Day 21

So, I have some funny Tristan stories. We went to Samantha Sandekian's birthday party at the bowling alley on Saturday. It was fun for the kids, but somewhere in the middle of it, Tristan sat down on the hardwood floor, and proceeded to cross one leg over his other knee, and then lick the bottom of his bowling shoe. I immediately cringed and yelled for him not to do that, but now, every time I think about it, I laugh. Ugh, gross! Secondly he told Laney tonight that he was going to "terminate her." I think it might have something to do with Power Rangers, but I'm not positive.
The weekend was entirely occupied with painting the hallway and the man room. Here are some before and after pics.
Before:


After:
Bonus, the hallway:


I feel really relieved that the painting is finished for the most part. I am having one of my more anxious days though, and that seems backward. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
Today is Memorial Day and the young men and women who have died for our country have been playing like a montage through my head all day and reminding me how thankful I am for our military and for their ultimate sacrifice.

Day 16

So, today was an eventful day. I would like to say it was positive, and it probably was, but it left me so drained I cannot see the progress right now. I officially listed the house...for 25K less than we owe. That was a lot more draining than I had anticipated. The realtor was getting on my nerves too. She wanted to talk, and I just wanted to sign away money and security in silence. Then she wanted to take pictures before the stager comes. The stager comes next week, and I'm really not ready for pictures yet, even though I would like to have sold the house last week, honestly. So, she is going to come back tomorrow and take some pics. Then she walked around and asked if I am going to be ready for pictures tomorrow...like my house is such a pigsty that it won't be ready. Maybe last week I would have agreed, but I have worked really hard to get it camera ready, and it really only needs some clearing out before it is ready, which requires some packing. So, tomorrow I will pick up some boxes and pack some crap. I cannot wait to move into an apartment!
Tristan also got braces today, which is also good, but it was a stressful experience for him and for me. He is/was excited about them. However, I think they were bothering him tonight, and since he can't particularly verbalize that, he acted up. I finally figured it out and gave him some Motrin. There is one bright spot and that is that he no longer has a gap in his front teeth. This whole orthodontic intervention has definitely not been in vain. It is working, even if there are moments of immense stress.

And, he got headgear to wear at night. Which he says make him look like Buzz Lightyear and Darla from Finding Nemo.

Also, Tristan really wanted his own alarm clock which I thought was a great idea so when he wakes up in the middle of night he can tell us when he woke up, so I got him one. Then, of course Laney demanded one:

Day 14

Well, we have made it through two weeks. It hasn't been the easiest two weeks, but that is to be expected. I have been weaning Tristan off of a drug that hasn't really done anything for him, but the weaning off has been difficult. I am hoping it is about out of his system. I had to reschedule an orthodontist appt because he was so wild. He was wild when he woke up this morning, but I think his other pill has kicked in because now he is calm.
Hopefully, I will be selling the Rav today. I would also like to make some progress on the garage today, but I have all week to get the garage, the shed, and the man-room clean and packed up. I am going to paint the man-room and hallway this weekend, so come to think of it, the hallway needs to be packed too. The shed it almost finished, I just need to run to the recycling plant to get rid of some cardboard, which is ironic because I need to go to Uhaul and get some boxes to pack with.
Took the kids to see Pirates of the Carribean yesterday. It was decent, but not the same without Will and Elizabeth. Of course Capt Jack is the kids' fave, so they enjoyed it. I think it was the first non-cartoon I have taken them to.
This afternoon we have the make-up orthodontist appt, and then we will go to the gym.

Day 10

Well, things are getting a little harried around here. I made a deal to sell the Rav, but I have to get it refinanced in my name first. I am working on getting that accomplished, and hope to have it finished tomorrow. That will be nice, one less car payment. Our realtor, Tina, came over yesterday and told me what I already knew, which is that we are upside down in the house. So...we are probably going to do a short sale or something equivalent. This is fine with me, but she also told me that a ton of foreclosures will hit the market this summer, so I am antsy to get this place sold. I have a stager (for house staging) coming out in the next couple of days, and I have a feeling that I will be buying paint. Anyone want to have a painting party? Anyone? I am happy to get the process started, but I am overwhelmed on the whole.
My mom went home this morning. We took her to the airport at 4 a.m. *yawn* I signed up for Weight Watchers this morning, and printed out some tools in order to get started. I have to get this body bikini ready in a year.:)
Little Garrett was born on Monday, he is adorable. We are all excited about him. I can't wait to spend the summer watching him grow.
I am heading to see Bridesmaids with my movie girls this morning. I could really use the laughs, so I'm happy to be going.

Day 7

Things are crazy around here, we had such a busy weekend, I hardly remember most of it. Saturday we had a birthday brunch for Mom and Kerry, we had pina colada french toast and hash brown casserole. It was super yummy. We were babysitting Kale and Kyleigh, and it was so fun to have a baby in the house. Yesterday, we went to Williamsburg and took Grandma Whyte to Opus 9 for Sunday brunch. That was something. Then we went to Rita's Ice, Juicy Pear is amazing! Afterward we picked out material for Tristan's Rock and Roll quilt that Grandma is going to make. Last night we played games with John and Kerry since it was their last night without a baby for a good long while.
Today we are heading to the hospital to meet baby Garrett. Pretty excited, will post pics!
We have also been apartment hunting, and as of right now, I am decided on this one: I am excited at the prospect of apartment living after owning a house for almost 4 years. That sounds a little silly, but it is so much work, and not nearly the investment we had planned on.
We are about to leave to go meet the baby. First coffee.

Day 2

Today, Mom and I had a girly day. We got our hair and makeup done. We didn't have the intention of getting our makeup done at the beginning of the day, but it just happened. It was really nice. Here are some pics:

We picked up the kids from church and I asked Tristan what his spelling homework was, he told me that he had to write his words in alphabetical order, and I said that it had been awhile since he had to do word pyramids. He said, "yeah, I think they canceled that." Cracked me up! Then at dinner (we had lo mein) Tristan said something about spanking his noodles. It was pretty funny, which led to a few spanking noodle jokes among the adults at the table. Another exciting day in the life of kids.

Day 1

So, yesterday was a little rough. It wouldn't have been so bad, but Tristan did not take Bryan leaving well. We have been telling him that he is leaving for quite a few months, but even after we dropped Bryan off, I don't think he knew where he was going or for how long. When we were about home (after a 45 min drive) Tristan asked where Daddy was going. I told him, and he seemed surprised. Which was surprising to me because I thought he knew. So, the evening was downhill from there. We had some sister torture, some Mommy torture, some room torture, and if we still had Chip, I think there would have been Chip torture. He calmed down when he listened to the book Bryan read for them, the recordable kind, and then even more when I printed out a picture for him to keep by his bed. He seems to be doing pretty well this morning, so I'm crossing my fingers that it holds. Laney did much better, although we had some tears at the airport, which I think upset Daddy. She was also excited about the book and the picture, and told me that she is a little bit used to Daddy being gone, so she is going to be okay.
My mom is coming today! Yay! We are all excited to see her.
Here are the pics we took yesterday before heading to the airport:

Day 0

I am going to restart this blog in earnest. I have a good reason for doing so. Bryan is leaving for a year, and he leaves today. I want him to be able to check in here if we aren't able to talk, or maybe to read about stuff that happens during the day that I forget to mention. This is also a good place to record all of the funny things the kids say, and there have been some great ones. This is not to mention the antics (ahem, Tristan crawling through the doggie door at Grandma and Grandpa Marshmallows').
We had a little family backyard BBQ on Saturday and took some pics.;)

We had a great time. Laney was coercing Tristan into putting on sunscreen lipgloss in the last picture. Gotta love my girly girl. We sure are going to miss our griller around here. I would say that I may learn to grill, but then I would just be lying. I'm too scared of an open flame. This may have something to do with a bonfire I set in the backyard when I was a kid. I still remember the look on my (5 foot, nothing) mother's face. It is still haunting...anyway...
We are going to take some more pictures before leaving for the airport, so expect those tomorrow.