Week 6!!!

We are 6 weeks down! And officially 1 week away from seeing our soldier again! Today is also the 9 year anniversary of me & Dick's relationship. I can NOT believe that it has already been 9 years! Its been fun. Hard but fun. I wouldn't change it for the world. Looking back today I would have NEVER imagined that we would be where we are.

It is so hard to believe that we are already 6 weeks into this thing. The days have just been FLYING by!

This week has been by far the CRAZIEST week since Dick left. And what do you know? I have NO pictures from this week. I know I'm a failure. But I have a good excuse! This week Dick and I decided to move! We are going to be moving into his mom's rent house. Hopefully we will have it bought within 6 months! So like I said GOOD excuse. Anyone that has moved knows how time consuming that is. And if you have ever moved with your husband deployed. Well props to you! Its tough work. Plus with buying the house we are trying to get help from the Cherokees since Dick is a Wagon Burner. (I say that with much love.) So that means constantly playing phone tag with them and trying to jump through all their hoops.

This week Harley was also sick. Mostly just a low grade fever and sore throat. He threw up once but even that wasn't much. Very weird. Just glad it passed quickly. BUT that meant missing his Christmas program that he has been working so hard on for weeks. We were all completely bummed out by it.

This week I didn't get a care package out to Dick like I wanted either. Like I said... Failure. I will be making it tonight and sending it tomorrow tho. So he'll have it soon. But what I'm putting in it takes FOREVER so I just haven't been looking forward to making them. It will be well worth it tho. As always I'll be making a post about his care package and it will be included in next weeks blog.

I HAVE packed 35 boxes this week. So that's something to feel good about I guess. LoL. I REALLY wanna be completely packed and ready to go at least by the night before. Hopefully sooner. I'm hoping this move goes as smooth as possible. Next week is gonna be CRAZY busy. I am gonna try my best to blog next Friday like I do EVERY Friday but not sure what time I am gonna head out to see the hubs. I am BEYOND stoked so if I leave earlier then I'll just catch up on the blogging when I return! And I'm sure that will be one LONG and eventful post since it will include a road trip, Christmas & Time with all 3 of my guys!!!

As always I hope everyone had a great week! Stay safe during this holiday craziness!

Week 5!

We are five weeks into this deployment now. Things are still going by pretty quickly. This was actually a pretty busy week!!! We started our advent calendar and have been busy with activities all week long!

This we I:

• Went to Winter Wonderland @ the boys school. It was a lot of fun! We decorated paper snowmen and Christmas trees, had cookies and hot chocolate and watched Frosty the Snowman! It was for Harley's grade so all of his friends were there. It was a lot of fun watching him interact with his friends from school. He was a bit rowdier than I would have liked but most of the kids were so I let it be.
• Went to the drive in! It was the last showing of the season so we loaded up the boys in mom's suburban and went! We watched Breaking Dawn pt 2 and Wreck it Ralph. I love BD2 obviously since we went to the premiere but I also thought Wreck It Ralph was super cute. The boys like it too. Just wish they would have played it first!
• Read Snowmen at Night with the boys. It was Nathan's pick. SUPER cute book. And we all know I love me some Schneemann!!!
• Watched Naughty or Nice with my boys. Harley's pick on his choice of movie night. I recorded it off Hallmark Channel. A really cute movie. Good story that's not boring for adults but fun enough to keep the boys entertained.
• Made Dick's 3rd Care Package. Still no word on if he's gotten it yet. I'm kinda nervous since he's a scrooge. :)
• Took the boys to the dentist. Not as great of a report as I would have liked but not horrible either. But the dentist pissed me off. I think I may request a diff one next time.

Our elf has still been visiting us each day. :) But I have been as good about taking pics of him this week. But he brought the boys some coloring books. They were really excited about that. Hes also hung out in the kisses for Daddy jar, went for a walk on my treadmill, camped out in the tree, and looked through the advent calendar. The boys LOVE having the Elf. So if it makes them happy it makes me happy. I'm just glad I haven't forgotten to move him yet.
I have been doing okay on my workouts this week. I started a Holiday Squat-a-thon and have done it everyday. Plus been doing the treadmill and my daily workouts so I'm pretty pleased with it. But I didn't weigh in today like I usually do. Last night was a rough night. :/ I'm just gonna keep at it this week and see what I'm at next week. :)

That's about all that is new in our life. Its been a pretty busy week and is gonna be busy til Christmas at least. But that's okay. I get to see my husband this month and I could not be happier!
And as always, some pictures from our week. :

 

 

Care Package #3: Christmas

Well today I spent the day making my advent calendar and working on Dick's 3rd package. I bought WAY too much stuff for this package so it has turned in to AT LEAST 2 packages. Ill send the first one out tomorrow and then the next one or two out on Friday or next Monday. I had a lot of fun making this package tho. But I was TOTALLY BUMMED I ran out of my tape runner. So gonna have to buy more of that before I make his next package. I got the double sided tape to work better this time but it was still a pain in my ass.

Anyways in this package I included:

• Cake Balls (43) I made 50, me and the boys each had one & I had 4 that wouldn't fit so the boys got those too. :)
• A dozen Cookies
• A bag of Hershey's Hugs & Kisses
• A box of Peppermint Candy Canes
• A big candy cane filled with Reese's
• Santa Brownies
• Peppermint Muddy Buddies Chex Mix
• Some drawings Harley made
• Christmas Card from the boys
• Christmas card from me
• Letter from me as usual
• Christmas Tic Tacs
• Snowman Pez Dispenser
• Swedish Fish
• A Chocolate Snowflake

Like I said I still have at least a box worth probably more. Oh well. if this stuff even shows him an ounce of how much I love him then it is well worth it. And I know he won't be able to eat it all but it's Christmas. Its the season for giving. And sharing. :)

And this doesn't even include the baked goods. Lol. My hubby is DEFINITELY spoiled. :)

ONE MONTH DOWN!!!

Only 11 More to go! Its so hard to believe that we are already a month into this deployment. It seems like just yesterday we were saying goodbye at the airport. :( But we have gotten through our first month of this & we get to see him this month! So that makes it all the better. We have been looking forward to December since he left & its FINALLY here! We are already over halfway to seeing him again and I can not freaking wait! The boys still don't know about it. We have decided to surprise them. I think it will be a GREAT surprise & they will be stoked. They were even excited with the surprise when we picked him up in Missouri and he had only been gone 3 weeks and they even knew he was coming home that weekend.

I haven't been doing great on my goals so far. I have been averaging a care package every OTHER week instead of every week. I just feel like with him not having much room to store stuff at the moment that every week is too much. I dunno. But the Christmas care packages will definitely make up for that!I know I am going to have at least 2 boxes of goodies to send. I'm thinkin of spreading em out at least a few days. Maybe a week. I dunno but he's gettin a LOT. Definitely enough to share which I am sure he'll do. I really don't think he's gonna want to eat 24 candy canes. LoL. Oh well. He has never complained about what I sent before so hopefully he'll enjoy. And my weight loss hasn't been going GREAT either. I've lost 3 lbs in the last 3 weeks tho so I guess its better than nothing. I got a treadmill from his mom that she wasn't using so that helps a lot. I've used it almost every day since I got it. :)

I'm really hoping the next months fly by as quickly as the last one did. All with the exception of when we get to see him. Then I'm hoping time just stands still. That would be nice. But if R&R told us anything last deployment, time will just speed up. But that's okay. We will enjoy the time we have. :) I hope everyone had a great November and has a wonderful December and a Merry Christmas!!!

Week 4

This week has FLOWN by. I swear it seems like just yesterday was Black Friday. I am very thankful for the days and weeks that fly by. I can NOT believe that we are already 4 weeks into the deployment. He's already almost been gone a month. I'm sure after the holidays things will slow down and communication with him will not be as frequent but for now I am just enjoying the holidays and the times I DO get to talk to him.

This week hasn't been a very exciting week. We haven't really gone or done anything. But we HAVE decorated for Christmas. It took 3 days alone to do the tree. Day 1 me & Lisa put it up. Day 2 me & the boys put on a box of ornaments and Day 3 I finished it off. I'm loving it. It's pretty bare, especially if you compare it to our last trees but its about 3 times the size of our other tree so I'd say its well worth it.

The night we decorated the tree we also watched An Elf's Story, and had some snacks with Hot Chocolate. Such a fun & cute movie! Well, the next day the boys got a Package from Santa. Its was their VERY OWN ELF!!! The were beyond excited. Named him Chippy like the one in the movie. :) I know they are VERY original. LoL. Nathan kept tellin me he wasn't real but he changed his mind VERY quickly when Chippy brought snow covered donuts and cool Christmas cups for breakfast the next day. Seems like Chippy is a very nice elf. He has yet to do anything naughty. So far we have found him hanging out in my stocking and hanging from the ceiling fan. :) The boys are soo excited every morning to find where he has landed.

Like I said, not too much has happened this week but man has it flown by. Ready to start another week. And we are ALMOST 1 month down.... WOO HOP!!!!

And to finish off like every week, here are some pics of our week:

 

 

Week 3

Well this was a very hard week. The hardest week since we dropped him off. I didn't sit around and cry like I did the first week but in some ways this week was harder. I had to put suck it up and put on a happy face. I absolutely HATE holidays without him here but when you have little ones you have to still make the best of it. This was also an extremely busy week! Since I hosted Thanksgiving this year I had LOTS to do to get ready. It was a lot of work but OH SO WORTH IT!

This week I:

• Cleaned a LOT. Like I said had to get ready for Thanksgiving. I don't think it would have taken me near as long to get everything done if I could have just stayed focused.
• Cooked and ate a TON of great food.
• Enjoyed time with my family. We were missing my husband and dad this year but it was still nice to spend good time with my mom, brother, sis-in-law, sister, nephews and of course my boys.
• Celebrated my mom's birthday!
• Went Black Friday shopping. It was a BLAST. It was also probably the EASIEST thing I did all week. I got to text with the hubby on and off while shopping and it wasn't really something that he was missed during. Yes I miss him ALL the time but he refuses to go black Friday shopping with me, so he wouldn't have been there anyways.
• Watch Polar Express twice. Well I more slept through it while the boys watched it. I was EXHAUSTED from all the shopping and getting up early too cook after going to bed late.
• Went to Rise & Shine at Mills. Harley's class did it this week so of course I had to go watch my amazing big guy. You would NEVER know it buy lookin at him but he is one shy lil boy. When he has to get up in front of people he just kinda whispers. Definitely gets that from his Mama. His Daddy makes friends with people EVERYWHERE. I don't think he has a shy bone in his body.
• Had a girls night in with some AMAZING ladies. It was a TON of fun and yes it helped that I got to text the hubby on and off all night. It kinda reminded me of high school. Spending the night with friends and I spend all night talkin to my guy. LoL. No bigs they understood and it made the night all the better.
• I also send out the 2nd care package. Loved making it as I always do. Spent a TON of time on it but it will be well worth it when he gets it.
• Had a Supernatural marathon with my seester. Got all caught up on the new episodes which was great. Well I got caught up. She fell asleep. What a weenie. ;)
• And found ONE good thing about Dick not being here for the Christmas season. I found a radio station that's ONLY playing Christmas music all season. So I get to listen to as much Christmas music as I want whenever I want. Me and the boys are LOVING it. But Dick HATES Christmas music so we don't get to listen to it all that much when he's home. He WILL tolerate it while we put up the tree tho. Cuz he loves me. :)

All in all it was a really good week. Very difficult but I stayed really busy so that helped. We are now 3 weeks down with the deployment and according to my countdown (don't think its that accurate since we actually DON'T have a return date I'm just going on a year after he left. Could easily be more or less, so no OPSEC violations here. Lol) we are 6% down. It makes me beyond happy to keep seeing my "done" portions of the percent countdown keep getting bigger and bigger.

And to finish up here are some pics of our week:

Care Package #2

Well Dick FINALLY got his first care package and is FINALLY getting released from Med Hold. Which means he is gonna be back with this unit. And what does this mean for me? TIME FOR MORE CARE PACKAGES!!! I absolutely LOVE making care packages. Which is good cuz he LOVES getting them. I know this. I asked.

Anyways. I put a lot more effort into this one. I think it turned out REALLY well. I cut the paper like I did last time but this time I used the Scotch double sided adhesive roller to put the paper on the box. LOVE IT. So worth the money, but it wasn't that much. A few dollars maybe? Anyways as long as it holds up that's what I will be using to put all his stuff on the box.

I used the scotch double sided tape to put the stuff on the bottom of the box and I would NOT recommend it. For care packages i feel like it is a waste of money. Its only a lil bit cheaper than the roller and SO much harder to use. I will use mine up since I'm not gonna waste but I wont be buying it again.



Anyways. I added the paper to the sides and then decorated it with a quote I love that is perfect for the military. I then printed out our song on some white card stock and put that on top of blue construction paper on the bottom of the box. Our song is Warmness On the Soul by Avenged Sevenfold in case you were wondering. :)

As I was decorating hubby called. Totally made my night. :) And since I can't concentrate on crafting AND talk on the phone I moved on to making his cookies. Hope he loves em.

In this box I included:

• Some protein powder he left here.
• His protein shake mixer bottle thingy. (It's late... don't judge me)
• LOTS of beef jerky from his AMAZING Uncle Mike and Aunt Teresa (LOVE THEM)
• 2 dozen double chocolate chip cookies
• A drawing from Harley's Class about soldiers
• A letter to him from Harley's class... his teacher seriously rocks!
• A CD full of pictures and videos of the boys learning to ride their bikes.
• A letter from me
• A letter from Harley.

I then sealed it up and got it ready to go. Literally. I did that right after. Without remembering to take a picture. :( TOTAL BUMMER! So you'll just have to imagine how awesome it looks all filled up with his goodies. :) But I DID remember to take a picture of it after I taped it all up. I'm still loving using the fun different duct tapes to seal it. Yes I said still. Even tho this is only the 2nd package. Again its late. Don't judge me. :) IF you do the duct tape thing I would suggest taping over it with clear packing tape too. I feel like it holds better than duct tape. And they DO make patterned packing tape. I may use it SOME time during the deployment but for now I am perfectly happy over taping stuff and being wasteful. :)





Week 2

Well this week was easier than last week. I stayed pretty busy and we are getting into the hang of things and back into our routine. We had a few rough days this week but MUCH better than the first week. And that's a good thing. Right?

This week I:

• Went to McTeacher's night with the boys, nephews, Lisa & Mom! That was a FUN night!
• Watched Nathan and Alex perform a Veteran's Day Program.
• Went to the 10 PM Premiere of Breaking Dawn Part 2! Loved it!!! But it was kind of bitter sweet since Richard wasn't there. First one he has missed sine I started going. :(
• Watched a LOT of Supernatural. It sure does make the nights fly by. I don't know what I am gonna do when I get all caught up and can only watch it once a week. :/
• Did some cleaning. Still trying to get back into the daily routine I was on before he left.
• Found out about a job opportunity being a court researcher. Or maybe that was last week? I dunno. Either way I haven't applied yet. Kinda nervous about it. But its time to get my butt in gear and get on it. So that will be top priority this week!
• Worked out EVERY day and ate healthy! This one was one of the hardest since I tend to eat my feelings. But I did good and am proud of myself. Now hoping to see the results on the scale. :)
• DID NOT send out a care package. :( Really want to but Dick hasn't even gotten any of the letters I sent. He's on Med Hold right now so not with the rest of his unit so we are thinkin they may be holding it. I dunno. He's supposed to check on it soon. I'm already missing doin it weekly. :(

We are now 2 weeks down which means we have (approximately) 50 weeks left to go! It also means we are almost 4% down! I have a feeling this next week will FLY by with Fall Break for the boys, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Bedlam and putting up Christmas decor. I'm gonna be a BUSY lady! Hope everyone has a GREAT week and a GREAT Thanksgiving!

Here's a few pics from our week:

Week 1

The first week is FINALLY over! Its been a busy and very emotional week.

This week I have:

• Said goodbye to the love of my life.
• Watched my kids say goodbye to their Daddy like brave little men.
• Watched a TON of Supernatural. I figure if I can't have my hubby at least I can have my boyfriend. Right?
• Cleaned a ton.
• Sent out the FIRST care package of this deployment.
• Written him 4 letters.
• Heard about a great job opportunity.
• Eaten lots of junk food.
• Dealt with crying kids.
• Baked 3 dozen cookies
• Spent time with my Twin & Nephews

Like I said a very busy and emotional week. I finally went an entire day without crying. No I haven't sat around and cried all day every day but I had broken down at least once a day until yesterday. We are finally a week into this. I've made it this far I know I can make it the rest of the time!

1 WEEK DOWN 51 TO GO!!!

Care Package #1

Well I went out and got all the stuff for Dick's first care package of deployment #2 today. Came home, baked 3 dozen cookies and put it all together. Heres what I did:

Layed out all my stuff:

As I was baking my cookies I got busy decorating the box and making up an address label. I also wrote him a letter and after the boys put their letters in in the morning I will be sealing it up and sending it out! Not themed and not really anything special but it lets him know we love him and are thinking about him! Also the black paper I glued on and it bubbled and ran like crazy. i will be investing in some sort of tape runner. The blue I used my packing tape but still seems kinda like a waste. So we'll see what works best.

Here's what I put in it:

A new Ipod & Phone charger

2 Big packages of Beef Jerky (First thing he asked for)

A DVD

Some military stuff he had forgotten

3 Dozen cookies

Travel size face wash

Travel size deodorant

Travel size Qtips

New thing of Toothpaste (he didnt take much with him)

A box of poptarts

A box of breakfast bars

Some oatmeal to go bars

And a letter from Me & the Boys

Can't wait to send the next one and start being able to send themed ones!!!

Kisses from Daddy

So since Dick deployed today I thought it was time for my first deployment craft. I made a "Kisses from Daddy" jar. I bought pretty stickers but didnt double check there were enough letters so they didnt work out but oh well. I had some on hand. Not sure how well they will hold up and took FOREVER digging through the bag to pick out my letters but here it is.

Materials:

Large jar with lid. (I used a $7 glass jar from Walmart)
Hershey's Kisses
Stickers (or you could write it with paint)

Just put the stickers on the jar, fill it with kisses and you are DONE!

I think the boys will love it. They will get a special treat every night after showers instead of their goodnight kisses from Daddy. It won't be able to make up for it but it's better than nothing and it may give them something to look forward to each day. If you do a countdown style jar you can count out the kisses but I don't think we will be doing that. I dont think my jar is quite big enough since I am only doing one jar. It's not perfect but good enough & I love it!

Day 1

Let the countdown begin! Today was the day I have been dreading for MONTHS! Today was the day I said goodbye to my husband for a year. I am very proud of myself though. This time I did NOT drop Nathan. So WOO HOO for that one. I also didnt dwell on it the entire week before or the entire time we were waiting. That made our time we had left together MUCH more enjoyable!

My heart broke today. As we said goodbye at the airport Nathan was crying and begging to be able to get on the plane with his Daddy. I ended up having to pull him off Richard becaus he just didnt want to let go. Then my big tough guy Harley broke down and started crying. You could tell he was trying to hold it back so bad but just couldn't stop it. It breaks my heart to know that my boys are hurting and there is nothing I can do about it.

Today my heart broke.
Today I watched my boys lose their Daddy for a year.
Today we had donuts, pizza & candy & don't feel bad about it one bit!
Today we have watched a TON of TV.
Today our countdown began.
Today, tomorrow, and everyday until he is home we miss our Soldier.
Today I keep going back & forth between mixed emotions. I am either breaking down because he is gone for a year. Or I am fine because at the moment it doesn't seem any different than the other training situations.

MORE Training?!?!?!

Well as most of you know Richard is gone fore even MORE pre-deployment training. I hate that they are having to be gone for another couple weeks before they leave for a year or more. Its soo frustrating!
BUT I am taking this time to prepare the boys for him to be gone. We have started a countdown to him being home that they REALLY enjoy, and remind me EVERY morning to change the days, so I think we will continue this once he deploys. Also going to be doing a "Kisses from Daddy" jar. I will share pics on here once I make it.
I am also taking this time to get the house and decorations all ready for his party. I am putting alot of pressure on myself to have everything ready & perfect for when he gets home. I need to quit it. He's already told me to STOP and if I need help then ask. Not one of my strong suits. I am going to miss this man more than words can ever say. He is the one that talks me through my irrational thoughts and is always there for me when I need him. I just keep reminding myself we have been here before. We can do this again.
I also think I am going to write a weekly blog while he is gone. It will help countdown (or I guess up) to his return & keep him (if he should decide to actually read my blog lol) and anyone else who decides to read it informed of how me & the boys are doing while he is gone. What are we doing each week to stay busy and positive?
I have been an emotional wreck on & off for the last week. I have found myself wanting more & more things I know I can NOT have that I wanted before but not this intense. I think its coming from me wanting him to stay but having no control over it. I dunno. I know my next year or so will be an emotional roller coaster & I am in for a ride. I'm just hoping it won't be TOO bumpy after things return to "normal" while he's gone. As normal as they can be with such a huge part of our lives missing anyways.

Deployment Goals

So I have been thinking about how I am going to make the MOST out of the next year and have come up with a few things I wold like to accomplish.

1. Meet my goal weight. My weight has been a HUGE struggle for me since the last time Richard got home. So many life changes happened around that time so I can't contribute it to one thing. So with him being gone for a year that sounds like the PERFECT time to start. I'm sure I'll be a COW for the first week but oh well. Shit happens.
2. Complete at least 1 major craft project. Thinking this will include redoing either our table or a different table (I really want a square or rectangle one. Not feeling the round anymore) & some new chairs. Thinkin I am gonna do the table in chalkboard paint... what fun! for the boys plus it'll be great for homework. Maybe the chairs in red to tie into the kitchen? Dunno yet but thats my plan.
3. Send Richard a care package every week. I am sure there will be some weeks that nothing gets out but that should be RARE and some weeks I will send out more than one. Care packages are something I LOVED doing last time & my hubby got by far more junk than anyone else. When they were runnin outta food at the DFAC guess who still had LOADS to choose from in his room? Thats right! MY hubby.
4. Read 25 books. I LOVE to read & even tho I'm gonna try to be subbing while he's gone (I think it'll be a good way to work without having to be tied down to a schedule if I can't handle it a certain day) I won't be in school or hanging out with him in the evenings so it'll be a good way to escape.
5. Take a mini road trip. I want to go SOMEWHERE and see SOMETHING... maybe something Richard wouldn't enjoy. I dunno. I just know I wanna do something.


Not REALLY sure what else I wanna do with my year but like I said I plan on making the most of it. & not just for me. For the boys too. We will come up with some stuff they want to accomplish while Daddy is gone & do them!!!

Deployment Pros...

Is there such a thing? I say Yes! There is a silver lining to every situation. Today is the start of a new day. I am tired of moping about Dick deploying and bitching constantly about it. It is inevitable and there is absolutely nothing we can do to change it so time to start seeing the good in the situation. I have said plenty of the Cons so what are the Pros?
1. More Twin Time. This is probably going to be my favorite part of the deployment & not moving. I will get to spend more time with my sister. Although I would LOVE to spend my time with my hubby Lisa is the next best thing & when Dick is home we don't get to spend as much time together. So totally looking forward to that.
2. Smaller grocery bill. Dick is a HUGE eater so him being gone will cut that in half. Although most of this savings will be spent on stuff to send to him, I'd rather buy FUN stuff than boring stuff.
3. More Money. As much as I would like to have my husband home with me where he is safe and be without this extra money, if he HAS to be gone then hey at least we are gonna be makin A LOT more than we are now.
4. No moving. Yep. One of the biggest cons is also a plus. I was totally looking forward to a new adventure, a new state & a new life but it was still gonna suck to leave my family here. Plus who actually LIKES packing and unpacking?!?!?! BLECH
5. The Welcome Home Party. I am already looking forward to this & will start planning for it as soon as he is gone. It is gonna be KICK ASS so make sure you're there :)
6. "Me" Time. Get more time to myself doing what I want to do. Yep another MAJOR con can also be a plus. Y'all might have forgotten but I spent MOST of the first 2 years of marriage by myself. I am used to him being gone. We will get to work on us & honestly me & Dick do better with a bit of time apart every now & then. Just wish it wasn't a year. :(
7. Easier Weight Loss. I am always MUCH more focused on losing the weight & working out when he is gone. I am gonna TRY to be at my goal weight when he gets back so that's lots of hard work but I think I can do it. Will update how it's going while he's gone.

I know NONE of these can compare to having him home but like I said its gonna happen so I might as well try to be okay with it and try to make the best of it. We have learned through our time in the military, anything can be a good thing if you make the best of it. ALL duty stations CAN be fun if you try. So that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna make the best out of our crappy situation & try to make the most of the next year.

Don't get to be a REAL Army Wife BUT...

I get deployments!!! Yay for me! NOT! Well if you haven't guess by now we are no longer planning on moving. SUPPOSEDLY the slots for Dick's job ended in JULY but we were NEVER informed of this. I think his recruiter was just a lazy fuck that didn't do his job and screwed us over! Which is why Dick is checking with a 2nd recruiter to verify what this guy is saying. Whether its his fault or not I'm still pissed. Even if the slots closed back then how in the HELL do you just "forget" to tell someone this???? How does it just "slip through the cracks"??? Either way as of now there is NOTHING we can do about it.
So now we are back to Dick going on his deployment he volunteered for a few months back. I was all prepared for this but got to thinking we weren't doing it anymore and that we were getting to go back in the REAL Army and then deal with deployments through that. But NOPE!!! So now it's 3 months closer & right around the corner!!! It feels like a huge slap in the face. I'm feeling rushed, and like I should have planned certain things this summer that I can no longer do. I feel alone. Not only is my husband leaving for a year but so are a lot of our friends & as much as I LOVE my non military friends & family there are just some things you can't understand until you've lived it. I feel like MANY things will be easier this deployment but a TON will be harder.
How in the hell am I gonna tell my boys that Nope sorry we aren't moving but hey guess what we get instead? Your dad gets to leave for a year! I know we are don't this before & we can do it again but it sucks. I don't think things actually get easier I think you are just more prepared for them.
On a brighter note we will be sending Dick off in style. So everyone get ready for a HUGE going away party & a KICK ASS Halloween party! We are gonna do it up right!!!

Back to School!

The boys both started back to school yesterday. Harley is a big 2nd grader in Mrs. Runner's class.

And Nathan is in Kindergarten with Mrs. Henson. We absolutely LOVE BOTH of the boys' teachers. That doesn't always happen so we are thrilled about this year. Harley has been excited for school to start for almost 2 weeks now. He couldn't wait to wear his new Puma's Grandma Sue got him. Says they make him run WAY faster!

Nathan was a little less sure. It would mean a new school with a new teacher. He was in Pre-K the last 2 years with the Amazing Mrs. Rech & Mrs. Butel who we absolutley adore. They were phenomenal & we hated to be leaving them. But Nathan had a great first day as well. His teacher even called last night to make sure he had a great first day and that he was liking school. He had told us that he got hit that day but didn't tell so I told her about it & it has been taken care of. He LOVED school today. I still can't believe that both my kiddos are all day schoolers now. It makes me sad. But my car is LOVING not having to drive 100 miles a day to take and pick up kiddos. Not to mention the extra 2 1/2 hours I get not having to drive & wait so much. It makes for a much more productive Mommy. All in all we are excited for a GREAT year!