Getting By

So we’ve gone two weeks without Paul, only one more to go. If I had been writing this post a week ago, I’m sure it would have been very depressing. Last week was hard. And ironically, Benjamin’s Spring Break coincided with Paul’s trip, so he’s been off for the past two weeks. So we’ve had a LOT of free, unstructured (and at times, maddening) time, just the three of us. Some high(and low)lights from the past few weeks:

• The VCR/DVD player and the computer both broke last weekend, so I hauled the boys over to Sam's Club a few times while I compared computers and prices and tried to call Paul to get his input (It’s hard shopping for a computer when you don’t have one! I really wished I had access to the Internet, so I could at least look up reviews). Our old computer had been on its last leg for a while (it was Paul’s old college laptop that he bought right off his mission before we were married) so we knew its days were numbered. And let me just say I’m loving this new computer! And it has a nice big screen so I can get my Hulu and Netflix fixes from bed. :) I decided to wait on replacing the VCR/DVD player until Paul gets home. Hopefully he’ll be able to fix it! I think Peter’s finally given up asking me to turn on Teletubbies for him, and sort of gets that “it’s broken.” Yeah, I’m not feeling a great void in my life there! :)

• Peter threw up early Sunday morning last week. I decided he was ok since he didn’t have a fever and had no further incidents all morning. So I took the boys to Stake Conference (which of course was during Peter’s scheduled nap time), hoping for some reprieve and spiritual nourishment. It really was amazing. Our Stake President talked about how most of us have “to do” lists, but that we should also have “to be” lists. I guess the trait I most want to have is to be Christlike. It was just a good reminder that my activities that I do each day should be helping me reach that goal, and that I can help my children come to know Him by how I live.

• Benjamin has been really funny these days. His little personality is just so unique to him. I will admit that I haven’t had the most healthy eating habits lately, but whenever I offer him something like chips or cookies, he’ll tell me no, because those things “are not good for our bodies.” I guess it’s nice to have a conscience. :) He also keeps his room immaculate all day every day, insisting that the Gunny Monster (a “Joy School” persona) is sure to come any minute and eat all of his clothes and books and toys. I used that threat a few times months ago when he wouldn’t clean his room, and it stuck, even though since then I’ve let on that the Gunny Monster isn’t really real. He is also into weaponry these days, and is working hard on his reading goal to earn a bow and arrow. He is very much into the "Why?" stage now, but instead of "Why," he says, "Because what, Mommy?" And if I ever answer that "I don't know," he'll press further, "Does Daddy know? Does Peter know? Does Grandma know?..." It can get old. :)

• Peter, as ridiculously cute as he is these days, sometimes tries my patience to no end. I think he might be done with his high chair. He refuses to stay seated in it, and most of the time will not eat food unless he’s standing on a big chair. And he’ll often scream all evening for no apparent reason until he’s in bed. Oy. He's been going to nursery for a little while each Sunday, and today was his first sort of official day going full time. He's not quite 18 months yet, but I was giving the Sharing Time in Primary, so that's what we had to do. He did great for the most part!

• I decided to look up Easter egg hunts in the area, and yesterday I took the boys to one that I thought might be fun. I did not anticipate how cold and windy it would be, so after registering and petting a few dirty animals in the crowded petting zoo, we spent a while in the back of the van, waiting for the good stuff to start. We got out in time to watch the helicopter land and the Easter Bunny come out and make his brief appearance. Then came the egg hunts, which were divided into age groups. Peter was totally bewildered by all the commotion and didn’t pick up a single egg, but Benjamin brought his A-game to the 3 year old field and filled his basket full of eggs. It was a whole lot of madness. But I think Benjamin at least had a lot of fun.

• I’ve been using my evenings to work on projects, which has been nice. I found a really great online fabric store through a decorating blog I follow, only to discover it was really close to our house. So of course I had to check it out. I’ve been able to keep it repressed for a while, but I may or may not have a mild obsession with beautiful fabric. And this place was amazing. Plus it had a whole wall of nice, decorator upholstery fabric for around $5 a yard. So I finally made some throw pillows for our bed and picked up some cute fabric for the new baby’s room. I’m still deciding what to do with it.

• Paul found out this week at work that he’s getting a raise! I’m so proud of him. He really does work so hard to provide for our family, and does a great job at it. We’re of course thrilled that we’ll be able to reach our goals and fix things in our house a little faster than we’d hoped. We really do feel blessed.