Crazy times

So I had intended to update this blog every week because I thought I would have down time in the evenings to do so.

HAH! Nothing could be further from the truth. Since Javier has left, I have hardly had a moment to do anything except all the work to keep this ship afloat.

With Javier gone, our daily life has changed dramatically. The boys miss their Papi and I miss my hubby and best friend. Everyday drags and feels like the day before it. We used to look forward to the weekends, but not anymore. For the most part, we maintain our regular routines, and the boys pass their time with games and rough housing and driving me crazy.

As for what has been going on with us. Oiy. A week after Javier left, the boys started getting sick. Jacob was the first with a fever and sneezing and runny nose. Two days later, it was Joaquin. Two days after that, Sebi became sick. Sebi spiked a small fever and after he was on the mend, his fever came back, so I took him to the doctor. He had his first ear infection, which meant 10 days of giving a 7 month old baby antibiotics twice a day. And that's when life was just crazy around here. 3 sick kids. Thank goodness I did not get sick. I suppose some survival mechanism within me must have kicked into high gear and knew that I couldn't afford to get sick without my other half to help out.

After that mess, I began sleep training Sebi. It's been rough and hard, and sadly, it's still going. We have had many setbacks due to various reasons.

My father in law Sammy came out to visit me at a little past the month mark of Javier being gone. And OH MY, did he ever get here in the nick of time. 4 days prior to his arrival, I took the boys to the park for a playdate. They had a great time, until Jacob fell off a park bench and broke his right arm. I'll spare the details, but I had a gut feeling when I picked him up that he was hurt badly. After 15 minutes of him crying and after I performed range of motion tests on him, I decided to take him to the doctor for xrays. The xrays confirmed a broken right humorous. The next day, I took him to see an orthopedist and found out he would need surgery because he needed a pin to set the bone correctly. My heart sank. I notified Javier via email and texting and he was also very alarmed and sad that our little Jacob would need surgery.

So Sammy arrived and he was a sight for sore eyes. I was so happy to not have to go through the surgery and taking care of all the kids alone. Two days after he arrived, I took Jacob to get the first surgery of his little life.

He actually took it like a trooper. When he awoke from anesthesia, he was crying a bit, but became calm when I was able to hold him and feed him ice chips. A fellow Marine wife from Javier's unit accompanied me so that I could ride in the back seat with Jacob so he wouldn't be alone. I'm so grateful to her. She had to drive an hour and a half to get to my house and the surgery took place an hour farther from my house. She had to wake up at 330am just to make it to my house on time. Meanwhile, Sammy was at home taking care of Joaquin and Sebi. Since he had only been here for one full day, my best friend, Jamie came over after getting her kids off to their first day of school, to help out with the boys until I came back with Jacob. I am so grateful to her for driving all the way to my house. I'm sure it was a relief to my father in law to have someone here familiar with the boys' routine, and it was a relief to me that I didn't need to worry about my boys at home while I was taking care of Jacob. Since the surgery, Jacob has done well. He didn't complain much of pain except when he fell on his cast. It has been a challenge for him learning to use his left hand to do things that he normally would use his right hand for. He still struggles with mealtimes and getting up and down from chairs, but for the most part, he is his normal happy self and up to his normal shenanigans.

And then Hurricane Irene decided to head our way. After weighing the options and going back and forth about it, we decided to leave the area. Sammy and I packed up the boys and we headed 4 hours away. It was a looooong drive because Sebi hates being in the car for very long. We had to stop a few times just to give Sebi a break from the carseat. When we finally arrived to our destination, we settled into our hotel and tried to just relax.

We moved one of the mattresses onto the floor between the two beds, so the boys could sleep together and not fall off a high bed onto the hotel floor. This became a place to sleep, watch tv, play, change diapers/clothes, and just hang out. We stayed in a suite with a separate room for the living room and kitchenette. This is an essential component when staying in a hotel with kids. Having the separate bedroom gave us a place to put the boys down for naps and we could shut the door at bedtime and hang out in the living room instead of everyone either staying up late or going to bed early. That evening, we went to a nearby mall to eat at the food court and also let the boys burn some energy by playing in the mall's play area.

They had a great time and was much deserved after behaving very well during the long 5 hour drive.

The next day, I met up with some friends who also left town to avoid Hurricane Irene, at a local children's museum. I took the big boys and Popo Sammy stayed in the hotel with Sebi. There was not much for a baby to do at the museum and with his two naps a day, it seemed like a better idea to have Sebi at the hotel where he could nap on his normal routine. I think Popo Sammy was ok with having a little one on one time with his youngest grandson.

The boys loved the museum. There was so much to do and play with. We didn't even get to see the whole place because they were having so much fun in the two rooms that we did visit.

The next day we decided to head back home because the hurricane was gone and I had reports from friends that stayed behind that our power was back on. Of course, on the way home, I had to stop at one of my favorite places to eat. It was a first time for Popo Sammy. I think he liked it.

What can I say? Our family LOVES CHIPOTLE!! It was soooo good. Since there is not one in the town we live in, we always take the opportunity to eat there when we are traveling. Yum. So we made it back home after another long drive and returned to our normal routine.

In other news, Javier is doing well. He misses home and most of all, his boys. We are able to email and text with him most days and sometimes we are able to Skype with him if he has internet connection in his room. I took a picture of Sebi sleeping and had a pillow made for Javier so that he could sleep with Sebi every night. He says he loves it.

Sebi has been growing so fast. Two weeks after Javier left, he became a crawler. He crawls all over the place and has actually gotten pretty fast. He works hard to try and keep up with his brothers and also with me. Lately he has been working very hard to learn to walk. He pulls himself up to standing on the furniture and makes his way along. He likes to stand and then let go and balance for as long as he can. He is so proud of himself when he stands for a long time. Today was a record at almost 5 seconds. Seeing how well he is progressing, I brought in a couple of push toys from the garage, cleaned them up, and Sebi hasn't stopped playing with them ever since. If the big boys aren't hogging them, he loves to go over, stand up, and push the toys around. It's great practice for his walking skills. I suspect he will be walking in a few weeks.

On a sadder note for me, Popo Sammy is leaving next week. We have had so much fun having him here. The boys have really gotten attached to him and I know they will be sad to see him leave. He has been a great help to me and really nice company to fill the lonely parts of my day. I am very sad that he is leaving. I wish he could stay longer, but I know he has a family waiting for him at home.

Well, I suppose that is all for now. It's getting late and I should head to bed. I really should be in bed now, but it's just been so long since I made an entry and there just isn't any good time to do it, so here it is. I hope to take more pictures and be better about blogging from now on. .....But no promises this time. I have no idea what lies around the corner. I'm just doing my best to take care of our little family and home. We can hardly wait til Javier returns so that the family is whole again.

~Latrice