Flyin Solo

I'm almost done with my first ever week of solo parenting. Whew! I have a new appreciation for single parents and Bill. I guess I never really knew how much he really does. As predicted, I didn't sleep much (I think my earliest bedtime all week was 11:30pm). I find it ackward and strange to go to bed with out him, so I just preoccupy myself with mind-numbing tv to forget. (I did get catch-up on a few shows). We filled our week with two trips to Ikea, visits with Aunt Carly and our first experience at Sonic. I was less than thrilled, but the kids enjoyed the car hops with roller skates. I think skates have been added to the Christmas lists.


I'm very much looking forward to Bill's return tonight. I realized while he was gone how unique our love can be these days. The respect and kindness we have for eachother is becoming rarer and rarer, as marriage has become disposable. I suppose if you don't think you can leave, at some point you have to decide to be kind or be miserable. I feel so blessed to love him so deeply and feel his love for me and our family every minute of everyday. We make an awesome team! Welcome home Billy!

Big shoes to fill

I'm playing both roles while he's on a business trip this week, his longest ever. I wore his birks to take the trash out and they made me smile.

July 24

Quick re-cap of the week:

-We started off rocky when Eleanor got a few shots Monday. I always feel sick about it. I don't feel any option I have is good enough and our selective/delayed schedule is barely good enough for Bill, our pediatrician and myself. I felt lousy and guilty, even though she did great.-I finally finished Adeleine's waldorf doll. It was intended to be a birthday present, but better late than never, right? She won't name her, which kinda bothers me. If she doesn't pick one soon, Abbie will do it for her. So far we have "Sparkle", "Diamond", and "Jason Jack", all curtesy of Abbie. I was very glad to fininsh it. I plan to make Abbie one for Christmas. Then everyone will have their own, and maybe we can get rid of the cheap plastic dolls made in China. Now I can move along to some Christmas knitting too!

-Miss Nora Jane has been spending some time in the highchair while I'm in the kitchen. No food for her yet, but she enjoys the commotion that we call dinnertime. She's really starting to feel like part of the family.


-Dinner with the family tonight was a trip "up the hill" as my Grandma would say, to our local mountains for dinner. The food wasn't great, the restaurant was super outdated and smelled funny, but the animal heads on the wall made up for it. Bison, deer, moose, elk and a "cantaloupe". Jameson was talking about antelope but kept saying cantaloupe and we all had to hold back the laughs. I have learned to enjoy the precious, fleeting moments when Carly is home. It doesn't really matter where we spend them...even stinky restaurants!

Meet John

John is the very beloved pet of Jameson. After many months of snake talk around our house, we decided to indeed get a baby cornsnake. We read books before we would commit to anything, making sure that we knew what we were getting into. I am hoping that he will be pretty low maintenance, the only difficulties being remembering to lock the cage door and watching him eat day-old mice. EEK! Jameson is over the moon about him, and in a weird way, he feels older and more mature to me. I do have creepy visions of him becoming the grown-up reptile enthusiast that I saw in the reptile store, with the snake tattoos all over his arms. For now, he's still my little boy with his first very own pet.

My Evens

A few firsts

Just as spring arrived and the weather turned simply beautiful, wouldn't you know that we would be plagued with sickness. Abbie was first with a high fever, headache, Jameson followed a few days later, Adeleine got lucky and escaped with a nose that still has not stopped running, Eleanor got congested, and Bill and I got the worst of it, ironic isn't it! After waking up with a scratchy throat, I proceeded to go to gymnastics and ballet and came home with chills, headache, and bodyaches. My fever reached 103.5! It was during this time when we experienced a first. While all 5 of us (minus Bill since he was not yet home from work) were bundled on the couch watching the Sound of Music that for the first time since having 4 children they were all crying at once. I don't even remember now why, although I am sure that each one had a different reason. Within a few minutes I had everyone calm and quiet and we were back to the von Trapps. It was quite a scene, one that I hope doesn't repeat itself anytime soon.

And today...a beautiful sound was heard at our house! Eleanor laughed for the first time. All the kids were so excited. It truly is the most beautiful sound. I am so blessed to have another little voice in this house, and I can't wait to hear more from her.

9:59 am

Beds made, dishes still to be done, baby sleeping and the Sound of Music being acted out for me (So Long, Farewell). I want to remember this.