Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

Military Life

When Your Daddy Is A Soldier

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When your Daddy is a soldier…things are a little different in your house.

When Your Daddy Is A Soldier

When your Daddy is a soldier. He is not always around when you need him to be. He could miss important events like your birth, your first steps, first words, first day of preschool, first day of kindergarten or anything that Fathers usually come to.

Soldier With his Son

When your Daddy is a soldier, he sometimes has to go away for a very long time. He has to go overseas and help defend our country. He has to do his job and sometimes that means going a long time without seeing him.

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When your Daddy is a soldier you might not always understand why he has to go. You might be too young to understand why Daddy isn’t coming home from work everynight or why it is just Mommy for a while. You might have to ask over and over about when you will see your Daddy again.

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When your Daddy is a soldier, your Mommy works hard to make things fun for you when he is gone. She might take you to get ice cream or the pool or to go see a movie. She has to do it all and she gets sad sometimes too.

When your Daddy is a soldier you have to give up something other kids don’t. You become a little hero because giving up your Daddy for a little bit is a very hard thing to do. It is okay to feel sad about that.

As we prepare for our 4th deployment, I can only think about my children and how it will be for them. They don’t truly understand and I need to be there for them. I will be there to hug them, cry with them and tell them it will be ok. I get to play Mommy and Daddy and step into his shoes when I can. It is hard thinking about it all. Thinking about what they little boys will have to go through.

But days will turn into weeks, weeks into months and it will finally be time for homecoming. My boys will see their Daddy, run into his arms and our family will be whole again.

Square Foot Garden Update

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My square foot garden is now almost two months old! I have seen so much growth lately, it is exciting!

I did make another trip to Home Depot this past week and picked up a few things. I wanted to mulch around my boxes so I got some to do that. I also wanted to have some compost on hand. I decided to replace the square that was for watermelons since nothing was growing. I bought a cantaloupe transplant. I also added some smaller carrots to my broccoli square. I was reading that some people have done that successfully. My broccoli plant isn’t growing very well so I figured if it fails, at least I will have carrots in that square.

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The broccoli that just doesn’t seem to be growing.

 

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My green beans…planted 5/10. They are growing fast!

 

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My cantaloupe transplant

 

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My cherry tomato plant is getting flowers. Yay!

 

carrots in the square foot garden

I just love watching the carrots grow!

 

Pea plants in the square foot garden

My first little pea blossom. I took this photo on 5/26 and this morning you can really see the pod forming. I can’t wait to eat our first peas!

 

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This is the “winner” of the five tomato plants I grew from seed. One of them didn’t make it at all which is why I replaced it with a transplant. It already seems bigger than this bigger I took just a couple of days ago.

 

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I bought this at Home Depot the other day too. Peppermint!

 

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My first tomato transplant. I think it is up to 9 tomatoes now. We just need them to turn red!

 

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My strawberry transplant I bought a few weeks ago. I planted four, two died and two are still growing. Speaking of strawberries, I planted a bunch of Alpine strawberries in a few different places. Three pots, my small garden bed and my extra box I made. So far two of the three pots and the small bed have tiny tiny strawberry leaves. We will see what we get there.

 

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My flower pot. I am excited about this. I can’t wait until they bloom.

 

lime tree

And this is my Mother’s Day gift…a little lime tree. I am very excited about it 🙂

 

What have you been noticing in your garden this week?

PCS Prep Advice: Make Your Next Military Move Easier

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Happy people moving in a new home

Summer is Permanent Change of Station (PCS) season for us military families. Although a PCS can happen any time of the year, summer is when the majority of relocations occur.

Moving is stressful, no matter how many times you’ve done it. Whether you are a PCS novice or an old pro, the following tips can help you and your family get settled in your new home quickly.

Set the Wheels in Motion

The first thing you should do once you know your destination and the details of your PCS is contact housing, transportation and relocation assistance offices. These valuable resources can help you with all aspects of your move, such as determining allowances, figuring out where to live, putting a vehicle in storage or shipping a pet. If you have school-age children who are not enrolled in Department of Defense schools, contact the school liaison officer. He or she will help you transfer, transition and enroll your children in the school system at your new location.

Purge

Once you know a PCS is imminent, begin going through the closets, drawers and cabinets. Get rid of anything you don’t use, haven’t used in a year, or things you know you won’t need in your new home. Put things you want to keep but aren’t moving into storage. Get rid of what you won’t be moving via a yard sale or donate it to Goodwill. Know what your property shipment weight allowances are. This will help you be more decisive about what to get rid of and what to hang onto.

Organize Important Documents

Use a binder or accordion-style folder to organize documents such as military orders, birth and marriage certificates, social security cards, insurance documents, etc. Once you have your documents organized, never let that file out of your sight! Leave it in your car or put a big red X on it so movers won’t accidentally pack it, and keep it with you while you travel.

Secure Your Home

Protect your new home or the one you are leaving behind (if you own it) with an alarm system. According to www.securitycompanies.com, there are close to 5,000 home security companies in the United States offering everything from burglary protection and fire detection to fully automated systems that can regulate a thermostat lighting with a mobile device.

Create a First Night Kit

This should contain everything you’ll need for the first night in your new home. Changes of clothes, sheets, towels, toilet paper, paper plates, a coffee maker, a can opener and a few basic tools are some must-haves for your first night kit. If you can’t lift it yourself, label it boldly, so it’s easy to find among all the other boxes and belongings.

DIY Items

Pack valuables and breakable items yourself. Anything that has monetary or sentimental value should be packed and moved by you, if possible.

Research Your New Area

Familiarize yourself with your new town before the move. Get a general idea where things like hospitals, schools, shopping centers, parks and restaurants are located.

 

This post is by:

Andrea Porter

A painter, mom, wife and photographer, Andrea always has material to write about. Finding the time to write is another story altogether.

Stories in Uniform A Look at the Heroics, Laughs, Sorrows, and Tragedies of Our Soldiers Review And Giveaway

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Stories in Uniform A Look at the Heroics, Laughs, Sorrows, and Tragedies of Our Soldiers Review And GiveawayStories in Uniform
A Look at the Heroics, Laughs, Sorrows, and Tragedies of Our Soldiers
By Editors of Reader’s Digest
Published by Reader’s Digest
Hardcover: 224 pages
May 2, 2013; $15.99 US/$16.29 CAN; 9781621450634

Description
From boot camp to combat, a collection of Reader’s Digest’s unique, emotional, and wide-ranging coverage of military life.

Stories in Uniform is a chronological retrospective of the best military pieces Reader’s Digest has run; pieces that will make you weep, make your heart sing, inspire you, enrage you, and make you laugh. Beginning in World War I and continuing though to the war in Iraq, readers will follow soldiers into the trenches, peer in on emergency surgery taking place in the depths of the ocean, watch heroes carry the bodies of fallen brethren, trail Eisenhower for the three days leading up to D-Day, and be inspired as men and women rise above and beyond normal human limits to preserve our rights and save their friends.

Stories include:

  • A moving memorial to D-Day
  • A tribute to one of the first African-Americans to serve as a Naval Officer • A pilot rescued after his F-16 is shot down
  • A soldier returns to the front after losing his foot in action
  • An American soldier who takes a big risk to save a dying Afghan girl

This book gives a complete perspective on the hell that is war, the love that grows from camaraderie, the pride from accomplishing the impossible, the humor that springs from the military bureaucracy, and more.

About Reader’s Digest
RDA is a global media and direct marketing company that educates, entertains and connects more than 130 million consumers around the world with products and services from trusted brands. With offices in 43 countries, the company reaches customers in 78 countries, publishes 91 magazines, including 50 editions ofReader’s Digest, the world’s largest-circulation magazine, operates 78 branded websites and sells 40 million books, music and video products across the world each year. Further information about the company can be found at www.rda.com.

For more information please visit http://www.rda.com, and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Stories-Uniform-Heroics-Sacrifices-Soldiers/dp/1621450635

Link to Reader’s Digest Store: http://www.rdtradepublishing.com/book_display.php?isbn13=9781621450634

Julie’s Thoughts: I am a big fan of books like this. I love to read the stories and learn more what it was like in previous wars. I like that the stories come from different points of view. They are not all told from someone who went to war but from the family members too. Each of the stories in the book is short which is nice if you only have a few minutes to read each day. Make sure to keep a tissue by you when you read this book, you will need it.

Giveaway: I will be giving away TWO copies of this book to a couple of my readers. Just enter using the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

* I was provided a review company for this post.

Staring The Big Fat Deployment Mountain In the Face

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Staring The Big Fat Deployment Mountain In the Face

When deployment is staring you in the face, you can’t help but think of the time your husband is going to be away. I am already thinking about my kids and how much they will change. When my husband gets back my oldest will be working his way to 10-years-old. Wow! That is a weird thought. My now 6-year-old will be 7 and in the middle of his 1st grade year. My now 2.5 year old will be getting close to 3.5 and will be a completely different child.

When thinking of the upcoming deployment I am also thinking about how the kids will react. I am sad for my oldest. He is going to take it the hardest. He will also remember this time period. My middle son, I just don’t know. My 2.5 year old is going to have a hard time but being that he is so young I don’t think it will really affect him long-term. At least I hope not. You never really know about the little ones. The ones that can’t fully tell you how they are feeling about it.

We have been through deployments before but this one feels different. It will be different because all deployments are different. This is also the deployment that wasn’t supposed to happen for us but with the Army being the Army that changed. I am still trying to get over that but it is hard.

I have been thinking about the time that he will be away and how all of us will change. When he gets back our kids will be different. I will be different. We will not be doing the same things we are doing right now. There will never be another time like right now for our family. Where my 8, 6 and 2-year-old are getting ready to enjoy the summer. Where I am working hard to further my own career from home. Where I sit at the base of a deployment shaped hill and wonder how on earth I am going to get to the other side.

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Maybe he just needs to leave. I know that statement is hard for people who have not gone through a deployment to understand. When you know they have to deploy, when there is nothing you can do to change that, you have to let it go and when you get to that point you are just ready for it to start. You want to start counting down.

When my husband went to JRTC earlier this year I had quite a few, “Oh my! How can I make it through a whole deployment if this is so hard” moments.  But then I started to think about it a little bit. Once the deployment starts and I have moments like that…the deployment will have an expiration date. It might change a few times but I will have a general idea about when it will be over. I will know it won’t last forever. Maybe that will make it a little easier than just having him away for pre-deployment training thinking about future fears.

On December 31, 2006 I stood on the balcony of my German stairwell apartment watching the fireworks with my husband. It was New Year’s Eve and I was not excited about 2007. I knew it was going to be a hard year. I had no idea how hard. My husband was home on R&R. I thought he would be gone for another five months and it ended up being 11. That is a little bit about how I feel right now. That I have something ahead of me that doesn’t look too good. Lonely nights, lonely days, missing him, missing all the little things our family does together that we won’t be able to do for a time. It isn’t fun. But it is what it is.

I know that time will pass and we will get through this deployment. I will be writing a homecoming post sometime in the future. I will get through it somehow. I know it will change me. I am not sure how.

All I can do is pray and find ways to stay busy. I am not looking at this deployment as a way to become a better person. Right now all I can do is figure out ways to survive it. Maybe that will change. Maybe one day I will wake up one morning in a few months and realize that this deployment can be more than that for me.

But for now…I am in survival mode. I just need to get through this. I just need the time to pass so our family can be whole again.

Are you also Staring The Big Fat Deployment Mountain In the Face?

Want a Guide for the First 30 Days of a Deployment???

Thank You From Outback Steakhouse

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outback, bloomin onion, military mates, military, operation homefront

In case you didn’t know, I am a huge fan of Outback. If you want to make me happy, buy me a gift card to Outback 🙂

If Ben and I can have a date night, we usually end up at Outback. I just love the food. When my husband is away at training or deployed I like to use the Take Away service. I can order online and go pick it up without having to get out of my car. Perfect for when I have all three kids with me.

I was thrilled the first time I heard that they support our troops. It is always nice when a place you already love gives you a reason to like it even more. As a Military family we appreciate any store or restaurant that gives us a discount. It is nice to feel appreciated in that way.

outback, bloomin onion, military mates, military, operation homefront

As you can see they are offering a discount from May 27th- July 4th! Yay!

10% off the entire check at Outback

You can also Join the @Outback conversation at #BestMates 🙂

 

Content and/or other value provided by out partner, Outback Steakhouse.

 

My Square Foot Garden Five Weeks In

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My square foot garden is 5 weeks old. I have seen so much growth it is crazy! I have amazed myself and I really can’t believe that I have been able to grow stuff. I thought I had such a black thumb.

I keep wanting to plant more stuff. It is getting a little too much so I think I am good for a while.

Square foot gardening

I have 2 4×4 beds. I then added 2 more squares using some wood from Home Depot. Then, my neighbor offered me another box he was just going to throw away. So I added that. We also have a bunch of pots and I will have to get a few more for my flowers that I am growing.

I think I am good until it is time to get ready for a fall harvest. Yes I am going to be crazy and try to grow stuff past the summer. Been reading some blogs and some people have even been able to grow stuff through the snow. I figure it will be a fun project to work on, especially if my husband is deployed…which is totally up in the air right now but that is another post all together.

In the last week I planted some green beans which I saw popping up this morning 🙂 I also went a little crazy with strawberries. I bought some transplants but not sure how good they were. I also bought some Alpine Strawberry seeds. I have some in the boxes and some in pots. We will see what happens.

Here are some photos of the garden 5 weeks in-

Square Foot Gardening

My carrots. I love watching them grow. I hope something is going on below.

 

Square Foot Gardening

My corn, which might not do so well. We will see.

 

Peas in the Square Foot Garden

I love my peas. They are so cute wrapping themseleves on the trellis I have provided.

 

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My cute little garden helper.

 

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Some of the strawberry transplants I bought. We will see. Not sure if they will do well or not.

 

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My tomato plant. I bought this as a transplant back in April. We have about 10 tomatoes in various stages on this plant. I am so excited for them to be ready so we can eat them 🙂 The ones I planted from seed are not doing too well. I started them too late and planted them in the ground too early. One of them died so I bought another transplant to take its place. I have 4 left that will hopefully grow.

 

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My husband’s palm tree. He talked about wanting one and I saw one at Home Depot so I got it for him. He is happy.

I spend a little bit of time each day reading gardening blogs and forums. I feel like I learn a little bit more as time goes on. I have already made a few mistakes but that is okay. I have a lifetime to get it right.

What is growing in your garden?

 

5 Creative Care Packages to Send to Your Deployed Spouse

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Here is a post on Creative Care Packages 🙂

written By: Amanda Daniels

Amanda is a stay-at-home mom living in Detroit.

i love u noteCare packages help your deployed spouse feel connected to you, your family and home. With the average deployment being about 9 months, you may quickly run out of ideas of things to send. While staples like deodorant and toothpaste are always needed—and anything from home is always appreciated—soldiers love creative care packages that show how much you care. Next time, try one of these themed care packages full of fun things.

Reading Package

There are a few different routes you can go when putting together a reading care package. One is to choose titles strictly from the New York Times best-seller list; another is to stick with a favorite author or genre. You can also select books that were made into movies that you saw together. This is a personal, loving trip down memory lane, especially if you put an inscription in each book reminding him of when and where you saw the movie. If brand-new books are too expensive, visit a second-hand book store to stock up on titles. If budget permits, you can include a book light, a few of his favorite magazines, word search or crossword puzzle books and a bookmark made by you or the kids.

Fruit Baskets

For occasions like his birthday, your anniversary or the holidays, you might want to send something different than a typical care package. The fruit baskets at FTD.com are a great idea—what soldier doesn’t like edible goodies from home? FTD has a wide array of specialty fruit baskets to choose from, including fresh fruit, nuts, chocolate-dipped fruits and kosher items. Baskets start around $35.

Movie Night Package

If your soldier has access to a DVD player, consider sending him a movie box. Choose either the latest action-adventure, comedy or mystery thriller, or pick up an oldie-but-goodie you know he loves. Throw in some bags of popcorn (microwavable, if he has access to one) or candy, and add some of his favorite soft drinks. Again, new DVDs will cost you about $20-$25 each, so pick up some at a thrift sore or pawn shop for cheaper options.

Beach Party Package

To send him a beach party in a box, start with a beach party CD (a store-bought one will run you about $15, or you can make one yourself). Then add powdered drink mixes in beach-inspired flavors (think fruit punch, mango and piña colada), canned pineapple, leis, inflatable beach balls, sunglasses, sun hat, and small water toys like squirt guns and soaker balls. Hit up a 99¢ only store to get these items on the cheap.

Toy Package

Toys can be a great way to help your soldier unwind and pass the time. Consider sending Nerf footballs, Frisbees, mini travel games, chess, checkers, jacks, yo-yos, dominoes, brain teaser games and handheld electronic games with extra batteries, and card games like Skip-Bo, Uno, Pit and Phase Ten. Many classic board games, like Monopoly and Scrabble, now have card versions as well. You can find most of these items for under $10 at the big-box superstores.

Finally, decorate the inside of the box to match the theme, and have the kids help. If you’re sending a night-at-the-movies care package, use movie-themed decorative paper to line the inside, and add stickers, printed photos of movie stars and personal messages to inside of the box flaps.