Coming Home!!!!!

Ok, so a new post is LONG overdue! So much has gone on, and no lie, I can't even muster up the energy to watch The Office lately, so posting has been put on the back-burner.

CAM'S HOME!!!!! He got back into Jacksonville on September 24th. We were told that they would arrive on base sometime late on Wednesday night and we were told to be on base ready to greet our Marines around 1:00 AM Thursday morning.

Forget about the fact that I had spent the entire day Wednesday, trying to move things in to Cam's apartment and waiting on the families to arrive with the furniture. Forget about the fact that as we were hauling things up the stairs (with 3 crazy kids who were up way past their bedtime), I somehow managed to find my way on top of a fire ant bed. I got close to 10 bites on each foot and even though I was super dramatic about it (if you know me at all, you know I'd rather run into an anaconda than a fire ant), I was determined not to let it spoil Cam's homecoming. Forget about the fact that it was 1 in the morning and Jac had still not gone to sleep and was crazy grumpy (I had to literally force him, kicking and screaming, into his carseat)! With all this weighing heavily on my emotions (and my cankles), we headed to the base.

They actually had a pretty cool set-up going on and if I was a night person at all, I might would have been a little more pumped about it. They had a space walk and carnival games set-up for the kids and were serving hot dogs, drinks, and snacks (did I mention it was 1 in the morning...ick!).

At around 2, they came in and gave us the 30 minute warning. We were told the Marines were on base and would be arriving at the Area 1 gym (where we were) in about a half hour. Jac slept through most of the night in his stroller, but woke up to whine every now and then.

At around 5 AM (maybe 6), the buses were finally pulling up to the gym (30 minutes???? Yeah, right!). The Marines began pouring out and reuiniting with their families. I had no clue which bus he was on, there were probably 5 or 6 full buses. I searched for a while before deciding to plant myself in one spot and let Cam find me...he did! When I heard him standing behind me, I whipped around and threw my arms around him. After a few seconds of hugging, I stopped to check his face and see that it really was him and I wasn't groping a stranger. (AWKWARD!) We were good though. :)

The next day, we went out to breakfast with our families and they headed back to Florence with Jac, so we could spend a couple of days alone together. It was awesome!

I have to say that this whole experience has been an emotional roller coaster. Maybe my biggest concern was worrying that Jac wouldn't remember Cam at all. I knew that it wouldn't be long before things would be back to normal with those two, but I was honestly worried how Cam would take it. I knew that throughout the entire deployment, in all their family readiness classes, the always make sure that the Marines with young children understand that more than likely, their kids won't know who they are. I always tried to make sure that we included Cam in everything we did (even if it wasn't physically). Jac has a picture hanging in his room of him with Cam and every night, he "kissed" daddy and told him good-night. SKYPE has been a total blessing. I honestly thing we'd be in a totally different place now if we hadn't had it and I'm certain that it made the whole "No Daddy Adjustment" so much smoother for Jac. It reallly was like having him here with us. Things have really fallen back in to place and so far, it's back to the "new normal."

Speaking of the "new normal," this long distance relationship thing is absolutely killing me. Being apart from my husband for son long has made this suck a lot worse. When we are together, it's hard to focus on anything else, including work. I'm really struggling right now because we can't be together all the time and it drives me crazy having to say good-bye all the time. Sometimes I worry that I made a mistake by coming back to Florence, and have almost conviced myself that I'd feel a lot better back in Jacksonville where even if I had the worse work day in the world, I could come home and spend a quiet evening at home with my cute little family. What's that cliche' quote??? "The grass is always greener....??" That's about right. I'm trying really hard to stay positive, but am finding myself way more frustrated at work that I have been before, and I'm just really tired! The good news is that in about 5 months, I'll have my stay-in-SC husband back home for good! I can't wait!

So anyhow, I've got early morning duty at work this week (I miss the OCS policy of teachers having no non-instructioal duties), and it's got me and Jac pretty ill. I have to be at work at 7AM and I'm still not ready for bed! I better call it quits for now. Thanks for tuning in and I hope I didn't leave you hanging for too long!

I Really Do!

I really want to post a blog update...but I just can't bear to type for more than a minute or two.



Works going OK. I feel like I'm working all the time, yet, I'm not making any progress. I'm beginning to remember what I find so frustrating about this profession.



My morning commute is killer! I take a shower at night so that I can sleep a little later in the morning, but I still have to leave the house by 6:30 to take Jac to Mrs. Gloria's and head to work. Usually I pull into the parking lot shortly after 7:15.

I got to talk to Cam on Skype one final time on last Wed. night (Thur. morning for him). It was a little bit sad, because I knew it would be a few weeks longer before I could see his face again. Even still, I'm so excited! This means that it really is getting close! Even though it was late when we talked, I was a bad Mommy and woke Jac up so that Cam could get one more look at his little boy to last until he gets home. The next morning after we spoke, Cam and the rest of his guys moved out of their "cans" and into a squad bay for holding until their flight out.

I really feel like that God has done some major work in my life during this time. It's been a rough experience and one that I would never want to do again, but I've learned so much! I am planning on posting in a little more detail next time, but since it is late (10...haha), I think I should be going to bed. After all, my little boy is an early-riser, and I would like to feel rested when I start my week at work again. To be continued....

Employed!

So I had a job interview last week and really felt like things went well, although it was only a ten minute interview. I totally felt prepared for anything, but as it turned out, I way over-did it! The principal told me he would be calling whoever he chose for the job on Tuesday of last week. If you didn't get chosen, you would get a letter in the mail in a few days thanking you for your time. So...I didn't get a call on Tuesday and was pretty bummed about it.

You can imagine my surprise when I get a call from the district office this morning informing me that I had been recommended for the job! I thought maybe she was mistaken (and in all honesty, I'm still not positive she wasn't), but even still, she told me that they are writing up my contract and it should be ready in the next day or so! Woo Hoo! What a load off!

Now, I've got a week or two to start collecting supplies (and mooching off of my teacher friends/cousins) and get my classroom ready for school to start on the 17th! I'm getting nervous!

In other news, I almost went into cardiac arrest 2 weeks ago, when Jac fell into my parent's garden pond. Kimberly and I were trying to clean up some glass off of the patio (thanks to another toddler fiasco) when I just so happened to turn around and see Jac floating in the pond. I jumped up and ran like the wind to scoop him out. Poor baby, he was clinging to a rock on the edge of the pool. His head was above the water, but he had gone under because his hair was all wet. He was wearing his brand new tennis shoes that were now drenched and had algea scuff marks on the toe. I pulled him out and took off all of his clothes. He cried for all of 30 seconds and didn't even cough once. I think he may have held his breath when he fell in (thanks YMCA). He's a tough little guy, but it really made me realize how fragile children are. You can't look away from them even for a minute. I'm thinking of investing in a large cage.

Speaking of drowning in the water, Kimberly was in the pool with Penn and Samantha last week. Oddly enough, Jac has decided that he's scared to death of pools of water when adults are near, but makes a mad dash toward the pond and pool when he thinks no one is looking. So, Jac was playing with the outside toys, chasing Kory around, etc. We were so proud of Penn. He went under the water (and held his breath) and went all the way to the bottom (2ft) of the pool and came back up. We were super excited at his amazing feat and cheered like he had just done a backflip. All of a sudden, we saw what he went down to the bottom to get...MY BLACKBERRY!!! Apparently, Jac though it would be pretty fun to see if a cell phone will sink or float (he's the inquisitive type). FYI...they sink. Penn actually saved my phone from the dark abyss that is the bottom of the pool. I ran inside and tore the phone apart, dried it off, and threw it in a ziploc bag with Rice-A-Roni (we had no plain rice) to help draw the moisture out. I left it there overnight. Later, Pack took it apart and vacuumed out some more moisture from the inside. All of our efforts paid off and it's still working, thank goodness. I've been using Cam's phone this past week, because I want to be postive it's going to work for me. Maybe God's trying to teache me not to be so materialistic? Oh how I love my phone!

Things with Cam have been pretty good lately. Their Internet hasn't been going out so much and we've been able to talk and e-mail pretty regularly. Since Saturday was August 1, I can now say that Cam will be home next month. It's been pretty tough without him lately. We just celebrated our anniversary on July 22. Well...maybe celebrated isn't the right word. We'll say....OBSERVED (how romantic...right?). We'll be "celebrating" come September! I sent him a heartfelt care package filled with granola bars, and flavored powder for bottled water (classic), and he sent me a beautiful bouquet of roses and a letter. He found out that most of the people he works with are actually going to get to come home about a month early, but he has to stay behind and help out Aviation Ordinance. I'm getting really excited and we've got lots of stuff planned for when he gets home. Hopefully, I won't be too distracted at my new job! :)

I don't have any idea how many people care about what's going on in my life, or read my blog (if anyone), but if you're one of those troopers, I just want to say thanks. Your friendship, prayers, advise, and support mean so much to me. If nothing else, getting things out there, at least helps me to make sense of things. That was a little random, but it had to be said. :)

I'm gonna hit the sack tonight, before I start typing crazy stuff out of sheer exhaustion. I'll leave you with a pic, I call "Happiness." :)

Follow-Up

Despite my accident, and a girl collapsing in the middle...I PASSED THE PLT! Now' I've just gotta wait for a call from the district and hopefully an interview. Whether I get a job for next year or not, at least I've got my license (well, technically...I don't actually have a license yet) and I'm available and capable to be employed! Yay!

I Did It!

So, the plan was for me to become a runner. I've never been so motivated to do something in my whole life, and I knew that if I didn't start now, I probably never would. Here's the problem. I'm married to a super athletic, marathon runner.

Cam started running about the time I got pregnant. I think he can thank me for that. I informed him shortly after finding out I was going to be packin on the pounds that typically, the man gains as much if not more weight than the woman does when she's pregnant. I think it really freaked him out, because after that, he started up. He ran for well over a hundred , maybe two hundred days (I don't know the exact number, but he does) consecutively. He even went running when he was spending the week with me in the hospital when Jac was born. He was so motivated, that he signed up to run a marathon, before he'd ever even run a 5K, 10K or half-marathon. In February of last year...he did it!

After I started to get back to my normal self, I tried to run, but I just couldn't do it. I hated running and it depressed me to know that I could never keep up with Cam (speed or distance). I ran out of breath, I tripped, and my body ached. When Cam left for Iraq, I promised myself that I would try to start and set a goal to run a 5K with Cam when he got home. I joined the Y and have been going several times a week to work out and "train" (Keep in mind I'm using that word very loosely). I've even been documenting my speed, distance, and weight (and am very proud to say that I've lost no weight since the beginning of my expedition..so sad) in a notepad everyday to keep me accountable. I try to run a little harder and a little better everyday and motivate my self by thinking of my hunk running in triple digit temps, in the sand. If he can do it there, certainly I can torture myself for 40 minutes in an AC gym on a treadmill, while I watch TV.

Last week, when I talked to Cam, he mentioned that he would be running a 10K in Iraq on the fourth. I half jokingly mentioned that I could run the Spirit of Florence 5K at Timrod Park with him...how cute! LOL! Somehow he convinced me to do it. Yesterday was the big day. Cam talked me into it...so I talked Kimberly (and Jude) into it too. We did it though. I was so excited that I actually finished it...and in only 31 minutes (my best time so far!). Kimberly put those walkers to shame by finishing 1st place female walkers overall and she was pushing a stroller the whole time...not an easy feat! I got 3rd place for my age group...not too impressive, but at least I've got something to show for it!

Later, Cam asked me if I had fun...running???...seriously???? I'm trying to enjoy running, but the fact is, I don't. Not too worry though, I've still got almost 3 months to help myself love it more and become a running stud like my hubby. Maybe this post will hold me to my word. I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Doctor Visit

So, I took Jac back to the doctor yesterday, because he's still pulling on his ears on occasion. I was also a little concerned because he hasn't been eating like he normally does, he's had a little cold, and he's had diarrhea off and on for the past 2 months or so. I know it's gross, but I worry about him staying hydrated. Before, I kinda thought it was due to the antibiotic he was taking for the first and second ear infections, or maybe it was the fresh fruits and veggies he was eating. He never acts like his stomach bothers him, only the diaper rash he gets because of it. After a nervous wait (trying to keep him entertained without a temper tantrum), 1 cup juice, 1 pack of smarties, 2 suckers, and countless toys, we finally got to see the doctor. He told me that one of Jac's ears looked red and the other looked ok. He was concerned about the upset stomach and ordered a stool test (ew) to make sure he didn't get a separate infection caused by the first antibiotic. We did the test yesterday (he had the humungo "poo blowout" while I was at the gym and mom and dad had to bottle it up...hahahaha...perfect timing) and turned it in this morning. I hope that he doesn't have another infection, but I also hope we can find out the cause of his upset stomachs. Anyhow, he slept until almost 8:30 this morning (and that NEVER happens) and was feeling great. Hopefully we'll nip it in the bud this time!

Twitter-ish

Bought a new bumper for the pick-up I rear-ended. SUCKS!

I'm being eaten alive by mosquitoes. I'm a compulsive bite-counter, and I've totally lost count. I will say that I got 3 bites from the time I exited my car until I entered the house.

Toys-R-Us has the most awesome reusable shopping bags/gift bags for only 1.49. If only I could remember to take them to the store with me.

While gaining some skin pigmentation, Jac's losing the teeny bit of hair color he had. At least he can pull it off and still look cool.

Jon and Kate + 8...are we really surprised? We all saw it coming. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was hoping their "big announcement" was that she's pregnant. LOL

Cam's finally got a "tentative" date of return...Sept. 25th. I can start my countdown finally!

People say, "Never wake a sleeping baby." Sometimes they're just too cute and you just want to hold them. Fight it...my little sleeping angel turns into the spawn of satan when I wake him "before his time."

The Splash Pad is awesome!

I'm unofficially training to run a 5k with Cam (maybe not "with him" but at least at the same time) when he gets home.

I really miss going to a restaurant without a screaming toddler. I guess learning to walk has totally spoiled eating out for us for the next little bit. Let's hope this is a quick phase.

We're really loving our cheapo 2ft pool from Dollar General. Especially after we put the kiddos down for a nap!

I hope you enjoyed reading these little snippets of my life. That's all I can think of for now!

This was the pic I sent to Cam for Father's Day. I didn't want to post for the world to see before Cam got to see it in person. He's so stinkin cute!