February, Waiting for the Big March

Get that?  "Big March" a play on the word for "military marching," and the month "March."
Get it?  Get it?  Get it?
Anyway... :)


Matt's date for deployment has been shifting all around and upside down.  Finally we have a date, and he'll be leaving before March is up.   But life continues on for our crew, and February has been pretty fun!  

Minus the "Eli sickness" episode, which gave us a little worried moment:
He ran a fever on a Saturday and it wasn't until Sunday that I realized what his symptoms could mean.  Hello?!  High spiking fever, and very thirst?!  Could be Strep Throat.  So Matt stayed home with him and took him to an Urgent Care, and me and the other boys went to church.  After a long wait at the doc-in-the-box, they were able to some answers.  Not Strep Throat, but an ear infection with an inflamed throat.  He was put on meds for 5 days.
Strep Throat is pretty serious when not treated.  It can get into the blood stream and attack the heart... Not a good thing for "half-a-heart" Eli.
Also, his meds were really gross, so I had to bribe him with some soda to take it (and not jam it down his throat and drown him).  He hated it, but loved the soda!  I'm a genius, so don't judge.

 

Eli smacked his head on the fireplace.  

Handsome boy Isaac.

One of those really healthy and amazing Roman Noodle meals.

Got the Wii fixed!

Titus has a huge obsession with the tablet, which we are curbing. 

Eli exhausted from ear infection sickness.  Laid himself down for a nap on the couch.  (Pink lips!!)

Where's Eli?  He's hiding and I can't find him. 

What a great hiding spot, Dude!

Guys, St. V-day is Tomorrow

So hey.  Um, yeah.
I know I have lots to catch up on, which I will, but I have something to announce:
*ahem* I am preparing a Valentines Day for the boys.

Holy crap, what a big step, right?  It's not like I'm anti-Valentines, it's just I never think about it.  Typically I'm more excited about Black History Month, to be honest.  I mean, a whole month dedicated to learning history!  Wow!

It's kind of changed this year.  Probably because Matt's being deployed, which puts me in "over-prepare Shannon mode."  Maybe that's a good thing?  Maybe it's a bad thing?  Whatever it is about waiting for something big to happen (like a deployment or a heart surgery) I get anxious, shop a lot, and over prepare... I'm okay, I promise!  It's just what I do to cope!

So here I am at 11pm the night before V-day excitedly posting about what I've been doing about The Day of Love, my heart-beat up a bit.

I put up cheap Wal-Mart decorations a few days ago, and finished it off tonight.  Also the last few nights I've been doing special dinners, along with a heart themed dessert.  Oh snap!  We've had homemade lasagna, with heart jello;  some sweet potato and black bean burritos, with heart shaped homemade fudge brownies;  and tomorrow will probably be heart shaped pizza, with a red velvet cake.    

Gifts in the morning.  The boys picture by each one's present, so they know who's is who's.
Thanks Grammie and Gramps for sending the Star Wars themed Valentines!  Worked out great to go with our LEGO presents. 

Breakfast in the morning, ready to go:  Nutella, whipped cream, strawberry heart shaped French toast. 

All of Isaac's school Valentines ready to go.
Brown bags for the teacher and aid, filled with good chocolate and yummy homemade brownies--labeled "Brownie Points"

Free printable V-day mini cards, one for each of the boys' lunches

I cut up carrots to be hearts!  Thanks Christi for the great idea!

I'm sitting in the living room, looking over at my dinning room.  It looks peaceful.
I hope the boys enjoy it though!  And I hope they know that Matt and I truly do love them.

PS, I didn't get Matt anything... I hope he didn't get me anything...

Big, Important Family Announcement:

First, we got a trampoline!!   I'll get to that at the end of this post. 

Second, Matt is leaving for Afghanistan.  Soon.   

Let's do some Q's and A's about it:

1.  Q:  When will he leave?  

     A:  I'm not supposed to say an exact date here in public/social media, but we're like a month out. 

2.  Q:  Where will he be going?

     A:  I'm not supposed to say an exact location here in public/social media, but it's in Afghanistan. 

3.  Q:  How long will he be gone?

     A:  No more than 9 months.  He will not be getting a 2 week leave during this deployment.

4.  Q:  Does he have a "safe" job?

     A:  Yup!  And super busy.  Lots of men to look over and make sure all their stuff is in line.  

5.  Q:  How many deployments has he had?

     A:  This is his second.  And compared to his first, I'm not worried about him at all.  No 18 month deployment, no guard duty, no foot street patrols, no IED sweeps, no ambushes, no "gotta help Special Forces out raids," no 13+ hours convoys.  And he'll be getting fed 3 times a day!  So no losing 20 pounds!

6.  Q:  How will you keep in touch with him?

     A:  There is pretty reliable wifi.  We've heard that Apple product's "FaceTime" is by far the best way of communication.  Skype and Google+ are good, just a bit sketchy.  And FB chat is great.  

So I'm doing well with all of this, I promise.  Don't worry, I'll have my break downs, crap days, curse-the-world moments.  Matt's a great dad, and such an awesome support.  He's a better parent than me, truly.  

I really feel bad for the boys.  They love him so much.  They seem to know what's going on... Well, maybe just Isaac.  Eli is a bit freaked out when ever Matt is gone--for work, etc.  "I miss my dad!"  is something that I hear everyday.  Least we forget the: "I not love you [me, Shannon], I love Dad!"  Oh boy.  I don't think the 5.5 months apart last year (2012) helped this boy's nerves, at all.  I had a friend tell me that age 3 is the hardest time for separation.  During this deployment I'll have 2 three year olds.  Eli will be 3 till April, then Titus will be 3 in June.  Perfect timing, right?    

Anyway, we'll find out grove.  (If anybody has any insight in how to help children cope with parental separation, please let me know!)

Matt has been getting his gear together, and the boys really love it! 

This is his bullet proof vest, and really heavy.  Cracked us all up when the boys tried to stay up-right in it! 

(And don't mind all the cords and decoration mess.  We're in the middle of getting all the house together!)

Even after all this time (a year and a half), when I see his pink lips, I get really happy.  Healthy "heart baby," baby!

Now, the moment we've all been waiting for...
... The Trampoline!

Holy Hannah, one of the best purchases ever made.  Matt's been worried about us, and he's trying to make sure all the things that he needs to do before he leaves gets done.  Including buying and putting together a trampoline.   He got it it at 5 in the afternoon, and was out till 7 putting it together.

PS, Love the safety net!

The boys practicing their jumps:

Sometimes the "putting the trampoline together" got boring.  They decided to run around the yard instead:

Or play in the 4runner:

First jumps!

First jumps!

First jumps!

First jumps!

After a yummy dinner, the boys were able to go out and enjoy some night jumping with the net!

Email me, and we can figure out ways to get you more info about the deployment if you want it.  I don't mind, really.