One of those days

Today sucked. Here's why...

1) Greasy hair- I woke up and took a shower but didn't wash my hair because I have a brand new bottle of dry shampoo. Well the new bottle doesn't work. It's clogged and doesn't spray. It was too late to get back in the shower, then wash and dry my hair.

2) Bad picture- I got to orientation for my new job feeling cranky because of my bad hair day and lack of breakfast. What do they have us do? Take a picture for our id badges. Great, I'm just so glad this terrible day was documented with a picture I will have to wear around my neck for everyone to see.

3) Rowdy kids- I don't know if the kids could tell that we were a little off today or they were just funkified by the snow. Whatever it was, they were OOC. Three kids hit their heads today. Head injuries of any kind require a call home. Three kids lost their recess privileges. And at the end of the day at pickup we lost a kid. We have to visually see their parents, but a dad who had never picked his daughter up before took her home without letting us know and it sent us into a panic.

4) Miscommunication- A family that I babysit for asked me to watch their kids overnight tonight while their mom was in the hospital having surgery. I was supposed to pick the kids up from school right after I got off of work and then stay at their house until I took them to school tomorrow morning. I wasn't looking forward to being away from my house and my hubs all night long. On my way to pick the kids up I called their dad to see if I should pick up booster seats for them before I got them from school. He was confused. His wife's surgery is tomorrow. She told me the wrong day.

5) Gas light- My car let me know I was out of gas while I was in the middle of nowhere.

6) Flashing Lights- I called Mike to let him know I was actually going to be coming home and then I noticed something flashing. I looked in my rear-view mirror. I looked down at my speedometer. 63 in a 50. Oh, my registration is expired? Just the cherry on top! Oh and my address had to be changed within 30 days of moving? That would have been good to know. No wonder my registration never came in the mail! Now I owe "the man" $213. There goes my first week of pay.

Cried the whole way home.

Two beers, a bowl of Annie's organic shells & cheese, and a few sweet potato fries later, I'm feeling a little better.

Tonight's gonna be an early night. It was just one of those days.

Update

I start my new job tomorrow and I'm surprisingly calm about it. 15 kindergartners and two teachers? Bring it on! I can totally handle it. Overcoming my social-awkwardness and making a good impression on my coworkers? That's a little more of a struggle. It will be great, though. I love the girls I have met so far. I love the idea of being forced to get out of the house for four hours a day. And, I love the idea of paying off some of the credit card debt that being an unemployed homeowner going through college has created.

I'm also getting really excited to see the pictures we had taken two weeks ago. I'm hoping we will get to see them soon. We had a photo shoot with Justin Hackworth, and lets be honest, he is just amazing so I know we will have some wonderful pictures to record this part of our lives.

And since I promised the menu for my Halloween Party here it is:
Stuffed Mushrooms

Pesto and Swiss Pastry Pinwheels
Jalapeno Popper Crostini
Caramelized Onion Dip
Caprese Salad
Mutt Mix
Cookies
...and to drink we had Purple People Eaters and Pumpkin Martinis
The Jalapeno Popper Crostini was amazing and easy so just let me know if you would like the recipe, or any of the others.

This weekend we also hung the ever-fabulous headboard. I still haven't taken any pictures, but get excited. It's lovely. This is the tablecloth we used to cover it. I have a little obsession with using target tablecloths in lieu of fabric because they are thick, come in super cute patterns, and are much cheaper than upholstery fabric.

Deployment?

The other day Mike sent me a message asking me if I would mind if he adds his name to a voluntary deployment list. He assured me that in his current position there is little to no chance of being deployed and that even if it did happen it would likely only be 90 days, and in a safe place.

I asked him if we could please have the conversation face to face when he gets home. He agreed. Well, we both forgot about the conversation and then I later found out that he went ahead and added himself to the list without discussing it with me any further.

I'm not sure how to feel about this. I totally understand that there are many brave people deployed throughout the world right now who are in much worse conditions. 90 days seems like nothing when compared to the year deployment that Mike's cousin is serving in Afghanistan right now. And fr all I know he could be deployed to Iowa or Italy. It could really be anywhere.

But 90 days!? That's a long time. I don't want him to be gone for that long. There are two huge reasons why. Number 1, I am starting to get the baby itch. Dealing with a pregnancy or lack thereof and then getting the news that he is leaving would not be fun. Number 2, I just got a new job so in the case that it was a place I could go with him, I would have to stay here anyway.

I know a family who had to go through most of her pregnancy and the birth of her son without her husband because he was in the desert. My heart broke for her. I don't mean to sound ungrateful or spoiled. I know I could do it if I have to, I just don't really want to.

Mike's family always says that it takes a certain kind of woman to be a military wife. I don't really agree. I think it's about choices. Some women choose to leave their husbands while they are deployed. Some women choose to blame their husbands. Some women choose not to deal with all of the hardship that comes with the territory of being the wife a military man.

I want to be the woman who would choose to make it work, I'm just not sure I want to do it if we don't have to.

Or maybe I'm just mad that he didn't talk to me about it first,

Life isn't a fairy tale....but it still rocks

I have a great husband.

I have avoided these types of posts before because no one wants to hear about the happily ever after, but lately I have been thinking about how lucky I really am. I'm not going to kill you all with our sappy-sweet love story. I'm just going to be real.

The other night my aunt and cousin were over for a little birthday dinner and later my cousin told me that they talked about how great Mike is the whole way home. That really made me smile on the inside.

We aren't that sappy sweet kind of couple where everything is perfect. In fact, nothing is perfect at all. Sometimes I whine. Sometimes I yell. Sometimes he yells back. Sometimes we have communication issues. Sometimes I feel like my needs aren't being met. Sometimes I don't meet his needs. We argue all the time and drive each other crazy. But...

#1: He really truly cares about me. He loves me and wants what is best for me. When I cry his heart aches. When I'm happy he is happy. He really knows me exactly as I am. I can be myself and I am myself when he is around. I don't feel like I have to put on any airs. In fact, I think he is the person who I am the most comfortable with in the whole world.

#2: He is the most committed and honest man in the whole world. He isn't giving up. He's not walking away. He's not tricking me or being sneaky or untruthful. It's not in his nature. I never have to worry about that. If he ever did anything wrong when I wasn't around he would feel so guilty he would tell me. And, I would even have to be angry because he would punish himself more than I could ever punish him. He wants to provide for me and make me happy. He is a real man.

Sometimes I think there are things I would change about him. Maybe I would get rid of his temper, or make him more outgoing, or a few inches taller, or give him a face like Ricky Martin or abs like The Situation. But, I wouldn't trade any of the amazing things about him for any of those things. Not in a million years. (And let's be honest I'm sure if he could snap his fingers and give me Giselle's legs he would)

My point is, we aren't perfect. Not even a little bit. Anyone that knows us has probably seen us fight and it's not very pretty. He has even punched walls and slammed doors in my face and I have probably called him names that are even more awful, but we still dig each other. I am pretty damn lucky to have a guy like him.

If I compare what we have to the movies it will always fall short. Life isn't a fairy tale. But when I look around at everything going on around me I am so grateful. I have the best man. Two imperfect people are going to make an imperfect relationship. But we are both pretty freakin awesome for each other.


(pssst...that job that I interviewed for the other day? well I got it!!)