Stress ...kind of

     So, let's see. My kids are nuts. Hence, my life is nuts.  Let me back up a little. I love nap time. It's like, by far, my favorite part of the day. I try so hard to get all my kids to sleep at the same time. I need that peace and quiet during the day to refocus my brain and get through the afternoon and evening. I love bedtime too, but nap time is definitely my fave. The kids have been increasingly difficult to get consistent naps from here lately. It's like they do well for a few days, and then all of the sudden, no naps for 3 days straight. I don't get it.  They need naps.  Their tiny little bodies need that rest to function properly. Today was Anna's turn to not nap. She stayed in her room the whole time, and she was pretty quiet for the most part, but still ... she didn't sleep. I got the occasional "MOM!" and I'd go in there only to have her say, "I wanna get up." Too bad Anna, you must rest. Am I crazy for requiring my children to be in their room, in the bed, and quiet for two hours every day? Maybe.  By this evening, Anna was a mess.  She was too tired to function. She didn't want to eat. She didn't want to do anything. If she had just listened to me earlier and slept her life would've been much easier this evening.
   Why don't kids listen to their parents? Is there a child out there (aside from the obvious answer) who listens to their parents all the time? I'm thinking not. Even the "best" kid must have their moments of rebellious weakness, right? I know I did. My kids do...I'm sure my husband did.
     While I was cooking dinner tonight, Allison nearly smashed Emilee's 4th and 5th digits off of her right hand. Seriously. Nearly.Smashed.Off. I tell them all, repeatedly to not play with doors. Don't open them if their closed. Don't close them if their open. I had my little finger smashed in the hinge side of the door when I was in preschool. It had to be surgically reattached. Since then, it has always been my fear that it would happen to some other kid I was with. It's happened to Anna before ... kind of. She's had her thumb smashed in the front of the door but nothing major.  Tonight, Emilee had her hand smashed in the hinge part of the door.  Alli and Emilee were playing in the bedroom and when they left, Alli shut the door behind her. Unfortunately, Emilee's hand was in the back of the door. And when Emilee started screaming, Alli freaked out and froze and wouldn't open the door back up. Codey went running, Emilee was screaming in pain, Allison was screaming in fright, and Anna was yelling at Alli for hurting Emilee.  It was crazy.
     I'm too tired to finish.  I'll write some more tomorrow. Night.

Not Sure

     So, I decided to start a blog. A place to vent/talk/wonder about our lives without any character limitations and FB drama. Facebook is great, and I enjoy being able to talk with people, but it seems like there are those who are just there for drama. It's annoying and obnoxious. I enjoy the idea of a diary/journal type thing. I like writing, but never seem to have time. For some reason, this seems quicker. I can type way faster than I can write. Plus, the kids can't rip the pen out of my hand.
     As I sit here, watching it snow (at the end of March, no less), I am realizing how far Codey and I have come since we first met. He was working at the bowling alley in KC, and I was working at St Lukes and going to school. Things have changed so much since then. We have changed so much since then.
     I love our kids. They're beautiful and smart and so freakin' funny. This morning, the kids were in our bed and Alli said to Codey, "Get up you old man!" She just says random crap all the time! And it's usually pretty funny.
    Anna is sitting on the love seat next to me with her pink pretend laptop. She's pretending to type. It's amazing to me how much she wants to be like it and how much she imitates me...and how well.  When one of the other kids is hurt, she very often gets there before me and offers comfort to them, kissing their booboos and rubbing their backs. She's sweet.
    Emilee is smart. It's impossible to play hide & seek with her. She'll give you away every time...if she's not hiding with you, that is. If she's your hiding buddy, she's perfect. If you leave her out, she's going to tell the other kids where you are.
    The Army confuses me. We have a love hate relationship, the Army and I. I LOVE that it's a steady paycheck and pretty good insurance. I hate that everything is last minute, and information travels so slowly down hill. Usually by the time it gets to us, it's crawling slower than a snail's place. Everything is so last minute with them. It's just frustrating. Another reason for the blog, actually. Typically if I post something negative on FB about the Army, the typical response from people is, "Well, you chose it," or "It's the Army. What do you expect?" And you know what, that really ticks me off.  Yeah, so what if we chose this life. That doesn't make it any easier when my husband is called away at a moment's notice because some E1 is an idiot, and my husband has to cancel our plans to cover for him.
    So, before you decide to read my postings on a regular basis, you should know that this blog is going to be about my life. And the Army is a part of my life. My kids are a part of my life. My husband is part of my life. Even the dumb dog is a part of my life. And all of those things have positive and negative aspects. Sometimes, I'm sure, I'm going to be more focused on the negative. Sometimes, I'll be focused on the positive. So, if you can't handle that, don't read it. I don't have time for extra drama. Believe me, all those things I listed below cause me enough drama already.
    I hope you will read it though, 'cause you'll probably learn something and be pretty entertained by my life.
   Adios for now!