Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

Julie

What You Should Know About Being Stationed At Ft. Campbell

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What You Should Know About Being Stationed At Ft. Campbell

We have lived in the Ft. Campbell area for over five years now. Although this part of the country is not home to me, there is a lot to like about it. I am still learning about the city of Clarksville and everything is has to offer.

Ft. Campbell is on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee, about 45 minutes from Nashville

If you end up here you have a lot of choices on where to live. You can live on post of course but you can decide to live in Clarksville on the Tennessee side or Oak Grove on the Kentucky side. Some people live further out in either direction and commute to Ft. Campbell for work. Some want to be closer to Nashville and others like living out in the country.

We live off post about 15 minutes from Ft. Campbell. This allows us to be somewhat in the middle of everything. We can enjoy some of what the post offers but also live in Clarksville so our kids go to the city schools and we can be a little more involved in that community. Clarksville is much bigger than Oak Grove. Since it is a different state, taxes are different which is important to keep in mind, especially if you have a Direct Sales business and sell both on and off post.

What You Should Know About Being Stationed At Ft. Campbell

The area is really spread out. It would be hard to live here without a car. I have gotten more used to this but when we first moved here I couldn’t believe how far it seemed to be from the post to the mall. There is a lot of open spaces and don’t be surprised if you get caught behind an Amish buggy or a tractor of some kind slowly moving along to its destination.

There are a lot of parks in the city of Clarksville, however they are not really all that easy to get to from the neighborhoods. You do find that on post so it would be good to keep that in mind if you have toddlers and walking to a park is important to you.

What You Should Know About Being Stationed At Ft. Campbell

Since we are just 45 minutes from Nashville, there is more to do there then closer to post. Nashville is also where you will find the airport you would use to fly home if you need to.

Ever since we have moved here, we have seen more and more growth. More houses, more restaurants, more Dollar Generals. Seriously, they keep adding new ones which seems a little strange to me. We have two movie theaters, plus the one on post. We have 4 Walmarts in the area but only 1 Target. We have a lot of the basic restaurants you would find in this part of the country. Several Starbucks and other little coffee shops to try. We have one city library and several city pools. We have gyms, walking areas and regular events such as Movies in the Park in the Summer and Holiday events by the river in the winter.

What You Should Know About Being Stationed At Ft. Campbell

The weather here can be a little frustrating sometimes. Summer can get very hot and humid but you can also have rainy and stormy days mixed in. You can go weeks with rain happening at least once during the day. Fall is nice but it never last long enough and the colors are simply beautiful. Winter is also very interesting to me. It gets cold and we do have snow and ice which can shut school down for a week. However, if you are from the North, you will laugh at the snow levels and wonder what the big deal is. Spring is a nice season but we tend to get a lot of rain and some really bad weather like tornadoes. It really depends on the year.

If you are getting ready to move here, know that there is a lot to get involved in

Post has PWOC, MOPS and lots of activities for young kids through the MWR and YMCA programs. Off post has its share of programs too and we have been overall pleased with the school system however it is not without its issues. It does seem like different people have different experiences with the same schools. Make sure to double check on the school if you are looking for a place off post, not everyone in the same neighborhood is zoned for the same school and it can get a little confusing sometimes.

The post itself is rather large but a lot of it is training areas. They built a new Commissary a few years ago and we have a PX with a little mall that contains a few stores, my kids are big fans of the Game Stop. We have a foot court that doesn’t feel as exciting as the foot courts in Germany did simply because you can get other food off post.  It is nice to have if you want to meet your spouse for lunch or take the kids for some ice cream.

There are always people deploying and coming home here. There are always people PCSing to and from. There are always new people to meet and get to know.

Have you been to Ft. Campbell? Getting ready to PCS here soon?

 

Want to write a guest post for me about where you live? Email me for more information 🙂

The Wounded Warrior’s Wife By Hannah Conway Review and Giveaway

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The Wounded Warrior’s Wife

I love hearing about Military Spouses that write fiction. As a big reader, it is great to be able to read a fictionalized version about something I have experienced. The Wounded Warrior’s Wife written by fellow Army wife, Hannah Conway is one of those books.

Based in Ft. Carson, Colorado, The Wounded Warrior’s Wife is the story of Whit and Collier, an Army couple. They go through a lot of challenges from Korea to a deployment to the effects of that deployment. As an Army wife myself, I could relate to some of this book because I had gone through the same type of thing. I related to some of Whit’s feelings of not being sure about how to handle everything that was going to come her way.

This book brings up the loss of life during the war, PTSD, having a baby while your husband is gone, friendships, sick parents, sick children, life on post, depending on God and more.

Although not every Military spouse goes through the exact same thing, this is one story that could have happened during the last few years of deployments and war overseas.

Even though this is Hannah’s first book, I have a feeling she is going to have a great career as a writer and looking forward to reading more of her novels.

Want to win a copy of this book? How about we throw in a $5 gift card to Starbucks too? That way you can get your book, get some coffee and have some much deserved me time 🙂

Just enter the Rafflecopter below 🙂

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Good Luck!!!
* I was provided a free book in hopes of a review. Book and gift card are provided by Hannah Conway

* This post contains affiliate links!

 

 

Motherhood Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

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Motherhood Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

Mom with two boys

I was watching the movie, Mom’s Night Out and there was a scene that really stuck with me. Ally, mother of three young children is exhausted, tired, and needing a big-time Mommy break. This scene is after her young daughter wrote all over the wall. She stands there repainting the wall but stops when she sees her young daughter’s drawing of their family. It was a mom, a dad, and three kids.

It was at this moment that Ally realizes she is living her dream. That she wanted to be a mom and now she is. That this life she has is what she has always dreamed of doing at her age.

It hit me hard because I can relate to so many of her feelings.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the kids, to feel as if nothing you do matters, and to feel like you are going to have a complete meltdown if anyone asks you for one more thing.

To feel like your life is a mess, just a big mess and you have zero direction.

But being able to step back and look at things from another point of view can really help.

What if I was 36 and not yet a mom? What if I was still waiting to find the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with? I feel lucky that I met him when I was 22.

That feels SO young to be now. But I met him then and I knew he was the one for me. As I get frustrated with life right now and believe me there is a lot to get frustrated about, I have to remind myself that I am lucky and I have everything I ever wanted.

I have three kids who make me laugh and drive me crazy, all at the same time. Three little people that love me and depend on me for almost everything. Even more so when they were tiny babies.

I have a husband who I love and who loves me and is never afraid to tell me that. He makes me laugh, and I can’t imagine walking through this life with anyone else.

I have a house that we have made a home that felt like the perfect fit when we moved in. When you live somewhere for a while, little things can start to bug you about the place. They say this is a good thing because then you know what you want in your next house.

I remember how it felt to walk into this house when we were looking. How this house was the only one we both really liked and we could literally see our kids living in.

As much as I babysat as a teen, as much as I watched my own mother as a stay-at-home mom, I really had no idea what motherhood was going to be like. I had no idea how hard parenting would be sometimes or about some of the challenges we would have to face.

I never realized how tired you can get or how you might just need to take some time to yourself to make it through the next day or the next week. I never knew what raising little people would really be like.

Motherhood isn’t what I thought it would be.

In some ways, motherhood is a lot harder and more frustrating. Being a mom has its moments and being a mom has its very bad days. But at the same time, motherhood can fill you will so much joy. Motherhood can fulfill you in ways you never could have imagined. It could change you in ways you never thought possible.

As I sit here on a July day, wondering if I am doing everything right I am reminded that at the end of the day, most of us are doing it right. “Doing parenting right” might look different from household to household but by loving my children, by making the best choices that I know how to make, I am helping them grow into people and hopefully helping them learn how to make the world a much better place, one day at a time.

So no, motherhood has been a surprise in so many ways. There have been ups and downs. Challenging seasons and less challenging ones. But on the hardest days, the days where I sit against a wall and wonder what I am doing wrong, I am reminded that motherhood is a journey, a learning experience, and I am so thankful that I get to experience it during my time here on earth.

Summer 2015 in Photos

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I can’t believe our summer here in Clarksville, TN is over half over. A month from now we will be getting ready to send these boys back to school. I will have a 4th grader, 3rd grader and a Pre-K kid.

Our summer has been pretty low key overall. My oldest went to summer camp and had a blast. We have seen a few movies and spending a lot of time at the pool.

 

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How has your summer been going?

5 Ways Deployments Changed Me For The Better

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5 Ways Deployments Changed Me For The Better

Deployments! My husband has been home from his last deployment for about 18 months now. He got back a little before Christmas of 2013. It was his 4th deployment and it was a very difficult one for me. I am not sure if it was because I carried the weight of the other three, if I knew it was probably going to be his last one or if I never thought he would actually be going until two weeks before. It was stressful , but somehow I made it through those 6 months and came out the other side.

I have 4 deployments in my past and they will always stay with me. The good times, the bad times, soldiers lost, new friends found, finding the good in them, trying to handle the bad. I was forever changed by the years my husband was at war. I am a different person because of them. They are my past and will always impact my future. They have changed the way I parent, how I make friends and have clouded choices I make in the future.

Looking back I tend to cringe when I remember all the bad. The hard nights, the sad nights, the rough days, the breakdowns and all of that. But if I really look into it, I know I have learned and grown as a person because of them. I know that in some ways, deployments changed me for the better.

Independence

As much as I hate having to take care of the house when my husband is gone, as much as I hate having to be the only one making certain decisions, it has made me into a more independent person. I have had to become one. I had no other choice. This isn’t to say I never feel like I need my husband because I do, just that I know I can do things on my own if I need to. It is a little freeing. And a little scary.

Keeping Busy

Through all the days I spent without my husband home, I have learned how to stay busy. I feel like I work hard to create a balance of just enough busyness not to drive myself crazy. I can find stuff for us to do, I can make plans to fill the calendar. I am never ever bored because I always keep going. I can’t just not make any plans because that means we will start to get too lonely and I can’t stand that feeling.

I know how people get through impossible things

If I hear about someone losing a child, losing a home, losing a marriage…I never tell them I could never go through what they are going through. Why? Because although I have never been through those types of tragedies, I know that when you are in a very hard and impossible situation, you do what you have to do to get through it. You cry, you vent, you pray and you make your way to the next day. You get through it because you have it. You have no choice.

I can sympathize with others

If I hear someone else is getting ready to send their spouse off to war, I can totally sympathize with that. I can be a listening ear, someone to talk to about it, I truly understand how hard it can be to say goodbye. I get it and I can help someone else get through it. I have experienced different types of deployments too. I have been through long ones and short ones. Scary ones and more mild ones. I get it and I can offer support to others who might need it.

I am not going to take my husband for granted

I am not going to wish him away. I am going to enjoy the moments together. I will remember how hard it was to live without him. To spend over a year without him in our home. I am going to try hard to always remember that. It isn’t always easy. When my husband went away for his two-week training with the Guard, it felt impossible. I really had to give myself a talking to. I have gone so much longer without talking to him, I should be able to handle this.

What about you? What have deployments changed about you???

Buy Glasses Online With Firmoo Eyeglasses

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Buy glasses online

 

Buy Glasses Online With Firmoo Eyeglasses

I have had to wear glasses from the time I was about 16 years old. Over the years I have worn so many different pairs of glasses. I would love to eventually get Lasik but it just isn’t possible right now. After I go to the eye doctor I usually like to buy at least two pairs of glasses, sometimes three. I like to change them out and have choices.

One of the ways I have been able to do this to buy some of them online. They are much more affordable then glasses you might find in the mall or other stores.

That was why I was excited to do a review of Firmoo Eyeglasses. I have never ordered from them before but I had a good experience when I did.

I got to look through a bunch of glasses to decide on which ones I wanted. I am pretty picky but found one that I thought I would like. You never know 100% when you are picking them online but I was very happy with what I got. I love the teal on the sides.

To order I needed to have my prescription handy and had to enter it in. I also needed to know my pupillary distance which is the distance between the centers of your pupils when looking straight ahead. You can figure this out using a ruler and a mirror or a friend or husband who is willing to help.

Once you have entered that information you can customise your glasses. You pick what type of package you want or customise to find what you are really looking for. You can also get your glasses non-RX if you would like.

If you visit the Daily New section you can see their updated selection. They add new frames everyday.

You can also get 15% off your first pair!

Buy glasses online

* I received a free pair of eyeglasses in exchange for this review. All thoughts are my own.

Enjoying Summer with Your Kids When You Start to Burn Out with Hello Mamas

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Enjoying Summer with Your Kids When You Start to Burn Out

Enjoying Summer with Your Kids When You Start to Burn Out

We are a month into summer vacation, things are getting a little slow and I am starting to feel a little burned out. The newness of sleeping in has worn off and it is getting hot. We still love the pool but it isn’t as new as it used to be. We have almost two more months to go and I have been thinking about how to best make it through these weeks. We have a few activities planned such as day camp and swim lessons but we also have many weeks where we will have to come up with something else fun to do.

Summer can get to a point where you just get over it and long for fall days filled with school, sweaters and Pumpkin lattes. I get to this point every year but right now I still want to enjoy summer. I want to make use of this time with my kids that I normally don’t have. I want to make memories and have a good time. Basically, I don’t want to dread the next 1.5 months because my kids are out of school. That is no way to live.

As I have been thinking about how to handle the rest of summer, these thoughts came to mind…

1) Planning the right amount of activities. I want to be busy and do a lot but at the same time, doing too much is just not going to work for our family. We need some downtime. With it being as hot as it is, sometimes it is nice just to spend some time in an air-conditioned house relaxing. It can be a hard balance because too much time at home isn’t good either.

2) Trying new things. My 4-year-old is playing a sport this summer. It’s been a lot of fun for him and he is learning new skills. My oldest also went to summer camp which he has never done before. It is great to see my kids learning about something they didn’t already know about. Even if they are a little nervous about it at first, they usually enjoy it and have found something new to love about the summer.

3) Sometimes simple is good. It would be nice to be able to have fun-filled days each and every day, take a few fun vacations and get out and see the world. But it is also nice and perfectly okay to have a simple summer. Activities such as going to the pool and the splash park might be all you need to do with the kids to have a good time. Don’t ever feel like your kids are missing out just because they aren’t doing a lot of complex activities. Simple can be just as fun and can keep them just as busy, you just have to find the right activity that they enjoy.

If summer is starting to get to you, go back to the drawing board and make some new plans. Remember that it doesn’t last forever and before you know it you will be shopping for school supplies and picking out what they will wear for the first day. Until then, enjoy your time together, make some memories and have a great rest of your summer.

How is summer going for you?

 

hello mamas

I am excited to announce that I am now a Hello Mamas Blogging Influencer. If you haven’t heard of Hello Mamas, you should head on over and check it out. It is a great site to connect with other moms that you have something in common with. It’s a great too when looking for new friends or someone to connect with.

Facebook Saved the Military Spouse

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How Facebook Saved the Military Spouse

How Facebook Saved the Military Spouse

Back in 2007, during my first deployment, all my Army wife friends were on Myspace. A lot of my friends from back home were there too. Myspace was the place to be. During the deployment, we would spend time together at the park, head home, put the kids to bed and then log in to share photos, comments and update our music list. Remember the Myspace music list? We took quizzes and looked for old friends.

Back then I would log onto Facebook about once a week or so. It really wasn’t as popular even though people were posting there.

These days, Facebook is still pretty popular. We can go on there and learn what our friends are up to, even if we haven’t seen them in years. We can join Facebook groups, share photos of our kids, and get annoyed by all the news and political posts that always seem so frustrating.

Good or bad, Facebook has saved the Military Spouse.

Here is why…

  • They can share photos with their families back home.
  • They can stay in contact with friends from past duty stations.
  • They can learn about local events such as MOPS or what is going on through their local MWR.
  • They can talk to local friends and make plans for upcoming nights out.
  • They can meet others in their neighborhood, ask for suggestions and sell some of their stuff.
  • They can find groups for their interests and make new friends that love the same hobbies they do.
  • They can look for jobs.
  • They can promote their businesses.
  • They can talk about their favorite tv show or book they have read or really anything that interests them.
  • They can learn more about a new duty station and even start to make friends before they get there.
  • They can find a church or other local group to join.
  • They can help other spouses through problems or just be there to tell someone they are thinking of them.

Facebook makes the world a much smaller place.

Facebook is a place to go to connect, to vent, to encourage and to explore. Sometimes I have even felt like my husband lived on Facebook when he was deployed overseas. That was just the way life has been sometimes.

There are downsides to Facebook and social media in general. There can be bullying, there can be drama, and there can be cases of oversharing.

Sometimes I find myself learning much more about a person then I should really know. Politics can divide people, one-upping each other can be annoying and we can spend too much time scrolling our feeds when we should be doing something else.

But overall? Facebook can be the ideal tool for a Military spouse. Social media can help her in ways that nothing else can. Facebook can be her support when her husband is deployed, can be a tool to find a local group that she needed to find to help her make friends, and can lessen homesickness and remind them of fun memories they have made in the past.

Having boundaries with Facebook is also super important. You don’t want to overshare details about what your spouse is doing and always remember OPSEC. You don’t want to spend all your time on social media so that you start to feel depressed about what you don’t have.

You don’t want to overshare too much information so that you could put yourself in danger. Being smart about social media is a must and having boundaries that work for you about Facebook usage is important.

How has Facebook helped you on your Military spouse journey?