what a day

Chris has been gone for 2 days now and will be gone for 2 more. I don't think I would be cut out to be a single mom - I have to give kudos to the single moms, moms whose husbands are in the military or travel a lot out there - it's a hard job to do it all by yourself!

Yesterday was a bit easier than today. The highlight of the day was picking up a double jogging stroller for cheap and eating dinner @ Carrows in Ventura. Food wasn't fabulous - but the kids ate free and a kind couple sitting near us took care of our bill for us! You can't beat that!!

Today started by me procrastinating my alarm. It went off @ 5:30 and I finally rolled out of bed @ 6:30 . . . Jo was up about 20 minutes after that and Ellie soon after. However I was able to get last nights dishes in the dishwasher and wipe down the kitchen counter before they were up! They started the day by taking out all of my fabric and spreading it all around the dining room floor (where it still sits). After breakfast I gave them a quick bath, got them dressed and put on a short movie so I could do Ellie's hair (it turned out very cute)! At 9ish my MIL came over and we headed out to do some errands before Ellie's dance class @ 10. Ellie had a good dance class and then the kids played at the park until lunch time. We went out to lunch and then "window-shopped" (which I don't enjoy at all) until Josiah started to lose it. By 2pm we were home and I was rocking Jo to sleep. He took a 2 hour nap & Ellie spent those 2 hours by herself in her room. I enjoyed some "me" time on the computer for my break :) After naps we ate a quick snack and Josiah continued to melt down until we got in the truck and headed out for MORE errands (@ 5:30). Now THIS is where the fun REALLY began. We got to the first bank and there was a line. Ellie went right over to the chairs, sat down and began a conversation with a gal who was so patient and seemed to thourally enjoy chatting w/ a 3 year old. It was so sweet and I was SO thankful. Jo finally convinced me to let him off of my back and he went to join the party. The chatted while I waited in line and then Jo came to "help" me w/ my transaction while Ellie continued talking with her new friend. We arrived at the second bank 10 minutes before closing and in my rush to open the door I failed to see that Ellie was behind the door, hit her in the nose and knocked her down. Three of the guys working there RUSHED over to see if everything was okay and one even went to the local Jamba Juice to get some ice for her. Meanwhile my deposit was taken care of and Josiah drew a picture of Nemo to share with everyone. We made it back to the truck with no mishaps and headed over to Daphne's for dinner. Took us awhile to make it inside, however because Josiah was more interested in the really cool fountain/light show to the music that was going on outside. He was so interested that he stood at the window crying while I stood in line to order. Dinner went well and afterwords, while I cleaned up, the kids took their "WetWipes" and proceeded to clean everything in sight. We went back outside to enjoy the water, went home and they were in bed by 8.

I'm exhausted, my house is a mess and I'm sitting at the computer to "unwind" while waiting for Chris to call!

But only 2 more days and as I read back my post it doesn't look quite so ominous - I think I've got it pretty good!