A long, less depressing post...

Summer just seems to go by faster and faster the older I get. This summer has been no exception. Much of the bustle was caused by the hair-brained idea Jamie and I crafted in May. We had been causally searching for a new place to live since our apartment required 1 year leases and we do not plan to be in Norfolk for a another whole year. Well, after searching and not really finding anything that would make moving worth it, we were over at my mom's one night and got the idea that maybe we could fix the upstairs apartment of her house and move in for the next 10 months, thus saving ourselves a little money and possibly improving the value of her home (she was trying to sell it, but there was little/no interest). Little did I know how much time and effort our "small project" would take! Luckily, we knew a really great handy man (aka-Jamie's dad) who helped us quite a bit by laying new carpet (the pre-exsisting red and green shag carpet had seen better days/decades....)

Handy man in action

Loving the new carpet!

Now I'm once again living under my mother's roof, which ups my coolness factor by at least 50! Actually, after our BYU years, we moved into my in-law's basement for a year, so moving into my mother's house is just bringing things round-circle. Is this called failure to launch!? I'm unsure....
While Jamie's parents were in town helping out with the re-model, we decided to hit up one of the local rodeos like real country folk do. I can't wait until Marlee turns 3 so I can strap her to the back of a sheep and turn her into a real motten-buster (jk)!

The day after Jamie's family left, we headed up to my mother's small hometown to visit with some relatives at the town festival. Marlee got to experience both bounce houses and lip-syncing nuns for the first time. She was luke-warm about the bounce house, but the nuns received some of her most enthusiastic cheers.

Jamie jetted off to Philadelphia for a couple days to take his physical examination boards while I packed up our old apartment. Talk about perfect timing! That lucky duck once again missed out on helping pack for a move! Five moves in five years of marriage, four of which I packed myself. Who needs Two Men and a Truck when you have awesome Amber armed with packing tape!? Jamie did a little site-seeing while in Philly and also fulfilled his life-long dream of witnessing the NBA draft in person. I was, however, extremely disappointed to hear he did not eat a cheese steak while in the City of Brotherly Love. Complete waste of a trip I tell ya!

Blurry picture....he must have been shaking with excitement!

The Italian Stallion and my Dreamy Dane

As we moved into our new place, my sister and her family flew in from Seattle to visit for a week. It was fun to visit with her and her cute family. Wish they lived closer!

After our visitors left the morning of the 4th, Jamie, Marlee and I headed to the 4th of July parade. It was pretty lame parade with mostly antique cars and rodeo queens. Marlee's face is telling of how exciting it was.

The weekend after the 4th reality began to set in; I was going to have to say goodbye to Jamie again. Luckily, his school required all the 4th year students (he's finally a 4th year!) to return to Des Moines for a week of testing. I sent him packing Sunday night and then Marlee and I drove over Tuesday to celebrate his birthday and spend a few more days with him before he left for Detroit.

The Fab Four

Jamie's siblings and parents drove a long way for a quick birthday dinner! So fun to see them!

He got some very useful gifts!

After a rough first week of single-parenthood (see last blog post), my mother-in-law must have sensed my desperation because she invited Marlee and I up to Estherville for a couple of days to play while she tended Marlee's cousin Addyson. Those two little girls sure had fun together!

While in Estherville we took my in-law's boat, The Iron Maiden, out for a cruise. About 20 minutes into the ride ominous clouds appeared, so we docked the boat and watched a beautiful thunderstorm from the car.

Perfect boating weather

Now I've got a couple days to settle down until we head out to Utah for 2 weeks for my brother-in-law's wedding festivities. T-minus 5 days til I see Jamie! Woot woot!

Hi, I'm Crazy, and you are....?

For the past week I feel like I've been suffering from a mild case of insanity. The extreme heat compounded with the fact that I'm once again a "single parent" of a toddler has been quite a challenge for me lately. Jamie got home from Michigan in the middle of June and after a few busy, passing-too-quickly weeks, he left again to rotate at a different hospital in Detroit and then Chicago. Life without him around just isn't quite right. Sigh, I miss him.

So back to my craziness.... Here are a few snippets from life lately. This post is a self-indulgent pity fest, so feel free to stop reading now if you want to maintain your rosy outlook on life. Have I mentioned it's hot outside? It's been in the upper 90s/low 100s every day for a while now. This means that Marlee and I have been cooped up inside for much too long as it's too hot to let her play outside for more than a few minutes. We still go on little daily outings, which are great distractions, but when we get home, Marlee turns the whine factor on high. The only things that stop the whining are a continual source of snacks, or constantly holding her, letting her bounce on me, etc... Those things aren't necessarily bad, but I'm anti-childhood obesity, my arms quickly grow tired, and my bladder can't handle the stress of continual bounces (due to previously birthing a child and all). I try songs, dancing, toys, and games, but their effects are fleeting; so needless to say, Marlee spends a great deal of her day whining and tugging on my pants (I have the snot marks all over my legs to prove it). Does this make me a bad mother!?

I consider myself a fairly patient person, so normally, I can handle whining. However, when I'm tired I turn into Mr. Hyde (Jamie can verify this fact). For some reason, Marlee has been waking up screaming multiple times during the night since we moved apartments 2 weeks ago. Most nights it's 2-3 times, but a couple nights ago it was SIX times! I don't know if it's night terrors, teething, or what!? The one thing I do know is I'm oh-so-tired during the day, and therefore a little less enduring. Also, due to my own error and failure to turn in my availability on time, I haven't worked at all this week. I generally look forward to working a few hours each week and the needed break it provides, so I'm definitely feeling its absence.

Now please don't get me wrong. I love being a mother, and I love, love, love my Marlee. In fact, I just went to go check on my sleeping beauty, and as I watched her rest, I actually missed her and wanted to pick her up so I could cuddle her sleepy body. It's just that sometimes parenthood is HARD. It's not always peonies and butterflies. A lot of times it's full of slobber, boggies, messes, clashing wills, and days that just never seem to end. However, I know that one day I'll miss my whiny toddler with her runny nose, jack-o-lantern smile, perfect little Buddha belly, and slobbery kisses. And if history continues to repeat itself, those days of "missing" will be here sooner than I think.

That belly was MADE for raspberries!