I'm not sure if time is flying or not.  Sometimes it feels that way - I wake up, get dressed, and then 5 minutes later I am putting my kids to bed and falling onto the couch exhausted.  Other days I watch the clock hit 5:30pm and wish wish wish I was waiting to hear my husband's car pull into the driveway.  Wish for a hug, a kiss, and some help with dinner, bath, books, and bed.

But today marks 3 months since he walked out the front door.  I am going to celebrate that milestone and look forward to this fourth month. 

So, without further ado:

The Good:

*  We survived!
*  We have had lots of family time this month.  My mom is still here (for 2 more weeks) and my husband's brother and his family visited.  We had a blast!
*  Kate finished her first set of swimming lessons and did great.  She LOVES the water which, as a former competitive swimmer, makes me really happy.
*  We started potty training and Kate is really doing well!  She enjoys the concept and loves the praise and attention.  I just need to take the leap to underwear and see how it goes.  Thank goodness for hardwood floors!
*  Our road trip to CT proved a success.  The drive was hard, but it was more than worth it to see my kids and my grandparents interact.
* My friend Mary moved in down the street (we met at Pax River and I convinced her that Norfolk was the place to be.  Or something like that).  I am so excited to have a close friend within walking distance!
*  Connor is crawling, pulling up, and just making my life chaotic and fun.

The Bad:

* Ugh... well, let's just say that weight loss resolution from last month didn't happen.  Again, no gain, but seriously - I need to get on this.
*  Running has tapered considerably due to illness and a fall down the stairs.  While I am still hoping that I can make the run happen, my hopes are dimming.  Unfortunately, running without training isn't really an option when you have to wake up and care for two kids the next day.  Either way it'll be a fun weekend, and the Wicked 10K is still in October (which would mean I ran a race before Connor's 1st birthday) but I am really hoping I can pull it together for the Rock 'n Roll. We'll see.
*  Some days I feel like all of my friends are flocking to San Diego.  Without me.  Take me with you!!!
*  The chance to visit John in port at all during this deployment doesn't seem like a possibility.  I realize that with two kids I would be very very lucky for that to happen.  But it still bums me out that after 3 deployments I have yet to go to a port.  What is wrong with us?!?

Goals for next month:

*  Kate starts preschool (2 days per week) on September 7th.  I vow to soak up that day as much as I can, take a zillion pictures, and make sure Johnny doesn't feel like he missed out.
* I will try to start blogging about my diet and exercise.  Not sure which day or how I will do it.  But look out for some accountability in this blog.
*  Sign Connor up for swim lessons.
*  Enjoy Florida!  On Friday I am flying to Florida sans kiddos to attend a wedding.  I am so excited to have a few evenings with adult conversation, drinking, dancing, and SLEEP.  At this point I am counting down the hours.

We are about 2 weeks from the halfway point to this deployment.  Three months down, four to go!