Army Guy, Monkeys, and Single Motherhood

So this week, Jeremy has been gone...he suddenly had to go to Portland for his uncle's funeral. I got a taste of single motherhood while he was gone--and realized that I'll take him and his laundry on the floor any day! Here's some of the things I did this week:

1. Took Sam, who "wants to be an army when I grow up" to VBS--the theme was Boot Camp. Here he is in his flight suit and my dad's old army hat, with Evan trying to get in on the action.
2. Worked in the garden...it feels like such a battle against the sun, dryness, bugs, weeds and budget. When I wasn't working in the garden, I was often thinking about the garden, or driving around looking at other people's gardens.
Here's a "before" photo.

3. Thought of middle names for the baby
4. Went to McDonald's with a friend and her 2 boys. While eating in the play area, smoke and dust and dead bugs began raining down on us. Evan had 2 dead gnats on his french fry...I picked them off when he wasn't looking. I went to find a manager, but not surprisingly, no one ever came to offer an explanation or apologize or attempt to wipe the area down. Because I am so principled and will not stand for such a lack of customer service...we stayed for another hour and a half (because when do two moms of preschoolers get to have uninterrupted conversation?). I didn't have my camera, but here is a picture of what the boys looked like when we left.

5. I spent a lot of time lying on the couch and trying to make the boys have "quiet" time, because here is an example of what those two monkeys were doing at all other possible moments:
(Not pictured: spitting, spitting on each other, fighting with swords, fighting with guns, fighting with sticks, spitting into their yogurt, making sailboats and rocketships out of their sandwiches, jumping off of the bunkbed, throwing dirt at each other, and waking me up way too early)
6. Thought some more about middle names for the baby.
7. Watched a movie every night...and I'm not even ashamed of myself! Here are the ones I have watched so far.





I also have Kit Kitteredge in my "queue" (that just means it's sitting on top of the entertainment center) but I don't know if I'll get to it.
8. Went to the park (I met some friends there), the library (friend was there), drove around to garage sales (kids were trapped in the car, therefore not able to make a mess in the house), and the Aquaplex (needed to tire the kids out for an early bedtime).
9. Finally decorated my room after living here for 2 years. I got this great chair on craigslist, thinking I would use it to nurse the baby in, but Jeremy has claimed it as his new "homework" chair and I am beginning to wonder when I will get my first turn to sit in it.


10. Thought some more about middle names, went to a baby shower and doodled baby names instead of playing the baby shower games, and watched the entire credits of each movie, looking for inspiration for baby names.

Jeremy gets home tomorrow, God willing, and life will be back as it should be...if only for a few weeks until we add a whole new person to this mix!