lately

So, I've posted lots of cute pictures lately but not much else.

Tyrone has been working a ton. We had planned a mini getaway to Syracuse 2 weekends ago, but he had a surprise CQ shift, so that was out. 2 weeks before that, he had 18 hour shifts for an entire weekend. We miss him a good deal and are coveting the time that we do get together, as deployment is approximately one month away now. Last night he had to stay in the field and is still out there-in a severe winter weather warning. I hope they come back in soon, we have wet, heavy snow. There will be sleet, ice, and lots of slush.

Gabriel has been on his medication for ADHD (Concerta) for several weeks now. It definitely helps, as you can tell the minute it kicks in in the morning, and you can tell when the effects have worn off (complete melt down!) But, he focus better at school and I have had many positive notes from his teacher, which is wonderful. Gabe's appetite is affected around lunch time, but I have made up for that by feeding him breakfast twice :)

He has Instant Breakfast with whole milk and a Nutri Grain bar or something similar at home, and then I have him eat breakfast at school as well. He normally eats maybe a quarter of his lunch at school, but then his appetite makes a comeback in time for afternoon snack at school. We have dinner shortly after he gets home, and then we offer a snack later then we normally would before bed. It may be unconventional, but it gets the job done...Gabe doesn't have an ounce that he can afford to lose!

Kaleb is just chugging along at school! He is making strides in every subject, has been talking to the deployment specialist about his Daddy's upcoming deployment, and has become completely cooperative and enthusiastic with his teacher. It is such a joy to watch him grow and take charge of himself! He brought home a chapter book by Avi this past week, which made me smile, I so enjoyed Avi when I was younger. I was able to recommend another to him and he asked that I dig out some of my books from when I was younger. Happy to! I never get rid of a book :)

Shiloh is so stinkin' smart! She says things that just blow us away and make us laugh! The other day, she and I carefully did a deep cleaning of the living room. When Tyrone came home on his lunch, Shiloh ran to block his entry, threw her arms wide and said "Daddy! Don't make a mess!" It was hilarious. Also, she was trying to convince me to give her a snack one evening, but I was in the process of making dinner, it was going to be ready in less then 30 min., so I told her she'd have to wait. She clutched her stomach, doubled over, and groaned "I'm sooooo empty!" She is also struggling with being 2 :) Unfortunately we have been having to correct a bit of defiant behavior, but we're getting there!

Emmeline is doing well, too! But, since her 2 month post will be coming up soon, I'll save her update until then.

I am just kind of getting along. This is such a learning process and it's hard to balance meeting the needs of the big kids and doing what Emmeline needs while she is so teeny, especially when it has been just me with the kids so much of the time lately. I know that will be my 24/7 reality before long, but everyday that passes before that is so Emme grows up a bit more. That helps, because as she is able to entertain herself, I am able to more evenly spread myself among the kids. Does anyone have a cloning machine? That would make things MUCH easier!!

We are making progress, though! On Saturday, we took all of the kids to Walmart. The boys needed glasses, according to the school nurse. Well, Gabe will need glasses in a year or two, but not yet. He currently sees a little better then 20/40 and would be able to pass a license exam w/ that vision. Kaleb has perfect vision (miracle!) and the Dr. does not think he will ever need glasses! After that, Tyrone decided to take us all out to dinner. All six of us! I was so apprehensive, but everyone made us so proud! Emmeline slept the whole time, and the boys and Shiloh played nicely, were patient, and ate well. So, yay for progress!

Ok, that was a whole lot of information, but I had a chance to sit down and type it and I felt like I should as I rarely have enough time to do much more then throw a pic or two up with a couple of sentences. If you made it through all of that, bless you!