Yeesh! I suck at this updating thing!

We all (2 babies, 2 dogs and me!) made it safely to my mom's place in IL. We've been here just about 2 weeks now and are slowly getting settled in. The girls are starting to get into a schedule and I'm trying to acclimate to that. I should have figured I'd have to give up my noon time wake-ups sooner or later!
It has been great to see family and friends and I even met Mishu's dad and sister in Indiana so that they could see the girls and they could pass on to me some excersaucers. The girls love them and we use them outside. It has pretty much been non-stop doing things and seeing people since we arrived. I know that in the next few weeks it will slow down. I just need to survive those few weeks! No, I jest, it has been great to see everyone. I missed them all so much.
Mishu is doing well. I can't say much, but what I can say is that he is NOT meant for desk work and thankfully that did not last very long!
I am really glad that the girls are too young to remember him being gone like this, though I am a little worried about what will happen when he comes back for mid-tour leave and when he returns to the states for good. We read the book Daddy recorded for them (Hallmark's Guess How Much I Love You...or something like that) but I had to send it back to him over there because somehow in the move up here, the last page was recorded over. I also sent him one more Christmas book to record for the girls and then I have to eventually get more "regular" (read: non-Christmas) books so that the girls don't get bored by the one. They absolutely love listening to his voice read them the story. We also did a local Build-a-Bear type thing and there are voice boxes in each of the two Teddy Bears we had made for the girls saying "I love you Anna" or "I love you Lorraine." They also have these (slightly creepy looking) Daddy Dolls that go almost everywhere with us. They are ACU dressed stuffed dolls with yarn for hair (that you leave long for mommy or cut short for daddy) with a plastic window at the face for you to insert a picture of your soldier. They do seem to love to look at his picture. So hopefully it wont all be too foreign when he comes home.
Outside of the military things going on in our lives, I went to a little reading/play group at the local library today and it was pretty cool. It was the first playgroup I've ever taken the girls to and they seemed to enjoy it. It is every Friday and Saturday, maybe Mondays as well, and I am planning to make it at least to the Friday ones. Also, not tomorrow but the Saturday after, the girls start their first swim lessons! It is a Mom-and-Tot style and my mom will be helping me. I can't wait. I went to the Conquerors swim practice and the girls loved being in the water. If you'll remember, the Conquerors is the Special Olympics Swim Team that I used to volunteer with and that my brother is on. Well, as I said, the girls had a blast. Lolly just was chilling in my friend N's arms (who has twin boys herself that I used to teach swim to) and N's respite worker and myself held Anna. Anna just loved moving around in the water and even would kick her feet when I had her on her tummy, on the top of the water of course! She even started splashing! I can't wait to start the lessons with them! I know my mom is looking forward to it as well.
School is well, going. Too quickly and I have to get my butt moving in it. I know I can do it, it's just the motivation isn't there. Everyone around me is super supportive and my mom and Mishu even are constantly on me as to what I have gotten done. I can't wait for it to be done and it will all be worth it but it is such a long road to get there! Now is probably a bad time to say that I am kind of scared to have my own classroom! I think part of my problem right now is that I took on the hardest of the four classes I'm taking first and the 5+ page paper on two different cultures is kind of daunting. My plan right now is to get the two other topics done in this class (four total topics, I have one done already) and work on the research as I start on another class. The hardest part of this topic/paper is that six out of the ten research sources must be hard-copy book. I never realized how daunting of a task that is until I now have infants! Thankfully though, I have people here who are more than happy to watch the girls while I snoop around the library for an hour or so. I just looked at everything I have done and everything I have to do and I have 19 total assignments this session (which ends the end of September) and I have three of those finished. Eeek! I really have to get moving! I am working at having another two of those down by this coming Thursday though.
I can't think of much more going on right now other than all of that. I am going to try, right now, to update at least once a week.
Ciao!