A New Found Respect

This is Josh and let me just say first of all I have no idea what I'm doing posting on this blog. I've never done it before and don't know what I'm doing. With that said, I will attempt to post about the last 6 days of my life with 3 kids and NO wife! That's right, many of you know Shanen is in New York with her sisters and mom to celebrate her mom's 60th b-day this year. That leaves me at home . . . . . alone with 3 kids. My wife is very brave! Sorry there are no pics. We only have one camera and Shanen took it w/ her to NY.

I knew that if this was going to be a success in the kids' eyes, it had to be a fun week. So after we dropped Shanen off at her sisters house this past Sat. morning, the kids and I headed down to Tempe Town Lake to ride our bikes along the waterfront. Well I wasn't really riding a bike, it was more like a Barbie scooter!!! That's right, my bike had flat tires so I was rockin' the Barbie scooter! The girls had their bikes and Kruz zippin along on his big wheel. There were a lot of people down there either jogging, biking, or walking and I'm not sure if they were laughing at all of us or just me chasing after the kids, while riding a Barbie scooter. We had a blast.

I was fortunate enough to not have to attend my Sunday morning meetings so I could be w/ the kids. I only burned myself twice curling the girls' hair (j/k)! It was a great day ended by watching The Amazing Race at my parents house and eating popcorn! The kids were still on Fall Break until they had to go back to school yesterday so I decided that if I was going to take work off on Mon. and Tues, there was no way we were just staying at home. So we packed up and drove the 2 hrs. to Woods Canyon Lake up out of Payson just on top of the Rim, and camped for the night. We went fishing, shot the BB gun (shhhh - don't tell Shanen), made smores (lots of them), the kids made up songs and sang loud enough for the whole campground (all 5 campsites w/ people in them), and had a great time. It got down into the low 40's which is freezing for us but no one was too cold. We had a huge fire the whole time we were around the campsite so that made it a little warmer. Our campsite backed up to the lake, we were about 50 yrds from the it so the kids could go down and throw rocks in the lake and just mess around. They loved it!

We left early afternoon in time to be back by 3:30pm on Tues. b/c Kobi had soccer practice at 4:30pm. Here's where the stress begins. In 1 hrs. time I had to get the car unloaded, get laundry form the past 4 days put into piles, get Kobi dressed for soccer, get all the camp gear put away, of course vacuum out the car (b/c I'm "that way"), and scrub the kids' shoes. Of course I had to tell the girls to wear their tennis shoes camping and they happened to be their school shoes, which were all dirty from wearing them camping. So I had to scrub them before we left for soccer so they could at least have some time to dry in the sun while we were gone. They came out like new by the way. Anyway, that night was a little crazy trying to get baths/showers done, get clothes ready for school, start doing laundry, making stroganoff for dinner (which took an hour and I even know how to cook, or so I thought), start to clean-up the house, etc. It finally ended w/ Kobi falling a sleep at the dinner table while eating dinner. It was 7:45pm and they were all were dead tired.

Wed. morning started off early for me. I had to get ready for work before I got the kids up for school so that I could concentrate on them. I was supposed to make their lunches the night before but there was no way I was doing that. I didn't have time and just didn't want to mess w/ it. So I took the easy way out and let the kids buy lunch and they were of course thrilled! I did their hair again, this time no curls just a pony tail. It ended up looking like how their hair looks at the end of the day when Shanen normally does it! I'm sure the teachers at school were thinking, "Hmm, mom must be out of town for the Hough girls!" I got the girls off to school and Kruz to Renae's for pre-school and I headed to work. I was so stressed that morning worrying I deviated or heaven forbid, forgot something from the "explicit instructions" Shanen had left me. For those of you who know my wife, know that she a big planner and has EVERYTHING organized. Luckily for me, she left me a road map for 6 days so I wouldn't get lost! My mom came over to be w/ Kruz after his school got done at 11:00am and to be there for when the girls got home from school. Like any good mom who see's her son at home alone w/ the kids for 6 days, she cleaned my house so I wouldn't have to! Thanks mom, it looks awesome! You saved me some serious time last night. Now keep in mind, I am kind of a "neat freak" so it wasn't that bad but she did things that made a noticeable difference. Thanks again mom!

This morning (Thurs) was the same schedule as yesterday in the morning. This time, the cheapskate that I am, I made lunches. I had a little more time . . . . well actually I made Kylee do it. Kobi was a little cranky from being so tired. It was a little rough for her to get out of bed but all-in-all, the kids were great.

Everyone is so excited for Shanen to come home tonight! I can't wait!!! I think it was Sunday night after the kids went to bed that I actually started to miss her. We have never really been appart for this long in the 10+ yrs. we've been married and so that was very different. That house seemed too quiet if that's possible. I truly have a new found respect for my wife! She does amazing things w/ our kids. The patience she has for them is remarkable. I don't know how she does it day-in and day-out. Don't get me wrong, we have good kids but there are times when I could . . . . . . . . . . .! I now understand why on occasion when I get home, "she is done". She does so many little things around here that I quickly noticed. I hope that I never forget it AND that I show her I realize the things she does. I love you honey! Thanks for giving me this great opportunity and reminding me why you are the best! (just don't give me the opportunity again, anytime soon - LOL) In the future you need to remind me (and you know you will have to) of what you do for this family, just refer me back to this post that I wrote. YOU ROCK!

Luv U!