Two worlds and a second mortgage.

Life has worked out pretty well for us, in the years since Seth's days as an ODA commander were brought to an unexpected halt. We've built a life and a family one piece at a time, and we couldn't be happier with it. We've embraced this time that we've both had away from deployments and field training and late night jumps and early morning formations. We haven't gotten complacent, and we're anxious to get back to the Army grind eventually, but the time away has been good to us. I think the big tough guy really enjoys getting to spend time with his daughter and be "daycare Dad"... and I know the grad school schedule doesn't hurt his feelings, with time for golf outings and three hour workouts.

But every once in awhile something happens to remind me that this is really not what my husband wants to be doing. As much as I know he loves the family time, I am acutely aware that there's nothing he'd rather be doing than killing terrorists. His former weapons sergeant and good friend, who got blown up when Seth did in 2012, was shot in this attack last week. He's at Walter Reed in intensive care now, and I know that's hard on Seth. (As well as a reminder that there's still a war going on out there, everybody in the Starbucks line in the Pentagon food court.)

But Finley's teething and damn near walking, and the yardwork still needs done, and Seth had orientation in preparation for "back to school" to deal with and books to buy (seriously, I feel bad for him- what a juxtaposition of worlds to struggle with!) Plus, we had decided it was time for a new bed. So Saturday it was off to the mall.

Finley loved lululemon, incidentally,

 almost as much as she loved the fruit plate at Crave at lunch (this is her eating an orange wedge like a pro!)

And bed testing is her new favorite activity.

We eventually settled on an (absurdly expensive) sleep number that- no joke- lets you separately raise and lower each half's head and feet, and actually has a massage function. We are going to be eating ramen for years (and so much for the housecleaning service budget), but Seth swears it will solve all of his sleep problems and make him feel like a million bucks.

Besides, Finley really liked the massage.

Although she also loves the hammock, so I don't know how reliable a sleep-surface judge she is.

The rest of our weekend went by in a blur, since we spent most of it immersed in fall cleaning. (By which I mean, I took a ton of old clothes to the shelter and Seth hacked our bushes to bits with a hedgetrimmer. The plant carnage this morning was kind of terrifying.) We did discover that Finley likes penang chicken- the spicier the better- and bowling, and thinks that rolling down the stairs is fun (much to our horror.)

My favorite picture of the week is this one: how Seth and Finley shop.