A letter

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Dear She-Coach of the Little League Atlanta Braves,

First of all, let me commend you for your genuine interest in your son's baseball team. It is great to see any parent putting their time and energy into - not only their kids - but other people's kids as well.

And whilst I am congratulating you on your fantastic example for the rest of us, let me remind you that this is in fact LITTLE LEAGUE, and not the frickin' World Series. It is okay if your players strike out. It is okay if they miss the ball now and then. These minor mishaps will not send them on a downward spiral that ends in homelessness and alcoholism. It is just a game, and they are children, after all. I am sure that screaming at them will not bring good results (unless the results you want are tears and stressed out nine-year-olds).

In regards to your bitterness towards our coach - he was randomly assigned the Cubs team name by the league (which you wanted). He decided to keep the Cubs name, in spite of your temper-tantrum. Please, in the name of all holy baseball saints, stop throwing fits when you play our team. We are not cheaters; we do not strive to con umpires into narrow strike zones. We do not illegally seek to end games early because we are winning (unlike someone YOU might know). We are simply trying to teach our kids about being good sports, playing a fair game, and having a good time.

If you can do these few things for me, I promise to stop being so happy inside when our team KNOCKS THE SOCKS OFF YOURS.

Thanks, and much love,

Stie

The sun'll come out tomorrow

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And so it has. I woke up today feeling refreshed, energized, patient, calm, and back to my old self. I'm a little ashamed for whining and carrying on in yesterday's post - but what is this little blog for, if not to put down my true feelings? I'd probably be so much more boring if I was happy all the time, right? Right.

Now to report on my successful weekend: We picked mahogany for the wood floors, and it will be just stunning. We went with a very slight grain, so the floors will have a sleek, smooth look. The entire first floor will be hardwood, except the laundry room and powder room (which will be tile). And we decided to do a carpet inlay in the dining room and family room. I can't even stand it, I'm so excited.

For the counter tops, we chose a granite that is called "Caraway Gold," but has small flecks of varying shades of black, chocolate brown and light tan. It's absolutely beautiful. We didn't quite get to the paint colors, but I'll do that from here. Oh, and we found some unbelievable deals on furniture and bought a sectional for the basement; plus, a leather couch, chair, and love seat for the family room on the main floor. We will need a ton more furniture, but will wait to get the rest once we've moved in. This at least gives Josh someplace comfortable to sit as he watches me unpack the 9,678 boxes (just kidding, he wishes).

We went to church and got to meet a lot of the people in our congregation. Everyone was extremely friendly, and went out of their way to make us feel welcome. There are tons of kids in the primary, so I feel good knowing my kids will be able to have friends right away.

Everything about this move REALLY is falling into place. I feel extremely blessed to have this opportunity. These next two months are going to fly by. We will be together before we know it. I can't wait.

[And I'll try to avoid the schizophrenic/manic reactions in the future (or at least not blog about them for all the world to see). I really AM normal, I promise. Just ask all these voices I hear in my head, they'll tell you.]

Not today

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I am feeling a bit down today. I just got home from a fantastic weekend with my adorable husband. Nothing like a kid-free weekend to remind you why you fell in love with him in the first place. I don't think I have laughed so much (at so little) for a long time. We stayed up late, we slept in, we ate a whole pan of brownies, we shopped, and we were just together.

But with the end of the glorious weekend comes the let-down of leaving him, and the weight of the next two months looming over my shoulders. I don't know why, but today all of this has hit me. The move, the separation, the travel back and forth, the new start, the new house, the new friends, the lonely week where you have no friends, all the work, and all the things that need to be done. And I can't help but wish it was over. I just want to fast forward through the next two months and be done already. I want our family to be together. I want us to be HOME. I have a new found respect for my friend, Jackie, who sent her husband off to Iraq for over a year. I don't know HOW she did it. (And I recognize that I have very little room to complain.)

But, like I always do, I will pick myself up by the bootstraps and move forward. I will try my best to be patient with my kids when I have no one to take them off my hands and give me a break. I will not think about how lonely it is every night. I will not cry about things I cannot change. I will not grumble when I am sitting at baseball games all alone. I will not waste our last few months in this perfect paradise. I will be positive. I will work efficiently and get us organized to move. I will make it easy for my husband to be alone as well. I will.

Just maybe not today.

I'm in heaven...

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Got here safe and sound in St. Louis last night. Spent a lovely kid-free evening with my husband who I haven't seen in over a week, stayed up late watching me some Letterman, and slept until almost ten a.m. (in my defense, it was eight body-time).

On the schedule today? Some furniture shopping and browsing of granite counter tops.

Rough day, huh?

(The mother in me feels a little bit guilty knowing that my in-laws are hard at work tending my kids while I'm here lounging it up.)

Have a great day, everyone. Most of all Oma and Opa...hope the kids are being good.

A matching set

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All I have to say is that we survived Friday (barely). Saturday was declared a Pajama Day, and I spent most of it trying to recover in bed. Sunday, we woke up and both Chase and Hannah were running fevers and having ear pain. Immediately ruled out church and made a doctor's appointment.

Diagnosis? Matching ear infections.

Present state of mind: SERENITY NOW (insanity later).

Trying not to dwell on it, but we are really missing Josh around here. He left early Saturday morning for St. Louis, and starts the new job today. I just want to fast-forward through until June and be done already. I know we'll get used to it, but the first few days are always the worst.

There. Done whining. Looking forward to a better week (can't be worse than last week, right?). Right.

P.S. Happy birthday, Mom! Thinking of you on this beautiful spring morning and wishing you a very happy day.