Mini Break

Saturday night was the first night that I ever spent away from Lila. I love the little monkey, but after 12 days solo and a cancelled vacation I really needed some time away from my kids. Thank you Mom and Chris for taking all three for the night. I ran from our apartment to the GGB, over it, and back, something I have been wanting to do for awhile. It was so luxurious to be able to do that in the middle of a Saturday. We went to a movie, an early dinner, etc. IT WAS AWESOME. Not quite Mexico awesome, but good enough. Thank you M and C!

Deep Thoughts

I get asked questions ALL DAY LONG. Sometimes I just want to beg them to stop talking for a second. Sometimes I have even asked for a 'minute of silence' while I back out of our absurdly narrow garage (and looking at the scratches on the corners of the car will give you an idea of how many times I actually got that silence). I try to answer the questions as honestly as I can while still being age appropriate. At the same time, I don't want to lie if I can avoid it, because those little hard drives don't have much on it, so they tend to store EVERY FREAKING THING I SAY for recall later. But sometimes even I don't know how to answer what comes out of their mouths:

_________________________________________________

C and D were asking me to play a game with them. I said I would as soon as I finished cleaning up the kitchen. They started talking to each other about the things that I do, which included cleaning up the kitchen. D turns to me, looks me straight in the eye, and asks:

"Is it boring being an adult?"

__________________________________

C was recently sitting in the playroom drawing when she looked at me, and with complete earnestness asked, "Mom am I EVER going to be a mermaid?"

(It broke my heart to think of the day she finds out the truth. I am going to feel like I have robbed her of her youth. Santa-shmanta, the mermaid revelation is going to be life altering).

__________________________________

C: "Do I have to marry a boy?"

Me: "Not at all. Girls can marry girls and boys can marry boys."

C: "Can I marry Dylan?"

(Explaining why she can't is actually harder than you might think w/o bringing genetics into the discussion btw. The reason she liked best was "No because then your kids would only get two grandparents. And what's the fun in that?" Sweeter still was that she declared that she had 5 grandparents "Grandpa Michael in heaven too.")

___________________________________

A little girl in their school's parents are going through a divorce. They know this because Ava tells them that she goes to her Daddy's house sometimes and her Mommy's other times.

C: "Ava's parents live in separate houses. Why?"

I tried to explain that sometimes people love each other but are happier when they live in separate houses. I explained that sometimes after people get married they change and they no longer like living together. I think I threw in some more dribble, but that was the gist.

Then C thinks a bit more and says.

"Ava's Daddy picked her up from school. He does that sometimes. Why does she see her Daddy more than we see our Daddy?"

(In other words, "How the hell do I get rid of YOU?" Nice).

___________________________________

At some point C was telling me that some of the kids thought so and so's Daddy looked scary but that so and so really loved her Daddy. I couldn't help myself:

Me: "How do you know they think X is scary?"

C: "Because the kids say so?"

Me: "That is too bad. Do people think I am scary?"

C: (Kinda shrugging her shoulders) "No, some people think you look ok."

____________________________________

The other day I am sitting with C and she looks at me, earnestly, and asks:

"Mom what happens when you marry the wrong person?"

Once again I stumbled through some answer about how you decide not to be married anymore and hopefully, if you want, you someday find the right person to marry. At the end of the discussion she looks at me, earnestly again, and asks

"Mom, when did we start talking about this?"

I don't know sweetheart, I really don't.

_____________________________________

The other day we were driving and D busts out with:

"What happens if you are in prison, and you die?"

I'm All Caught Up

LBD loves sunglasses
Notice anything strange about this picture?

Believe it or not, this blog is now officially current. Check below if you missed random updates on Easter, Final Four, etc. But I am caught up and sincerely hope never to get so far behind again.

My Boyfriend's Back

...so Team D can rest easy now.

Waiting Game

Andrew got in a cab to this morning, told the driver to go to Heathrow (because one of his flights had not been cancelled yet), and the driver busted out laughing. He got there to find the doors locked. Crazy. But things are looking up. I think we might have success tomorrow. (Did I mention that I wish I were stuck in London for a bit!?! : ))

On our end, like I said, it feels very retro. I keep thinking of what it must be like to have a spouse in the military. I feel so incredibly lucky that I am not in that situation.

Some girls get a vacation to Mexico...

...others get a new computer for their kids. I told Andrew I might engage in some retail therapy. I think he thought I'd buy a pair of shoes.

In my defense, we were going to buy one this summer anyway. And we didn't get our vacation that we had budgeted for this month. And I HAVE ONLY EATEN ONE MEAL OUT since he left (took the girls to breakfast Sunday morning). That has to count for something right?! (I can GUARANTEE that if the shoe were on the other foot he would have had pizza night about 7 days running). That has to count for something, right? (It covers the keyboard at least!)

Still no Andrew. It is getting a little surreal. Kind of Jane Austen-esque. Like I don't know when I'll see him coming back over the hills on his horse again. I am surprisingly zen-like about it (most of the time). I just want him home safe. It has been hardest on C and D. They REALLY miss him. I think it isn't even him being gone as much as the uncertainty of it all. And I am sure it scares them a little--volcanoes, ash, cancelled flights, closed airports, etc. A bit overwhelming.

I have gotten lots of kind emails and calls from people and lots of offers for help. On Saturday the Glotzbachs saved me from the abyss of exhaustion by letting me invade their house in the am. THank you!! And my mom saved me Sunday. We actually had a nice day at Fairyland just the four Dodson girls and then spent a beautiful afternoon playing at my Moms.

Maybe my favorite call came from JWeiss just now. He asked me how the "trial separation" was going. : )

And PS. I have a bunch of posts I need to get to beneath this...so check 'em out.

C and D at the top of the pirate ship. (I think I was too scared to do that as a kid!)
This place is OLD!

LBD will find a way to climb anything

Stranded

Molly has been (justifiably) frustrated over time with my lack of blogging. It's a completely fair point, but it's become more and more of an issue of inertia: Molly's done so many blogs and she's so good at it, I feel like anything I write will be considered worthless by comparison. Dumb excuse, I know. Anyway, I figured that being stranded in London for day 6 with no end in sight was as good an excuse as any to write my second blog post. (It's been a big couple of days for me, as I made my first Facebook status update yesterday. I feel like I'm a 12 year old girl...).

The quick background is that I came to London on Monday the 12th and have been stuck here due to the sweet sub-glacial volcanic eruption. If I had a nickel for every time I've been stranded for sub-glacial volcanic eruptions...Anyway, there's no end in sight. People have been telling us that we'll now be lucky to get back next week. It looks very likely that our vacation to Mexico scheduled for next week is toast.

The one thing this nightmare has given me is a little perspective. Having been away from my wife and kids for 6 days with no hpoe for return in the near future, I realize just how lucky I am. As sick of London food and mediocre hotels as I am, I know M would probably switch places with me in a heartbeat. She hasn't spent a night away from LBD yet. Truly inexcusable. I don't say it nearly enough, but M does an unbelievable job raising our kids, particularly faced with an often-absentee husband. I miss her very much.

Despite the fact that I travel a fair amount, I'm not used to being gone this long. 6 days away from D, C, and L makes me feel very empty. While there are times when I miss the simplicity of life without kids, being gone this long makes me realize how much happier I am now and how much I miss them. I miss snuggling with them in the morning. I miss having fun with them. I miss their hugs. I miss LBD yelling daDA as soon as I walk in the door.

I can't wait to get home.

If I had a dime...

for every time someone gave me the "a volcano erupted so I can't get home from London for a few more days" excuse, well you know the drill...

Team Dodson has a player stranded in London. I have to admit, I'm a little jealous. I know he'd rather be home, but I'd rather have the excuse to hang around London for a few days free of children : )

The blog Gods must have made this happen because I am now almost freaking caught up to this blog!!!!!!!!

Hop Hop Hippity

LBD got into the hunt too
Yes I gave them face painting kits for Easter (C). Genius, I know.
D

Hunting for treats

D not a fan of the rabbit ears

Easter was fun. Difficult to explain (a giant bunny who invades your house at night? eggs? Jesus nailed to the cross? NOT my favorite holiday) but fun. Thanks to Chris and my Mom for hosting a great hunt, pinata, lunch, etc.

I Don't Know Who is Happier...

Andrew because his team is in the National Championship, or C and D because it gives them the excuse to say "BUTT-ler" for two days and not get in trouble.

They found out Jon Scheyer is Jewish and so they feel a special kinship with him. See below...