Most Certainly Not: Murphy Visits Hubs

I suppose my husband should have refrained from saying he'd "kick Murphy in the jingle bells" when he arrived home. I can't remember what had happened here, likely the check engine light in my car firing up, that prompted his warning. But, Murphy must have decided to show the length of his reach. Thank goodness Murphy followed his same protocol as he does here--annoying, but not devastating--when dealing with Hubs.

Last night, we FINALLY got video to work with Skype. But then, we couldn't hear each other. I could hear him, but he couldn't hear me or vice versa. So we started the chat feature on Skype and typed back and forth. At least I could SEE him laughing at what I'd typed. Then, eventually, even the chat wasn't working so we'd write notes on paper and hold them up to the webcam so we could read them. It was comical. We just figured it was his janked internet connection not having enough juice to support all the fancy stuff.

Nope.

By the end of the evening, Hubs monitor went completely black. He figured out, though, that if he aimed a flashlight at the monitor, he could make out enough of the images to open a Facebook message window to send me a message. He sent me another message today, telling me he was sitting there with a flashlight in his mouth while he typed. Must be love!

Hubs is not a big fan of the MWR for computers or phone calls. He is much more of a homebody (probably because he likes sitting around in a state unsuited for being in public) and will likely not venture to contact me much.

And therein lies the rub.

We are in the homestretch where communication becomes paramount. Reunification, the fancy term used to describe homecoming and what ensues during the days and weeks after, is tough enough. Tie in communication problems and you could have yourself a bumpy homecoming. Toss in the final weeks prior to traveling to Africa to pick up our daughter and it could become very interesting, in a not so pleasant way.

I have tons to talk to him about, or at the very least, write to him about and replies/responses are pretty important too. It's hard to anticipate what this will mean until he returns to the States. Even then, where he will be has horrible cell phone reception so texting is usually all we can do. He'll have to have someone contact me, though, so I know when to turn his phone back on with our cell phone company! Ha! I've enjoyed those teeny cell bills!

Today, I put a deposit on our room at the boarding house in Ethiopia where we will stay when we travel. It's nicer than just one house but the compound contains houses rather than a hotel. Everyone we know who has stayed there during their adoption trips have raved about how wonderfully personal and nice it is there. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm also playing phone tag with a travel agent. I didn't want to call his cell phone, but now that I've e-mailed him and left a message at his office, I will call it tomorrow if he doesn't return my call. In the e-mail reply, he gave me his cell number telling me I could call it if he was not in the office--how am I supposed to know if you're in the office if my call goes to your voicemail? D'oh!

This is the last homestretch of exorbitant expense before we just get into the normal, everyday costs of raising three kids. Not that those expenses are nothing, but it takes awhile for them to have a comma in them. I've been really careful with our money, especially lately, but it's always something. Lessons, regular bills, tuition, doctor/dentist, gas, ink for the printer (why is that crap so freaking expensive!??!), you name it. It adds up. I'll be glad once I figure all this out and then just start paying down the bills.

But, for now, I'm going to bed. I've been having trouble sleeping at night and then wanting to nap during the day. It's maddening. The bags under my eyes are incredible! Awful. It snowed a bit again today, but I'm hoping that is not an ongoing trend. I'd like to run outside tomorrow if I can! For today, I stayed home and did my ab and butt workouts--Henry helped. He literally laid across my body as I tried to do crunches. I just kept going. I'm sure the extra weight helped with the workout, right?