update

The smoke cleared for a while yesterday and the fire is moving in the opposite direction. Still, no wind, so the firefighters can do their job.
Yesterday afternoon, I corralled the kids into my bedroom, put in a Garfield DVD and tried to take a nap. I was successful for 30 minutes and it felt great since I hadn't slept much in the last 3 days. I was half-asleep and heard a knock on the door. No one just drops by here, it's out of the way, but there on the front step was my BIL. He came to check on us since he knew Stuntman was out of town. He could see the smoke plume from his house down by the beach and drove all of the way up here. The kids were ecstatic. They absolutely love their uncle.
Of course, my house was a DISASTER! On a scale from 1-10, it was a 9 on the messy scale. Toys all over, laundry in the midst of folding on the dining table, dishes in the sink. It was embarrassing. It didn't take long to tidy up while he had the kids occupied.
He stayed for dinner and left when it was the kids' bedtime once he could see that we were in the clear.
Right now, the smoke outside is unbearable and ash is currently falling, but no flames nearby. :)

Recap

I hope everyone had a wonderful day yesterday, we did. Everything didn't flow smoothly, but it was great anyhow.
We went to a BBQ at the cousin's house, and everyone was happy to see Stuntman. There were no off-handed comments this time, surprisingly, since many of those in attendance spend their weekends at anti-war protests. A few difficult questions that Stuntman handled well. I had a brat, but no beer. I forgot my good beer at home and didn't feel like wasting the calories on a tasteless one. My margarita pie was a hit and I need to email my recipe to everyone in attendance I hear. I had a bite of it, it was delicious.
We met up later for fireworks viewing with a good friend that just returned from Afghanistan. Stuntman and he chatted the entire time. I think he and his family will be over in the next few days for a BBQ over here. He has a 2 1/2 year old son and E3 and he enjoyed playing together. Only a couple tears, and that's good for two 2 yr-olds that are up past their bedtimes.
So, how was everyone else's day?

Visitors

My sister is in town visiting for a few days. I have barely had a chance to read the blogs that I usually do. I don't want her to find out my super-secret blogger ID. It is so silly, but she's my big and only sister. I don't know what I have to worry about, other people that I know are aware that I blog.
My sister and I are very different. We do not even look like we are related. Personalities are just as different as our appearances. Even though we haven't always gotten along, she has always been there for me when I needed her. She is one of the strongest people I know, a little weird, but strong.
Her 17 yr old daughter is also here. She is almost an adult! I remember when she was the flower girl at my wedding, boy do I feel old.
They both say that they have no idea how I am doing this on my own (the 3 kid/dog/work/house/etc. thing). I really don't know myself some times.
I'll only have my visitors for a few more days...I'm sure time will fly right by...
Sometimes I really miss having family nearby, instead of half-way across the country.
After they leave, I'll need to revert to saying "soda" instead of "pop".

What am I doing?

I began blogging pretty recently. Initially, I thought of it as a nice way to document this history-making year. We are in the middle of a tumultuous time in our nation's history. It is a turning-point and I'm not sure which way we are turning. My Hubby is away at war, and as my mom just reminded me during our phone conversation, he may not come back.
I'm finding that posting myself, reading and/or commenting at other blogs is very therapeutic. Almost all of the information on the war, I find online. I find that there are many other mil-spouses that are going through, or have gone through what I am dealing with right now.
Today I was reading a blog that was linked on one of my daily reads. On the sidebar there were adorable pictures of a young couple in love. This young woman's blog was fun to read. Eventually, I saw that she called herself a "widow, but not technically".
I read her early posts and saw that early this year her boyfriend was killed in Iraq. This yanked me right back into the reality that we all face as families and friends of those who serve our country.
Here at home we still face all the same, usually meaningless, day-to-day challenges. A world away people are trying to kill my Hubby and many others.
Sometimes I feel guilty that I'm here at home, enjoying all the luxuries that modern American life brings. I've decided that I'm still going to post my day-to-day crap. That's my life... but that doesn't mean that I'm not constantly thinking of my Hubby.