Proud

Being a mother, there are times when I can say that I'm proud of what I have instilled in these two little boys.

When I see their natural brotherly affection:



When they spontaneously pull out a board game and Liam teaches George how to play. Even better that they played the whole game correctly and cooperatively:



When Liam is genuinely happy for George to enjoy his birthday, saying over and over, "I'm glad he's enjoying his special day":



When they take turns on George's brand new ATV without prompting:



Each of them taking one loop around the yard and then switching off:



And especially when I hear Liam tell George that they playroom they were cleaning up wasn't done yet because he still needed to vacuum. And you know what? He pulled out the vacuum and got it done. I taught him that.

Being a parent is hard if you're doing it right. Being a parent during a deployment...well...there are no words. Trying to be both Mama and Daddy to these two little ones:



Trying to make 99% of the decisions on my own while still very heavily considering what Taylor would want. Because no matter where on this planet he his...he is still very much their Daddy and his opinions, ideals, and input very much counts.

And then to do all of this on top of all the crazy things going on without screwing up too much...well, that feeling of "I'm doing a great job" doesn't come too often lately between running around to tons of meetings, scrambling for dinners, having to say "I'm sorry, I can't play right now because I have to clean/do laundry/cook/deal with the phone/pay bills/whatever", and just a complete and serious lack of sleep. Most days I feel like I'm just swimming as hard as I can just to keep from drowning.

But I saw these little glimpses this week of hope that maybe I'm not always meeting my own high standards, but I'm doing okay. We're doing okay....these boys and I. Seeing the smiles on their faces during this very difficult time in our lives...









and knowing that I put those smiles there despite the sadness in their two little hearts...well...it tells me that we're gonna get through this. We're going to be okay. And we're going to be stronger for it. Team Basye is tough and we're proud and we're going to keep on keeping on until our favorite soldier...our rock...our one person that makes our house a home...returns.

Busy

This week has been busy busy busy!!! Full of FRG meetings and prepping for a little one's birthday tomorrow. So much of my time has had to go to Battalion stuff but I thought I'd write a bit about how my two little guys are doing. Liam is doing pretty well in school. He seemed a bit behind academically, at first, and I do think he'd struggle a bit if we put him in public right now, but he's catching up quickly. So much of last year was spent working on his social and emotional skills that some of the academics simply had to fall by the wayside. That being said, my little guy is doing great and I have zero concerns about where he's at. In fact, one of my favorite things about Montessori is that they work individually at the child's pace. Liam's strongest suit is definitely math and science. So, I couldn't be prouder of the books he's been bringing home and reading to me:




His behavior in school is fantastic! He even got to pick a special friend to eat in the greenhouse room with him (a special treat all kids aim for). He picked Allegra and announced that it was quite early to tell, of course, but MAYBE they'd get married some day. LOL! The one place Liam is still struggling is with the noise factor. The building he's has a completely open floor plan and is about 40 kiddos from 1st through 5th grade. It works VERY well and I prefer him to be in a multi-aged class, but he has a tough time with some of the noise level of the older kiddos. We are going to send in some of Daddy's ear plugs this week to see if that helps.

George is doing well. He is finally back to LOVING school again after a very difficult Spring at the Montessori. I can't describe how nice it's been going from screaming, crying and clinging to me every morning at drop-off at the Montessori to walking in all happy and excited...even announcing to me one morning that I didn't need to walk him in...he was fine on his own. Haha. He starts his day on the playground and LOVES it. He also loves checking on the plants and the greenhouse.



He's taking his lunch on Monday and Wednesday and stays in the extended day program and is doing really well with that.

My buddy also loves staying home on Tuesday and Thursday. We do a lot of playing together, reading, and...of course...dress up. His favorite is being a "scary pirate"



but always assures me that he is still my pirate friend. He also loves being a dinosaur



Not sure what we'll do when he grows out of this (soon, too).

This weekend was spent in recovery mode as I've been so insanely busy this week and I just needed to focus a bit on the house and my boys. We spent a lot of Saturday out front, sweeping up the courtyard and prepping it for cooler evenings by the firepit that should come soon. Liam spent much of the day dressed like his favorite person:



I also managed to hang up some cheap book racks by the boys beds. They are actually spice racks from Ikea but work really, really well. They each have one by their bed and I'll put some up in the playroom as well.





We also pulled out the Trios. I love playing with my little men and we all forgot how much we love playing with these building sets



Liam was particularly proud of the fact that he built the scorpion himself and built an ant for his brother.

Looking forward to a quieter week this week. Still a ton of stuff to do, but I think most of it can be done from home and not up at Brigade. Plus, we have an important birthday to celebrate tomorrow! Cannot believe our little G is going to be 4. Somewhat sad but happy we have a healthy little guy that we are so blessed to have in our lives. He really is a treasure.

This. Is. Hard.

This week was just hard. Cooking was hard. Sleeping was hard. Making lunches were hard. Even breathing was hard. Just a lot going on and a tone of negativity directed my way. But very often, there is a diamond in the rough and I am lucky to have two:



In all of these difficult times this week, just one smile from this little one turned it all around..even for just a little bit:



And I got to spend a lot of time with him, so that was great. We've finally got ourselves in a bit more of a routine and are able to keep up with a bit more now that we are home from all our travels and that has freed up more time for play. George and I pulled out a favorite one afternoon: magnatiles. We built a cool house with trees



and then he built a super long road "for Daddy".





This weekend was spent doing a few errands but mostly relaxing and having some downtime. I had a bunch of FRG stuff to catch up with and the boys enjoyed playing much of the weekend. On Saturday, we pulled out the Geotrax which the boys both still love, love love!



Liam got his first set when he was just over two and they are still going strong.



And I love that we now have a couple of trains and so they can both play at the same time.



Today, Liam declared that he would homeschool George. He spent most of the day doing just that. He did activities with him, read him "I Stink", played games with him, gave him a "30 second" nap, and made him lunch. At one point, I also heard them singing the ABCs together. They played so nicely together and had a good time homeschooling.

I'm so lucky to have these two little boys. The push me on through these hard times in their own little ways...with their laughs, their smiles, their hugs. I'm so grateful to God for giving me them and pray that this coming week is just a little bit easier on all of us.

Household 6 Signing In

I've been wanting to write on here for so long but I've been having a really hard time doing it. Writing about our lives right now would very much mean I'd have to acknowledge that this deployment is happening. We are two months in now and, of course, mentally I know it's happening. I can run FRG meetings, mail care packages, and talk about resiliency and how to handle those long days. But that's the Army wife in me. Taylor's wife and Liam and George's mom is having a much much much more difficult time acknowledging this year. Because while I can run an FRG meeting I have a much harder time telling my little boys that their Daddy won't be home for their birthdays or Christmas. I can mail care packages to my soldier but it's difficult including a whole lot personal in them. I run off of a "shopping list" of sorts of things he has requested or items that a typical soldier may want or need. And while I can talk to wives and families about resiliency...feeling resilient myself is a whole lot more challening. But the reality of the situation is....

He's Gone.

And he's not at NTC. He's not in the field. He's not in the building with the green roof. He's back in a war zone half way across the world. And reality is that when he got on that plane half of me went with him. And that hurts more than words can ever say.

But the good thing is...I AM AN ARMY WIFE. And that is the difference in surviving this or not. God made me an Army wife. He had a plan for me. He knows that I CAN handle this. That I may not feel resilient...but I AM resilient. I may not feel like I'll get through the next 10 months of this...but I WILL. I may not understand all the time how it's possible to keep doing what we are doing...but I KNOW that He knows what I can and cannot handle and I have complete FAITH in that knowledge.

And that is why I'm here writing this out. Because before I can move on to writing about all the little magical things that comprise my life surrounded by boys, I need to acknowledge several things beyond "this is happening."

I am an Army Wife....strong and resilient.

My soldier is an amazing person doing amazing things. He is making a difference in the world.

This is beyond difficult many days but I am not alone. I acknowledge that I have the Lord at my side helping me through this.

I am HH6 and I can not only handle this...I can excel at it. Just go ahead and watch me.

Gorgeous

The only sight more gorgeous than this...



might be this...



Honestly? They both take my breath away.

Sometimes..

Sometimes....



You



Just



Have



to



Be



Silly



Right?!


I think his brother would agree.

George's Preschool Report Card

Okay...well...not the report card...but the report that was attached that will tell you the same things. :)

Social and Emotional Skills: This is developed throughout the morning through play indoors and out, small and large group activities (Examples: circle time, snack time, and engaging in all center activities).

George plays parallel to other children as well as interacting with adults and children playing simple child developed and adult initiated games such as "Peek-a-boo" and "follow the leader". George understands the give and take of sharing and taking turns and is working to perfect this skill as sharing can still be difficult. George uses his words to have his needs met and sets limits with others. He is working on making smoother transitions between activities. He enjoys being silly with his friends, laughing and playing with others.

Language: This is developed during circle time, conversations and interaction with teachers, as well as peers, throughout the morning.

George initiates conversations with children and adults, using his words to get his needs met, and asking questions about his friends and school. George has an extensive vocabulary and uses words to understand his experiences. George repeats and responds to words and phrases in English and Spanish. George is usually easily understood but when asked to repeat or explain himself, he does so with patience.

Reading/Writing: This is developed through our reading centers, writing centers, story time, and descriptions of their own drawings.

George loves books! He understands that the words and pictures work together to tell a story. George enjoys watching his teacher say the letters as she writes his name on his art projects, repeating the names of some of the letters and responding "that's me...George". George loves the classroom library, sitting and looking through books as relaxation time when he is tired or desires quiet time.

Math and Science: This is developed through large and small group activities (Examples: calendar, graphing, estimating, counting, sorting, math, science, and texture centers).

George enjoys exploring math and science manipulatives and is using words to explain science such as "magnets stick". He is making scientific observations such as that the boats float in the water table but the toy ocean animals sink. George likes to count as he jumps on the trampoline or runs across the playground bridge although he is not necessarily making a one to one correlation between the number word and how many. He enjoys exploring textures and is very aware of all sensory activities using language such as "smooth, rough stinky, cold".

Small Motor Skills: This is developed through cutting, handwriting, playing with play-doh, drawing, and painting.

George enjoys manipulating play-doh, cutting it with the play-doh knife, using cookie cutters to make animal shapes. His fine motor skills are developed enough to create a snake and ball with play-doh. George can tear paper, use markers and crayons to make lines and designs on paper, control glue using the glue bottle or craft stick, paint with bing markers, a large paint brush, or finger paints. George understands how to hold scissor properly and is learning to use scissors to cut paper.

Large Motor Skills: This is developed through outdoor play (Examples: running, climbing, riding tricycles, throwing, kicking, and bouncing a ball). It is also developed during music and circle time, through large movements and dance.

George has highly developed large motor skills as demonstrated in his ability to ride a ride-on toy pushing himself with his legs, throwing, kicking, catching, and bouncing a ball. His running and climbing are very fluid movements as he performs them with great confidence. He can shovel, sweep, and build a sand sculpture. George is reluctant to take part in music and movement activities such as playing instruments, dancing with scarves or using sign-language to sing a song but enjoys watching others and choosing favorite songs.


In other words...George is doing VERY well. His teacher said he's very advanced and there were only a few checks on the report card that he was working on before the end of May!

And what's this guy up to?



Well, he's already sewn a pillow at school and today he made a pumpkin pie. Yeah...Montessori Rocks!