Resume Normal.

While Not the Momma is on shore-duty, we've come to a kind of new "normal. He leaves for school around 6:30 or 7:00 (earlier if he wants to work out or ride his bicycle), and comes home around 4:00 or 5:00 most days. I know. It's like heaven. It's the life non-military families get to live most of the time -- or at least what I dream happens in your homes.

During the day while he's gone (and while I'm not sick as a dog gestating his second child who is determined to team up with its older sibling to be the death of me), I have a routine. Mondays I clean the house. I strip sheets, scrub toilets, etc. Tuesdays I go to my bible study. Wednesdays I do laundry. Thursdays are grocery shopping and Fridays are tidy up before the weekend.

The past three weeks (in reality, more like the past four months) I've been slacking from that routine. The groceries are bought when the milk jug is dry. The carpets are vacuumed when Little Monster rolls around on the carpet and comes up with more hair than the dogs, the floors are mopped when they are so sticky you burn extra calories walking. The dishwasher has been emptied when we are out of forks (meaning we've pulled all of the clean ones out and need to do another load of dirty dishes). As for the laundry, that's a whole other story. Not the Momma has been in charge of that. Laundry has basically been wash, dry, dump somewhere. Dig in the pile for clean clothes until you can't find anything, then start over. Cleaning implied tossing stuff into a place where no one would look (our bedroom), shutting the door and vacuuming and scrubbing the day before-or of- the arrival of guests.

Are you gagging yet? Yeah. Me too. I can't believe I actually told you about the grossness of my house.

Yesterday, Not the Momma went back to school after a full three week break. It was amazing. We've not spent that much time together since we dated. And when we were dating we were attached at the hip. It was kind of gross, actually. The only bad part about him being home is that while I felt mostly better, I wasn't able to resume my normal routine. He likes to mess it up. You know, by sleeping past 6AM, and being all warm and snuggly, taking me on shopping trips, picnics, and play dates at the park with our son. We had a great time while he was home. I was sad to see him go back to school. However, I was glad to see him go back because I thought maybe I could resume normal.

I also hit the second trimester. Well, far enough into the second trimester for it to make a difference. It is wonderful for several reasons. I no longer feel the need to set up a bed in the bathroom so that I can make use of the toilet every ten minutes -- or sooner if I decide to attempt to eat or drink something, or think about eating or drinking something. I no longer sit down on the couch to rest for a second and wake up 3o minutes later wondering if I was abducted by aliens. I can stand up for more than 20 seconds without the need to pass out or rest. Of course there are the achy joints (I didn't have this the last time) and the bathroom issues, but those are minor. I can clean my house again!

Right now, my friends, I'm sitting in a recently dusted, recently vacuumed (and shampooed mind you) living room. The movies are put away, there isn't junk piled all over the tables. I am able to sit here and relax. The playroom has also been cleaned (for now) and vacuumed and shampooed. Would it be wrong if I just lived my life in these two rooms so I didn't have to go into the other mountainous piles of mess we've accumulated? Yes? Okay then. I'm off to dig out the dining room. It is where the most recent laundry piles (folded, however) have accumulated. If you don't hear from me in a few days I may have been lost. If you don't hear from me before Saturday, send someone to the airport to pick up my in-laws.

There went normal.