Isn't it Great?

Isn't it great when a mother can leave town for 5 days and come home to find everyone has survived?

Survived being home unsupervised with their siblings for 5 hours, 2 days in a row?

Survived getting on and off the bus without incident?

Survived Dad's cooking? (kidding--he actually is really good in the kitchen)

Survived...an earthquake?

I find it ironic that we move from UT, where there's that lovely Wasatch fault line that could potentially decimate the civilization out there, to an area literally nicknamed "Tornado Alley" and we feel an earthquake.

Just so you know, we live almost 2 hrs south of Oklahoma City, where the quake hit hardest. In fact, my family didn't feel it at all. My father in law did, only because he got up to use the bathroom about the same time it hit. If he'd been asleep, like my kids, he'd probably have slept right through it.

My son thinks he may have felt an aftershock early this morning. I'm not holding my breath as his evidence is a little shaky (terrible pun, I know), but if you hear about it you can say I told you first. :)

As much as I loved my time away, I'm glad to be home. I'm even more glad to not have any plans to go anywhere for at least the next 6 months. I've spent the last 2 days helping my in laws spoil the kids to pieces. Now I'm going to work on getting this house in order. We have a table and chairs and a microwave (yay!!), but I have no bookshelves to place my beloved books and only one little love seat. This house is completely devoid of dressers (and that is just weird) and the boys are still sleeping on air mattresses. They've been great about it, but I'm starting to feel like a bad parent.

All that being said, what am I still doing here? :)

Reconsidered

I had a whole post all set to go about my stubborn daughter and how she purposely threw a test she didn't want to take, but I decided you all really don't need to listen to me rant about someone I love so much. You get it--if I didn't love her I wouldn't care and get so bent out of shape. You're smart.

I really miss Bryan. Parents work best in teams. And this isn't just my opinion, I do have some facts to support it. Remember, I grew up in a single parent household. And, in different stages of my kids' development, Bryan has had jobs where he's gone large chunks of time. Most of that was driving trucks, but he has spent months at a time at different airports on assignment with TSA.

And each time I've noticed a distinct shift in my kids' behavior.

When they were little, they were simply more unruly. Less quick to obey, more willing to get into trouble. Stressed, I guess you'd say. And it's harder when we're broke and I don't have ways to distract them. I don't mean going to the movies every night, but with gas prices as they are I can't even justify going for a nice drive out to the lake.

As they've gotten older, and Bryan's been away less and less, their angst manifests itself in physical ways. Primarily, little arguments get blown WAY out of proportion and escalate into stupid fights. The boys are really bad about this right now. It's all the hormone fluctuations and the testosterone. Two Saturdays running, I've woken up to fighting. And, with the oldest, he will keep repeating himself until you acknowledge him--even if he has to be louder and angrier each time.

In short, I'm done with this stupid separation and I'm more than ready for his transfer to come through.

That's not to say life is perfect because Daddy's home. The kids still bicker and such, and chores get neglected, etc., but--and this is what I don't understand--the kids seem to respect me more when Bryan's around than when he's gone. I'm still me. I'm here the same as always. But I don't get the same level of recognition and respect when he's away. Weird, huh? I'm sure it has something to do with the little changes I experience having him away. I'm different, so they treat me different. Sometimes I feel like a psychiatric study in progress.

And I'm tired of being experimented on.