upcoming deployment, they were ecstatic about being able to be close to their grandparents (who will do a god job of distracting them from being sad) as well as being nearer to their friends.  Granted, we’ve made a lot of AWESOME friends here too, so along with them being happy about the move, they were also sad to have to tell their local friends that they will soon be leaving.

I’ve written about my 10 year old before and how sensitive he is to others’ feelings.  He’s an old little soul in a young body that has a TON of integrity.  His closest friend here, Cole, is his right hand man.  Watching the two of them together is like watching men who’ve been friends for years and years.

Jakob knew that telling Cole about our move would be hard, so he wanted to make things just right for the heartbreaking moment.  He planned to have Cole over for a sleepover and give him the news.  Just before Cole arrived, Jakob brought me into his room to show me something he had setup.  As soon as I walked in and saw the spread across his dresser, I wanted to cry.  Sweet little Jakob had fancy drinks, a plate full of grapes, and military ribbons laid out to give to his favorite friend as he broke the news to him that evening.  It was so touching I had to take a picture of it!

The news was upsetting to Cole, but it went over well thanks to Jakob’s plan!

How do your children deal with moves and leaving friends?