I found an old box of Owen’s saved clothes and this cammie jumper was in there. As soon as Owen saw it he said “Hey! That’s just like daddy!”
Unfortunately, I can’t find a picture of Owen in it for comparison! š
Category Archives: Tom
What’s in the box?
If you know me at all, you know we order a lot of stuff from Amazon (and online in general, really—I mean, with two kids, it’s really the convenience factor). And with the quantity we order PLUS my sketchy swiss-cheesed mommy-brain memory, I often have NO idea what’s in each box when it arrives. Tom and I sometimes play a game: Can he open the box before I remember what’s in it? š (If you’re curious, I think it’s about 60/40 to him.)
Well, in my internet travels, I recently saw a really delicious recipe that I saved to Evernote post haste (Chocolate Chip Cookie Peanut Butter Sāmores Bars by Cookies & Cups if you’re interested ) but what got me was the beginning text…which sounds just about like our household:
A few weeks ago I opened up my front door to a package.
Now I am no stranger to the package on the front door.
I consider myself a bit of an online shopping expert.But sometimes when you are such an expert internet shopper you forget about the things you buyā¦
That is until the box ends up on the front step.
ORRR the husband intercepts said box, which is basically the worst day of my life.
In these cases he generally stands over me while I open the box, all while I over-explain about how it was āon saleā, a ātotal bargainā or (my favorite) āfor the childrenā.
Anyway, when you open the box itās like a surprise! What did I order? I canāt even remember!
Itās basically like Christmas.
I mean, you all know how much I LOVE CHRISTMAS… š
But now, all I can think about is those yummy-looking S’more bars. Mmmmmm. I wonder how they’d travel to Afghanistan?!?
He made it!
Our first brief Skype:
He popped up in gmail instant messaging asking where I was. I asked where HE was! He meant he was trying to connect on Skype but I wasn’t logged on. My laptop lost its webcam somehow so I can only use the iPad, iPhone, or desktop computer…so I logged on with my phone!
It was just about two minutes—long enough to say he got there with no issues and he loves us! The connection wasn’t great—there was a big lag and I could still only make out about half of what he said. But it’s a start!
I love technology. š
He’s in the air!
He called from the airport around 10 and then texted around 11:45 to let me know they were on the plane. So now it’s just a waiting game to see when he gets time and/or service to let me know what’s going on.
The bus is leaving.
Tom just texted that they are heading out.
When I showed Owen the picture and asked him to find daddy—he giggled like a crazy person when he saw him! š
Goodbyes
Tom’s unit wasn’t scheduled to depart until 6:30-7, but we went about 4:30 because the waiting was just THE WORST. I knew we wouldn’t stay the entire time (to actually see them off) because I knew I couldn’t keep from breaking down that long. And it was about eleventy billion degrees and humid and the kids needed to eat dinner. Tom was perfectly okay with an early goodbye.
This is what the staging area looked like (forgive the bad pictures—I only had my phone)—piles and piles of bags and gear, hundreds of people, and lots of trucks.
Of course, now that Katie can walk, she really did NOT want to be held…so we just let her roam and she had a blast. She had a few tumbles because the ground was fairly uneven—but she didn’t let that stop her!
More than a few people commented on how cute she was, how cute her dress was, and how good she was at walking.
That’s Tom taking her picture.
Then as I was trying to get a picture of Tom and Katie, one of Tom’s buddies stepped in to take a family picture. Amazingly, he took two and one was halfway good!
Hugging daddy before getting in the car. I know he understands that Tom is leaving, but I really thought he’d be a bit more emotional—but he seemed kind of lackadaisical about it.
Then Tom and I hugged and kissed goodbye, he walked off, and I got in the car…and Owen started crying. š I got out to give him some tissue and a kiss, and of course seeing him break down made it worse for me…
THANKFULLY it didn’t last too long—we passed by a playground on the way off base and he said he wanted to go! Well, it was too late for that one (I wanted to be closer to home if either of them got tantrum-y) so I took a different route home so we could stop at a playground…
Dressed up to see daddy off
The cute dress was a gift from (I think) Grannie Lin. I had to get her in it before she outgrew it (it’s size 12m). We just don’t often have the opportunity to wear dresses!
It’s okay, mom.
So Tom just drove off. He has to be in early to drop off all his bags and pick up his weapon, etc. (We go in at 6 to see him off.)
Of course, I’m an emotional wreck today, so cried after he left.
Owen: Mama, what’s wrong?
Me: I miss daddy.
Owen: [Singing, from Daniel Tiger] Grooo-oooown-ups come back!
Me: You’re right. Can I have a hug?
We hug. I’m still crying.
Owen: It’s okay mom.
/bawl
Owen’s Begging Face
He had finished his bowl of ice cream and Tom was still eating his (and sharing it with Katie)…and Owen wanted some more. Tom said no and Owen gave him this face.
Yeah. Owen got another scoop of Tom’s ice cream. š
Skyping…when all hell broke loose.
Subtitled: No our kids aren’t drunk.
It started off innocently enough with Katie crawling up to see what Tom was doing.
Then she has to sidle up next to him.
Waiting for Owen’s potty break:
I definitely see Uncle Rob in these next two pics (she’s definitely a Hudson):
And just like that, all the fun ended when Katie spit up on me. Katie and Owen had apparently just played and laughed so hard for so long that Katie spit up milk chunks all over me. And not just your run-of-the-mill spit up…but horrid smelling curdled nastiness that required a quick shower to get the stench off my skin.
But overall…a good time!
Last family dinner
What else but sushi…since it’s not really something Tom can get over there!
And Katie tried the pickled ginger! And ate a few pieces!
Last family photos
I had grand plans of hiring a photographer to take a real family portrait before Tom left…but that obviously never happened. So I had to make do with a last-minute haphazard couch photo shoot before we went out for dinner.
How Katie likes sitting with Tom.
*This post also introduces a new acronym for photo tagging purposes: JTOK (Jen Tom Owen Katie). I’ll be going back and tagging old family photos. š
Daddy & Daughter
She loves to crawl up and plop down/squeeze in right next to you no matter where you’re sitting or how much room there actually is.
See what happens when you try to nap?
Pool time with daddy
Owen loves his new fart gun.
Owen loves his new fart gun! It’s both a memento of Owen’s first movie (Despicable Me 2) and a going-away present from daddy! Get it here: Despicable Me 2 Fart Blaster: A Despicable Minion Gadget
Helping daddy pack
This is what pre-packing looks like.
This is the part I don’t like seeing because it means it’s really happening…and happening soon. š
Coffee Clutch
So, every weekend, Tom and Owen have coffee clutch in the morning before Katie and I get up. They hang out, Tom drinks his coffee, Owen drinks his juice and has a snack, and they watch one of Owen’s TV shows… Owen LOVES it. (Well, Tom loves it, too…)
So tonight Tom told Owen that they only had two more coffee clutches before he leaves (Sunday and Thursday, the day he leaves) but that mommy would do coffee clutch with him once in awhile. Owen says “No! Mama doesn’t drink coffee. It will be water clutch!”
I love that boy.
Katie is a walking fool!
Today she just started walking across rooms like it’s cool. She still drops to crawl a lot, but she can definitely walk if she thinks about it. And it’s terribly cute. š
Of course, I didn’t have my phone on me all the times she did it…so I’ll definitely get a video tomorrow!
Here’s one attempted video where she looked like she might walk…but didn’t. š
Daddy nomming Katie
She’s getting better!
Happy girl!
Movie #2
Today we took Owen to see Turbo
Thankfully he woke up easily and still wanted to go to the movie! It was a regular movie (i.e. not sensory-friendly) and we were concerned how he’d handle it…but he did just fine. He didn’t even want his noise-canceling headphones!
He did get a little fidgety towards the end (“Is it time to go yet?”) but overall he was great.
My only issue was the $8 matinee ticket prices. EIGHT DOLLARS! FOR A MATINEE! /get off my lawn
But I’ll definitely take him to a movie or two while Tom is gone.
Daddy came home early!
Walking Lesson
Tom decided to have a Katie walking lesson.
So you see she CAN walk…she just doesn’t really care to unless enticed.
Family time watching Mythbusters
Costco kids
I hate when shit gets real.
Tom told me his finalized departure date tonight…right before he fell asleep…and it’s just REALLY hitting home now and it’s all I can do to not have my ugly cry right now. In bed. With his arm around me. š
We have 12 days. August 8.
I hate when shit gets real.
Owen’s first movie!
The local autism society hosts “sensory friendly” movies at our theater—lowered volume, not completely dark, no ads or previews, you can get up and walk around, and you can bring your own snacks—which we thought would be a great first experience just in case…
As we were wandering around showing him the lobby, he immediately noticed the Planes sign and was very excited. š
Today’s showing was Despicable Me 2—and he was excited because he likes the minions.
And…he loved the movie and did REALLY well. He didn’t talk that much and only got up once. He did ask for popcorn after his crackers were gone…so Tom bought the cheapest $7 bag…and Owen ate about six pieces. Which means we got to eat it (though I’m not complaining—it was delicious).
He did SUCH a good job that we stopped to get ice cream on the way home.
And since he did such a great job, we’ll try to take him to one more regular movie before Tom leaves…
So, overall…the sensory-friendly movie experience was…interesting. For the most part it was okay but there were more than a few very young (read: too young) kids there who were running around. Now, this showing was meant for allowing that…which I understand. But really, if on a basic level your child is too young to sit still for even 15 minutes of a movie—and you’re constantly chasing them or herding them—I don’t think they should be there–even if it’s a more friendly version. There were also lots of crying babies/kids and noisy older kids…which I was okay with the older kids (this was an autism event after all) but the babies? Still no excuse…but I know some were there because the parents didn’t want to get a sitter. (The people next to us brought SIX kids—three of which were too young IMO.)
So while it was okay and Owen enjoyed it, I’m hoping he’ll do okay at a “real” movie…so we can hopefully avoid some of the other shenanigans.
Time with daddy
