While Husband was deployed, one of the few goals I had was to NOT go to the emergency room.....well, we almost didn't make it. While we were outside playing, Will comes up to me, "I hurp my poop."
Me: "What? You pooped! "
Will: (his lips curled around his teeth): "No, I hurt my pooth."
Me: finally understanding lip-curled-over-the-teeth speak: "You hurt your tooth? Let me see." There is no blood and he is speaking, so I thinking he just bumped it.
Will, showing me the DENT on the handlebars of his bike: "My mouth hit it here!"
Me, feeling a tad more worried after seeing tooth dust on the bar...."Yep, buddy, you chipped it."
Just the tiniest bit chipped off the corner of his tooth. He was so worried the other kids would laugh at him at school. But by the next morning he was fine.
Whew hoo....another crisis averted....move on grasshopper, at that point we only had 17 more days to go!
Here is our story in pictures of the events of today! Husband came home after being deployed fourteen months, one week, and four days.....we couldn't be happier.
1. Welcome to the ceremony....find a seat in the bleachers.....We told Husband we would be in te upper right (his right). With over 200 soldiers coming in in today's ceremony, we didn't want to get lost in the crowd.
2. Of course we had to use glass chalk to do up the car. You should have seen the smiles people gave us as we drove the 30 minutes to post.
3. A flag from every state of the Union is represented here....the other 25 were on the other side. Texas is the very first one. I tried to get the kids to take pics here, but it didn't go that well!!
4. This is a Cavalry division....these guys come out to every ceremony. Ours was the second of three they would do before the end of the day. The first one was before 6AM.
5. They shut down the street so they guys can get from the plane to the parade field as quickly as possible. Here is where I got weapy eyed. Five white buses pull in on the opposite side of the field......just waiting because you know your man is back there!
6. I like this woman's style!
7. Finally the last bus pulls away.....there they are, in formation. By now I am wiping my eyes as fast as I can, and still tyring to focus the camera.
8. They march across the field, and retire the unit's colors (the battle flags). After a very short speech, they are released.
9. Oh my! We found him...he was one of the few that wore his Stetson. Livi was so proud to reintroduce bunny!
10. Will just couldn't stop grinning!
11. A boy and his daddy, together again.
12. Oh, what is this? Did you bring home presents? From the desert, what could it be?
13. A chef's hat made from ACUs (Army Combat Uniform).....she looks so cute!
Well, hope you enjoyed the ceremony....every one is home and settled in.....Happy Thursday
****OMG, my neighbor just called me....Husband's flight just got moved up to this morning!! I will have to take the kids out of school. They will be so surprised!****
Okay, I REALLY need to go to bed...
BUT husband called from Ireland......he said about 400 or so guys were on one of two planes headed here!!!
I hate to be the cry baby....but you know as soon as the phone rang after midnight, I knew wasn't a telemarketer.....and I was crying like a baby who missed his next feeding!!
NOW, turm the laptop off......move my feet to the bedroom...
I decided to put this in its own post , just to document how whacky I am feeling at nearly midnight prior to Husband's return!1 dang it if I can't make a freaking exclamation mark !!
Okay, it is almost midnight and I still can't sleep.....i have even tried the 'warming up my Minkie' trick.....Since I have to wash my hair in the morning, I have to get up at least at 6:15AM, so I really need to try to start count some sheep! ****Let me explain this: I have this HUGE mink blanket he brought me from Korea ....one of my favorite thing is to warm it up in the dryer and wrap it around me like I am in a cocoon!**** ALL I have left to clean is to mop the floor and wipe down the stainless steel appliances.....yeah, I know LIKE he will even notice.......BUT STILL, it will make ME feel better! You know it is on my list of things to do! nighty night!
Okay, it is almost midnight and I still can't sleep.....i have even tried the 'warming up my Minkie' trick.....Since I have to wash my hair in the morning, I have to get up at least at 6:15AM, so I really need to try to start count some sheep!
ALL I have left to clean is to mop the floor and wipe down the stainless steel appliances.....yeah, I know LIKE he will even notice.......BUT STILL, it will make ME feel better! You know it is on my list of things to do!
nighty night!
The bunting is hung by the front door with care....There are no freaking yellow ribbon or bows in this town...so we had to go for red. Oh well...what's a girl to do?
I just finished prepping the coffee pot for the last time for just a half a pot. I wonder if I will remember how to make a full pot.
Here is the final installment of my "I wonder how life will be after tomorrow afternoon":
I wonder if he will even notice how much I have cleaned? Probably not since I am so OCD about how our home is cleaned anyway.
I wonder how he will fit into our routine. We HAVE survived these last 15 months without him. But without a doubt, I am ready to pass some of these responsibilities on to him. His job is to give the kids a bath and brush their teeth while I get the clothes ready for the next day. I turn down the beds. We each have our THING with the kids. I am so used to the cushy little life of lunches with the girls and a mani/pedi. This being on duty 24/7 is for the birds! I have planned time so precisely as a defense against the emotional effects of his absence. I can only hopes he takes a step back and watches us in action. We have changed, I hope he can see this and fit into our new routine.
The first week he will be back, the kids will be on Christmas break.....is this good or bad? Good, we will have some great family time..
Bad, is being together every waking moment good after being apart for the last 450+days?
We decided to spend our Christmas with just us. We really need to just start being us. He has training and other stuff on post until the 23rd anyway. A two day drive to OH is out of the question until late December. I am really trying to not over-schedule him these first few days he is home. I am sure he will be glad to not have constant responsibilities of being an active duty soldier in a war zone.
Now for some early resolutions:
I will try to be open to talk about his experience if he wants to talk.
I will watch the budget, as we will be making less than when he was deployed.
I will be patient with him and kids as we ease into the new 'us'.
We will survive......because I am MUCH better with him, than without...
Now to everyone who reads my blog:
Many thanks to all of you who have wished us well over these last 15 months. I can't believe it is finally over! I know some days I was ready to throw in the towel. I have made many friends thru this little medium. I will definitely continue to blog. The first time someone commented on some writing by little ol' me, I was hooked. Then lisagh from Grosgrain Garage/ reached out and I "met" a whole group of other bloggers. Thank you all for your daily encouragement.....now this is starting to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech!
I will post some pics tomorrow....I promise! The ceremony should only be an hour....so we will be home in time for dinner. So check back tomorrow around this time and you see a pic of our hero!
Without a doubt I am looking forward to Husband's return. We can finally start to get back to our normal. I wonder if it will be happy, stressful, strained, difficult. I really do want to make this transition as easy as possible.
I think first and foremost, I am thankful he will be back safe and sound. (I stopped reading the paper early on because every single day the front page was filled with the story of some soldier who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Tear-swollen eyes are not the best way to greet the day. ) I know Husband is ready to have the normal day to day creature comforts.
One of the hardest things about these last 15 months was about in month 5.....Husband had already come home on his R&R. We thought we were almost half way done. Then all of a sudden I felt like I had the air knocked out of me.....we found out we weren't half way done, his 12 month deployment was EXTENDED to 15 months. So, from the time he came home in late february, early March.....it would be ten months before we saw him again. Oh well, what can you do?
This deployment has definitely shown me I am much better WITH him than I am without him. We celebrated (or didn't celebrate) our 10 year anniversary while he was gone. (actually it was the 9th and 10th) . I feel like we are in that early dating stage all over again. I have totally forgotten all those annoying little things that he does. I am in the honeymoon faze of life.
there is never one thing you can prepare for and that is fear. no on can explain it....but all we can do is trust that men and women like my Husband are doing their jobs. all we can do to stop the fear is to live, to go on with our day to day lives and live our lives. When the guys at the front gate select my little cute Volvo wagon to do the 'super-inspection', I shouldn't get all pi$$ed off. I just pull over and let them run their mirrors over and under my car.
Our first challenge will be the time of his arrival....right smack dab in the middle of nap/quiet time. But don't think for one minute that I am not going to have the kids there. We are 'suggested' to be there an hour before arrival. Okay, reality check, do you know how hard it is to keep a 3 and 4 year old entertained while in a mongo tent (if it's cold) or blechers (is that even spelled right0 if it is warm? yeah, right,that is what I thought. I better take some bribes.....oops, I mean snacks!
Hosted by Sarcastic Mom....( with the new and improved updated link) The basic idea is that every Sunday bloggers post their best/favorite photos from the previous week. Here are my Weekly Winners: Is it a flute or a candlestick?
It is a candlestick.
part of the greenery on the mantle
Friday was red and green day at the kids' preschool. Livi won for the girls! She got some book. She has been sleeping with it every night!
We are just busy getting ready for Husband. In his last email he said he was leaving for Kuwait that evening. So hopefully he will be on his way soon. This puts getting back here on Wednesday OR Thursday. I was really disappointed it was being shoved back a day. But like he said, what is one day compared to the last 15 months?
I was tagged by Carrieb, so I thought this would be a good time to fill it in....
1. . My Love Language is Acts of Service. I've would love for it to be physical touch or even receiving gifts. But no, take out the trash and give the kids a bath...and I am good! So today when I got these.......
Oh wait that is the pic of the ftd.com flowers from their website.
The ones I received looked like this! Granted Mike ordered them from Iraq....maybe half fell out by the time they got here. All joking aside....I burst into tears when I opened the box. I am so NOT a flower person....but after the week I have had.......I knew my husband was showing me the only act of service he could. He can't be here physically, but he can bring a smile to my face even from the other side of the world.
PS....I was totally impressed with FTDs customer service. When i called to tell her the flowers were a poor interpretation of the picture on the website...she offered to 1. send out another bouquet or 2. refund my money ....I told her I didn't know how Husband paid for them (because you know I checked the only credit card statement that he has with him.) She said she had to email him about it....but she was really nice and didn't even want pics.
Okay, back to the tag....
2. One of the reasons my week has been horrid is Husband's granddad passed away yesterday. He has been very sick with cancer for a while. He is finally at peace.
3. Will is named after both of Mike's granddads. When we had Will, Mike got to name him and I named Livi....
4. We are at 50 days and they can't come fast enough.
5. This week I felt like I needed to just tie a knot in the rope and hang on.
6. I know I am hyper emotional because I am being a woman, but dang! This is getting old. I am way to old to be using BC pills. Any of you knocking on 40s door have any recommendations?
7....Yikes, that hurt to type 4-0....can it be that in 2008 I will really be the big 4-0....??? I certainly don't feel it.
You know how I feel about tags....steal it if you are post lacking anytime...
happy Thursday y'all
ETA: I joined the NaBloPoMo-- Short for National Blog Posting Month. .....so this totally counts as the first post for November!!!
not too long ago I wrote a post about "what not to say to a wife of a deployed soldier"....Tuesday Update....if this doesn't link it correctly, it is the July 5, 2007 post...
Tonight I got this email from my Husband's boss's wife.....I have to admit I broke down in tears. yes, I am WAY emotional this week....those of you being visited by aunt Flo know the feelings. But in total opposition to what NOT to say, this is what TO say to a wife who hasn't seen her husband in 15 months....(okay you totally cannot count the two weeks we had in March!!) I am adding my comments in crimson.....
Dear Military Wife, I am an American woman that has no idea what is going on in the military other than what I hear on the news. ***I don't watch the news, so I don't know much either, welcome to my world.***
I have never had to let go of someone so that they could go fight for people that they didn't know, people that sometimes do not appreciate or understand what they are fighting for. ***i think this is the hardest part of being me***
I have never had a sleepless night of worry because of a report that another bomb has exploded and I still haven't heard from my husband. ***again, I DO NOT read the paper, it is way to worrisome when I see Husband's division mentioned***
I have never had to wait for months on end to hold the one that I loved so. ***15 months is way too long***
I have never had to tell my children that daddy wasn't coming home tonight because he was so far away fighting for something that they aren't yet old enough to understand. ***It is hard to admit that my babies even know where Iraq is on a globe.***
I have never had to hold my head high and suppress the tears as I hear that it will be at least another six months of separation before my loved one gets to come home. ***when I got news of the extra three month extension, I had to go take a shower so the kids wouldn't see me cry***
I have never had to deal with a holiday away from the one that I thought I would share every day of my life with. ***I almost think a week long field exercise is nice every once in a while....makes you appreciate what you have***
And I have never had to feel the panic rising in my heart at the sound of a ringing phone or knock at the door for fear that it is the newsthat everyone is terrified of getting. ***Okay, I am getting way too real here,....I get dressed: makeup and shoes every single day because I am paranoid someone in dress greens will come knocking on my door, and I will be the wife standing there in her jammies at 2 in the afternoon.***
For the reasons listed above, I can not tell you that I understand how you feel.
I can not tell you that you must be strong. ***I am not, I am just doing what has to be done.***
I can not say that you shouldn't be angry, because you "knew what you were getting into when you married a military man". ***Yes, I did, but in 1997, I didn't even think about it, I just wanted to be with him.***
I can not say these things because I have never had to walk in your shoes.
What I can say for certain is that because of your unselfish acts of bravery and your husbands willingness to stand up for those who see him as "just another soldier" - -I will never have to walk in your shoes.
I do understand that as a military wife you are expected to uphold a certain amount of control, but I never understood how you could do it,until now.
I have figured out that you are not like other women.
You are of a special breed. ***I do agree with this wholeheartedly!!***
You have a strength within you that holds life together in the darkest of hours, a strength of which I will never possess.
The faith you have is what makes you stand out in a crowd; it makes you glow with emotion and swell with pride at the mention of The United States of America. ***I do cry when I hear the National Anthem***
You are a special lady, a wonderful partner and a glorious American. ****thank you****
I have more respect for your husband than I could ever tell you, but until recently I never thought much about those that the soldier leaves at home during deployment. ***not many people do***
Until this moment I could never put into words exactly what America meant to me.
Until this moment, I had no real reason to.... Until I heard of you.
Your husband and his military family hold this nation close, safe from those who wish to hurt us...but you and those like you are the backbone of the American family.
You keep the wheels in motion and the hearts alive while most would just break completely down.
Military families make this nation what it is today.
You give us all hope and you emit a warming light at the end of a long dark tunnel.
Because of you and your family...I am able to be me.
I am able to have my family.
I am able to walk free in this great land.
Because of you and your family, I can look ahead to the future with the knowledge that life is going to be okay.
Because of you and your family, I can awake to a new day, everyday.
I realize that you are a stronger person than I will ever be because of these things and I just wanted to take the time today to say thank you to you and your family for allowing me that freedom.
I will never be able to repay this debt to you, as it is unmatchable.
However, I hope that you know that no matter where you are...what you are doing...what has happened today...or what will happen tomorrow...Your husband will NEVER be "just another soldier" to me....And you, dear sweet lady, will never be forgotten.
You are all in my prayer's everyday and I pray that God will bring you back together with your loved one safely.May God Bless You
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: NONE
i think as a wife of a career soldier this is all that I could ever want to hear from someone. I know many people don't agree with all that is going on.....but I will be here supporting my Husband's choice he made long before he met me. I think as a wife I would love to be acknowledged and appreciated. This last year has been the hardest thing I have ever done!
Now, if you have read this far, send me your name and address. I will personally send you a thank you note......
When ever I saw this I had to laugh. After a day like today, I really needed to laugh. I don't usually curse but it is very fitting! Okay, after a glass of wine, my tongue might be a tad loose, after several I might drop the f-bomb....but in general, I am too scared Livi will repeat something at school....so it is a good reminder to use G-rated language around here.
Back to my craptastic day.....I seriously should chart my girl-thing because I am a huge bundle of emotions. It has been 380 days since Mike left. You would think I would have a hang of this by now. But lack of sleep has magnified all these emotions.
I am physically exhausted from trying to do it all. Then I get frustrated that not all is going as smoothly as I would like. For instance I get up an hour before the kids normally wake up so I can have myself ready, coffee in hand, and ready to start the day. But this morning Will woke up while I was in the shower. Not a good sign....I was so tired by the time we were ready to walk out the door to go to school.
Five minutes after our warning timer had gone off, not one but two kids had to go to the bathroom. Will is an "I-have-to-take-all-my-clothes-off-from-waist-down" kid. What is it with boys and stripping? Livi said she had to go as well. Since she is barely potty-trained, I dare not let her go if she says she has too! I was not the most positive mom in all of this. Let it even be noted that I might have lost it!
After I finally got Will's clothes, socks (Yes, even the socks have to come off.) and shoes off, he says, "Mommy, why are being so mean?" Oh crap! The floodgates opened.
I had to step back and realize the worst thing that would happen is we would be late. Will's favorite thing to say when things aren't going right is, "Let's start all over okay?" So it was my turn to say, "I am sorry buddy! Let's start all over."
I think the little things are starting to really add up...the stupid woman at AutoZone who laughed at me about the coolant, the morons at Garlyn Shelton Volvo, just all the little things that normally roll off my back..suddenly backed up and I barked at my kid!
I need to remember I have no control over this extension....but I can control how I react to it. One major positive thing is I clean in response to stress. I am guessing that I can't control when the army will send Mike home, but I can control my surroundings. I cleaned out the garage today. A few things that needed to go up to the attic went up there. All the summer stuff is cleaned and put away.
So, I guess all in all, a little cleaning, a little laughter and a sense of humor got me through today. Tomorrow I can only try to have a little more patience and hope that I control how I react to whatever it is that will stress me out tomorrow.
On a side note, I really try not to whine about this...so if you have read this far....thanks!
Just because I need one more laugh....these are from this weekend's visit to the pumpkin patch. See how red his cheeks were...it was in the high 80s. It has been in the 50s this week so far!
Livi would strike a pose and say, "Cheese me!" That my friends, made me laugh!
This weekend we went to a pumpkin patch. There were all kind of activities....a hay ride, a story time, pumpkin painting. Of course I put the kids in white shirts and jeans. As fun as painting mini pumpkins would have been fun. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. SO being the practical mom that I am, I steered them towards the hay bale maze....Oh yeah...go run around and burn some energy off!
We each picked a pumpkin to take home. I took this one of Will in front of our house. Right after this picture, he pitched the pumpkin like it was an orange shot put. I wonder how long it will take until the insides get all gross after that!
Not sure if you can see it but Livi is holding a little piece of straw. She would pick it up and say, "Hay"...."Hey, Mom, I said hey!" I guess the thing that made it so funny is that Mike does the same thing. We will see those round bales of hay on the side of the road and he does the "hay" every single time!
Overall it was a great weekend. The kids kept busy enough to not get bored. We got the cars washed, even the tires...a job I HATE to do. I cleaned out two bags of stuff from my closet, the office/craft room, and the kitchen. I spent some time organizing some scrapping supplies with the intention that maybe one day I will work on some pages.
The only down side to the weekend....when I was moving my car back into the garage the coolant light came on. Okay, I can do this....I pull out the manual, find out where to check it. Check, oh yeah, it is low.,....There is a little minimum and maximum line....got it, and yes, it is low. The little reservoir clearly says to use the car brand kind. The closest dealer is 30 minutes away ....they are the ones that pi$$ed me off about the wires under the seat. The dealer we bought the car from is about an hour from here. Can you drive 30-45 minutes in your car if the coolant is that low? It is not empty, just low. I called Auto Zone to see if they carry different car types of coolant. The girl just laughed at me. She said it is all the same. She said something about 50/50 , so I asked her if I had to mix it with water or if it came that way? She really got a laugh out of that. By the way, it is already mixed in the container. Nice to know this kind of stuff. <----these are the kind of things that I hate to deal with, this is a 'husband job'.
Hope your weekend went well.....happy Monday y'all.
The ones I received looked like this! Granted Mike ordered them from Iraq....maybe half fell out by the time they got here. All joking aside....I burst into tears when I opened the box. I am so NOT a flower person....but after the week I have had.......I knew my husband was showing me the only act of service he could. He can't be here physically, but he can bring a smile to my face even from the other side of the world. 
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