Life according to me…

Yesterday was the first day Steve had off since the Monday before he left on his cruise. It had been about two weeks since we had a day together. Initially we wanted to be productive but we quickly learned that we just needed the time together not necessarily with an agenda.

We got out on a date last night and went to Uno’s for dinner. It was so yummy. While we were there this family was sitting directly in front of us and we noticed a few things about them. It was hard not to see them as we were both facing them and there is next to nothing separating the booths. They had three children with them, blond/light skinned children, and the father appeared to be Mexican. He had on a wedding ring but the wife/mother did not. She sat on one end of the table and he sat totally opposite her on the other end. What appeared to be the mother of the wife/mother figure sat right across from the wife/mother. What struck us as strange was that nobody spoke to the father except the son and occasionally the daughter. The wife never spoke to him or looked at him. It was one of their children’s birthdays and they sang to him and stuff, but the father just stayed in the corner for most of the time. This struck me and Steve as so odd. We kept making references as to what could be happening and things while we ate. It broke my heart that the couple was there together but weren’t really ‘together’. The wife/mother appeared to be kind of mean which could have explained what was wrong, but they sure had our attention at the lack of adult conversation at the table. He sat so far away from her it could have appeared that they weren’t even there together. Maybe that is what she wanted. Who knows. It was just so sad though.

I hope that no matter how old our kids get or how wild they are or anything that Steve and I never give off the vibe we got from that couple last night. We love each other very much and I want that to be apparent for the rest of our lives. Sure, we have our own set of problems like every couple does, but those things never change how I feel about him or about being married to him. I love him just as much as the day I married him, if not more.

So yea, I stole from Matt who loves to use song titles as blog titles and used one. Props to Matt for the cleverness.

Let me start with last night. As I was going to sleep I decided to watch the news. As most everyone knows, there is a hurricane heading towards south Florida. Well, as the weather was playing, they then reported, “Some Carnival cruises are getting an extended vacation!” And then I fell out of the bed in shock. As it turned out, the cruises that were scheduled to come in today INTO MIAMI were redirected and not coming home until Saturday. Had Steve been on that cruise instead of the on he took, he wouldn’t be home right now. Way to make my heart jump out of my throat.

Well, I got up at 5am this morning and headed over to Tampa to get my man. At about 7:30 a.m. I called him and woke him up since I thought he would be close to port - their docking time was 8. He was all groggy and we agreed that the first one to make it to the terminal would call the other first.

HOW AWESOME WAS THIS….Steve calls me as I am turning on the road that takes you to the port and says, I am off the boat now!!! I could see his cruise ship and was scanning the road for him. Finally I saw him across the street talking to me - I pulled over to a loading/unloading spot and he crossed the street. I got out of the van like a big dork and ran over to him. I was so happy to see him I was shaking! Elisa popped out of the van and gave her daddy a big hug. The twins both smiled big huge smiles at him. It was a great moment. He looked so relaxed, sunburnt, and happy to be home with us.

We took our time coming home, stopped for some breakfast - and Steve was telling me the guys he was riding with were just getting up and dressed when Steve left the ship. So had he gone with them he would have been even LONGER before I would have gotten to him. I made a good call by going to get my man, even though the twins were all off today because of it. I did a good job getting them into a routine and being up at 6am threw them off. But, they are resting finally now (or at least quiet) and will be right back on schedule tomorrow.

I realized while driving home with Steve that I had not really relaxed all week long. I wasn’t uptight the entire week - I just realized how at ease Steve makes me feel. I finally felt relaxed having him back home with me. When we got home, reality set in for daddy. He had a few poopey diapers to change, a few sippy cups to make, a few nap attempts to get through…the usual stuff. When we were attempting to rest and the kids weren’t yet ready to nap, he asked me, “Can’t you go and get them?” I was shocked! It was funny, the look of despair through the smile on his face. He knew I wasn’t going to get up now that he was home but he also missed being on a boat with nothing to worry about for 5 days. He wasn’t looking forward to work, didn’t enjoy changing poop - and I even left the trash full for him so he could empty it when he got home because of our running joke. Steve got a great homecoming, I’d say.

I told him, never again will he get to leave me for that long so I hope he enjoyed himself. The pictures he took were wonderful (aside from the bewbie and bootie shots - my perverted husband) and I was so jealous seeing all the pics of the crystal blue water. He will take me there one day I hope. He read my previous entries on here and was touched. I guess he didn’t realize just how much I missed him. Well, I did. I’m sure if it was reversed and he was here being the responsible one and I was sipping Bahama Mamas and swimming with stingrays he would have missed me more too - and that’s okay. He deserved this vacation and I am glad he got to go. More importantly, I am glad he is home.

I AM SO GLAD THIS IS OVER! Tomorrow the kids and I will treck out to Tampa to get our man. I had a productive day today trying to get all the chores done and stuff so that tomorrow was totally free and Steve came home to a nice clean house. Of course I didn’t get everything done but I got through enough. Got my outfit picked out for seeing my man and everything all ready. I can’t wait.

Sure, this was probably a good thing for our relationship or whatever and the past few times I have talked to Steve he sounded like he was having a great time, but this was yucky for me and I don’t want to go through it ever again. It wasn’t the child rearing with no break that was the problem as much as being without my best friend, my life companion. I didn’t realize how much we talked about until he was out to sea and I couldn’t reach him for an entire day. It was hard! I look forward to him being back and calling me not 5 minutes after he has left the house to remind me of things and then calling me during his down time at work, when he is ready to come home, and when he gets in the car. I know I will appreciate him and our relationship so much more now. I hope that is the same for him. I’m sure it is. I can’t wait to see the kids smiles on their faces when they see their daddy. They have been clingy the past few days and I am sure it is out of missing their daddy.

So, it’s off to finish the chores for the day, make the sippy cups and head to bed. We leave very early tomorrow and I hope that time flies until I get to Steve. Man, I have never missed someone so much in my life…except when I was in Colorado in ‘98. I missed my family as much as I miss my husband right now. Missing someone is the worst feeling. I hope reuniting is the best. It sure was back in ‘98 and I wasn’t even married then. G’nite!

Yesterday we kept very busy and even though Steve was at the forefront of all of my thoughts all day because I couldn’t actually speak to him, I was able to have a wonderful day with my family. In the morning Kenna dropped by and brought Elisa some clothes which always helps, and we visited for a while. She told me this story about how her niece April has been making wishes lately and then they are coming true. She had wished for a cat of her grandparents to have kittens, and it did. She wished for another pet, and her mother got it for her. Well, apparently April wished for someone to have a baby while she was here visiting for Elisa/Sarah/Stephen’s birthday party. Elisa and April claim she wished for Elisa’s mommy to have a baby. Needless to say, Kenna immediately called her sister to inform her that April has to stop making wishes after finding out our news! LOL. It was great to visit with Kenna - I am so glad for a friend like her.

After she left we headed over to my dad’s for some time at the pool and together. Boy oh boy, those kids had a wonderful time and I enjoy being with my dad and his family. They have a way of making me feel very comfortable lately. They even got me a graduation gift and card for finishing Valencia. Yes, I finished with a 3.0 GPA and will get my diploma in the mail soon. Didn’t blog about it because it doesn’t seem real yet and probably won’t until my diploma arrives. I thought it was sweet of them to think of me and get me a gift. We talked about doing UCF and I think I might take a class or two a semester online. Gotta run that by hubby first.

I didn’t get to talk to Steve all day long yesterday and it was very hard. I was just praying he was having a good time. He didn’t have a signal until today. He called at 2:00 pm and we were able to talk for a few. He sounded very happy, relaxed, and like he was having a good time. He got his Rolex too. WAY TO GO HONEY! I cannot wait for him to come home.

So I dropped my honey off and he and his work buddies headed out to Tampa yesterday. Me and the kids then went and visited Nana for a bit and then headed home to nap and catch up on some chores. I am so glad Steve gets this opportunity. He really doesn’t take time for himself and he is forced to for 5 days!!!

It was hard to drop him off. We went on a cruise for our honeymoon and the idea of him being on one without me was hard for him. I kept telling him to focus on having a good time and I hope he really does. He called me frequently throughout the day yesterday telling me about the ship and dinner and everything. All was fine and his spirits were up until the evening. Then I got sad and I know he did as well.

I went to bed early - mostly for lack of anything else to do - and watched some girl tv. I tried to call Steve to say goodnight but they had set sail and he didn’t have a signal. I left him a voicemail and turned in early. While I was watching TV I got a text message from him saying “GET ONLINE!!!” I FLEW out of the bed and over to the computer to talk to him. He had bought an online plan on the ship so he could message me when he has no signal. I WAS SO GLAD TO TALK TO HIM!!!

As we spoke we were both getting upset. I tried to say happy things and tease him about how I am not going to take out the trash until he gets back and not going to put the diapers in the trash (he always gets on me for leaving dirty diapers out…sometimes its just not that easy to get to the trash with the kids chasing me) and I told him I would make him a HUGE pile of diapers and trash while he was gone because I don’t like to take care of it. I asked him what he was going to do tomorrow and he said probably swim. He said there was an ‘adults only’ deck at the pool and that he left before he could see ‘the show’ earlier. Heeheehee. We closed our conversation and I told him that while he was under the sun tomorrow I would be under the same sun thinking about him and missing him. He didn’t want to sign off but knew he should go be a part of the group, so he left.

This week is going to SUCK, and I don’t care if it’s going to be good for us or whatever. We barely see each other as it is when he is home and now we won’t see each other at all. When he gets back he has to work - the DAY he returns (thurs) plus the whole weekend before he gets a day off. I am calling a moratorium on the first day he has off. No cell phone calls, no errands, no work, nothing but time with him and our kids. I am counting the days until he returns, and so is Elisa…we marked it on the calendar and are moving the smiley closer and closer until the day we pick up Daddy. We promised each other we will NEVER go on a vacation alone ever again. We don’t need a break like this. Pooey.

I hope I get to talk to him today. He is out to sea and may not have a signal. Hopefully I will be able to keep busy enough to not miss him so bad. We are going to my dad’s today to visit and get Steve’s car worked on. I am always able to keep busy over there, chasin the kids and visiting with everyone. I will make up stuff to do the rest of the week until Steve gets back. Gotta keep busy - then I don’t think about it so much and miss him so badly.

I’m such a sap. I miss my man.