Staying about the same

Our garden ended up not doing a whole lot of growing after the first picture I posted. We got a couple of tomatoes, 1 zucchini, this half grown watermelon and an infestation of white flies that killed and ate everything else. It was our first attempt. We will do better next time!

After a week of school, things are still about the same. Our average for missing the bus is 4 out of 10 times- not so good. We made it today, though! And that was with everyone's hair done, bedrooms cleaned up, scriptures read and lunches packed, besides a 5 mile run for Mom!
Max still has to have his lunch box packed like everyone else and he still has to bring his backpack with, but he has stopped having a fit about the fact that we are going home after we drop off all the kids- that he is not getting dropped off somewhere also. I always thought we would hold him back like we did the other boys. Their birthday's are in July and they weren't socially ready to go to school. His birthday is the very end of May. I wondered for awhile, but I didn't want him to be the youngest, so I figured I would hold him back, also. But that boy really wants to go to school. For him to be home with Mom for 3 more years, might be more than he can stand! I think we may even have to think about Preschool next year.

I went back to work on Friday night. I used to work until 1, now I work until 3 am. I was actually able to get home and go to bed around 4 and get up at 7:45 am to start the usual soccer game routine. Both kid's teams won. Only this year it is Joseph and Emma playing, not Emma and Sam.

Sunday we had people over for dinner, even though there was no Rob. The man brought his woodshop magazine, but I think we got him engaged every once in a while. It is hard when there is no man talk. I even let him watch some football. Now that wasn't extra good of me, because I like football, too, but I don't seem to watch much of it when Rob's not around. We don't watch a ton when he is around, but we do watch some.

3 is the New two someone told me and as far as my children are concerned, I agree. I love my 2 year olds. Besides the whole potty training thing, which is a pain, 2 year olds are a lot of fun. Three year olds are another story completely! Way too many tantrums. Max has not been an exception to this rule. He threw a grand one today right as it was time to go. So I had to just pick him up and cart him to the car, so we weren't late. Of course, then the fit turned into the fact that I hadn't brought his lunch box with us. I thought, "Kid, you have just cried from the time you got up today. What a miserable day!" He is doing fine, right now, though.

Rob is in Bagdad and things are staying about the same there, too. There is no change in the days. On Sunday he does get to make it to an 1 1/2 hour of church, other than that, he is at work all the time. There isn't much else for them to do over there, so they tend to stay at work until it's time for bed. He says it is hot and dusty and everyone carries a gun- it's like being in an old west show.He was going to ride shotgun- literally- on Sunday, but that fell through. This is actually a picture from him while he was in training at Ft. Benning, Georgia.

Life is getting into a routine and maybe staying the same isn't too bad. We have little differences now and again to shake things up and make mom pull her hair out, but otherwise things are good and normal. Are you getting into a routine, too? How's normal for you?