Zombies!!!!!

Chris's View-

I feel like one of the walking dead!

This week has been rough!  It started with a 0530 shift at work, where I got sent home at 1200, to come back to work an overnight shift at 1800... yeah, 6pm to 6am.  Not something I am used to at all.  I struggled through being insanely busy to make it home safely.  This week has been nothing but 12 hour shifts from 6pm to 6am.  It helps working this overnight shift, as I am off during the day so we can still get the kiddos to their appointments.  I guess I will be on this shift until further notice, with no real day off in sight right now.  I can't really talk about why I got switched to this overnight shift, but hopefully everything will work itself out real soon so I can get back to helping Maria with the kids.

It's not just me that has been a zombie this week though.  I can tell that it is wearing on Maria too.  She puts on a strong front for me, but a husband can tell.  It's tough in situations like this, as it's really like Maria becomes a single parent.  It was tough enough for her when it was her & Big G for my deployments.  Luckily, we have not had a deployment since Middle & Lil' G came around.  There have been TDY (Temporary Duty Yonder for ya'll non-military readers) for a week or two or three, but nothing that has been a surprise to us.  I think that's the biggest issue with this thing, there was no preparing.  It was at the drop of a hat, and I was gone overnight.  And to complicate matters, she knows that I am here, yet I am dead asleep so she can't really rely on me heavily.  Let me tell ya'll, I hit the jackpot when Maria said yes.  She didn't know life was going to be like this, yet she signed up to be a military spouse... honestly THE TOUGHEST JOB IN THE MILITARY!  Some may say it's the jobs where you get shot at, and yes, that is bound to be a tough job, but the military spouse has to manage a household, be mom & dad quite a lot, deal with the military machine (red tape, lack of support, etc), all while wondering if their loved one will return home at night.  I do not envy her.

So Maria has been busier than a one-legged man in a hiney-kicking contest, all while combating a migraine and with kiddos that seem to be getting a little sick (yeah, that's the last thing we need right now!).  I really admire her... take a moment and drop a line to a military spouse in your life, be it through email, Facebook, or whatever... and let them know you are thinking about them... it just might be the difference in a good day or a bad day.  Please pray for Maria, and our whole family. She needs some relief, and I need to try to keep my energy up so I don't fall asleep at work or on the drive to or from base. Pray for our sanity too... trust me, this stuff really wears on you!  Pray for God to give us patience when we are stressed out by all of this.  Lastly, pray for our kiddos, that they be exceptionally good on Maria during this time where she is forced to act like a single parent.

See ya'll later!

Maria's View-

Thanks, babe!  <3 

Yeah, it's been busy and crazy around here!  I'm not going to lie!  I purposefully scheduled appts for the little ones on Chris' days off but it still worked out.  We had audiology appts Thurs for Griffin and Friday for Little G.  They were scheduled at 9:00.  Thankfully, on Thursday, Little G slept in and woke up around 10:30, so Chris was able to sleep.  Later that day, I was able to put Griffin down for his nap and then took Little G to her medical speech appt at the hospital.  I had a friend pick Big G up at the bus stop, so all of that worked out.  Today was Little G's audiology appt and unfortunately Griffin didn't want to sleep in.  So Chris had to sleep with one eye open while he was cruising around in our baby proof living room.  Then I put the little ones down for their nap and picked Big G up from school for her dental appt.  Thankfully, all of the appts coordinated with their sleep/nap times and that helped so much! 

So how did the appts go?

Griffin's audiology- He did excellent!  This was the best pediatric audiologist ever.  He made the test fun and rewarding so it was a piece of cake.  He failed the test, though. <sigh>  One ear is completely blocked off by what he thinks must be fluid.  The other ear is a bit better but not by much.  He wants me to have him evaluated at the Pediatric clinic (Monday at 1:00...after the little ones have their occupational therapy appts from 9:00-11:00, gulp.)  Then in 6 weeks, we will followup with the audiologist for another hearing test.  He imagines that they will want to put tubes in his ears, but they may just try to treat with medication.  We shall see!

Little G's audiology- I totally expected no cooperation from the diva and boy was I wrong!  She was awesome!  Praise the Lord.  Seriously.  And she passed her hearing test!  No fluid!  We are so thankful for this.  We will follow up with her for another hearing test in 3 months to make sure her ears are without fluid since her tubes are completely out. 

Little G's medical speech- I'm impressed!  I think she is going to do very well in this environment.  She said more words during the evaluation that I have ever heard her say before.  And she learned a new word!  The therapist was asking her where her body parts were and she asked her to point to her back.  She couldn't do it.  The therapist pointed to Little G's back and then in a quiet little voice she said, "pak".  When she got home, she ran to her papa and said, "PAK!" and turned around so that he could see her back.  She is very proud of herself.  So the plan for her is that she will have 2-30 minute sessions per week.  She is currently speaking on a 12-15 month level.  I'm not too concerned after seeing how quickly and proudly she picked up the word "back".  The therapist seriously wants us to continue teaching both little ones sign language, especially since Little G is hurting herself out of frustration.  Plus, she stated that studies have shown that children who learn sign language learn to read sooner.  Interesting.  So I have purchased "Signing Times" and will plop their little hinies in their highchairs and park them in front of the TV for a short session every day.  Maybe I can sweep the floor or brush my hair. LOL.

As for me, these migraines are becoming much too frequent again.  I get trapped in these cycles that seem to go on endlessly and I'm so done with it.  I can't be my best and sweetest when I feel so horrible.  So I scheduled an appt for myself on Tuesday.  Hopefully I can get some relief. 

Oh, something cute today.  In an office down the hallway from the audiology/speech clinic, there was a stuffed doggie sitting in the doorway.  Little G saw this dog and wanted to play with it.  It was pretty large and was all dressed up in a hat, shoes, etc.  She loved it.  So for her reward for doing so well for her hearing test, we stopped by to pet the doggie.  A woman inside the office just loved Little G and invited her in.  She had a huge lollipop tree on her desk and she asked me if I would mind if she gave her one.  I was kind of hesitant because she's never had one before and I have a fear of hard candy with my little ones, but I went ahead and gave the go ahead.  Little G was so excited over this and gave the lady a hug.  She invited Little G to come by every time she has a good appt and she will give her another lollipop.  Hey, you have to get your grandmotherly love wherever you can when you are a military child!  Little G will not forget where that candy came from.  LOL.

Well, anyway, time to get the little ones up for dinner.  More tomorrow!