Oh, the places I've been

I saw this the other day on The Beverly Buzz and decided to do it, too!

I've decided not to include states which I've only been in an airport! ;-) I have a lot more traveling to do! ;-)

visited 22 states (44%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

We made it!

DH got home yesterday! :-) His flight ended up delayed by about a total of an hour - not too bad, especially not when flying out of ORD (more commonly known as O'Hare). The kids and I picked him up at the airport. We got there as his plane was landing, and could see it taxiing to the gate. By the time we got settled in the waiting area just outside the security checkpoint, DH was coming down the hallway. I saw him and asked Abby who that was. She took off running "Daddy" - and Grant followed suit. Natalie had to be brought over to him - she was too distracted by the new surroundings to notice people! LOL When she first saw him, she hesitated a little. But once he spoke to her, she came running! It was so sweet! She clearly missed him much more than I'd realized. She was big-time clingy with him last night, and still some today. She's more animated and just doing better overall. It's amazing the difference. She hadn't acted all that different during his absence, so I really thought she was somewhat indifferent.

Me? I must've been running on adrenaline while he was gone - once he was home, I just got DEAD tired! I couldn't believe it! LOL I had to take a nap this afternoon, too. I have been just so very tired. Must be the adrenaline crash! He's super tired, too - falling asleep on the couch since about 7:30! LOL But, he worked almost constantly, so it's not unexpected.

Well, in my super-tired state, I'm feeling not too eloquent right now. So, I'm gonna jet - maybe go to bed early. Night, night (to quote Natalie)!

One day down ...

and 29 left to go. DH left this morning. Fortunately, his travel days are Day #1 and Day #30 of his deployment. I've spoken with him a few times today, and he made it to Austin no problem. So, all is well on that side. Tomorrow is when he starts working.

Today went pretty well, even with Abby having a day off school! :-) The morning was laid-back, with us doing not much of anything once DH left. we just hung out together and did whatever. After Grant's nap, we went to pickup my new battery for my laptop. (My previous battery had suddenly stopped charging - apparently Apple's got some sort of problem with the older batteries, b/c they sent me a new one free of charge!) It took me forever to find the damn place Apple shipped the battery to. Where I live, we have streets and avenues. The streets run north/south, and the avenues are east/west. I was thinking the Apple service shop was on 19th St. But, after driving around a bit, I figured there was no way that was possible. (Where I was driving was where the road ended by the river. It was pretty easy to tell I wasn't in the right place! LOL) Suddenly it hit me - 19th AVENUE, not street! DUH! Sure enough, they were right there - which also is closer to my house, of course! Blond moment? Perhaps - except that I'm not blond ... hmm.

After the Apple store, we (the kids and I) checked out Toys R Us. They were having a sale from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m. tonight, which also carries over into the morning tomorrow - but I don't know the hours. I have most of the kids' Christmas stuff bought AND most of Grant's b-day stuff! :-) Christmas shopping is almost done - I ordered Dh what he wanted (a new hard drive for his laptop) and purchased some stuff for my nieces and nephews last night. Now the other adults on our list are the only people left for whom we need to get something! :-)

The one downside to the new battery for the laptop is I have to calibrate it - which means I couldn't go to bed yet! :-( I forgot how long it takes and started it a couple of hours ago! DOH! LOL I should soon be able to continue the process - hopefully it'll complete most of it's stuff overnight.

I gotta get to bed. I'm too tired. So, I think I'll finish the calibration tomorrow morning. Wish me luck! ;-)

It's good to be home

The family and I had spent the weekend with family - hence my absence. It's so nice to be home now. Of course, it's always nice to be home. Home sweet home - yes, it's a cliche, but it's true! ;-)

We were visiting my husband's family, who live downstate from us. That means at least 5½ hours on the road. NOT much fun. Thank God for factory-installed DVD systems! ;-) The kids loved seeing their grandparents, and our oldest was sad to leave today. Poor thing. I know she misses her family. We don't really live close to family, except a cousin of my husband. We don't see her much, so it's not really like she's here. I think we see my family (who are 2½ hours away) more often.

I do this thing on my Vox blog called unconscious mutterings. It's a weekly thing. I wish I could say I did it weekly, but, well, I don't. I think I'm lucky if I remember to do it on a monthly basis. But, it's fun - word association. But, today's list had Chicago. That made me sad. That's where I was born and raised (not downtown, but in the 'burbs). My family (for the most part) is still there and I miss them all dearly. I ache to see them and be near them - and it's worse since my kids were born. I wish we lived closer - and I hate knowing that without an act of God, there is NO WAY we could afford to live there now. Here we own a house and I'm able to stay home with my kids. Unless God were to pull off some HUGE surprise, we'd never be able to do that anywhere near my family. :-( It makes me so sad. I miss them so much.