Some resemblance of normalcy

Now that Aaron is a month old we have some normalcy going on in our household. Yes, he is still getting up every two hours to eat during the night, which is really starting to wear on me, but at least I know I only have two hours of sleep in a chunk. Plus, I have found that when Nathaniel wakes up really early throwing a fit, if I just ignore it he will calm down quicker and will play quietly in his room until I get up later. Before, I would try to calm him down which just made things worse for everyone involved. So, Nathaniel gets his morning meltdown out of the way in the privacy of his bedroom and I get about an hour extra of sleep in the morning. It's a win-win situation.

I went back to volunteering at church on Tuesday nights last week. I had gotten to go out for about an hour by myself on Monday and realized that it was exactly what I needed, so I arranged for my "manny" to come back on Tuesday evenings so I could be with my students again. It really revitalized me and I realized that I am a much better mom if I can get some real "me" time a couple of times a week. More than simply an hour or so in the evening between Nathaniel's bedtime and Aaron's first bedtime (although, last night he was awake until nearly 1am without sleeping at all).

I also got a chance to start playing viola again in preparation of Palm Sunday and Easter. I need to figure out when I'm going to practice because some of this music is a bit difficult, but it was nice to actually be playing again (Aaron sits in the rehearsals with me and Nathaniel goes over to his friend's house to play).

We got our new laptops. I think something is wrong with mine because when I close the lid and put it in hibernation mode it won't wake up so I have to do a forced shut down. The internet also freezes a lot and I'm not used to the touch pad being where it is so I often erase everything I have typed because I accidentally highlight all while I'm happily typing away. It's maddening, but I will adjust (and figure out how to get the computer to wake up).

That's about it here. Sam is still doing really well. I have some pictures of him out and about which I will post on another update (I need to download them from my email first).

What is it that you exactly DO?

Lately a lot of people have been asking me what Sam does overseas. It's a great question and I realized that I have no idea. Aren't I a great wife? It's like when people ask me what Sam wants to do with his Philosophy degree once he's finally finished I'm not sure what to say beyond, "be a philosophy professor". I'm not sure exactly what emphasis he is looking at (ethics? Metaphysics? I know it's not religion...hmmm, I think it's metaphysics. What is Notre Dame known for besides football?).

So, today when Sam called me wanting his father's phone number so he could call him for his birthday I asked him, "What is it that you are doing over there?". He had just told me all about going and visiting some 13th century castle and visiting the church of the Black Madonna where Mother Theresa received her calling. To me, it sounds like a great vacation, not work.

Here is what Sam does for the Army over in Kosovo. Sam's job is (oh crap, what was the exact title...?) basically to assess what the soldiers are doing with the locals. He is the Officer in Charge of missions, which means that people come up with a plan on how to help the locals in the area, then they go and put those plans into play. Afterwards they write up what they have been doing and Sam reads the reports and evaluates them and assesses what they are doing, seeing if it is what they should be doing or if they can be doing better things. Also, he does problem solving, working with the soldiers to see how they can work better with the other military presences over there (like the Greece troops and the Polish troops, etc.). Sam is loving his job, mostly because when he gets out of the office and into Sterchy (sp?) he does about 15 minutes of real work and then gets to go and play with the locals. This means drinking coffee, eating pastries, going and seeing 13th century castles...lucky duck.

So, that's what Sam does over there.

And, for the record, even though by the time Sam is finished with his time in the Army he will have 13 years in, he does not want to finish up the next 7 and retire. We HAVE looked at the benefits and weighed them with the costs and realize that the costs on our family and Sam's career goals are too costly. I say this because recently people keep trying to convince me that Sam should stay in the Army and retire since he's been in so long. We really don't want three more deployments and Sam is not an Army person at heart, he really is more of an intellectual.

Care packages to Sam.

I talked to Sam this morning for awhile. He is doing very well and was able to get to Sterchy (not sure of spelling) again for work--which means lots of Turkish coffee and eating out at local dining establishments, must be rough. We were talking about care packages and he started listing the following things that he would like:
pencils
notebooks
crayons
coloring books

I stopped him and asked him why he wanted those things. He said that the schools really need supplies out there and the kids could really use some fun things, but humanitarian aid is not allowed to be sent through APOs (army addresses). But, if people happen to send things to soldiers that they like to do (like color a lot) then they can give out those supplies to the kids and schools in the area.

So, if you are going to send Sam a care package, please include some of the above things (lots of them). Here is Sam's maling address (you can get free boxes for shipping packages to APO addresses from the post office and it's only 11.95 to mail the box, no matter the weight):

CPT Samuel S. Grummons
Task Force, RLMT, KFOR 11
Camp Bondsteel
APO AE 09340

Also, some other ideas for care package stuff (for Sam) would be movies from the 5.00 rack at Target (fun movies), music for him to download on his ipod, magazines and snack food (beef jerky, fun snacks from Trader Joe's, etc.).

Just thought I would put it out there. Sam really wants to make a difference in the community around him and I hope we can help!

The one that's not all about the children.

Sam and I moved out to California almost five years ago.

That's hard for me to believe, but as I look back on the past five years I realize so much has happened. Not only have I finished my degree (the whole point of coming out here) but I have also had two beautiful children (okay, so it's a little bit about the kids) and have gotten to know some amazing people.

I think I realized that this place is my home when I can go out to run an errand and it takes awhile because I run into people I know and have conversations. Or, when I'm out at the beach and see former students surfing. Or, when I'm out driving and end up next to a person I know and can honk the horn and wave like a lunatic.

These are things that I never experienced much in Iowa City, the place I hold fondly in my heart. It reminds me of being in high school a bit. It reminds me that this is where I belong--for now.

Now, if I could just get Sam to actually live here too, my life would be complete.

I think we're going to make it.

This is a really cute video I got of the boys last night after bathtime. It was one of those moments where I felt like we were really going to survive. I had both boys bathed and jammied up before 8:30 (which is bedtime). I even got to read to Nathaniel and sit with him for a bit before bedtime.

I think what has made the most difference is my ability to get out and drive. It breaks my day up a bit more and keeps us from going crazy. On Saturday we didn't get out at all and the boys were both crazy all day long, which made me go crazy as well.

Of course, people providing meals for us the past week has also helped us a ton since I don't have to make dinner and the clean up is minimal.

On the potty training front we are having more good days than not. Today was an off day, but Nathaniel did take a three hour nap which kind of puts a cramp in the training (not that I'm complaining about the nap!). Tonight he actually did a #2 in the toilet, which is a milestone for sure!

Not too much else going on. I'm trying to get Aaron on a schedule so I can start pumping and get back to "work". I am going to help out with a new "intern" at church, which is exciting to me to pour all I've learned into a new person who is interested in doing youth ministry. I also just want to be able to get out more and know when food time is for Aaron. I don't want to leave Aaron with a sitter until he's more on a schedule either.

I'm also itching to start working out again. I hate not being able to go running or really work out. I've been walking briskly places though since I've been feeling so great. I think this Sunday I may actually try to walk to church if it isn't too hot. My stroller pushes really easily and it is only a mile away so...we'll see. Although I have things going on every single Sunday through Easter now after church so probably not.

On a random note, Nathaniel is watching Elmo's Potty Time and there is a song montage about being potty trained and all of these kids are dancing around proud to finally be potty trained. I swear, all of the kids are about 4 or 5. Please, shoot me if my kid is four and not potty trained!

Update from Sam (via an email I got)

Here is an update I got from Sam with pictures. Just a glimpse of what he is doing. I think it sounds cool. Very jealous for him!

I hope you enjoy the pictures. When we were walking back to our vehicles abunch of Albanians wanted to take a picture with us (we know they weren'tSerbs, they respect us and appreciate our presence, but are still a littlesour we bombed them in 99). I didn't get a copy of me in the picture; thatwas on one of their cameras. It was weird; I am not a celebrity or thatimportant. It is just they love Americans and KFOR for what we did forthem. There are about as many American flags as there were Kosovo flags.On their independence day on 17FEB (which only 55 countries recognize),there was a bunch of rappers performing in front of a huge crowd. On theleft was an Albanian flag, on the right was an American flag. They evensewed Kosovo and American flags together. A few days ago, all the kids wesaw (I think even Serbian kids) were saying "hi" (in American) to us andwanting to shake our hands. It was WEIRD for me; it felt unnatural.

Are they wired to do these things?

I think Nathaniel must get weekly memos from someone telling him the things that he is "supposed" to be doing as a 2 and a half year old. Like the potty training thing. It wasn't working or going anywhere, but all of a sudden he is very interested in peeing in the toilet, and has been fairly successful as well.

However, I only wish that all of the "new" things were positive. Here is a short list of Nathaniel's "new" things.

1. Whining: Ever since Aaron came home from the hospital Nathaniel has been in "super whine" mode. Everything he doesn't like results in instant meltdown, complete with smacks on the forehead and wails of "I don't like (or want) _____." In fact, right now he is currently throwing a fit because I took the dice away from him from his Cootie game because he was putting it in his mouth (yes, I realize that the singular of dice is die, but I don't care).

2. Asking "Why?": This morning I was awoken to Nathaniel standing next to my bed saying, "Why mom?" and I hadn't even said anything!! A minute ago (right before the fit started) he tapped me on my knee and said, "Why?" With the cute hands up in the questioning pose.

3. Rebelling against naps: For the most part I can get Nathaniel to go down for his nap, but the last couple of days he has completely balked and spends his entire nap time talking loudly and yelling for me saying he wants to get up. He is exhausted, yet refuses to nap. I don't care if he sleeps (I do, but I don't make it an issue), but I do want him to rest for at least an hour and a half. Ugh.

So, that is the new things Nathaniel has been up to. Another one is tapping me incessantly until I give him my attention. That is what he is doing right now. *sigh*.