06 August 2011

My husband left me...

For real.

see him?
 waving 'good-bye' to the wife and minivan full of children all screaming at and pinching and squishing and annoying each other and basically not paying attention to the fact that daddy is leaving... 
and do you see how he is smiling

Well, it is only temporary. In theory, anyway.

He went to France. I know... again, right? Yep... again. This time without us.

It is the trade-off for me getting to go run in the Hood to Coast Relay at the end of the month as a part of the awesome Nuun Platuun.

Sounds fair, right?

Eleven days on the west coast of France for him... on the beach with no phone or internet access... taking photographs with a fabulous artist and teacher... relaxation and creativity will abound... in exchange for four days in Oregon for me...40 hours in a van with 6 other people... sleeping sitting up or on the ground or not at all... eating out of a cooler or a paper bag... running a lot... winding up on the beach...

Hey!

We both get to go to the beach! Well, that makes it Even Steven!

Go ahead... you can say it....

I am the best wife ever.

Ehhhhh-VERRRRRRR.

Keeping the kids from driving me crazy... oh, wait... let me take responsibility for my feelings...

My Sanity Protection Program includes:
  • older three kids in camp from 9-4 every weekday. YES! *fist-pull from the sky*
  • two-year old in preschool three days from 9:30-3. Heck YEAH! *both arms thrust upward like I scored a fricken touchdown*
  • physical therapy, massage, and acupuncture on those three two-year-old-less days
  • working out while kids are out of the house and/or in bed at night
  • going to bed early (this is the one that will be tricky for me :P)
  • bribery
I think this plan may work. Nonetheless, it looks like I picked a tough week to kick crack.

Heading to the zoo this morning seemed like a good alternative to hard drugs and booze.

They didn't bicker the whole time...


But the joyful picture at the frog area was marred by this guy getting in the way...
yo, dude... I may just be shooting with a craptastic phone camera, but these are still my family's moments to record and cherish... look before you step in front of someone looking like they might be taking a picture.


Some moments were downright sweet...
Baby X and Miss C always seem to get along.

Big G is becoming a more engaged and kind big brother.

In some ways, his maturity blows me away.
Here he has just made the following painful observation,
"Gosh, there are so many ignorant people here!"
which was based primarily on the fact that the people clustering around the gibbon enclosure kept referring to the ape as a monkey...
and not so much on their general behaviors and conversation...
but still...

We went with a dear friend and her little girl who adores Baby X and is roughly the same age as Miss C.
She thoroughly enjoyed some surrogate big sibling time!

For awhile, our little friend had a blast playing this funny leg-kicking game with Big G and Baby X...
This prompted another very mature observation from Big G:
"Boy, she sure is a handful! I don't know how on earth her mom copes!"

I eagerly look forward to the day when these new, mature observations lead to a new, mature way of treating his younger siblings and helping out around the house :P

I just may survive this brief stint as a single mom.

Now if I could only figure out how to get Q-Man to stop screaming at me about his dessert... without resorting to duct tape.

22 comments:

  1. All I can say is you are very brave! :-)

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  2. In that picture of Big G his facial expression is one of someone who just invented the greatest email encryption algorithm of all time (in his head) but simultaneously realized that he might also have to litigate with Microsoft over some previous patent issues. Bill's been pissing him off for years and Microsoft is so over, anyway.

    Annoyed more than worried, but Apes, Gorillas, whatever. Get me my lawyer and I want the Indian programmers on line in 20 mins.

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  3. You're so funny and your kids ate awesome! Good luck this week... I'd keep the duct tape handy. :)

    I'm actually looking forward to HTC as my get away. 36 hours without my kids?! Yes please... I'll probably get more sleep than if I was at home. :P

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  4. I would like to offer you hope as your children get older...but I have two teenagers and I still want to pull my hair out!!!! Your race sounds AWESOME!!! I live in Oregon, maybe someday I too can be part of that race. I'm sure you'll do great, I'll look forward to reading about your results.

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  5. Well, sweetie, don't forget daddy brings home the big bucks ... so you guys can go to the zoo! :)

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  6. Silly rabbit, going to the zoo REQUIRES booze and hard drugs. Ooops, or is it just me?

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  7. Nice! But as the oldest of 4 kids, let me tell you... it doesn't ever end. It just comes in spurts at holidays and get-togethers, after they've moved out. So it DOES get better. Just not so much at, say Christmas. Or Thanksgiving...

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  8. Booze and hard drugs. I swear...lol...you mums kill me and scare me at the same time. LMAO. Lovely photos except the one with random dude in the middle. Visiting from Sunday Funday!

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  9. You truly are the best wife ever. I'm green with envy and I'm not even married to the man!

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  10. This post cracked me up...with the fist pumps and kicking your 'crack habit' and all ;)
    Hope you survive your 11 days without pulling your hair out :)

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  11. Lovely :).

    I might get "lost" on my way home and end up perched on a beach somewhere for an extra week. I'm just saying.

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  12. This made me laugh so hard! I've had MANY chunks of time sans Hubs whil he was away with the military... and occupying short people for days on end is tough business!
    The best line ever? "I picked a bad week to quit crack!" I snorted my coffee!
    You ARE the best wife EVVVVERRRRRRRRRRRR!

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  13. Being a non runner, I really don't' see the equity. But thanks for sharing the beautiful shots (and the sarcasm when the guy got in the way) and for the laugh.

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  14. The bickering photo is hilarious. But only cause I'm not there. I hope you have a peaceful time!

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  15. France? Like where London is? Wow.

    I've been called an ape and I've been called a monkey. Don't bother me none.

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  16. Your hubs owes you big time!! Patrick makes me laugh.

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  17. Well you are all kinds of awesome! I would have demanded to go to France together :) Great pictures! (except for random dude spoiling one)

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  18. ...and now after clicking on that fellows wiki link i have all kinds of questions

    your life is so interesting

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  19. ok your list must be revised
    in extreme situation like this
    bribery must come in #1.
    without any shame.

    and yes for sure Wife of the year and me close second since I have been in single parent mode since June.

    Cheers to you and me!

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  20. Great pictures! You're totally brave. I die when my husband is gone for four days. Your husband? Looks a little too happy. haha

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  21. Hope you are surviving. :)
    I'm sorry Elton John ruined your awesome frog picture.

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