The Hackworths

I get asked a lot how I do this. How can I stand being married to a man who has been gone for 2 of the nearly 6 years we’ve been maried? How do I take care of 3 kids alone without going crazy? How do I handle all of the housework/yardwork/bills on my own?

This is how I do it. I treasure every single second that I have with my husband. Yes, he’s gone a lot, but lucky for me he’s home more. I talk to him as often as I can when he is gone and I comfort myself with the knowledge that he will be home again soon. And when he does get here, it’ll seem like he never left except the kids will be a little taller and smarter and I’ll probably have a few more grey hairs.

I get my kids up in the morning, I dress them, I feed them and I love them. I do this all day every day like my life depended on it because it does. We talk about how much we miss Daddy. We talk about all the fun things we’ll do when he gets home and all of the fun things we’re going to do while he’s gone. We don’t stop living and enjoying things. I have bad days with them just like every other parent.
As for the housework, sometimes it doesn’t get done every day. That’s nothing new, though. The yard work gets done by me when I have time, by the neighbors when they take pity on me, and by a professional when I remember to call them to come by.
Do I sometimes feel like it’s unfair? Sure. Do I wish he was here? You bet. Would I trade our life for anything else? Absolutely not. I’m not stronger than any other person. I have bad days when I’m so frustrated I just want to scream. I’ve been known to raise my voice. I have thoughts of running away on vacation, but I’m proud of what he does and I’m proud of what we do here at home while he’s gone. So how do I do it? I just do.

I’m looking forward to the summer. No more getting up early, no more stuck in the house, and no more laundry late at night because I’m horrible at keeping up with it.

We’ve had a relaxing weekend. Lauren had soccer practice Friday evening and there was a trip to town yesterday. Today some cleaning and playing and good smelling candles. After lunch I’m going to put in a movie for the girls, put Ryan down for a nap, and spend some time scrapbooking.

And just because I’m in such a fab mood, a little music for you. This song is a fave in our house. It gets a lot of play time when we’re cleaning up.

Aw, you missed it!

Okay, I had this nice long post all written out for y’all, but just as I hit the publish button my precocious son disconnected my router and all was lost. Have a picture.

I’m the team mom.  WHAT was I thinking?  I have a feeling I just signed away my life.  But at the same time, I’m all squishy inside because hey, my kid plays soccer!  And I am Soccer Mom!  WOO!  Her first practice is next Friday and I’ve got the camera battery charging already.

So, we’re 2 and a half weeks in and already I’m bored with it. No, really. Done sir, done.

Lauren had a birthday party to attend this past Saturday. It was at the bowling alley and really, what’s more fun than a buch of 5 and 6 year olds bowling? There was dancing (by Lauren) and sliding. There were very few knocked over pins, and there were lots of balls that stopped in the middle of the lane. The poor shoe man should’ve just sat with us. Lauren had a great time, though. It was her boyfriend’s party and by the end, they were walking around holding hands. It’s cute now, but if he tries it again in another couple of years, it’s on.

The weekends are when I do my errands because during the week, I’ve got a little girl that I watch for some friends of ours. So this weekend we hit Target for Valentines and Wal-Mart for other stuff. A girl’s gotta have TP and cookie dough.

Speaking of cookie dough… Justin bought me an elliptical machine, henceforth known as “The Machine”, before he left. It’s something I’ve been wanting/needing for a while. People, let me tell you, it works. I’ve lost 9 lbs already. I used to run back in my middle school and high school days. I played tennis, I was in the marching band, I had kick ass legs. I miss them. They’ve been replaced with the cottage cheese and I’m tired of it. I can’t exactly take 3 kids on a run (and my neighborhood doesn’t have sidewalks) so, The Machine it is. I LOVE it. And this time, all of my hard work and weight loss won’t go to waste because there will not be any more babies coming out of me.

I lose track of the days.  I get Lauren out of bed and get her dressed.  If her bus shows up, it’s a weekday.  If it doesn’t, then it’s Saturday and I’m ticked off that I didn’t get to sleep in.  (Okay, sleeping in consists of an extra 20 minutes, since someone’s SON likes to get up really early, but 20 minutes is 20 minutes, people.)

It’s been chilly all week, so we’ve been stuck in the house since I don’t do cold.  Everyone is starting to go a little stir crazy.  Thankfully, Lauren has a birthday party to attend this weekend.  Bowling!  Since I have to be out anyway, I figure I’ll pick up some things to make little goodie bags for Lauren’s school Valentine’s party.  I refuse to do Wal-Mart, though.  I’ll pay the little extra so I don’t have to look at all the people in their fuzzy slippers and sweats with the shoeless children.  Besides, Target rules!

I’ve done a little scrapbooking recently and I did some knitting, too.  I made one of these and will try to take a picture.  Eventually.  I’m having picture taking withdrawls and am sorely tempted to run around photographing dust bunnies under my (NEW!) sofas and crayon drawings on the walls.  The sun is supposed to be out to day, so maybe you’ll get the special surprise of a kid in the picture with the dust bunnies.

Having to unload my own groceries is whack.  Having to put them away is even worse.  I am apologizing now (and will continue for the next 7 months) for the state the cabinets will be in when you get home, hon.  Organization + Jen = ain’t happenin’.

I cannot believe how impossibly bored I am now that Justin is gone. The evenings seem to drag on and I feel like I’m losing brain cells from the lack of adult conversation. Welcome to the next 7 months of my life. Thank goodness we have SOCCER to keep us entertained.

There isn’t much to report over here. We do pretty much the same thing every day. Get up and get Lauren to school. The little baby I watch shows up. We watch some Noggin (best channel ever!) after breakfast. Then lunch, naps and play. Lauren gets home and does her homework. The baby gets picked up, we have dinner and a little more Noggin then it’s off to bed for the kiddies. I spend the next few hours cleaning up after the day and watching my shows. Then off to bed I go. Lather, rinse and repeat.

I haven’t heard from Justin since Monday. I’m not too worried at this point. It took a little while for him to get situated the last time, too. This can’t be over with soon enough.