Moving on...moving in

Christmas was awesome! We were so happy to have Josh home again, and even more excited that his work kept him in the Salt Lake area until the end of January. Every weekend we went into the city to stay with him at his hotel, but Dallas had a harder time understanding when he left again for Maryland.

The saddest part of the year came and I felt a more of her presence than I have since I left home. I remembered a Christmas ornament I saw and thought it was perfectly appropriate...so sort of re-created it for Mom and Dad to put on her table with all the other things of hers we use to remember her by.

In case it's too hard to read from the picture here it is:

If tears could build a stairway

and memories make a lane

I'd walk back up to Heaven

and bring you home again.

Mom and I found this awesome deal to get Glitter Toes, and we had a lot of fun going out for "girl time" and just hanging out together.

Moving time arrives and here is what we get. He was jumping on his mattress (which was moved onto the floor) and then managed to bounce off of it onto his dresser (several feet away) cutting his head open. No stitches required and it's healed up very nicely.

We left out of Tooele Sunday morning, and made it to Melinda's Monday night. I was very excited to see her and hang out with her and her family. Her delivery of Cole scared me something awful, but I was glad to be there for her kids and to get to see her for myself after it happened. Dallas was just as excited to see Baby Cole as his cousins were, and insisted on holding him:)

Dallas and I caught a train out of MKA to Chicago, and Chicago to Syracuse, NY. Josh picked us up there and we drove the last hour and a half to Gouverneur (yes I spelled that right).

Our neighbors came out to meet us and they are awesome! We've already had dinner together with them several times, and we hang out around the campfire almost every night (our townhouse backs up to state forest land, so we just collect the dead wood from winter). It's kind of weird because Josh made friends with them before I even got here so it was like moving back home--they're just so friendly!

I'm still unpacking a few boxes, but Dallas has adjusted very well and will be starting kindergarten Monday 16th. We got all complicated because the western states have a cutoff date at the beginning of September, but NY's is in December! Ack! So now we have to let him play out the rest of the year then consult with the principal and his teacher in June to see where he should be placed next year. Ugh. But starting next Monday he'll be gone all day (what will I do with my time...?) and the bus stop for the street is right outside my front door. I anticipate that Dallas will be more worn out at the end of the day for a while...at least until he adjusts to the new schedule:)!

When I have some furniture and the boxes are all hidden away in the garage I'll take pictures of the place and of my neighbors: SGT & Mrs. G. and SPC and Mrs. T, and their kids.

Feels so good to be here, together!

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

OOOOOOOOOOOOkay!

I'm going to try to make this quick--Josh got a new job that is really great, but the training for it takes him away from Dallas and me. So we packed up the apartment, Josh left for Baltimore, MD, and I moved back in with Mom and Dad R. We prayed for this job and are very grateful that he managed to get a position, but it's hard for him to be away from us. Now that everyone is up to speed, I'll go back over some of the details.

We got everything packed and moved before Halloween. While Josh was busy getting his stuff in order to go the following Sunday, Dallas and I went trick-or-treating. He got loads of candy, and he had a lot of fun:) He was the Genie from Aladdin, and I made his costume, which I was very proud of.

Josh left less than a week later, but we had hardly any time to miss him before Thanksgiving arrived. Mom, Dad, Dallas, Wes and I went to Uncle Jeff Reid's for the big meal, and we stayed with some old friends of Mom and Dad. They were a riot, and it was so much fun hearing stories about them from before they had kids.....somehow all the stories they told us started when Calista was born...

We ate tons of food, and then stayed the rest of the weekend for Wes Larson's wedding, which was beautiful. While I didn't know the bride before we got there, I had a lot of fun getting to know her and her family--they'll all fit right in with the Reid crowd:)

The morning before the wedding, Mom and Dad's friends took us sailing. What a blast!! It was both easier and harder than I thought it would be, but Wes learned the ins and outs long before I did.

It was nice to be home after the long drive, but we were home only a few days before it was time to travel again. This time back to Wes's college to see him in the school's performance of Forgotten Carols--Wes played John:) I didn't even recognize him onstage, the makeup was amazing! And the songs were just as touching as I remember.

No sooner had we got back, it was the city parade and Dallas was very excited about all the music, and it was all I could do to hold him back when he realized every float was throwing candy to him:) We made a dash for City Hall, which we were right outside of, to see Santa, but we were still in line for about 45 minutes. Guess we'll have to be faster next time:)

The weather has been very cold, and there's snow on the ground, but Dallas plays outside everyday, so excited about the snow he hasn't seen in two years. Mom even got him his own snow shovel, and he is very serious about making sure the walk is shoveled every time we get a little snowfall.

I think that's everything! We're very excited about Christmas (my first one home in five years!), especially because Josh is flying home and will be here the 23rd...just in time for the big day! Dallas is counting down to Christmas and to "Daddy coming home" with his advent calendar (Santa's face with an empty beard, filling in the space with 24 cotton balls) and he asks every day if Daddy will be home today. Even with video chatting it's hard to be away from each other, and while Dallas loves having Grandma and Grandpa around, he's always so excited to hear Josh on the phone.

Christmas can't come soon enough!

Surprise!! Mother Nature!

30% chance of rain....right. The morning started out nice enough. By lunch it was sprinkling....and by 1:00 it was flooding. After the majority of it was over, Dallas and I took a walk around the complex.

Here is a good long stretch only about two inches deep.

Dallas managed to soak me while swinging through this big puddle :)

But what you can't see is that his feet aren't even touching the ground under there!

If you look closely here, you can see the sidewalk under the water (btw, the water was freezing, but we had a lot of fun wandering around barefoot in it)

This is behind the main office, and yes, we did walk through it. The water came up to my knees, but I probably would not have allowed it if it had still been raining. That car was lucky they didn't stall out :)

This is something cool my phone does...panorama pictures. That sidewalk is actually straight, but it's still really cool :)

This wasn't the worst it got; in the above picture you can see the cement barrier that funnels the water into the canal beyond the wall. Less than an hour later that barrier was under water.

The big pluses to this storm: we didn't lose power this time!!! And with all that icy water coming down it lowered the temperature significantly so we could have the windows open...it was wonderful!

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A, Oklahoma!

OOOOOOOOOOOkay!

First, I'd just like to say that 16 hours in a car is miserable...so no matter how much we like to visit family, and no matter how much fun we have travel is miserable and someone needs to invent a teleportation device!

Now, we left Wednesday morning around 1 and drove all night without incident. Dallas woke up, ate breakfast and promptly got sick. This pattern continued for the next several hours. Upon arrival at Grandma and Grandpa McDonald's house we ate a yummy dinner of homemade chicken noodle soup (again Laurie, so very delicious!) and went to bed early. Over the next two days Dallas played very hard and Josh lent a hand with

truck repairs and wiring and other stuff I am fortunately ignorant about :) There was some juggling with the trucks as some friends of Mom and Dad M. were needing their truck rigged out. Josh helped more there and Dallas hammered, measured, carried parts and basically was in Little Boy Heaven.

Saturday came around and we were all pretty busy. It was decided when we arranged our visit that we would celebrate Dallas and Isaiah's birthdays early so they could have a big party with all the family there together. We made cupcakes and individual cakes for the birthday boys, creamy fruit salad, hot dogs and all the works. I got to decorate the cakes and it was a lot of fun to do again, even though neither boy dug in and got messy (bummer!). There were lots of presents opened and I'm afraid I didn't get any good picture

s of that as both were a complete blur as they rushed to tear off paper and get inside those boxes :)

Suddenly, it was Sunday morning, and time to pack the car and head back to Tucson. The packing part went without a hitch, and we were all ready to go (Dallas getting sleepy from the Dramamine I'd given him so we wouldn't have a repeat of the trip out) said our goodbyes, and pulled out. One mile down the interstate and the car was shuddering, the wheel jerking in Josh's hands. So we turned around and presented ourselves to our surprised family. The front tire was misshapen and bald, so it was a, fortunately, simple matter of replacing the tire.

Once again on our way, it was very boring. Not a whole lot to look at after getting outside OKC city limits, and we got spattered by a bit of rain. When we got into Texas, however, we made a quick stop at a very interesting place: Groom, TX.

Dallas had a great time posing for pictures with these thought

-provoking statues, and told me again and again that it was Jesus, and that he "needed help". I admit to maybe a bit of dust in my eye at that point, and telling him that it was alright and Jesus knew Dallas wished he could help Him.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we made it home safely....to a house that was waaay to hot! The A/C coil had busted a hole and even though we've been home since 8am, it's only now cooling down at 7pm. It's been a long week, but we wouldn't trade it for anything, and seeing our family was worth every "I feel sick", kid vs. kid fight, and the sore rears we all had after so many hours in the car. Very glad to be home, and we can't wait for the next opportunity to visit again!

That's not what I want to hear at 10 o'clock...

"Mommy, I love you..."

Fully expecting that once he was in bed he would stay there (yes, I know, very foolish of me), I was surprised to hear my "little angel" awake. I thought to just send him back to bed, but when i glanced up I noticed a slightest tinge of pink on his face. My first thought was my makeup kit in the bathroom. Sure enough I proceeded down the hall and found this.

Got to the bathroom and discovered this...

and this...

and this.

Grrrrrr!

I had been pleased that the apartment was freshly cleaned as the RS presidency was visiting the next night. Best laid plans and all....

Last week:

We got in a bit of rain, a little wind, and some slightly damp laundry...

Dallas enjoyed the rain, and I visited with our upstairs neighbor whose children are near Dallas' age. This was facilitated by the fact that we were out of power and the interiors were too dark to do anything in. The power was off from 4pm-11pm, ugh, but Dallas had lots of fun playing with the other kids and was thoroughly soaked and very pleased about it. Unfortunately, there was still power at Josh's work, so he didn't get to stay home with us.

We are looking forward to having many more such encounters with Mother Nature, as the monsoons have only started and should continue for the next couple months (oh yay!), meanwhile the temperatures remain in the triple digits and we've been very grateful for our a/c, especially the fact that it hasn't quit on us as so many have this summer already.

May your weather be cooler and drier than ours:)

A Room with View

WARNING! WARNING! THIS POST CONTAINS A LOT OF PICTURES!
Oh Boy!! What a busy week! I'll start at last weekend....

We are in a two bedroom apartment. It's a little snug, but it's close to Josh's work and within our budget. Unfortunately, Josh needs workspace for his computer business, and I just couldn't give up my living room...again. So we built a new room. Kinda. Sorta. Maybe a little-alright, turned our bed into a loft and put his office underneath. In order to bring, well, order to our house, I had to clear stuff out, move furniture, give up NCIS temporarily, and eat peanut butter sandwiches for dinner because there was no time to make anything else.
On the bright side (more like the blinding rays of heavenly light) I have an organized kitchen, a tidy living room, a messy office (yeah, that didn't change much) and a bed that doesn't sqeak;).

This is our new living room. I am very pleased with it as it opens the room up and focuses a lot more on conversation and being able to watch Dallas play.

This is Dallas's room before I reorganized...

And after. I forget sometimes how quietly he can sit!

Ugh. My dining room. I didn't take pictures of the kitchen because it was too depressing...

After! This shelf cleared my counters, half-emptied my cupboards and let me get out all my gadgets!

Our room before, yikes!

After!

I'm going to sand the eges and top smooth on the posts and stain them. We use them as leverage to haul ourselves up and down the ladders.

The cords are part of having an office, and you can see the underside of the box spirng, but in between the slats there I've woven rope lights so the whole thing is lit evenly without having hot desk lamps down there.

This bed, as you may imagine, has become Dallas's new playground and he will spend hours going up and down our ladders, bouncing on the bed, putting his feet on my ceiling, and playing with the lamp on the wall. He also took his first fall yesterday while climbing down the ladder (didn't even have a rugburn, and immediately climbed back up)

Hmmm, I think I'm ready for a nap...maybe Dallas will take one with me...

Success at Last!

It's been a week, one week, and yet I have never been more pleaesed at the end of one. Backing up.....

The potty training has been going badly. Nothing we've done made a difference (treats, toys, reading, special trips to the "play area" at various fast food joints, time-outs, cold showers, even spankings!) until we took away his morning cartoons. Let me tell you, this kid loves his Disney Playhouse hours, there will be talk all day about OSO, Handy Manny, and, his favorite, Mickey Mouse. This worked for a couple days. Then he realized he could wait until after his shows to poop in his pants, his punishment would be set, and then he'd go in the toilet again right before bed bringing about the effect of his reward: being able to watch in the morning. We realized we were being played, and so we gave him a much bigger, better, exciting reward to work for. We told him that if he went in the toilet all the time we would take him to Mickey's clubhouse: Disneyland.

This whole week, there have been no accidents. He's still having trouble with cleaning up afterwards, but he is getting better. The difference this week has been huge! Not having to remind, remind, remind; not having to be the "bad guy" and punish, even though you hate doing it; not having to run the washer twice in order to get the smell out! And Dallas has been telling me the last two days theat it's time for him to go to Mickey's Clubhouse. We didn't think he would train up so fast, I guess we underestimated the power of Disney :)

Moving on!

This is the sight that met me upon returning to the kitchen. I'd just gone to let Josh now that dinner was almost ready, came around the corner and there was Dallas.....

That's not cheese. That's the shredded carrot that I was going to put on my salad. Not only was I able to get a picture, I even managed to get Josh out fast enough before Dallas made off with another two handfulls and decided it was time to go play. Honestly, if I had to catch him "in the act" snitching food.....I can definately live with this one!
Dallas got this for Christmas. It's a pretend shaving kit, and he loves it! Every time Josh shaves Dallas insists on going in with him with his own (not sharp) razor, and bubblegum-scented shaving cream. He's always very careful when "shaving" above his lip, and turning the "razor" around and dragging it forwards under his chin. Aww, they grow up so fast!

Hooray for STUFF!!!!!

I know it's not the "thing" to want stuff, but I think I'm in the clear because it was all mine to begin with!! All of it arrived Monday (Huge thanks to Mom and Dad M.! You're awesome!) and we finished unloading last night. Dallas gets really excited every time we open a new box, in particular the ones marked Christmas:) His favorite phrase while we were unloading the trailer was "good job putting it in the truck!" He's also had a lot of fun rediscovering all his toys, his dresser, his blankets and his stuffed animals--it's like Christmas came early! Josh is still sitting at his desk reacquainting himself with his computers, his games, his software, and those gosh-darned cords. I am wallowing in the wealth of appliances now occupying my kitchen counters: blender, mixer, popcorn popper, crock pot.....it's magical....

Here's an idea of the beautiful mess of our house

Obviously, there's a lot of work to be done but it's worth all the trouble just to have the convenience of it all back :)

The sweet, the good, and the disgusting...

My little sweetheart, taking an impromptu nap. I just could resist his cuteness. I just don't know how he managed to sleep that way...


An inspirational idea from Melinda (thank you!!). I made stuffed french toast...kind of. It's two slices of bread, both pieces covered in cream cheese and a dollop of strawberry preserves in the center. I used a pumpkin cookie cutter to seal the edges down (never mind it was a cute cutter), and cooked them up. I asked Josh to taste them before I took the picture, and I barely got to take it before he gobbled them up! I used the last of the cream cheese mixture to draw the pumpkin lines and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Very delicious!
What proper fall season would be complete without caramel apples? I admit to being a little disappointed because Dallas didn't want to help me unwrap them, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to keep him away. Dallas also didn't want one once I was finished. Bummer! But Josh and I enjoyed them, and I can make more!

In search of somewhere new (we're trying new places to eat since it's so easy to fall back on your favorite places without trying anything different) we went to a Mongolian BBQ. I haven't been in years, and I don't know about Josh. It was good. We all ate with chopsticks, although Dallas had to give that up because he wasn't actually getting anything:( Josh and I especially enjoyed the egg drop soup (anyone happen to have a recipe for that?), but when we were nearly done, Josh decided to go around again (all-you-can-eat special). That's where the next picture comes in. I had beef and Josh had chicken the first time. But then he decided he wanted the seafood. When he brought his bowl back we realized this did not mean just some shrimp, crab, or calamari. No these were actual baby squid. I don't know what that other thing was, but suffice it to say we suddenly had an urgent appointment elsewhere. Yuck!

At Last!

As of an hour ago, I once again have internet in the house. Despite not leaving comments, I have been able to check everyone's blog and am completely caught up. And on that note.....

Dallas. Oh what word that has become. It really says it all. It's goes from a name, to a description, to an explanation, an expletive, and finally a reason in two easy syllables. I still haven't found my camera cord, so I don't have pictures of it, but Dallas's birthday went off splendidly. I made food--potato salad, jello salad, chips, dip, fresh watermelon, and burgers and dogs (ok, so Josh did the grilling). Josh invited a friend from work and his wife and their two kids and we all had a blast. There wasn't a set thing, and I didn't do games or an outside party (way too hot!) but we all sat together and a great time while the kids tore Dallas's room apart (really, isn't that why I cleaned it in the first place?). I also made a dirt cake which was a total hit! Dallas got a bunch of clothes, remote control dump truck and track hoe, movies (bee movie, Shark Tale, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Monsters, Inc.), Big Boy pants, and a cute lunch box. For such a small party he made a pretty good haul:).
However, he has also been given some brand new restrictions. It was a good morning. The weather was cooling off, Josh was at work, there wasn't a lot to do in the house, and Dallas wasn't in a mood. I took the opportunity to clear out some of the junk that had accumulated on the kitchen counter. Dallas made an appearance every five minutes or so, but only to run his cars on the floor, and was pretty quiet while in his room (rare occurances for any of you who have boys). I should have known something was up. When he hadn't shown his face for about seven minutes and I couldn't hear him, I decided to peak in and see what he was up to. So I did. His room was empty. I knew where he'd gone, though, he'd left me a clue: the open window with the screen pushed out. Oh, yeah. I panicked, ran straight out the front door, calling him, frantic...and he was across the street playing with a little boy who obviously knew better than to do something like this. I know that because said little boy was playing with Dallas through the rails of his patio, instead of climbing out his window. My heart having resumed it's pounding, I retrieved my little scamp, and explained very carefully (while squeezing the breath out of him) why we don't do
things like that. The new restriction: he now has an alarm on his window, a really loud one.

Josh is going direct! He's been a contractor for Aerotek for the last six months, this means he gets paid every week and only gets taxed on half of it. But it also means that the paychecks are stingy. Very soon, he'll be going direct with Bombardier (bom-bar-dee-ay), and get better insurance, more pay, better hours, more pay, and possibly be moved to a day shift. There are only two shifts there: 6:30-7:00. The am and pm are interchangeable. He's actually just been moved to days, as of yesterday, but because he's contractor now that may change once he starts direct. A little confusing, but when you live it day in and out you get used to it. Bombardier is the third largest aircraft maker, the first and second are Boeing and Airbus respectively.

We are also all looking forward to a visit from Josh's Grandparents next week. They winter here in Arizona and they'll come through Tucson to see us. We'll be spending Christmas with them too, no details worked out yet, but we get them all to ourselves this year and we're really excited!

On a side note, 'stupid' is not a nice word, why is it the one word I can't get Dallas to stop saying?

This is the longest post I've written in months, I'll do better, I promise, and I am going to work on getting those pictures up pronto.

SUPER!! AWESOME!! HOORAY!!

We have a breakthrough!!
Today, just a few minutes ago, Dallas went to the bathroom and pooped...in the toilet...without being told!!! We are so excited! I almost missed it, too; I saw him go in, he's been going pee just fine for a while now, and then I heard that distinctive *plop*. I got Josh's attention and we did a little dance and we told Dallas he would get a treat, whatever he wanted. (Dallas chose to have five oreo cookies.)
He didn't stay on the potty long enough and he's been having to go back several times, but he is going back!
Have I mentioned we're excited?!

We Made It!

Completely uneventful, nothing exciting, and oh-so-relieved to be here...finally!
We are all thoroughly sick of the car, and tired from the time change, and sunburned from teaching Dallas to swim in the pool here. I'd forgotten the sun was so intense out here, hooray for aloe vera!
We're still looking around at apartments, buying the paper, and living at the hotel, but we've seen some great deals in just going to the store and back, and we're very hopeful. I've taken some pictures, but the camera cable is missing right now, so....
I've found a great park nearby that's for dogs and kids, with the zoo in the same park and rose gardens, I think I'll take Dallas down there later this week, after I find my sunscreen again. (it's just one little hotel room! How far can that gosh-darned bottle have gone?!)

10...9...8...

We are down to under twelve hours now! Having overtime to cut, and desperate for a nap, I left early today. Being the shameful mom that I am, I'm leaving Dallas in daycare until the very last minute to get as much sleep as possible (he'll forgive me...right?). After I pick up my Bug, we're going to make a "Welcome Home" poster to take to the airport, I even got bright blue glitter for Dallas to dump everywhere. I'll try to take a picture of it before we leave, just in case it doesn't make it home; then I just have one laod of laundry and vaccuming left and we are ready!!
Dallas is so excited, he told me all the way to daycare this morning that he's "Daddy's Bug!" not mommy's.
BTW, we've moved up our move date, it will be this weekend, so this might be my last post before we get things set up in Tucson. I'll probably have pictures of this weekend, though, because it's Grandma's and Daddy Ben's 50th anniversary party, and we're supposed to be taking some family photos.
Wish me luck! I can hardly wait...

If I be good...?

Okay, there we were, driving down the road, almost home, when I tell Dallas that there's a surprise waiting at home.
"Guess who's at home," I tell him, trying to hide a smile.
"Gramma and Grampa!" I knew he would get it the first time around, but before I could go on to tell him he was right, and how much fun it would be, he continued, "And daddy?"
I didn't know what to say for a moment, then I rallied a smile and told him "no", that daddy was at work.
"If I be good?" my dissappointed son asked. I ask you, what am I supposed to tell him? Daddy's been gone for a while now, and no matter how often they get to talk, or skype, Dallas will ask every few days if daddy's going to be home. He even once demanded that Josh get on a plane and come back; he handed the phone back to me, crying, when Josh told him it wasn't possible right then. I can explain til I'm blue in the face that he has to work; that he wants to see us, but can't just now; maybe later when it's time to move; maybe we can skype tonight so you can see him and say I love you; maybe, maybe, if, when....they're all lousy excuses, and my little boy sees through every one. All Dallas can see is that Daddy is far away and needs to come back to see him.
On the bright side of that, Josh is actually coming home next week! He'll only be here for four days, but I'll bet that won't make much difference to Dallas, who will be only too happy to stay home from Ms. Kim's and be with his daddy instead. That weekend also happens to be Ben and Faye's 50th anniversary party. (Josh's paternal grandparents.) I have the honor of making the cake for the event, rather, I'll be decorating it. I'm very excited about it, even though I've been doing this for over a year now, and I can't wait to get started! I can see it all in my head, how the roses will be placed, the beautiful photos arranged...but I won't go on about it, I'll just post pictures when I've finished!
Back to Josh, we've decided to set some time aside for a little anniversary celebration, (it's five years now!) as well as seeing a movie (Shrek Forever After 3D), and probably some swim time. I know that I'm very excited about the whole thing, and I've been helping Dallas mark the days off on the calendar, so he knows when Daddy will be here.
Right now, Dallas is outside playing on his slip'n'slide, but we had a few incidents this week, where I would check, or, I admit, be completely distracted, and he'd run off. Now, he isn't running far, just to Aunt Sarah's next door. But to get there he has to go through a corner of the back field, which hasn't been mown, and very likely has snakes everywhere. He also isn't asking first, or if he has I've told him no. Usually I have a very good reason, the problem is getting Dallas to understand. Because Sarah is pregnant (see her blog for updates) and her blood pressure is up, I haven't thought that she'd want the extra noise-maker haning around. I felt like such a horrible mom, losing my son, and having to go bring him back home, not one but several times. I've tried to impress upon him the importance of asking first, and that he's not to go anywhere unless I'm with him, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to find more things to involve him in over the coming summer to keep him from dashing off. Sarah and I hung out this last Sunday and Monday--going to church together, going to the store, driving all the way downtown for her doctor's appointment, and we had a lot of fun. (I also followed her home and checked out her adorable nursery. All covered in butterflies, pink and green, little checkered things, cute blankets, tons of darling clothes...just the most perfect little room imaginable!) Esxtensive research on my part has also gone into finding the cutest thing for little Kaydence's arrival. While I'm making headway, I do believe I'll have to go shopping in every store with little girls' clothes in order to find just the right item. They're all just so sweet, and little, and...and...and Sarah is just going to have to put up with my "little girl splurges" until I get one of my own!
Oh yeah, my kid, the little escape artist, maybe I'll pick out one of those cheapie inflateable pools to help keep him distracted for the next six days....not that I'm counting!

Congratulations (grudgingly)...

I don't like graduation. Well, it was ok when I was the one taking the walk, but now all it means is a blizzard's worth of cakes. I don't think we've had fewer than 30 cakes for each of the last three Saturdays. Maria and I have been up to our ears in orders, and over our heads with the needed backup. Our individual overtime beats that of the rest of the bakery combined. To say that I'm tired of cake is an understatement, and the smell of frosting makes me want to lose my breakfast.
However, before i go off and bore you all, I'll tell you that Dallas is his normal bouncy, loving self. In fact, just the other day, I had a friend with me in the car when I picked him up from daycare. When we passed the turnoff for her house he asked if she was coming to our house; I told him she was, and he immediately responded with "I like you, Mommy!". I don't think I could handle all the work stuff if I wasn't able to come home to that little smile.
About Josh, we're still missing him a whole lot. Dallas is always anxious to talk to him when it's time for Daddy to call, although I have noticed that he talks less and less, more interested in just hearing Josh say that he loves him, and misses him. This has been just as hard, and harder, than I thought it would be. I try to distract myself with packing and find myself minutes later having packed nothing, merely staring at the items in my hands, remembering everything that has to do with Josh that's connected to them. I walk back and forth at Wal-Mart, to and from my breaks, and catch a glimpse down an aisle of a man holding hands with a little boy, or carrying one on his shoulders, and my heart jumps a little, only to fall all the harder when I realize how silly it was of me to think it might have been Josh. Only talking to him helps relieve the ache. I'm so grateful for this day and age where I can do just that, even though we are so far apart, and our schedules are contrary to the other's, knowing I can pick up the phone and hear his voice keeps me from getting too melancholy.
Soon, very soon, graduation season will be over, and we'll be able to see Josh again, and the world will be right once more.
Soon.