Military Moms - Sept. - Oct. 09

[~Katie~]

New thread!

[kirstenb]

Katie, I love that pic! Reminds me when DH met DS for the first time...

[sapphire_chan]

Going to visit dh between BCT and AIT. Anything I should definitely try to do on Family Day (besides a million pictures and videos of dh?)

[Katsmamajama]

I know my Family Day was a rushed deal, or at least it felt like it. Enjoy the time with him while you can, and I would recommend just hanging out-- maybe there's a park or something nearby? My Family Day with my parents seemed to end really fast, to me anyway. We cruised through the PX (bad idea, everyone goes there) and then spent a couple hours avoiding anyone remotely in a green uniform. :P

[Katsmamajama]

Copying this over from the last thread:

I have a question for you all. What do you do to "prep" your kids for when your SO deploys? Anything special?

Our first deployment with DD, she was just shy of turning 2. The most "prep" we could do for her was getting her used to talking on the phone, keeping a stockpile of "daddy shirts" on hand (his brown t-shirts, with his deoderant/cologne on them), and putting pictures of him around the house at her level. It's hard to explain to a child that young what's going on-- although, I did learn the hard way that it's a very BAD idea to let your child sleep through the final drop-off. We let DD stay awake and have daddy cuddles instead of her traditional lunchtime nap, thinking she'd be able to take one after we dropped him off at HQ at 2:00......wrong. She fell asleep in the car on the way there, and she sleeps like the dead. So when she finally did wake up (45 minutes after Daddy hugged her and her carseat goodbye, and after we went home!) he was gone....and we spent the next month and a half with her forcing herself to stay awake until she absolutely passed out from sheer exhaustion, and never letting me, my parents, or my grandmother out of her sight!

His latest deployments/schoolings, she's been old enough to understand that he has to go away for work, but he's going to be located here on the map, and he'll call/come home when he can. He spent a year in Korea between her 1st and 2nd grade years, and we set up Yahoo messenger and mail for her-- she could squeeze a quick chat online with him in the mornings or just before bed, and she could always email him from there. This actually seemed to help out her spelling/grammar, and she's getting much better at typing, too! Now that she sees DH daily, but not my parents, she gets online after school and she'll chat with my dad about what she's learned in the school day.

But I'm getting side tracked. We haven't tried this one, but I've heard a paper chain is a good idea-- usually adding a link for every day your soldier's gone, since Lord only knows when they're actually going to come back! Maybe a scrapbook/journal of pictures, thoughts, notes from your child during the deployment? Something that they can sit down after homecoming with, and share what has gone on.

[Maluhia]

The great thing about the paper chain is that you can sneak in at night and add more or remove some DEPENDING on the age of the child if the schedule changes.

I read somewhere about the child taking down the paper at the end of the day and writing a sentence about what they did - then they mail 10 or so at a time to Daddy who remakes the chain in his tent?

[FiveLittleMonkeys]

Subbing to this thread....

I'm Jen, I live in Hawaii with our 5 kiddos (ages 14, 12, 10, 8 and 3 months). We're just getting ready to embark on yet another year long deployment

Looking forward to getting to know like-minded mamas!

[Maluhia]

Originally Posted by FiveLittleMonkeys

Subbing to this thread....

I'm Jen, I live in Hawaii with our 5 kiddos (ages 14, 12, 10, 8 and 3 months). We're just getting ready to embark on yet another year long deployment

Looking forward to getting to know like-minded mamas!

I'm in Hawaii too!
Are you on the local AP board? It is about 50/50 military/local Moms

[kristenok18]

Hi Ladies!

Dh is AGR in the WI guard, and is a new WO. He's currently at Ft. Jackson for 2 months for the basic course. He's been gone for short periods ever since going into the AGR program 5 years ago, but this is the longest. When he's finished, he's eligible for deployment, so I'm guessing that'll be happening sometime before june of next year (his estimate).

I grew up in the military (navy), so I feel like I deal with his absences fairly well. This time, however, I feel exhausted and overwhelmed, and I can't figure out why. The realization that this is nothing compared to what it'll be like when he goes for a year or more may be coloring my view. Doing all the yardwork by myself after a full day of other activities and coming in exhausted and sweaty at dinner time, and wanting to either cry or order pizza instead of face cooking might also be coloring my view. I feel myself falling farther and farther behind in just household upkeep tasks, mainly because by dinnertime I'm just too exhausted to go in and clean the kitchen, etc. And thinking about preparing for winter by myself (yard, garden, house, etc) is almost overwhelming to me.

How do you guys adjust to longer separations? How do you manage to stay on top of things?

[sapphire_chan]

: Dh is at Ft. Jackson, too. He'll be done in about four weeks.

I wish I had advice for you, but I got my mom to fly out three weeks earlier than originally planned and I have an apartment and I'm still feeling overwhelmed.

One thing, if your LO(s) are old enough for you to consider it, plan to have someone babysit them for a few hours here and there. I'm not yet comfortable with leaving Lina with someone and it's really weighing to be 100% responsible for her even when other people are playing with her and keeping her out of immediate harm.

[LeslieB]

Katie, love the new picture. So cute!

We're almost packed up to head back east to Ft. Bragg.

If anyone's interested in doing a DITY for your next PCS, we're using ABF to do our move. It's somewhat similar to a POD, but it's an actual trailer off a tractor-trailer. You fill what you need, install a barrier, and then the company uses the rest of the trailer for commercial shipping. So it's a pretty good price. So far, so good, but I'll have to give my final report when our stuff arrives to us at Fort Bragg.

[EdnaMarie]

I am getting closer to living a real army life. Trying to decide if I should buy furniture here in the U.S. or in Germany (we have practically none). Cheaper here, but even at Ikea? Will they have Ikea near Baumholder?

Also intimidated in the face of this, lesson 1.4.

We write thank-you notes and all that, the shaking hands part is no problem, but do I need a cocktail dress? My DH is a specialist and hoping to advance and apply for OTC when he gets his citizenship. Eeek. Informal was "a dress or skirt"!

To all those deploying / spouses of deploying: HUGS.

[MangoMommy]

Originally Posted by FiveLittleMonkeys

Subbing to this thread....

I'm Jen, I live in Hawaii with our 5 kiddos (ages 14, 12, 10, 8 and 3 months). We're just getting ready to embark on yet another year long deployment

Looking forward to getting to know like-minded mamas!

Hey Jen!!

[Maluhia]

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

Also intimidated in the face of this, lesson 1.4.

We write thank-you notes and all that, the shaking hands part is no problem, but do I need a cocktail dress? My DH is a specialist and hoping to advance and apply for OTC when he gets his citizenship. Eeek. Informal was "a dress or skirt"!

Can't access that - but yeah if your DH is going to be an officer, a skirt can be a good thing. I was teasing today that the higher ranking my DH gets the more lip gloss I end up "having" to wear at welcome teas, hail and farewells, appreciation dinners, luncheons, etc. It is a choice to participate for sure - so feel free to make that one on your own, but once you join and participate it makes good sense not to come sloppy.

[EdnaMarie]

Thanks, Kailua! Are you sure you can't access it? It says it only works with Explorer but in fact it does work with Firefox. I would know.

We don't know if DH will go for a career yet. But he already has a master's and is just waiting on citizenship. Time will tell how well we're suited to this- we have three years to decide.

I will be sure to include a few "nice" suit-dresses and things I'd like to wear out. I like social functions and I want to make sure that if DH does want the career, he has the support he needs.

[Alohamelly]

Hey! I'm here. My husband is getting ready to leave at the end of this month. Third time to Iraq.

[FiveLittleMonkeys]

We started the deployment (#3) last night. I wish it got easier each time, but it just doesn't.

[remijo]

to all you mommas whose husbands are gone...

DH passed the Army OCS board today, he goes back later this week and swears in and gets his ship date. So we aren't officially in, but pretty much. Then he'll leave for basic, OCS, training, etc. while I have this baby. I'm proud of him and hope he'll really be happy in doing this. I think it is a much better option for him than a civilian job and he is really excited.

[EdnaMarie]

Oh, mamas, three deployments.

[Katsmamajama]

Originally Posted by FiveLittleMonkeys

Subbing to this thread....

I'm Jen, I live in Hawaii with our 5 kiddos (ages 14, 12, 10, 8 and 3 months). We're just getting ready to embark on yet another year long deployment

Looking forward to getting to know like-minded mamas!

Me too!