A New Reality

WOW! It's been FOREVER! Josh came home from Afghanistan, we headed to Vegas, he had 2 weeks off before heading back to work, and after all of that I was REALLY behind on my lesson planning and choreography for the studio! Our family is settled back into a normal routine now, which feels surprisingly nice.

The day he came home was hectic, and I ended up missing him getting off the plane :( Their plane was supposed to arrive at 5:45am (in Salt Lake), but they arrived even earlier than that! I pulled into the parking lot at 5:30, and he was already off the plane, looking around :( We finally found each other in the throngs of people, and it was VERY exciting! I wish I could've been there to see him get off the plane (it's very cool), so I still feel sad about that. It's my opinion that the military should've made them wait on the plane until 5:45 (since that's the time they gave all of the families). LOTS of people missed it (including his parents and sister and brother-in-law)! :( Oh well right?! At least he's HOME!

He and I headed to Vegas for 4 days, and it was so fun and relaxing! We stayed at The Wynn, slept in really late (like 9am!), sat in the hot tub in the morning, rode the roller coaster at New York New York, watch a few water shows at The Bellagio, ate good food, shopped, and saw the Cirque du Soleil show at the MGM Grand--KA. Josh and I LOVE the shows in Vegas, and we always try to go to at least one while we're there. Our favorite show so far is La Reve, which coincidentally plays at The Wynn. So AMAZING! KA is currently our 2nd favorite. One other thing we enjoy is watching people :) While waiting an hour to be seated at a restaurant, we sat on a bench in a high traffic area at the New York New York hotel, and watched people. It was great fun :)

I LOVE traveling with Josh; we always have a good time. He always lets people go ahead of him when it's a crowded situation; he helps other people with their bags on shuttles; he always tries to carry my stuff, as well as his; he insists I wear his jacket when I don't have mine; he makes me feel safe, and he is insanely patient! It was SO nice not having to be the one "in charge." :) Not that he's in charge of me, but I can just relax and have fun when I'm with him, and I know he's got my back. One night we were walking to our car in a parking garage, and he had to run back inside to get something. All of the sudden I felt scared and vulnerable, and right then I realized how much his presence reassures and comforts me--just his presence! Now that I think about it, I should've just walked back in with him! :)

We had a great time, and I'm sure we'll be visiting again soon :) But it was so wonderful seeing Annabelle again! I missed her SO much, and I'm sure she was wondering whether we were coming back for her at all. It took her about an hour before she was warmed up to us, but then it was just like old times :) She LOVES having a daddy, and he is wrapped around her finger :)

My classes at the studio are going really well. I love all of my students so much, and they bring a lot of love and happiness to my life! The older girls are improving, and the younger girls are learning at a faster pace this semester, which is good! I've been so busy with all the classes, but luckily I'm still gone only 10 hours/week. The tough part is the choreography and lesson planning, which I have to do at home. It always becomes worth it when I'm in class, watching them dance, but it's hard to have that perspective when I'm at home, wanting to watch TV and relax (as opposed to dancing in my living room) :)

Quite honestly, I feel pretty exhausted. The past 3 weeks have been busier than I ever expected, and I'm trying to learn how to be a mom, wife, and teacher all at the same time, while trying to squeeze in a little time for myself. I started teaching dance after Josh left for Afghanistan, so I'm new at juggling all 3! I keep making a goal to get up at 7 everyday, in order to have a little while to plan and get a head start on my day before Annabelle gets up, but so far I haven't quite been able to do it; I am NOT a morning person! I do believe a little organization goes a LONG way, so I'm hoping with more planning It'll feel less chaotic. I am looking forward to this next week, and hoping I can get more consistency going for our family.

I also had a follow-up appt. with my cardiologist (related to my hospital madness) and everything looks good. My blood pressure is still low, and I get dizzy pretty frequently when I stand up, but he believes my body is still trying to recover from the E-Coli virus, as well as all the differents meds I was on. I guess it takes a while for the body to normalize itself after something like that. Anyway, this past week I had to wear a heart monitor for 24 hrs, so we can make sure it's not dipping again, and I will have another follow up next week regarding those results. I feel pretty good though!

I need to do another post about Annabelle updates :) She is finally beginning to say some words, and is as cute as ever! Love her!

PS: If anyone has any lactose-free recipes to share, send them my way! Thx!