All of It

As a war veteran, a mother, a wife, a Christian, a cancer survivor, I find myself wondering what to write about. Of course, most important would be my husband and kids; but I have lived so much! I have so many stories I'd like to share. Right now, I am sitting on the couch with laptop in place, bottle to my 2 month old's mouth, listening to "Who wants to be a millionaire" and to my beautiful 2 year old daughter rattle off her demands: in toddler-speak, "I want nana!" "I want this!" "I want apple juice." Of course, these all need to be attended to immediately. And today is a rare occasion where she is into everything, which tells me two things: I need to get off the computer and pay attention to her and/or she's ready for her nap.

I believe it's the latter, so hold on a minute...whoa! Okay, bad mom moment! Her diaper, I mean, Pull-up, was completely soaked...so bad that it was through her PJ's (mind you, its 11am; but it IS Veterans' Day) and poopy. I knew it needed changed when we got up at 7am this morning, asked her to change it several times, but eventually it fell off my radar when she told me no everytime and busied herself with other activities...like digging through the drawer in the bathroom that has all of her hair accessories, and opening the fridge to find a snack, and moving every one of her books from the basket to a well-traveled path on the carpet!

Okay, so I feel like small slipups like this periodically are acceptable when you consider I am doing this all alone (most days). Hubs works in the oilfields of Oklahoma and western Texas. Currently he's on a 3 week rotation, which means he works 3 weeks straight (almost literally with 30-plus hour days), and then flies home for a week. The week is so important to all of us; it allows him to bond with the girls at record speed, and it allows me and him to re-energize and re-connect!

So the current sacrifice of separation is due to me being in the Army. In 2007, we met; got married and had a baby the following year; diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2009, and after a 9 month battle, was told I had NED (no evidence of disease) and then we were relocated (called permanent change of station (PCS)) to Rock Island Arsenal, IL and bought a house in Davenport, IA. I'll also mention that shortly after our move, I found out I was pregnant with number two and gave birth in 2010. To say it's been a busy few years is a huge understatement! But now, I am within a year of retirement from the Army, and we need a continuous income coming in as I transition next year so we can get a mortgage and settle down back in Oklahoma (where I met Justin while I was serving with a Reserve unit).

While I am struggling daily missing my husband, and being a single parent to a toddler and a newborn; I am thrilled that I am closing in on retirement and settling down with my family, possibly as a stay-at-home-mom! It has been a long, wonderful journey; but my priorities in life have certainly changed! I am so ready to make my family my central purpose in life!

Okay, need to go grab a shower and lunch before these two peanuts wakeup!!