Short Cuts

   Some people ask me how I do the life of a military wife? There really are a lot of different answers to that and depends on the day and my mood sometimes. However, there are a few shortcuts I've built into my life for this season to make things just a little bit easier on me. The first one is that I gave up mowing and weed eating. I now pay a professional to come do it and I have no guilt in admitting it. I will also have no difficulty giving that job back to my hubby when he comes back home. The second thing that I do to make my life easier is to take the boys monthly to get their haircuts. Adam is usually in charge of their hair when he is here. The last deployment I did the boys haircuts. However, I really didn't care for haircutting so once more I defer to the professionals. Those are just two of the shortcuts that I take. I'm sure there are more but these are the ones I can think of right now. The advise I've given to many military spouses during deployments is to take care of yourself.  One of the most important parts of knowing yourself is knowing when to say no or to let things go. You are no good to your children, hubby, and others when you don't have any thing left to offer. I think I've always been pretty good at boundaries but I've sharpened these skills too through the experience of being an army wife. Maybe tomorrow I'll share about what things I've put into place in my life to relief some of the stress of being an army wife, having a demanding career, and taking care of my two active boys (which other than my husband are my world, but all the same can be exhausting, especially being both Mommy and Daddy 24/7 ).  

Sometimes You Just Need a Break

   Today was a full day at work and then I ended up taking my oldest son to the urgent care for a rash that he has. Thankfully we got medicine to take care of it but he thought it was horrible that we were there for an hour and a half. I thought that was pretty good time considering. So tonight after everything was figured out I let the boys play their games and I read my book. I thought some relaxing was in order.

Scrapbooking

   It's been awhile but I enjoy to scrapbook and am trying to finish up our Iraq deployment scrapbook. So I'm just under three years behind. I'm finishing this one by hand and then my plan is to move to digital after our move back to Oklahoma. So yes, we are on our third deployment and I'm working on our 2nd deployment scrapbook. I need motivation to keep on going. I get in a good pattern and get a bunch done and then I take a break. It's probably been almost six months since I've really done much on this scrapbook. However, my sister and I are going to try and scrapbook Tuesday evenings together via Skype so hopefully that will help. I just went through the last several months of my pictures for this scrapbook and ordered the rest that I need so that felt good. Now I just have to get them and start the finishing up product.  I'm hoping once I go digital I'll have more motivation to do it more often since it's at my fingertips on my laptop. Right now with doing it by hand I have to pull everything out and that is a little overwhelming. Although I still have lots of paper and stickers to use so we shall see but that is the plan for now. I want to be caught up on scrapbooking when he gets back but I'm thinking that is probably a far reaching goal however I can aim for the stars and hopefully I'll get a good majority done. My hubby could careless how much I get done but it's another goal for me to focus on for the next nine months or so.

Work Week

   Today was back to work once more. I'm also tearing my house (room) apart trying to find my passports. I know we have the passports here but am not sure they are current and am freaking out a bit because I have every intention of going to Canada with my mother-in-law in a month to visit family. I also talked to my Mom about my parents coming to hang out with my family over our fall break. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll make it back to Pennsylvania for Christmas again this year. I've set up a little more traveling this year to give me more breaks for life and work while we are going through this deployment. I've got to take care of me and my boys and it's always great to spend extra time with family and friends.

Redo

   Church was great this morning. After that though, I could just take a rewind on the day. The boys spent the night with Grandma last night and were grumpy when I picked them up. I ended up putting their phones, leapsters, and wii games up on the fridge for the week and told them they have to earn them back. It didn't helped that I stayed up late last night myself. Hoping everyone gets a goodnight sleep here at our house. Tomorrow is another day, thankfully.

Date Night With The Girls

   My hubby and I were pretty good about having regular date nights, about once a month (which I typically plan and set up babysitting). However, now that we are into this deployment, I've started an army support group for some of the army wives that I know (well there is a Mom and fiance too). We are doing monthly activities, ladies night out once a month, and kid activities once a month. This way we get to do fun things with our kids, get some time without the kiddos, and time time to socialize with others that "just get it".
   Tonight we went to see the play "Oklahoma". Fun times! And I know Adam wouldn't have appreciated it as much as my girlfriends. There are some pros to this deployment.

Errand Day

   It's been a productive day. I got a lot of errands done. I also had lunch with a friend. And now I'm ready for another busy day tomorrow. This evening I relaxed with the boys.

My Bad Habits

   Everyone has bad habits. The other day when I was watering my flowers I was thinking about mine. Here are the ones I can think of off the top of my mind.

1) I'm a horrible procrastinator.
    I really do wait until the last minute to do things and then am running around trying to get things done.Then I promise myself that I will not wait until the last minute again and I still do.

2) I get lost easily because I'm not good with directions.
    My Dad can drive anywhere once and not go there for a year and remember how to get there again. I, on the other hand can barely remember how to get to the places I regularly go.

3) I have good intentions but I have a hard time following through.
I still have a birthday card for my sister, mothers day card for my Mom, and birthday card for my husband that I never gave them.

4) I'm very opinionated.
I have strong opinions and when you get me started sometimes I have a hard time knowing when to stop sharing them.

5) My "to do lists" grow and grow. Every time I cross one thing off, I add three more.
It doesn't matter how many lists I make they never seem to get completed. I always have things to add to them.

6) I take to many pictures.
I'm not sure I really buy into this one but I know my hubby and boys think so, although in my opinion (which I already shared that I'm very opinionated) I think one day they will be thankful for the pictures.

7) I always think things won't take as long as they end up actually taking.
Cleaning, cooking, running errands. I think it'll take an hour or two and it inevitably ends up taking double the amount of time.

These are just a few of my bad habits. Which the first step in recovery is admitting that I have a problem. However, in this instance I'm not sure how this will actually work because for all my good intentions I'm not sure I have the follow through to turn them around. Besides these things tend to make me the person I am.

Flower Garden

   Nothing exciting happening here. I worked on pulling grass and weeds out of my flower garden tonight. Jacob loves to help me and was helping with the weeding and watering the flowers. Nathan on the other hand was content to sit inside and play games on his iPhone. Gardens really aren't my thing but it's pretty and I enjoy the warmth and invite it's added to the front of my house, along with my table and chair that I bought recently for a mother's day gift for myself. My hubby started the garden long before he left but never did get around to doing much with it. One of my girlfriends who has a green thumb helped me get it started one weekend. Now I just have to do a little upkeep here and there. I don't like things that take more of my time. The goal is to be making my life less hectic but in a way it reminds me to slow down and enjoy the little beauty that life has to offer. My Grandma always had beautiful flower gardens and she lived behind me most of my growing up years. I'd like to think she's smiling down at my little sunshine here on earth :)

Skype!

 I got to skype with my boys and man tonight! Whoever invited skype is awesome! It's a great way to stay in contact! Nathan showed Daddy the teddy bear he made at Build a Bear with his daycare today. I love my sweet boys, got to read some books with them while dinner was cooking in the oven.

Back to Work I Go

I'm tired. I went back to work today, always difficult after being off on vacation for a week. My house is finally somewhat back in order.

And since yesterday was Father's Day I wanted to send out a special message to my hubby from my sons.

Getting Back Into the Routine

Today was a busy but fun day, also very hot! Nathan had his first t-ball game this morning and boy was it hot! He loved playing though and has learned so much from his first season in the spring. Little brother didn't enjoy being out in the hot sun to much though. Lunch with Grandma after the game, and then a trip to the library. I can barely believe that my six year old can read books by himself already! How did that happen?!
   Then this evening I got to hang out with a friend and have some girl time. Always fun and never enough of those nights.

Woops, I Must Still Be on Vacation in My Mind. Well not really.....

   I guess I'm still on vacation in my mind. I didn't even think about blogging. When I started this blog I wanted to do it daily. I've done pretty good. It's been almost six months and I think I've missed about seven days. This last week I wanted to spend with my husband and didn't mind if I missed blogging. However, last night, there was no intention, I simply forgot which is amazing because I'm usually on the computer quite a bit throughout the day (and I still was in fact, uploading vacation pictures to my fb account).

   Anyways, yesterday was recovery day from vacation. I cleaned out the car and unpacked some, started laundry, and went grocery shopping. My house looks like a mini tornado went through it still but I'm hoping to recover the rest of it today. This morning we move on to Nathan's summer t-ball season. I guess I should use the time while the kids are still in bed and watching Saturday cartoons to semi attack the rest of my house.

How Many Times Have We Done This?

 The question of the morning as I was saying goodbye once again to my husband was, "Don't cry, how many times have we done this?" My answer: "Too Many." Too many this deployment and to many times through the other two deployments and Hurricane Katrina. But I can't not make myself cry when I'm leaving my heart behind over and over again. People say and think it gets easier, but it really doesn't, it just changes, life changes, but saying goodbye never gets easier in these circumstances. And truth be told my hubby isn't heartless, he just doesn't like seeing me cry. And I'm not a crier. I actually dislike crying in public. I consider myself strong and independent but I still cry, I can't help it.

Beach Time!

   My family and I are enjoying our time at the beach. We have a nice quiet place on the bay where we can go swimming in the ocean with hardly anyone else. There is also another army family that we are getting to hang out with today and tomorrow. The one thing I've learned about army wives is even though we each have such different stories and unique outlooks on life we share so much simply due to the military bond. Don't get me wrong that doesn't mean I click with every army wife that I meet but I do enjoy meeting so many different people, hearing their stories, and having the common bond of deployment. There simply isn't enough words to describe what a deployment is like unless "you've been there, done that" or are going through it.
   Looking forward to some more beach time with my family. Nothing much more refreshing than this right now.

Off to Florida :)

   Well today was a relaxing day watching TV and hanging out at the hotel. My hubby did get me a new digital camera since I dropped mine in the pool last weekend. I tried the rice bucket but it didn't work for me. And we ate at Olive Garden, yum! Now to head to Florida in the morning :)

The Army Still Has My Man and I'm Getting Impatient

   So the drive yesterday to Mississippi went pretty well. We made it here in about eleven hours. But being cooped up in the car with a four and six year old was a little tiring. We got something to eat and check in at the hotel by eight o'clock last evening. And then we finally got to see Daddy! Which was the million and one question that I got asked on the trip. How long until we get to see Daddy?
   So after the initial enthusiasm as being back together as a family calmed down some I asked my hunny what the plan was for the morning. He had to be back at base by six in the morning. I knew he had to go back until about noon today so not really a big deal. I had planned on taking the kids to the park, movies, or doing some shopping.  HOWEVER, when he explained that I would have to drive him to the base at five in the morning (and get the kids up) or let him take the car and be stuck at the hotel my mood wasn't so jolly! You mean after being stuck in the car with a four and six year old all day to come see you. Now I get the option of waking them up super early and taking you to base or being stuck in the hotel?! Just perfect.
   So being the flexible person I am (after some deep breaths and pouting), I came up with a  backup plan and decided that the boys and I could go swimming at the hotel after breakfast. One problem, the hotel has no pool. Great! Hubby was sure to let me know there is a strip mall behind the hotel and a Waffle House across the street from the hotel (which is a four lane street on both ways!), no way am I crossing that street with my kids!
   So on to plan three, let the boys sleep until they were done, which was seven thirty (pretty typical for them). Hubby took the car, so I'm carless for the morning. I had him bring in the leapsters ( one which is working, the other one needs a leapster Doctor, and their iPhones - they have games on them that they play). We are eating breakfast at the hotel that has continental and then exploring the outdoors to walk around the local area and see what we can find to entertain us. If this takes all of two minutes, I have my kindle to read and endless amounts of time that I can spend on the computer but my boys will get pretty restless in a hotel room for several hours just waiting for Daddy (even with their electronics and the TV). So on to our adventure of the day!
   And on a side note, I specifically asked my hubby to bring in my phone charger so I would be able to have it fully charged. While he remembered to bring everything else he happened to forget that so I'm pretty much phoneless and unable to communicate with him. I guess he can find us since we should only be about a block from the hotel at all times!

Packed and Ready to Go

   All packed and ready to get a goodnight sleep before heading out in the morning to see my hunny! I'm not sure who is more excited, me or the boys?! Goodnight all.

One More Day

   So much to accomplish in one day but so ready to pack up and head out on vacation. Looking forward to seeing my man and not thinking about work at all for a whole week! Not much more than than to say tonight.

Too Tired

   Last night I passed out on the living room chair from sheer exhaustion. The last two days at work have been pretty intense to say the least and it's drained me. Hoping for more restful and productive days these next two days before I head out for vacation with all my boys! So excited to see my hubby in two days!

Mental Health Services and the Military

   It's been one of those days. So my words for the day are the military needs to really take a good look at the mental health services provided for their service members and their families, and the lack of those services. Just saying. I've got a bunch more to add to this but am not sure I could put if very nicely. However, I think the family services are poorly lacking for the national guard families. As well, I'm not really sure what services are provided for the service members, but the little I do know and have been exposed to it seems like it's a mark of dishonor to admit that there are mental health needs that need to be addressed. Instead of working with the service members and their families things are pushed under the carpet until things explode and are pass the point of damage. Deployments are difficult and mental health services need to be revamped. I guess my main point is that mental health services for military members and their families need to be more proactive rather than reactive.

Hanging with the Girls and Kiddos

   Today was a fun day. Church this morning. Then I met up with two other army wives and headed to the splash pad with our kiddos. The splash pad had a birthday party going on so we decided to head to the pool. It was fun, however I dropped my digital camera in the pool so definitely not happy about that. I'm trying the rice bucket overnight and seeing if that can make the camera better.
   This afternoon we went to see Kung Fu Panda Two, cute movie! Then my friends watched my boys for a few hours so I could get some paperwork done so I'm ready to go enjoy family time and not think about work. I can't explain how nice it is to be with other army wives that get it and the boys love getting to hang out with other kids.

Pampering!

   This morning was productive. I got the house cleaned and the laundry started. However, this afternoon and evening I enjoyed a night out with my mother-in-law for her birthday. It was fun, some girl time, massages, a tiny bit of shopping, and a movie. There are some good things about this deployment. I think when Adam gets back he can have a boys night with Nathan and Jacob and I'll have to continue some girl time with my mother-in-law. :)

Friday!

   I've said it before and I'll probably say it again but I love Fridays! Especially this week. I'm so ready for the weekend. Even though last week  was a three day weekend this week just seemed extra intense so I'm more than ready to enjoy the weekend

Busy

   Seems to be my theme this week. Busy, busy, and busy. I go to work and then pick up the boys and head to their swimming lessons. This evening Jacob finished up his season of t-ball with ice cream at Braum's with his team. One more week of swim lessons and then we are off to go on vacation and visit Daddy! Now to just finish up everything else so we are ready to go!

Just a Few Thoughts for Today

   I started the day in a good mood. Summer has started out pretty well for us these last few days. My co-worker told me she was grumpy and I just smiled but now that the shoe is on the other foot I'm a bit of a grump myself!I get so irritated when others think my kids are not behaving the way they should and look at me like maybe I don't have a clue. Then I just want to give them a piece of my mind. However, I use good impulse control and resist from stating my comments that are going through my head. I know thoughts are where it begins but sometimes I just can't resist it. I want to shout at others, you really have no idea what my life involves and who I am as a professional or as a mother so please stay out of my business!
   My four year old is going through a very trying and testing phase. I admit it is somewhat if not totally exhausting. However, please be careful how you talk to me about this. He has consequences. He stands in the corners, looses TV, outside time. and yes he gets spankings too. It just happens to be the phase that he is in for now. My six year old has his moments too but for the most part is doing fabulous. However, that didn't come easily either. When this deployment is done I will have done parenting about two and a half years on my own so please just give me a break and if you really want a challenge come try and do my job and then come home and be both a Mom and Dad to two active boys! They are great kids and very loving but they are two boys that are going through an adjustment of not having their Daddy around and having a Mommy that is constantly trying to juggle all things. So there I put it out there, I feel better.
My husband's best friend came over to work on my car this evening and I gave him an earful of my thoughts too. Poor guy, I know it's girl talk but I just needed another adult to vent to so I spit it all out at him. He was smart and just listened. My hubby's is probably glad that his friend got the the talk tonight instead of him. By the time I get to talk to my husband I'll be calmer, at least I hope.