And so it begins...

Papa drove off into the sunrise yesterday after kissing the kids good-bye as they slept. Tough to see him go.

Evan is mostly recovered from being sick. I thought I was completely well, until almost 10pm when Evan went to sleep (no nap!) and I had a lot of housework to do. Then my legs got wobbly. Still did a bunch of work, got the kids to sleep just in time for Evan to cry for 30 minutes. Got him back to sleep by midnight.

They are wobbly again after going on base (found a library book under the bed--so cliche, no?) and spending an hour or more at the playground. We went back to the one we used to visit while staying in TLF. E was thrilled at all the planes going around. Had a nice chat with another mom at the playground. Mikey was determined to have races and other competitions with Caroline. Wasn't working out too well, so I suggested he race with an imaginary friend. They both seemed happier after that; at least until he and his friend started racing with her and her friend. Ahhh.

The kids' emotions are pretty raw. In other words, any little thing has them yelling and lashing out. I've been as patient as possible, but they seem to be looking for me to contain them. Reassurance that some things are the same, even though lots has changed. Today is better than yesterday and I imagine we'll get settled down soon. I'm glad gymnastics isn't for 2 more days, though.

I did a thousand things around the house yesterday and so two rooms are no longer official disaster areas. I'd wanted to take the tree down today, but my legs are telling me to pace myself.

Caroline got really mad at me today and yelled that she hated me. Then turned around and asked what "I hate you" means. I almost laughed in surprise, but managed a serious answer.