We've spent the last few weeks living with my husband's parents, getting some quality time in with them before coming back home. It's been wonderful to see Elise bond with them. She loves her grandparents so much and is really starting to find ways to show it. She says "Bye Pops!" every morning before they leave and she rushes to the door for hugs and kisses when they come home. It will definitely be hard to go back to our home and not have that excitement of family coming home for dinner every day until my husband comes home.
Even knowing that, though, we are ready. I'm ready for Elise and both to be sleeping in our own beds and cooking in my own kitchen. Elise will begin school once we arrive home, so I'm looking forward to having more time to myself to get our house back in order for my husband's return and get more of the exercise my body has been itching for.
We've been living sort of like nomads since my husband left and each move and place has had its own pros and cons. But really, I'm glad I did it. It wasn't always easy and each had its own hardships, but when push comes to shove, we got time in with our families that we wouldn't have had my husband not deployed. Did I want him gone? Absolutely not. But there was a little silver lining to this dreadful deployment and it has gotten us (actually mostly me) through something I'm not sure I could've handled alone every single day. Not only was it hard simply being separated from my husband and having to make decisions without him, but Elise has changed so much these last 6 months and trying to adjust and keep up has been challenging. But I'm thankful that's all over with and the trials of her first year are behind us and we have a fun year planned for our family.
So right now, I'm in the process of preparing us for our next and final move (for awhile at least!). We are making one last trip to Tulsa to say goodbye to my family and then its off to West Texas and Miss Ellie Lane.
Once we arrive, I have a long list of things I'd like to accomplish before my husband gets back. A lot of spouses use deployments as an excuse to spring clean, meet weight loss goals, and re-organize their lives. Its a good time to do it. You usually have plenty of time and it gives you something positive to focus on. I'm no different. But I do have a LOT less time to complete these tasks! In four weeks, I'd like to do the following:
1. Take clothes of mine I've collected for donations to GoodWill.
2. Get the carpets professionally cleaned.
3. Clear out more space in the garage for the cars.
4. Organize and store all of Elise's clothes and toys she no longer uses.
5. Donate all her small diapers.
6. Get organized in my kitchen and have crock pot frozen meals prepped for dinner 3x times a week.
7. Work on finalizing a new, eclectic, and healthy menu for dinners on days when Ellie is in school and I have time to try new recipes.
8. Finish taxes and implement our new budgeting ideas we've discussed.
9. This is IF I have the time....I'd like to get started on landscaping in the front yard. Nothing extreme or fancy, just some green bushes and small colorful flowers that can withstand the extreme temp changes in West Texas.
Hopefully I can get most of this done in the four-ish weeks I'll have at home. I think they will make time pass much faster. More importantly, one my husband does get home, we can all relax in a clean house and just work on maintaining it. That's the goal anyway. I don't know about you, but I sleep better at night knowing there's no dishes in the sink, or clutter laying around. And once he's home, I won't want to deal with ANY of that crap!
So here's to the last month of this deployment! May she be swift and kind!
We've been living sort of like nomads since my husband left and each move and place has had its own pros and cons. But really, I'm glad I did it. It wasn't always easy and each had its own hardships, but when push comes to shove, we got time in with our families that we wouldn't have had my husband not deployed. Did I want him gone? Absolutely not. But there was a little silver lining to this dreadful deployment and it has gotten us (actually mostly me) through something I'm not sure I could've handled alone every single day. Not only was it hard simply being separated from my husband and having to make decisions without him, but Elise has changed so much these last 6 months and trying to adjust and keep up has been challenging. But I'm thankful that's all over with and the trials of her first year are behind us and we have a fun year planned for our family.
So right now, I'm in the process of preparing us for our next and final move (for awhile at least!). We are making one last trip to Tulsa to say goodbye to my family and then its off to West Texas and Miss Ellie Lane.
Once we arrive, I have a long list of things I'd like to accomplish before my husband gets back. A lot of spouses use deployments as an excuse to spring clean, meet weight loss goals, and re-organize their lives. Its a good time to do it. You usually have plenty of time and it gives you something positive to focus on. I'm no different. But I do have a LOT less time to complete these tasks! In four weeks, I'd like to do the following:
1. Take clothes of mine I've collected for donations to GoodWill.
2. Get the carpets professionally cleaned.
3. Clear out more space in the garage for the cars.
4. Organize and store all of Elise's clothes and toys she no longer uses.
5. Donate all her small diapers.
6. Get organized in my kitchen and have crock pot frozen meals prepped for dinner 3x times a week.
7. Work on finalizing a new, eclectic, and healthy menu for dinners on days when Ellie is in school and I have time to try new recipes.
8. Finish taxes and implement our new budgeting ideas we've discussed.
9. This is IF I have the time....I'd like to get started on landscaping in the front yard. Nothing extreme or fancy, just some green bushes and small colorful flowers that can withstand the extreme temp changes in West Texas.
Hopefully I can get most of this done in the four-ish weeks I'll have at home. I think they will make time pass much faster. More importantly, one my husband does get home, we can all relax in a clean house and just work on maintaining it. That's the goal anyway. I don't know about you, but I sleep better at night knowing there's no dishes in the sink, or clutter laying around. And once he's home, I won't want to deal with ANY of that crap!
So here's to the last month of this deployment! May she be swift and kind!
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