Our Crazy Life: April 2011

Thursday, April 28, 2011

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In 4/29/11

Well, I made to Friday, but I may not last the entire day. The two oldest children both have prom tonight and the drama may kill me. If it doesn't, I will hopefully have pictures to share of the dresses (that we paid way too much for) and the beautiful girls in them. I wish the Soldier was here for this.

Well, it is time once again for the MilSpouse Friday Fill-In, hosted by Wife of a Sailor. If you are a MilSpouse, come over and link up!

If you are looking for the MilSpouse Weekly Round Up, click here. For my book loving friends, the latest free book post is here.

1) Have you and your spouse agreed to live in separate locations (a geographical bachelor tour) knowing that the short-term inconvenience would have long-term benefits for your family? How did it work for you? submitted by When Good People Get Together

The Soldier travels a lot for his civilian job as well, so he is gone a good part of the year. We almost all moved to Texas, but it didn’t work out and then the orders were cut for this deployment. He spent six months prior to leaving on AD about 90 miles away and came home only 1-2 weekends a month. That wasn’t any fun. I am thankful that he is National Guard and won’t ever have to do a Korean tour.

2) What is your favorite thing about being a MilSpouse? submitted by Sarah Ruth Today

Ask me again after this deployment is over…

Honestly, the only thing I can think of is the wonderful people I have met. The MilSpouses I know are such strong women (sorry, not a lot of men here!) and it has been good to bond together and lean on each other – even just through blogs and facebook.

3) If you could still have your spouse/significant other and your family, but take the military life out of it…would you? submitted by Trust. Love. Believe. Bake.

Most of our almost 19 year marriage, the Soldier wasn’t a Soldier… He only joined about nine years ago. There are a lot of days that I wish he hadn’t. I hate being separated all the time, but life is what it is and being a Soldier is now a part of who he is.

4) What have your homecoming experiences been like after a year long tour of separation? submitted by Army Soldier, Army Wife

Really, it is pretty much a blur with everyone wanting a ‘piece’ of the Soldier. I am seriously thinking of disappearing for a week or two when he comes home - so no one can come over or call. I know they want to see him too, but the kids and I need our time with him. At this point, I will probably be so totally exhausted when he comes home, I will pass out and sleep for a week!

5) If you have a child(ren) why you chose their name(s)? If not, why you would name your child something? submitted by Tiara’s & ACU’s

Bob (who is now 3 1/2)

Most of the names we just liked, however we have had a couple that we couldn’t agree or even come up with anything. The oldest named her little brother after her favorite television show (I promise, it is a good one) and the midwife gave him his middle name (after his daddy) since she needed to finish paperwork. The last one, we had a hard time agreeing on a name and called her Bob for a good week before actually naming her.

Have a great weekend!

Love,

Monday, April 25, 2011

Pity Party

Today I threw myself a pity party. I even celebrated with a Starbucks Frap and a mini peanut butter cupcake.

There goes the 15 pounds I just lost…

Although I totally blame deployment for this breakdown, it doesn’t help that - after being on a no sugar, carb-free diet for six weeks - I gorged myself on half of the 3 year-old’s Easter basket’s contents yesterday or that I am majorly PMSing.

I am sick and tired of being alone. Yes, there are six kids here to keep me company, but it isn’t quite the same as adult interaction. What I wouldn’t give for an hour at Starbucks with a friend…

I know all about taking care of yourself during deployment, I wrote the book (well article anyway) on that. I even wrote the book (okay, okay - article…) on how to help a fellow mom going through a deployment. But here I sit, having my pity party.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a ton of wonderful friends. The problem is that most of them live all over the world and not here. I guess we haven’t done a very good job of making friends since we have been here. I thought we had done better. Or maybe it is just that everyone is sick of asking “how are you doing?” and “when is he coming home?” – I know I am.

Going to church yesterday didn’t help. Because of Easter it was held in the auditorium of the local high school, the one where they hold services if the unthinkable happens. I spent a good part wondering what it would look like draped in red, white and blue bunting. Morbid, I know, but that is where I am at.

Add to all of that a 9 year-old having her own breakdown and a 15 year-old who enjoys making me angry and we have the perfect conditions to make one very tired mama want to run away.

Thankfully, my amazing friend called me (not sure how she knows when I am losing it, but she always does) and told me enough. I just wish she was close enough for Starbucks.

Pity party officially over for now, but I won’t promise that it was the last. We still have another five or six months to go…

Linking up for the MilSpouse Weekly Roundup! Come over and join in at The Tervo Times!

Love,

Friday, April 22, 2011

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

Yay! It's Friday and time for another edition of the MilSpouse Friday Fill-In - hosted by Wifey at Wife of a Sailor. Come on over and link up!

Rex the 125lb baby

1) How many pets do you have? And what type? submitted by Life and Times of a Displaced Jersey Girl

Two dogs, four cats and one horse. Why? I don’t really know. I blame the Soldier. Thankfully, the horse is easy. Our sweet friend takes care of her for us.

2) What are your favorite projects to do while hubby is away? submitted by my-inspired-nest

Sleep. Is that a project? Honestly, with six kids, I don’t have much time to do anything. I don’t craft and I’m useless at home improvement. We usually tend to get more school accomplished, but that hasn’t been the case for this deployment (mostly due to my health). I guess my favorite project would be making a list of projects for him to do when he gets home…

3) What are the must-haves in your deployment care packages? submitted by Christine’s Little Blog

Coffee. The Soldier lives on the stuff. Personally, I can’t stand it, so hopefully he appreciates the fact that I remember to walk down that isle at the commissary just to buy it for him. The teenager is not happy that I forget to buy it for the house.

4) If you could star in any TV show, which would it be? submitted by Just a Girl

Does it have to be a current show? I want to be in JAG. There is just something about those uniforms… I wish they would bring it back. Or at least do a reunion show!

5) What was the biggest hurdle that you faced during your/your significant other’s first deployment? submitted by The Pavlik Perspective

Just surviving was pretty big. Oh wait, I know - making it through the FRG drama without killing any of the spouses. I think I should have received a medal for that one! Kidding. Sort of.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Monday, April 18, 2011

Amazon-aholics Anonymous Needed

Hi, I’m Athena and I am an Amazon.com addict.

I love it. I spend a lot of time and money there. I even have one-click ordering and an Amazon prime membership, so I can get two day shipping (I don’t like to wait for things).

In fact, I just ordered all of the kiddos’ Easter gifts and I am ~~not so~~ patiently waiting for my favorite UPS man to deliver them.

I have a few things on my Amazon Wish List. Like around 75 of them. There were more, but I have been building my collection of favorite old movies. (I really like Cary Grant, just in case you ever want to get me a gift…)

Things like this:

And this:

Grasslands Road Celtic 9-Inch Irish Claddagh Soda Bread Dish with Soda Bread Recipe

And even this:

Sterling Silver Pink Heart CZ Claddagh Ring Sizes 4 to 9, 5

Do you see a theme?

The nice thing is that I get most everything for free, even my Kindle. I always get asked how I do it. I wanted to share with you, so you can spend lots of free money at Amazon too :)

I use MyPoints for any online purchase that I can. I am also a coupon addict (with six kids, I have to be!) and download my coupons from MyPoints. I spend five minutes day opening their “bonus mail” as well. For all of these (and more), I get points that I then cash in for Amazon giftcards (or lots of other options!).

Instead of using Google or Yahoo!, I use Swagbucks for my search engine. When you search, you can ‘win’ bucks which then can be exchanged for lots of things, including Amazon.com giftcards.

And don’t forget about all the free ebooks from Amazon.com too. I have only paid (with a gift certificate of course!) for one book in the past year and that was because the Soldier wanted it.

Free makes me happy.

So what is on your Amazon wish list?

Linking up this post for the MilSpouse Weekly Roundup!

Sail on over to Many Waters to link up.

Love,

A Long List of Still Free for Kindle! 4/18/11

Happy Monday everyone!

Seriously, I hate Mondays - especially when I wake up to more snow. This is getting crazy, can someone please let the weatherman know that we are supposed to be having spring?

And because it is sort of warm out (like 26 degrees), most of the snow is melting. Which means mud. Lots of it. When you have six children and two dogs, mud (like snow) is your enemy. I may have to give up mopping until June.

There are quite a few books for Kindle that are still free (or are free again). I wanted to post them, just in case you may have missed one.

Please remember:

Prices change often and without notice. Books are usually only free for a limited time. Always check the price before clicking 'download'.
You can read these books, even if you don't have a Kindle, by downloading the free app for your computer or phone. For a full list of apps, please click here. If you have been holding off on getting a Kindle, Amazon now has a reduced price one with special offers (i.e. ads on your screensaver) for only $114.
Please consider following my blog on Google Friend Connect or by 'liking' my Facebook page. I will post books as soon as I find them on Facebook and it usually takes a few days to make to my blog.
If you download a book, please 'Share the Love' by using the buttons below each post to let your friends know. And please leave a comment, I love to hear from you!
If you enjoy the free book posts, please consider shopping through my links when you do purchase from Amazon. The small commission I receive for your purchase helps me justify all the time I spend on this blog to my Soldier! Thanks :)