My life. Morning to night and etc, my life is my kids. This is by choice. I have always been a career girl (since 13 or so maybe sooner?). Then, a few change of events created an opportunity for me to be able to stay home with Colin. Then...Emma was born. Following that, I was like...ummm....uhh, maybe I will go back to work...but when it came down to it, nothing I could apply for or get involved in seemed to be more exciting than getting to know Emma and spending more time with Colin.
I would have missed days like today for instance:
Having a job just seems rediculous when I get to look at this pretty face any second of the day:
I don't need permission from my boss to take a half day or a vacation day. I don't need approval from ANYONE. :)
I know one of these days (maybe after I am done school and the kids are both in school), I will want to work again. However, for now...this is me...yes, there are days where I REAALLLLLLY want a break. I will never get these days back and for that I am grateful to be here for them, mentoring them...I am their life. Daddy, you can join us soon...:)
Ryan and Colin:
Grandma and Emma:
Emma:
My days of blogging on a daily basis have been put on pause. For some reason at the end of the day, I just want to unwind. No computer (unless I have homework!), no telephone...just me, a possible t.v. show or book. I realize a full hour or two of something that just removes me completely helps me be a better mother. I wake up more refreshed and I have more patience as well. Late at night, it is ME time. We all need it, I think, to really just relax.
Anyway, so over the weekend Colin, Emma, Dax and I drove to Pennsylvania to see my parents. They live about 3 hours from here (Syracuse, NY). We had a great trip. My most favorite was when Colin and I went for walks together. You can see the mountains and they are full of trees. We would jog/walk and pretend we were marathon runners racing each other. So cute. He has no fear of hills either. My kinda guy.
Colin has gotten quite used to daily walks/jogs and both kids are angels during this time so because of them, I can be thankful for getting into better shape/health. I still have a ways to go but we are moving and eating well and that is a step in the right direction. Also while in Pennsylvania, my mom took us on a tour of her work (Geisinger Hospital). Let me tell you, this is an amazing hospital. She works in the labor and delivery part of the hospital but she showed us as much as she could from her perspective. Geisinger has robots! Yes, robots! One in particular we met named TUG. This robot operates on its own and takes medical supplies from one place to another. Oh, and it takes the elevator all by itself. AND even chats to the elevator; advising the elevator of its intentions. I felt like we were in an episode of Star Wars or the Jetsons (depending on your perspective). There were so many great things at the hospital...new babies being born, kids going to visit their new siblings (tear), trains, water fountain and soooooo much more. I am proud of my mom. She loves her job and they clearly love her. She even has a photo of me and the kids up, so naturally, I felt loved. She is a sweetheart I tell ya.
In addition, we (me, my mom, Colin and Emma) went to Knoebols Grove Amusement Park. Totally fun.
Only after Colin and I got soaked on a ride in the 50 degree weather was Colin a little less trusting of the rides...but he was out for war on behalf of his daddy:
We rode a ton of rides and Gramma even bought Colin some hot chocolate and a pretzel to warm him up (love those Grammas and Hummas). Emma got to ride the carousel and loved it. She was smirking the entire ride. Emma had a blast and so did I:
I took a ton of photos...I will post more in future posts.
One thing that was hard was Colin remembering the last time we went to Knoebols...we went with his Daddy. So he was nostalgic and has been missing him vocally since...poor guy. (tear)
We loved our weekend with the Grandparents (especially since Pop Pop made awesome dinners!!).
On the way back to NY, we opted to stop in Wilkes-Barre to see a good friend of mine since High school, Cathy. Her little man, Ryan and Colin played while Cathy and I attempted to chase after the kids and attempt to catch up a little. Too bad we don't live closer...we had a blast. Thanks again Cathy!
On another note, our good friends and no-longer neighbors (boo), the Woolners have made it to Indiana and are getting unpacked as we speak. We miss them so much and are lucky to have them as friends regardless of their location. We are lucky because Lizzy is still close by...adore that girl.
On a final note, Chris is doing well and actually sent me a few photos. I will post my favorite to start but need the rest to use for future posts...so enjoy! He reminds me we are getting close to half way done...whew. Not done soon enough but lucky to hear his voice as often as we do! We love you Chris!
Have a great night! xoxo
So, middle of May. We're coming up on the 5 month mark. Time is actually going by pretty quickly. Especially since I sit around at a desk most days. But, that's coming to an end soon. On Saturday I went check out where our upcoming mission is going to be. It felt great to get out. We walked some mountains, which was rough. Every once and a while I get a reminder that I'm getting older. Walking those things was definitely one of them. The mountains here are brutal anyways, but throw another 100lbs of gear on top and it just, well, sucks. I got to fire my new rifle, too. The Army is putting these tricked out versions of the M14. Yep the one they used in Vietnam. They look nothing like one another. But, since I went to that Long Range Marksmanship course 7 months ago, I get to carry it. Which is pretty rad, since we only got 4 for the company. But, enough about that. In a few weeks, we'll be out at those spots doing our thing. It's only going to be for a few months, but I don't care. I miss be out there. There were some pictures taken of us moving around. Once I get them, I'll send them off to Tammy. Hopefully she'll post one or two so you can get the idea of where I'll be (Tammy: I will, promise). That's the big news of the week. Just getting ready for that. We're getting all sorts of new toys and doing some training. We all sit behind desks and it's been a while since we've done any of this stuff, so we need to practice a bit before we roll. Good times.
This weekend, Tammy, Colin, and Emma went down to see Tammy's folks. They also went to the Knoebels, which is this really cool amusement park near where they live. Totally jealous. We'll have to do a trip next year baby.
Like I said in a different e-mail, I saw a bootleg copy of the new Star Trek. Loved it. If you haven't seen it, go check it out. Really good.
Friday also marked 4 years since Brian Egan passed away. RIP Brother. Miss you.
That's about it. Kind of a slow week, I guess. But, the half way point approaches. So, were getting there one day at a time. Oh, when this mission does start, my mailing address won't change. They'll bring it out to us where we're going.
And no question of the week this week......Baby, you need to think of one for next week.
Ok everybody. Till next week.......
Slan,
Chris
