Month Three

We're in our final countdown..the last month..three more weeks..and Daddy will be back..or will he? The wonderful Armed Forces are considering keeping him for longer, maximizing their use of him most likely. Pardon my sarcasm for a government organization but you can't help but become bitter when such sacrifices are required by citizens and when the sacrifices are met, they get milked and unappreciated in the end.

I've gotten used to not having him around, keeping ourselves busy and entertained 24/7. Sure, I'm burnt out to say the least. Shoot, I'm burnt out even when he's home. 'Tis the life of parenthood.

I can't complain too much because we've been able to see each other more than expected. We took a quick get-away back in April for the weekend. I met him up in NOLA for a long weekend sans kids. Talk about much needed. It was chillax and worry-free, especially knowing the kids were in good hands and were doing well the entire time. Of course, Daddy missed them and wanted them to come along but I was still not mentally ready to travel alone with two small children. (You'll see what I mean in my next blog.) We intended to go to the Jazz Fest, but it was so stormy the first night we were there, that we didn't bother buying tickets. Well, turned out, the entire weekend was sunny and beautiful! We could've easily went to the Fest still, but we decided on walking about town doing touristy stuff like Jackson Square, Cafe du Monde, and the French Market, hitting up Harrah's, Bourbon St., and of course eat, eat, eat.

Then come Mother's Day, he sent me a small gift, stating that it wasn't much. But then he revealed he was heading back home for five whole days! How he managed to get away so easily is beyond even him, but he did. Driving up to the pick-up area at the airport, P exclaimed "Daddy here?!! Where Daddy? Mommy, I see daddy in plane!! Mommy, look up there!" As Daddy came through the doors, P jumped out of his seat and R flailed his arms and kicked his chubby legs in excitement, clapping and crying out "Daddyyyyyyy!" right along with big brother. I felt my eyes fill and even more when I saw how happy the boys were. Daddy's time here was much too short.

Next, Memorial Day crept up. We planned a trip to Pensacola/Destin, FL, upon hearing about the great beaches and activities for children. Bill drove the 2.5 hours out there to meet the kids and me. Yep, you guessed it - I sucked it up and hopped on a plane with both kids solo! Imagine my stress and anxiety come closer to the day of departure. To-do lists, what-to-pack lists, schedule lists. I was able to keep it together until 3AM to make sure all was in place and packed the night before we were to leave.

Surprisingly, they were pretty decent on the plane. Of course, I had to entertain them the entire 1.5 hours flight, but it was quite doable for a whole 1.5 hours. If it was any longer, I might have started pulling my hair out and asking if anyone was looking to adopt. Thank God for understanding and helpful passengers and flight attendants! I don't know how (and hopefully won't ever have to know how) moms fly solo for trips longer than two hours (i.e. overseas..eek!) as I have read on various forums. If you're wondering, I most definitely did my research before taking on such an extremely tiring, challenging, and trying task!

We landed in Pensacola. Bill stood waiting in the terminal to greet us. The boys were beyond estatic upon seeing Daddy. I felt my eyes fill up again. With all the craziness in my life handling the kids alone, I forget how much I miss him. I wasn't even able to greet him because the boys were practically tackling him. Later, B told me people around us smiled and spoke among themselves as they watched an army family reuniting. It must've been a vision, now that I think about it. Being in the actual situation, the entire world is non-existent - your whole world is in that big group hug, as one, as it should be. Seeing B in his army attire was another reminder of why he was away from us - for our nation. Soldiers need to have their teeth fixed too! =)

We stayed in Pensacola for one night. We were quite pleased with our hotel, as they gave toys to the kiddos and had a great location on the beach. The view from our balcony was incredible, too. Since it was late in the day that we checked in, we didn't get to go on the beach that night. We drove around to check out the area, had dinner, and called it a night, since the boys were worn out as were we.

The next morning, we hit up the amazing clear blue-watered, white-sanded beach for a few hours, checked out of the hotel, and then destination Destin. There, we stayed at a resort on the beach. We weren't quite as pleased here, as it was far more crowded than Pensacola. Plus, the water was still blue but far from how clear and clean it was in Pensacola. Both huge minuses!! If we had known of these setbacks, we would've stayed in Pensacola. But one thing Destin had was more to do for the kids. And the resort had awesome kid play areas and activities. So, I guess it was fortunate for the kids that we went to Destin. Besides, traveling as a family is always about the kids, right? We would hit up the beach in the early morning, have lunch, take the afternoon siesta (whilst it rained everyday..blah), hit up the kids area, have dinner, hit up the beach or pool again, then call it a night. Oh yeah, the resort also had free unlimited dvd rentals - this ammenity was great for parents who were bound to the hotel room with their kids at night. Bill or I would go downstairs to rent something out of their huge selection and bring it back up to the room to watch while the boys slept. Most of the time we were too tired to even bother finishing it, or even starting it. But at least we had the option. The balcony was a huge plus, too, since we could stand out to get some fresh beach air..love!

One major, or should I say two major, occurances did put a damper on the family trip. 'Til next update though...