So my husband's in the Middle East...

 One of these days I'm going to get settled at my parents' house. It just hasn't happened yet. Well, my mom has posted many pictures on facebook.  Here's some she hasn't yet. Joe flew in to Pittsburgh on the 22nd of January and then left the 3rd of February.  He had to fly back to San Antonio after Christmas for his pre-deployment training.  We were grateful he had that small break between training and deployment. A lot of soldiers don't get that luxury. 

So, we went to Jared's and Tabitha's in Pittsburgh.  I have a lot of pictures, but they're all saved on my mom's computer, and I'm on my dad's:) I swiped a few from my mom's FB page. We went to a really fun science museum.  I counted it as a day of homeschooling! Then, Joe and I had a short getaway to Ithaca, NY, close by, but one of my all-time favorite places. We ate at the Moosewood...mmm.

Then, we celebrated Rube's birthday. She stuttered A LOT when she got an Anna doll from Frozen.  She also repeatedly used the word "awesome." I think she liked it.

Then, we visited our friends, the Curtises, in DC. They live right by Mt. Vernon, so we went there and toured around. It was fascinating to learn about George Washington.  I also counted that as a school day!

Finally, we said "au revoir" to Joe. I don't think it's really sunk in how long he's gone, or that I'm going to have a baby while he's away.  Well, not for me, Ruby, or Elliot. We had a pretty hysterical 8-year-old all day on Tuesday when Joe left. We videochat every day at 12.  He's 8 hours ahead of us, so it's tricky to time out. Today, for instance, the kids completely missed Daddy time because of church. 

We had A LOT of snow this week. This on top of Joe leaving meant I had to get creative with my parenting.  We made the most amazing cookies the day it snowed 10 inches, and I bought many crafting supplies.  I still have a few crafts reserved for a later day, but Dottie and Elliot made Valentine bead wands.  Also to have a distraction, Dottie auditioned for a Missoula Children's Theater play and made it!  She had practice every day for 4 hours for a week, and then performed twice on Saturday.  I was seriously impressed at what the group accomplished in such a short time!

At the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. Silly Jared. Joe is wearing a dress shirt and slacks because those were the only long-sleeved clothes he packed since he was soon leaving for a very hot climate.

This is the B&B Joe and I stayed at in Ithaca.  It's called The Henry Miller Inn, and it had THE BEST breakfast.  It was great. There was also a dessert buffet in the evening. We will definitely be going back there!

Happy birthday, Rubaloo!  Those balls on the cake are those giant gourtmet lollipops they sell at Kmart and Walmart.  It was the one thing Ruby wanted for her birthday.  So, we made a clown cake with the balls a balloons.

View of the Potomac from Mt. Vernon. Magical! The area on the other side was turned into a national park so the view from Mt. Vernon would remain unobstructed, just as Washington would have seen it in his day.

The kids. Sure, there was a little complaining about the cold, but they were surprisingly well-behaved on the tour itself.

Jessie, Dottie, and me. I love that girl.

We're hoping to be neighbors again soon.

Farewell to Joe: one last cuddle before he departed on Tuesday morning.

Making crafts on the snow day.

The scrumptious Andes mint cookies. I think I ate 6 in one day. It's okay, I'm pregnant.

Elliot's wand.

Dottie's wand. Ruby was sleeping, which in all honesty, was probably best.

The cast of the play! It was Hansel and Gretel, with a plot twist.

Dottie was a Rascal, one of the witch's minions.  They were very adorable.

My Rascal.