And so it begins...

I'm starting to kick back in to Crazy Mom mode, people. It's looking like we'll hit the road sometime next week to go and welcome my kid home. Stephen Moore (his gunner, you've met him here, right?) is in Kuwait right now, and will be home sometime in the next 2 days. Brian's to follow in a week or so. The date is still up in the air, and will remain so until I get a phone call.

Brian will have 48 hours off when he gets home, and then 2 weeks on base, before coming home for a month.

I don't know if you remember, but when he came home on leave last time, I had to buy a beverage refrigerator. HAD. to. buy. it.

This time, it's sheets. Pillowcases. Towels. And Snuggle, I had to have Snuggle dryer sheets, even though I was well stocked-up on generic Target dryer sheets. I'm hellbent on filling the bathroom with lots of "smells like a good man" products before the boys get home also: Shower gels, deodorants, and a new bottle Armani Mania may just be gracing the main vanity in a weeks' time.

I've been cleaning like a madwoman also:

Mr. Clean is my best friend.

The fridge is spic 'n span, and ready to be re-stocked.

The wood floors have been washed, dried, and polished.
On hands & knees, kiddies. Twice. None of this froo-froo mop stuff.

Japanese beetle grubs have taken over the neighborhood lawns. Clint and I have sprayed, spreaded, weaseled, and re-planted. I don't think it will be in golf-course shape in 2 weeks' time, but at least we made an effort.

The garage: 4 hours last night alone. Every. Single. Beanie. is boxed up. Care package supplies are neatly packed in tubs. I can't park in the garage yet, but I can walk through it again! Whoo hoo!


The beverage refrigerator is filling back up, and there may or may not be a bottle of Brian's favorite rum waiting around the house...


And I'm e-mailing Brian and Stephen: What's for dinner, what do you want? I'm throwing various foods in the shopping cart that I don't even know if they like. With new sheets and towels last night, I stocked up on linguine. Just out of the blue, linguine. In case one of them likes linguine.

I plan ahead: 10,000 calorie mashed potatoes! I can buy the butter now! I should wait on the heavy cream. Steaks! French toast! I wonder if I'll get to make them breakfast! Homemade salsa! Lobster—no lobster, Brian didn't like lobster. Does Stephen like lobster? I'll buy lobster for Stephen!

I looked back through e-mail archives this morning, to a message my friend Chris sent me when her son Billy came home last fall. She wrote, on the morning of:

Got up at 5am and baked a blueberry pie and a few dozen cookies. My house looks like the 4th of July and my stomach is in knots. My husband asked what time we were leaving for Bloomington and I said noon. He thinks that might be too soon for a 5:30pm flight so I guess we will leave at about 4:15pm.

The airport she spoke of is about 1 hour away. I think that her idea of arriving 4 hours early is perfectly acceptable. Because what if, just what if, Billy's flight came in 4 hours early? That happens a lot, yes? She'd miss it, if that happened!

In summary, folks, this is your brain...
And this is a Mother's brain, when she's expecting her Soldier Baby (plus one more) home from a war.



And we still have at least 3 weeks before he'll be home (in my home.)

Lord have mercy.