LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!!!

I feel like a boat out at sea, during a huge thunderstorm and trying desperately to find that lighthouse. This morning Jasmine went back to school, and she was feeling normal again after almost a week of this stomach thing that's going around. She was feeling a little better last night so I thought I finally was seeing the end of this bug.

I think Nicholas is getting it though, it's now been 2 nights since we've had much sleep at all. He tosses and turns all night long. Last night he came snuggling up to me in bed and I figured "well, he's probably getting sick so maybe some mommy love will help".
This child spent the whole night whining and moaning, kicking his legs and rubbing my arms. Yeah, rubbing MY arms, like I was the one feeling sick. How sweet is that?!?!?! Made me feel all the more worse for not being able to help him. Nothing worse than seeing your child sick and knowing that nothing you do can take that ill feeling away.

This morning something weird but wonderful happened. I got all the kids in the car, my two and Scottie, Veronica's son, and left the house to take them to school. I started heading towards the main road and then did something I NEVER do. I turned into the neighborhood just down the street and said to the kids "You know, we still got time so let's go the long way". See, the kids like talking and laughing in the car on the way to school and always complain that we get there too fast.

So anyway, I turn the car around and start heading back towards my housing area. As I get closer I see a figure of a dog standing near the road, and I'm thinking "boy, that looks an awful lot like our dog Sam". I slow down and keep driving and as I get near him, I realize IT IS. He somehow got out through the back fence and is now waiting to pounce on some kids walking to school. Now I KNOW he wouldn't hurt them, but Sam is an Australian Shepherd and he's big, so just running towards the kids is enough to scare them.
Now remember, we live on base and having pets run around is a BIG NO NO. We can get in serious trouble for that, especially if they attack or hurt someone.
So I quickly pull into the nearest neighborhood, open my window and proceed to yell out "HEY SAM, GET YOUR BUTT BACK IN THE HOUSE". LOL
I turned into my own housing area and while I was driving I asked the kids to keep calling him so he would follow the car.....so now we're driving down the road with a dog on my tail and the kids inside going "SAMMMMMMMMMMM" at the top of their lungs LOL

I managed to get Sam back in the house and Curt went out back to fix the part of the fence he go out through.

So now here I am at home and I'm dumbfounded and can't believe what happened. Not because of the dog, it's not the first time he's tried to run away....although if I had good owners that fed me and loved me I would also want out of here. NOT!!!!
I'm confused because I've NEVER done that before, if I know I have time I just instantly go the longer way, and if I don't, I just go towards the main road which is faster. I could just pass it off to coincidence that I was driving down the road at the time, or I could call it for what it is. YET another example that God is with me all the time. It's funny because the closer I get to him, the more these incidents seem to happen which is good, because it keeps me motivated to continue on this path to a closer relationship with him. So I just thought I would share that with all of you!!!

I'll be cleaning the house today, I don't like waiting until the weekend to do it because then it's THAT much harder to get it done. But these past few days I admit that I haven't done much housework, I honestly haven't felt up to it, and with 2 kids sick I don't seem to have time for anything other than meeting all of their demands.

If you only knew how long it actually takes me to write my daily entries everyday, you would be amazed.
It usually goes something like this.

Sit at the computer, open up blogger.
*Mommy can I have some milk please?*
Get up, get Nicholas a cup of milk.
Sit back down and hit 'Create', type the title and.................
*Can I get a cookie please?*
Get up and fetch cookie for kid.
Sit down yet again and type the first paragraph, hear screams behind me, turn real fast to see Lola the Pug stealing the cookie from the kid.
Get up again and tell the dog NO, take the cookie away and trash it, give the kid a hug and fetch another cookie.
Sit back down and type a bit more, phone rings "Yes do you have a chip on your windshield?"
HUH?!?!?! No but I have a toddler running around and not as much money as I wish I did, you wanna fix THAT for me????
Hang up the phone and go back to blogger....type a bit more.
Mommy I wanna watch Dora....put Dora on tv or the DVD movie. No, No, I want to watch Diego.
Remove Dora and grab the Diego DVD, about to put it in. NO NO, I don't want Diego, I want Blue's Clues.
Proceed to barter and negotiate with 3 year old for the next hour about what exactly it IS he wants, which he doesn't seem to know either.
Couple of hours later, I remember that I have the blog entry just sitting there waiting patiently for me. Go back and type real fast, blah blah blah, incoherent posts and that's it.
Next day we just rinse and repeat!!!!

Now doesn't that sound like fun???? LOL
I have to tell you there are days that I honestly don't know how I get through them. The minute I step out of bed I'm already tired from being up all night, I'm in no mood for whiny kids and silly fights over who gets to sit on which spot of the couch, or who gets their lunch first, and God forbid I give Jasmine the blue towel, because RED is her favorite color....get it right mom!!!

So to those out there who have kids and know exactly what I'm talking about, I send you patience and understanding and energy vibes and here's hoping you have a whine/mess/fighting/crying free day.
To those who don't yet have kids, one day you too will be able to understand the frustration and the lack of sleep..........OH THE LACK OF SLEEP......but never doubt that it's the best job on earth and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise, because the joys far outweigh the bad moments.

And that is IT for me, I'm tired, exhausted is more like it, nothing like a couple of days with sick kids to put you through the wringer. So I'm going to finish off my cup of coffee, which is now cold, BLEH, and then I'm going to sweep and mop and do dishes and laundry and make beds and all that other OH SO FUN stuff LOL
See ya tomorrow :)