Hot, Hot, Hot!

Well, we are back in lovely green Mountain Home.  We loved our time in Washington, the cooler weather and getting spoiled by Nanie and Papa.

We are settling back into our exciting life here.  Back to the mornings spent at the gym and afternoons playing outside and with friends.  Bryce continues to be more outgoing and crazy by the day.  He loves to be outside and has taken up the habit of taking my hand, dragging me to a door and saying "Uhhh huh!"

Ryan's preschool had its open house today.  And he was less then excited about starting a new year.  On the other hand, Bryce instantly started checking out the room and looked like he was ready to learn anything they threw at him.  Can I send the 16 month old to school with the 3 year old?  At least Bryce would bite anyone that messed with his brother.

Both boys are definitely missing their Daddy lately.  Ryan especially.  He has been crying lately and telling me its because he misses him.  And he is now saying that he doesn't have to give me any more kisses until Daddy comes home.  Poor me, I could really use some kisses from my little man.

I would add some recent photos of the boys but sadly I don't have any.  As it turns out Bryce wanted to take up photography and was playing with my camera.  He also learned a little science, like the rule about gravity.  Apparently tile floors don't get along with expensive cameras.  So now I'm just sucking up the courage to buy a new lens.

Water, Toilet Paper and Cars.

Life keeps flying by in Washington.  We have gotten to do a lot of fun things and just getting to hang out here is fun for the boys.

I took Ryan to his first movie in the theaters.  We went and saw Cars 2.  He loved it.  Of course we got popcorn, which Ryan promptly ate most of.  He was really good through most of the movie but of course after all the water and popcorn he had to go to the bathroom, during the final 2 minutes of the movie.  He didn't mind that he missed the end, he just had fun and loved going.  But now I need to go back by myself so I know what happened.

And of course my parents have learned some valuable lessons with having the boys around.

Like the fact that you have to keep bathroom doors closed at all times.  Otherwise little people decide its time to figure out what all this toilet paper is for.

And since he had already pulled it all down I let him keep it to play with in the living room.

Ryan has had a lot of firsts while here.  Here he is getting his first motorcycle (scooter) ride with Papa.

Here are some pictures from Ryan's swim class.  It was an awesome program for 3-5 year olds with one teacher for 4 kids.  He loved going!  

He never liked getting his face in the water but had so much fun with all the games the teacher came up with. 

He did float on his back.

Huge splashes!

And here is my cheesy little water baby.

That's it from here for now.  Hoping tomorrow will be another beautiful day with lots of playtime outside for the boys and I.

Life in WA

The boys and I have been in WA at my parents house for almost 2 weeks now.  In general the weather has been great, highs in the high 60s/low 70s, which means the boys and I can spend a lot of time outside playing.

Both of the boys have had big milestones since being here.

Ryan got his first bicycle and LOVES to ride it.  Its pretty much the first thing he wants to do in the morning, after breakfast of course.  And he is LOVING having his Nanie and Papa around.  He always wants to know where they are at all times.  When Papa gets home from work in the evenings Ryan has to run all over telling us that Papa's home, then he runs up to him and says "Papa, I miss you."  So sweet!  Of course hanging out with Papa at night is so much more fun then hanging out with me but it does have some interesting side effects.  The other day I was cuddling with Ryan on the couch because he said his tummy hurt, I start to rub his little legs and he looks at me and says "Stop it Mama, don't touch my fur, we got to brush it out later."  Say what?  Apparently Papa told him that the hair on his legs was fur and that like the dogs, you have to brush fur.  I didn't even know how to respond to that comment.

Bryce has started walking up a storm.  Before it was just a few steps here and there, and in the last week its been crazy watching him trying to walk everywhere.  And if its a long distance he will look up and you and grunt while reaching for your hand.  He wants to make sure that he has a little support but really wants to walk.  On top of walking Bryce is trying really hard to communicate.  He now can sign sometimes for "all done", he waves for Daddy on Skype and loves to say "uh-oh".  He uses it constantly and he knows what it means.  Its pretty darn cute/infuriating when he holds his cup over the edge of this chair says "uh-oh" then drops it!  Little stinker!

Both boys started swim classes.  And to my shock and surprise, both love it!  I was worried that Ryan was going to keep being my chicken and not be willing to try anything new, but he got right in the water and listens to what the teacher says.  He gets excited to go to class and has a lot of fun the whole time so I count that as a win.  And of course Bryce loves it.  Today was his first lesson and there were about 10 babies with their parents.  The teacher hands out little pretend flower watering pots and tells us to pour a little water on their feet while singing "This is the way we wash our..." to get them used to the water.  She tells the class to start working their way up their babies body but not to worry about the head/face since its the first day and to not expect too much.  The second this sentence is out of her mouth Bryce grabs the pot out of my hand, fills it with water and dumps it over his own head while giggling.  That got a good laugh from everyone.  He was a huge flirt and smiled and giggled at everyone and everything.

And so goes life in WA.  Lots of walks, time spent outside, and bonding with Grandparents.

The Boys in All Their Glory

The boys seem like they are growing up so fast these days.  Here are some of the latest videos of them in action.

Sean would be so proud, look at those eyebrows go.

Ryan's first bicycle.

Bryce has really gotten excited lately to walk.

Telling Ryan about going to Cars 2, his first time in the movie theater, but of course he was more excited about seeing himself on video.

The boys had been sharing a room and discovered they could have fun in there when I wasn't looking.

New Countdown....

The last major count down we had was for Daddy leaving.  Not the happiest of count downs.

But now we have a happy one.  The magic number is 20, that's right, less then 20 hours until Nana gets here!  Can I get a Woooo Hoooo?!?

That means in less then 20 hours I will no longer be outnumbered!  There will be someone here to help with the kids so I can actually get a few things accomplished.  And speaking of things that need to get accomplished, I need to get our whole crazy household packed up and moved to Washington for the next six weeks.  My WHOLE CRAZY house, that means moving two kids, two dogs and even the stupid cat.  Its going to make for a very LONG and LOUD car ride.  Please send us prayers!

The good news is, once we get the crazy household to WA it means that we will once again have more adults then children!  Its going to be a chance for me to get a break on occasion and for the boys to get some serious loving.  I know that this past few months have got to be hard on them, so I can't wait for them to have their grandparents around to help love on them and spoil them a little, they deserve it.

And its funny to think that my crazy house is going to make my parents quiet life become loud.  We are going to make their house explode to 3 adults, 2 kids, 4 dogs, and 1 cat.  Send them prayers or maybe earplugs.

Father's Day

So its Father's Day and poor Sean is far away so Ryan and I decided to show the love with a few fun videos.

And of course there is some singing.

And a little bit of Bob Marley.

The classic ABCs.

Nothing like a little love for Daddy, and of course you always want to check your work.

A message to Daddy.

We love you Daddy.  You are so amazing as a father and husband.  We miss you tons and can't wait to see you again.  But until then here is a random video of some brotherly love.

Thoughts from a 3 year old.

Recent things that have come out of Ryan's mouth.

Driving to base.
Ryan-"Look Mama, grass."
Me-"Yeah, well, driving through cattle pastures there is a lot of grass."
Ryan-"No mama, grass for the grasshoppers.  Their hiding."
Me-Stupefied by his point.

Getting to base.
Ryan-"Look Mama, its the base."
Me-"Yup, that's the base."
Ryan-"I'm in charge."
Me-"Really?"
Ryan-"Yeah, I'm in charge."
Me-"Well, I'm glad we got that cleared up."

While the boys are playing in the office, screaming noises at each other and laughing.
Me-"Ryan, that's too loud."
Ryan-"No Mama, not too loud, I make Bryce happy."
Me-Once again stupefied by his good point.

My favorite men...

Just felt like sharing my favorite moments of the day with my two little men (mainly because they were not so good most of the day an I wanted to put them up for sale at the soonest yard sale, so just trying to remind myself that they can be really cute).

So Ryan has be struggling when it comes to sharing with his brother and spends a lot of time getting yelled at for stealing toys.  But today we were playing in the kitchen an Bryce wanted to play with Ryan's truck.  Ryan of course said no and took the truck away.  Bryce starts crying and I start trying to distract him with something else while telling Ryan that he needs to share more.  I look away for a moment trying to clean up dinner and next thing I know Ryan is talking with Bryce, turns out he had gone into the office to bring out Bryce his own truck that was the same as his.  He was so proud of himself and I was equally as proud of him.  He can be such a sweet boy sometimes.

Bryce had two of my favorite moments of the day.  During dinner anytime I would hand him something to eat that he liked he would shake his head yes, and if he didn't like it he would shake it no.  It was too darn funny to watch him shake yes every time I put chicken in his month then look at me and shake no if I tried to get him to eat corn.  He had Ryan and I both laughing.

Then after bed time I heard Bryce crying in his crib.  I've been trying to get him to go back to sleep himself so I just let him cry it out for awhile, then I finally gave up and went to check on him.  He was so mad that I was ignoring him that he had taken everything out of his crib and thrown it one the floor.  Well, I guess tonight he was extra mad because he had taken off his PANTS and thrown them out too.  He was so confused to why I burst out laughing.

So focusing on the funny and good things.  Praying for better weather so we can spend more time outside with hopefully less drama.

The Sweet Life of Bryce

So I know that its been awhile but I'm going to try and get better about updating.  I've been feeling bad that  I posted about Ryan's birthday and I haven't about Bryce so this post is dedicated to my sweet baby Bryce.

My life was blessed for a second time on 17 Apr 2010 at 6:24 am when Bryce Philip Leaman entered the world.  He was a huge blessing and I feel like a miracle all at the same time.  My labor with him had been so fast.  Turns out that it was God's plan for him, that poor baby had the cord wrapped three times around his neck.  If it hadn't been a fast labor I shutter to think what would have happened.

So here he was, all 7 lbs 5 ozs and 22 inches of him.  He was a little mad about all the lights and people poking at him.

The first few weeks with two boys was a little scary.  Ryan was not a fan of having a little brother.  But quickly got used to the idea.  And as time passed we got to know our little man more and more.

May 17th, at one month we were already discovering his laid back nature.  

  

Jun 17th, by month two we discovered he loved to laugh and smile.

Jul 17, and after he turned three months old we decided he must be one of the happiest babies that ever lived.

As of Aug 17th I couldn't image life without this sweet baby.

By Sept we had a serious case of brotherly love.

Oct 17th, starting to get so big.

Nov 17th, he was starting to show his adventurous streak.

Dec 17th, loving, silly, sweet.   

Jan 17th, I LOVE MY LIFE.  Its completely overwhelmed with boys and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Feb 15th, finally getting teeth!

Mar 17th, my two sweet boys, can't believe I almost have two toddlers on my hands.

Bryce Philip with his namesake my father Philip Berry.  Two of my four favorite men in the whole world.  Can't believe my baby is one.

At this point we had already discovered the HUGE personality differences with our boys.  Bryce is much more outgoing and laid back all at the same time.

How can you not love that face???

So now over a year later, I'm amazed and blessed with my little baby Bryce.  He is outgoing, sweet, feisty, determined, and so funny.  I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for my little man.

Random Thoughts from a 3 year old

Just a quick post since I'm on a roll getting homework and things around the house accomplished right now.

Here are a few recent quotes and conversations with Ryan.

Driving to base for the Easter Party there were lots of low clouds.
I hear Ryan "Wow, look Mama, clouds!"
Me, "Very cool buddy!"
Ryan "Look Mama, teddy bear cloud!"
Me "You think that cloud looks like a teddy bear?"
Ryan "Ohhhh yeah."

Before my parents got here for the weekend.
Ryan "Mama, you no go school.  Stay home with Ry Ry."
Me "Sorry buddy, I have to go."
Ryan.....almost crying.  :(
20 Mins later after Papa has already talked about how Ryan is going to help him with the tools to do some yard work.
I'm still just hanging out drinking coffee when Ryan says "Bye Bye Mama, you go school now, I play tools."

Ryan got a lot of gifts this weekend with grandparents around and a birthday party.  Today he sees one of the boxes that a toy came in.  He runs over to it.
Ryan "E, s, o, take out, batteries, play, cars."  (Basically a mix of random words and letters.)
Me "What are you doing Ry?"
Ryan "Its ok Mama, I read directions you."
Me "Thanks buddy for reading me the directions."
Ryan "Your welcome"

Sean set me just because flowers which was such a bright spot of my day.
Ryan "Mama, flowers?"
Me "Yeah buddy, Daddy sent me flowers."
I bend over and show him the card.  He grabs it and runs off.
Ryan "Bryce look, To Mama, From Daddy."  So sweet he has to "read" the card to Bryce.

Bryce is in his crib crying the other night.
Ryan shouts "Nothing scared of Bryce, Daddy in there with you!"  (Daddy got Ryan a recordable book with him reading about monsters and how there isn't anything to be scared of because Daddy is here.  And Ryan knows that Bryce has a Daddy doll in his crib just like he has one in bed.)

Driving the other day.
Ryan "Mama, Daddy work."
Me "I know buddy, Daddy is at work."
Ryan "Daddy has tools."
Me "Daddy has tools at work?"
Ryan "Yeah, Daddy fixes things with tools."
Me "Daddy works with planes buddy not tools."
Ryan "No, Daddy has tools, he fixes planes."
(Me trying not to die laughing as I think about how to tell Sean that Ryan thinks he is an aircraft mechanic instead of flying in a jet).

Please pack your knives and go....

Name that TV show!  Anyone?  Bueller...bueller.....

Well, it feels a little like Top Chef around here tonight.  Today was my last day of culinary class this semester (well, I have to go back in tomorrow but its just for paperwork).  And I must say that I'm both happy and sad.  I knew that it was going to be a challenge but it has really put me through the ringer at times this semester.  College the first time was so much easier.  Well, the classes were still hard but trying to manage having kids, a husband getting ready to and then actually deploying, pets and a house make classes this time all the more challenging.

The last three days have been a heck of a challenge too.  Four tests in three days!!!  Including a written, knife skills, herb/spice test and a culinary practical exam.  For anyone that has seen Chopped it was just like that.  No idea what we were going to have to make until we got there, then had to grab a sheet of paper that detailed the recipe, convert the recipe to a new yield then we had 30 mins to make you dish and present.  Wow.  Talk about getting your heart beating.  So glad that its all over.

On the other hand, I'm really going to miss learning new kitchen tips and tricks.  Guess I'll have to stick to trying new recipes from the internet until we start classes again in Aug.

Today was April's (my wonderful, talented, loving, amazing, nanny) birthday.  The boys love her so much which makes it so much easier for me to go to class (though I might have to start brain washing Bryce since he reaches for her now as much as me).  So the boys and I took her to a fancy dinner, Wingers.  Hey, kids eat free this month, add that to the fact that there are a whole 5 places to eat in town and you get a winner.  :)  Plus its always nice to get to go somewhere else to feed your almost 1 year old so you don't have to worry about cleaning up the giant mess he makes.  Around 1/2 way through the meal I realized that it was Bryce who was getting more difficult not Ryan (who usually has a very short attention span).  And by the end of the meal I could not believe how awesome Ryan had been.  He automatically said please and thank you for everything, ate his meal without a fight, didn't try to get out of the booth a 100 times, told me when he needed to go to the bathroom, and made funny faces to keep his brother happy.

To top it all off, he said "Thank you, have a good night" to each of the servers when we left.  After we got back to the house, he promptly walked April to the door, told her happy birthday, showed her which car was her's (he is very through), and said "April go in that car, turn, over bump bump, go home, come back and see Ry Ry tomorrow.  Night night April."  Then shut the door behind her.  I can't believe my little man was so sweet.  Now, I just need to work on getting him to realize that most people do know the directions on how to get to their own house and what their own car looks like.  But, I'll give him an A for thoughtfulness.

Now I just need to finish the rest of my online classes then "schools out for summer".  Anybody?  Well, that's probably enough random references for tonight.

"Until next time when...."   Ok, I'll stop now.

Where Did The Time Go?

It's simply amazing to me.  On 28 March 2008 at 2:35 in the afternoon by life was changed forever when Ryan Patrick Leaman was born.  I realized at that moment how much more important birthdays are to parents as the moment their life changes forever.

Isn't he handsome?  All 8 lbs 3 oz and 21.5 inches of him.

Where did the last three years go?  I can't believe that my little baby has become such a big boy.

Even though Daddy isn't here we tried to have fun.  We had pizza and cheese bread for dinner.  And we went to the store so Ryan could pick out his own cake.

Here is a video of the Happy Birthday part of our night.

Can you tell he is a little excited about the cake?

Here's Bryce having no idea what's going on but excited about it regardless.

Here's Bryce's first slice of cake.  You can almost see what he is thinking "Hmm, what is this?"

"Well, I'll give it a little try."

"Wow, that's good.  I better shove it in my mouth as fast as possible before someone takes it away from me."

And here's my first born, who had to pause half way through eating his cake to clean off his tractor fork, because heaven forbid the fork gets dirty.

And heres my second born, "Ahhh, is there something on my face?"

A week already?

So I just noticed that it's been a week since I posted.  Wow, don't know how time got away from me.  Ohh wait, I remember, its because I haven't gotten a decent night of sleep in a week.

This is going to be short since I hear my bed calling my name....that might be from sleep deprivation or just wishful thinking that it loves me as much as I love it.  :)

So poor Bryce has finally been getting his top two middle teeth, and now while that boy really needed more teeth, neither of us needed what it takes for him to get them.  My happy baby becomes something out of a horror movie if you try to put him down.  He wants to be held all day.  And while I really do love his cuddles, its really hard to get anything done while holding him these days since he's getting so big.  Plus, sleep becomes impossible for him, and that means for me too.  Poor thing would start screaming every hour.  Finally got him into the doctor yesterday and of course he has a double ear infection.  That's twice now that he teethes and gets a double ear infection.  With meds he is already on the path to being my sweetheart again.

Then there is Ryan.  Who to start the week out on a GREAT note has decided that its way cool to wear underwear like daddy and no longer needs pull ups during the day at all.  He is doing so great at potty training, we only started this 3 weeks ago and there have been no accidents during the day at all.

But of course one sick child wasn't enough so yesterday I got a call from his school that he wasn't feeling well.  So on my way to take Bryce to the doctor I picked up Ryan from school.  And he was running a 102 fever too.  Well, when it rains.....So Ryan got his ears checked too, no infection, just sick.  Poor thing said he was better this morning and went to school but came home and started going down hill fast.

While Bryce is getting better, Ryan is now getting worse.  :(  Hopefully they will both be back to normal sooner rather then later.  I miss my happy little men.

So overall, it was an ok week.  Sick kids, but we survived and will live to see another week.

Plus, we have gotten to Skype with Sean several times AND my baby is potty trained!  So that automatically makes the week great!!!

I love two...

I am really loving the time in Ryan's life right now.  He says the funniest things these days.

Just for fun, here are a few examples.

I tell Bryce "no touch" when he wants to go play in the dog's water bowl.  Then my little parrot Ryan adds in "No touch Bryce, two minute time out, no listen."  You tell him Ryan.

We have been working on potty training the last 3 weeks and Ryan is doing so great.  He was totally ready.

So far today I've heard;

"Ohhhh Mama, need potty, no poo on Lightning."  (He wears Lightning McQueen pull ups).

"Mama, hold Ry Ry."  (Not funny if just heard that, but when you put it together with the fact that I have to hold him in a hug each and every time he poops its pretty funny.  Well, funny for everyone else, not so funny for me.)

He insists on looking in the toilet to check and see if he pooped.  Tonight he said "Mama, that's a big poo, that's a Daddy poo."  (I nearly fell over laughing, he was so proud that this poop was big like Daddy's.  I still am laughing over that one.)

Then there's bed time.  He loves having his Daddy doll and when he jumps into bed, "Ohhh hi Daddy."

After I tucked him in he told me, "Mama, go car ride later, go base, get Daddy, okay?"  That's when I have to fight to keep my composure.  My little man is sure one big sweetheart.  And I'm so glad that he's mine.

Small Things

I've discovered that its the small things that lift my spirit up everyday.  Today's encouragements came from sweet moments from both my boys.

After I finished my workout today, the sweet sight of Bryce playing with the toys like a toddler captured my heart.  Then he saw me, his face light up, he gave me his pterodactyl squeal and started to crawl to me with the biggest little snaggle tooth smile.

Getting home from class today we received a package in the mail.  Inside were the two daddy dolls I ordered for the boys.  Ryan's face lit up and he cried out "Daddy!"  He then gave the doll the biggest hug and kiss while proclaiming "LOVE Daddy!"  Then he looked at me and said "Ohhh, I know, Daddy goes in Ry Ry bed."  Then he raced off as fast as his little 3 year old legs would take him to put daddy where he belonged.  I love the way that he thinks, its so sweet.   While we got ready for bed he informed me that "Daddy watch Ry Ry sleep, love Daddy."

Its those little sweet moments during the day that fill my heart with so much love for my little men.  And I know that if they can go through this difficult time with such happy and loving spirits, then I can too.

Take One Step Forward Everybody.....Not So Fast You.

Things had been going really well.  As of today we are one week into a 6 month plus deployment.  Well, I guess things had been going a little too smoothly for me.  Time to get some payback karma.

Got completely organized this morning, to the point I even had time to stop and get coffee before taking the boys into the CDC.  Dropped them off and was impressed at the rooms, they looked awesome.  Bryce cried but he always does.  And I was shocked because Ryan was excited, he is never excited in new places.  He was telling me all about the toys he saw, it was so cool seeing him so happy.

I finished dropping the boys off and managed to get some errands run around town.  When I got home there was already two missed calls from the CDC.  I called and they said Bryce was pretty upset but they were going to keep trying.  I just assumed once they got him to sleep he would be better.  I sat down to start getting the mountains of homework accomplished.  Less then 45 mins later they called back.  Bryce wouldn't stop crying.  I needed to come get him.  :(

So I walk into the CDC to get him and the front desk person asks me how I'm doing and I dissolve into a sobbing mess.  Sobbing!  I don't sob.  Poor think looked panicked.  She calls the manager who brings me into the office.  Meanwhile I'm crying like an idiot.  She goes to check on Bryce who had of course finally fallen asleep by now.  WTF????  She is so sweet but looking at me like I'm going to turn into her next nervous breakdown at any moment.  I mean, this is the first time I've ever met her so its not the best first impression for me.  She gives me the option to go back home since he was asleep but really not liking that idea since that would just add another hour of driving onto my day.  She offers to let me bring the boys in for drop in hourly care.

The nervous wreck, me, gets Bryce (who cries at me for 5 mins just to show me he was mad at me).  Then goes to the next building to get Ryan.  Who LOVED it there.  He tells me all about how much fun he had with the other little boy who was there.  He even pooped on the potty while there.  Wow.  Didn't see that coming.

We make our way home and I try to get some homework done while taking care of the boys.  Lots of e-mails in my account.  Looking through and I have an e-mail about the auction from last night.  Thinking about how strange that is. I start reading and apparently there was a mix up and two of the prizes I was really excited about (Costco card and zoo pass) weren't supposed to be there.  REALLY?!  Do I need to get kicked while I'm down?  What did I do this week to get such terrible karma?  So now I have to give those back, meanwhile my kids are not in good moods and I am now even more behind on my homework.  Geez.  This is not a good start to my weekend.

It can only get better from here right?

Fun Night!

What a great night!   Just got back from the OCS's annual auction.  Every year they have this HUGE auction as a fund raiser for scholarships.  They had some of the most amazing prizes!  Bummed that hubby wasn't able to be here to go with me.  While there was some seriously crazy big prizes I guess its a good thing that hubby wasn't here, if I had been able to drink my credit card might have gotten some serious damage!  I did win one package though.

Here's what I got.
Costco gift card worth $25.
Zoo Boise Family 4-Pack worth $22.50
Family Pass to World Center for Birds of Prey worth $28
Family Day Pass to Discovery Center worth $26
And the best part:
A Monkey Bizness Birthday Party worth $179

So that brings everything to a total of $280 and I got it all with a winning bid of $85!!

The best part about all of this is its really fun things I can do with the boys to help keep us busy while Sean is gone.  And the money I spent goes to help others with college scholarships.  Wow, I'm so excited.

Great night, now off to bed.  I have to get up early tomorrow and get the boys to the base CDC for Give Parents a Break day.  Its a free 8 hours of child care the military provides to people who's spouses are deployed.  Then I have to run a few errands and come home and use most of the time to try to catch up on studying.  Hopefully I'll be able to get ahead so I won't have to stay up late during the week.

Good nite all!

Thankful

As I was driving to Boise today I was thinking about how God works in such amazing ways.  Since Saturday night I have been on my own with the boys and I was so dreading it.  I didn't know how I was going to handle Ryan's tantrums or Bryce's lack of sleep from teething.  And this week I was hit over the head yet again that God doesn't give you more then you can handle.

This week has been a blessing.  Now don't get me wrong, I miss my dear husband like crazy, but my little men have been amazing!  The day after Sean left Bryce's teeth finally broke through and he is back to sleeping through the night.  And Ryan hasn't reacted the way I expected at all.  He has been so helpful, trying to help me carry in my bags from the car, opening the door, cleaning up his dishes after meals. Plus he has become so sweet.  He insists on giving Bryce a hug, kiss and telling him he loves him before school everyday.  At night when I tuck him in he always tells me to save some of dinner for Daddy since he gets hungry.  I never knew my little man had such a sweet streak.

So while my To Do list is still way too long and I have more homework then I know how to get accomplished at the end of the day I am still left with the fact that I love my boys more then anything else in the world and everything will get done eventually.  It might take awhile, but it will get done.

24 Hours

So we survived the first 24 hours without Daddy.  Here is a break down of the day.

The boys decided to be nice to me since I was up late dropping Daddy off on base and I only had to go get one of them at 11, 1130, 12, 5, 6:30 and 7:45.  (Sadly this is actually a decent night recently since Ryan is potty training and wanting to pee in the middle of the night and Bryce is teething and still wanting a night time bottle.)

They managed to play in the office with me after breakfast so I could try to study for the big test I have tomorrow and catch up on all the reading I'm behind while we spent last minute family time together.  (This translates to I got about 5 pages read of the 150 I needed to.)

We had a fun lunch together.  (I made Top Raman since I was tried and it was almost nap time).

There were only two technical issues, somehow I don't have rights to the hard drive to organize digital pictures and for some reason the receiver keeps turning off during movies.  (Sean is totally my IT support, I freely admit that I'm lost without him technology knowledge.)

Ryan had his first poop on the potty!!! (This translates to this is the first time I've been able to catch him pooping and able to sprint him to the bathroom to finish. )  I praised the heck out of him and gave him a slice of ice cream cake.  Here's hoping that he will now get some motivation to start on the potty next time.

Friends came over for build your own pizza night.  Ryan had a blast playing with two other boys.  (But was having WAY too much fun to eat dinner.)

Got both boys in bed by 8pm.  (They might have been in bed but no one was sleeping.  Bryce was crying and crying and I decided he needed to learn to put himself down.  Meanwhile Ryan was lying in bed yelling "BRYCE be QUIET! 1, 2, 3, time out 2 mins, TOO LOUD!"  I did get a good laugh out of that.)

After cleaning up the house a little, taking out the trash and recycling, I'm attempting to get caught up with my reading.  At the rate I'm going I'll be caught up in Sept.  The classes end in May.  Ohh well, here's hoping for a productive night.

Count Down

Life has a way of not doing what I expected it to.  Don't get me wrong, I love the way it's going, I just always seem to be trying to get ready for the next adventure that I didn't expect 10 years ago.  Hmm, maybe I just need to give up those expectations and move on to the now.

The now consists of being a mother to two young boys, wife to an Air Force husband and full time culinary arts student.

And right now the count down is on.....
counting down until the day when my husband leaves to go fight the war on the other side of the world.....
counting down until I'm a full time single mom.....
counting down until I have to have to figure out all the details and complications of life on my own.....

This is not a count down that I'm very excited about.  But I'm trying to stay in the now and be positive so that's where the name of this blog comes into play.  One Ryan's favorite songs is "3 Birds" by Bob Marley.

"Don't worry about a thing, 
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right. 
Singin': Don't worry about a thing, 
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!" 

Rise up this mornin', 
Smiled with the risin' sun, 
Three little birds 
Pitch by my doorstep 
Singin' sweet songs 
Of melodies pure and true, 
Sayin', This is my message to you-ou-ou 

Singin': Don't worry 'bout a thing, 
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': Don't worry 'bout a thing, 
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!" 

Rise up this mornin', 
Smiled with the risin' sun, 
Three little birds 
Pitch by my doorstep 
Singin' sweet songs 
Of melodies pure and true, 
Sayin', This is my message to you-ou-ou:" 

Singin': Don't worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh! 
Every little thing gonna be all right. Don't worry!
Singin': Don't worry about a thing" - I won't worry! 
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right." 

Singin': Don't worry about a thing, 
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right - I won't worry! 
Singin': Don't worry about a thing, 
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right. 
Singin': Don't worry about a thing, oh no! 
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!

So everyday I'm going to try to get up and Smile with the Rising Sun.