Back to a routine!!

I am a creature of habit...I think I mentioned that in my last post!! Thankfully, I started work yesterday after a 2 1/2 month hiatus and am glad. I'm tired, but glad. I am blessed with work!! Life is good and I am glad to be productful again. I was getting bored at home and glad to be busy again. Don't get me wrong, I love to stay home and take care of my fam, but there is only sooo much I can do without having a schedule of 'something' to keep me sane.

The kids are older, the house can only be so clean and the errands don't take that much anymore!! I am glad to spend my days helping others!! It occurred to me the other day just how much the kids are self-sufficient! They cook, clean (sometimes), get themselves off for the day with minimal prompting and showered at night!! I have little to do with the logistics of their lives, but have much to do with guidance.

The transition is strange as I am so use to being the 'go-to' mom. "Mom, can you take me....?" Mom, can you make me something to eat?" "Mom, I need clothes washed." "Mom, can you take me to the park?" I am no longer needed for those minuscule tasks anymore, but rather to just hang out with. They like to make me something to eat, wash their own clothes (I guess it makes them feel grown up). They let me know where they are going and when they will be home!! I like it. I never did miss the diaper bag, the warming bottles, teething, crying, tantrums (although they sometimes still throw them), poopy diapers, always hungry, daycare day in and day out!!! I love having older kids. It suits me. I knew I would be better at being a mom to older children than to little ones. Don't worry...I loved every minute of it, but this is great too!

Having wrote all that, the routine is falling into place. Lunches packed the night before. Showers on time. Bags ready to head out the door. Glasses are misplaced nor are keys!! Breakfast is eaten and I didn't make it.... I can take my time getting myself ready without just a quick run through the shower and out the door with taking care of the kid's needs in between. There is actually some time for ME!! It's a nice routine.

I suppose the transition to empty nest will be difficult. I know it will. I am use to a certain level of chaos, even if the kids are self-sufficient. It will be great having Matt all to my own since we never started out as a couple by ourselves. We were a ready-made family and it was great, but it will be nice to have some 'alone' time. Less cooking, laundry, groceries, messes, and trips to kid events. Time to relax, travel, save money, downsize to a single-level house, and so on.

The routine will change several times before this is all said and done with and I am looking forward to every minute of it!! Change is good, but routine is a saving grace!!

My wonderful life!!

Well, here it is. My first Blog!! When I first heard this term I felt like Gibbs off NCIS. He's the main character in one of my fav TV shows and is a bit inept when it comes to electronic gadgets. I am as well. If it weren't for my chip-head hubby, I wouldn't have this blog!!! Thanks babe!!

Well, about me...hmmm, where to start?? The beginning would be good! Two people fell in love (that would be my folks), got hitched, had me, added a little sister and brother, raised us in a small town in Nebraska (it's this whole other country~get it, like Forrest Gump-my fav movie), I went to school with the same kids from kgarten through Senior year, took yearly family vacations to Milwaukee to see my mom's side of the tribe, had my oldest offspring, joined the Army, met my husband, gave birth to my youngest offspring, finished college and love where I am....and BREATHE!!! That's it. Really the nutshell version, but quite an adventure!!

I loved every minute of it. I have my parents first and foremost to thank for raising me to be the responsible and productful adult I have become.

I thank my oldest daughter for making me want more out of life for the two of us. Every push-up in Basic Training had your name on it. Look where it got us today!! A little hard work sure paid off!!

The Army for making me not just strong, but Army strong (remember this is a copyrighted slogan so I am giving credit where credit is due~thanks US Army).

To my lil' peanut for keeping me busy with being a replica of me when I was a child, just as my mother cursed me!! She always said I would have children just like me and here she is....my lil Miss MQS!!

For my sister, Karen Ann for always listening to me rant and rave on the phone for hours on in over the course of the past decade or so!! For sharing your life with me and allowing me to share mine with you. I'm so proud of the woman you have become!!

And most of all to my husband, Matt of 15 years!!! He is my rock, my soulmate, my one and only true love. He has seen me in good times and bad, at my prettiest and ugliest, when I am happy and sad, and loves me when I spontaneously cry or combust!

He puts up with my addiction to adopting several cats and a dog, to Tupperware (another credit is due here), to scrapbooking and chick flix!! He tells me he loves me all the time. We even have a secret 'love language.' It's hard to explain. We even talk about our kids in front of them without them even knowing it....no, it's not ESP, it's phonetic spelling and we are good at it!!!

I have lived a simple, yet blissful life. I have met so many wonderful people over the years of my life and have been blesed by each encounter. I consider myself a people-person as I like to serve and love people. I find satisfaction from volunteering, being there when a friend needs me, helping others in a time of need, and I recently became a big fan of fundraising. I figure a little pocket change can make the world of difference for someone else.

I believe in paying it forward. There are so many people who helped me get to where I am today and I don't even know who some of them are!! Thanks to the lady who helped me pay for groceries when I was 50 some cents short of my bill and ready to put back a jar of baby food. To the guy in North Carolina who helped me with a stuck gas pump lever when I was almost late to work---and I AM NEVER LATE!!!! These are just some examples of why I pay it forward!!

I believe that hard work will get you a long way if you really want it to. I believe in paying your debts when they are owed and I'm not just talking about money. I'm talking about being honest and forthcoming. When the neighbors see my trash can on the street and bring it in, I return the favor. When someone crosses me I tell them how it is and say my peace!!! I try not to intentionally hurt feelings, but if that is how it is perceived then let the chips lie where they fall.

I believe nothing is more important than family. My little fam of four is the best thing to ever happen to me. As we grow together, it's exciting to see what the future holds for us. Nothing but unconditional love!!!

I loved being a Soldier and I love being a Soldier's wife, but I would rather wear the boots than the high heels!!! I love being an Army wife because I simply love being a wife, but more so one of a Soldier. I love making sure he has packed everything he needs to survive whatever the Army holds for him. From clothes to floss, I got his six!!!

I love knowing what he does at work so I can relate to him on topics he discusses when he comes home each night for work. (you know Matt, it's not too late to go to med schoool...you already know more than the docs!!) I accept the fact there are seperations we have to endure and look at it as a different chapter in our life together. I grow from them.

I have learned to be flexible, which for someone like me is hard. I am a list-maker, a rule-follower, a creature of habit and I don't adapt to change well ( I know you are chuckling Matthew)!!! Anyone who really knows me, knows this!! Yet, I do it because this is our life. We serve our country and we take care of our Soldiers. Home is where the Army sends us and as long as we are together. We may not always be 'physically' together, but we are together! Our hearts talk when we are not together!!

I love the Army life and wouldn't trade one moment of it for anything. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not all fantastic and there is a silver lining most of the time, but for the most part I love it more than I dislike it!! Of course I don't like being away from him, I don't like that my children have been in too many school systems to count, I don't like meeting new people and then leaving, I don't like learning my way around a new place, but I adapt. It's what has been instilled in me with Army life.

The flip side of all those negative things are this: Distance DOES really make the heart grow fonder! My kids have been in large schools in DC and small schools in Nebraska. They have lived in the big city and the farm. They have had experiences most kids haven't.

They have seen both coasts, been ALL over DC, and love NYC. They have lived in at least 6 different states and enjoyed every flavor. They have friends of different race, religion and nationality. I have met some wonderful people and some I have come accross more than once. I love the new 'flavor' we have each time we live in a new place and it doesn't take me too long to know my way around. A few wrong turns and then I know where I am going. That is a great phrase to explain my life. We all make wrong turns, but do we learn from them is the question??

Now that I have yacked your 'eyes' off and I really need to be productive today, I will see you next time!!

Mrs. MTS~~