(_l_) (__) (_l_) (_/_) (_l_) (__) (_l_) (_/_) (_l_) (_l_) (__) (_l_)

I am doing my Happy Dance! He finally made it home, I am done, I survived......and my kids did too. My hubby coming home did not include the ceremony I had always wanted to attend or all the fanfare associated with a larger airport. But all that matters is that I got to run to him and jump into his arms. He is home , here with me and home safe and in one piece!

The army did not make this easy for me as they were more than difficult and in the end I did have to road trip it 5 hrs across the state to Benning. But I was so fortunate to have a great friend accompany me. She made a nerve wracking day into the best girl time I have had in years. We had the best conversations and tons of fun. She even kept me from getting freakishly lost a few times. Plus she saved me from having to eat alone at the Applebee's and wait alone at the airport, because man, that last hour felt like a hundred years. And the airport was small and empty and there was nothing to do to fill the time, no souvenirs to browse or things to look at. So instead she indulged me in my silly picture taking and listened to me talk a mile a minute about god only knows what....she was absolutely incredible. I am blessed to have her as my friend :)

We had a fabulous time our first night back together, we all 3 celebrated his return with Champagne (the cheap kind) and the finest wine glasses a dollar could buy at the dollar tree (no expense was spared)  and then retired to our rooms.

It was incredible and sweet and beyond my most hoped for expectations. And it was so nice to be in his arms again and to kiss him again and ..................

I am so happy he is home.   :o)

Things I have learned.........

I am finally nearing the end of this stupid deployment, if you had told me a year ago that I would actually survive this in one piece I so would have whined and cried like a 5 yr old . And I can honestly say the pessimist in me won out in the end over my emotions and I was not someone anyone wanted to be near for those first few months.  Fast Forward, (hindsight is alwaaaaaays 20/20) and I can look back on it all and see where I was wrong . I could and have survived.....everything annoying or ridiculous that has happened I have survived.  But anyways here is a short list of the things I have learned this year, starting from the beginning....

1. Some people who claim to be your friend are NOT
2. You should make real life friends,  too. Internet friends are not always who you think they are.
3. You can make that road trip alone with 2 kids and a cat, just don't forget 2 redbull shots and your ipod
4. You will survive the funerals and other hard things that come along
5. Skype and magic jack are incredibly awesome
6. Do not watch schmoopy sappy army movies early in deployment, they will only make you bitter and sad
7. the news is never good
8. staying busy really is the best way to get through it.....volunteer for everything and never say no to an invite no matter how much you want to
9. family is really important , so glad I reconnected with all of mine this year
10. take time for yourself.......
11. it is ok to leave dishes in the sink over night, heck you can leave them until you need them or they overflow the sink
12. soup and sandwiches is totally a healthy meal
13. Campbell's has a ton of new varieties :D
14. Ask for help (do not wait until your 9 months in, either)
15. You can watch schmoopy army homecoming shows at the end of deployment, and it is ok to cry
16. Daniel Tosh can make you laugh after the show has made you cry
17. Once its time for Hubby to come home, do not watch the episode of MASH where Henry Blake leaves to go home. Period.
18. once your hubby is in your arms it will all be ok. The rest is just small stuff. (At least I am hoping on this one as he is not home yet, I will let you know once he is....)
19. Oh and last but not least it is NOT really like it is portrayed on Army Wives.
20. If you put yourself out there you can make some of the best friends ever. Thank God for MOPs.


This is most of what I have learned, feel free to add to it though :) ......

oh Wow....

What a year this has been......it has without a doubt been the longest year of my life. And the most difficult. But to be honest, I have never learned more about myself or felt more awesome.

This has been a truly amazing year for me. I have turned 30 and have realised just how awesome I can be. I am in no way perfect but I feel that I have truly grown as a person this year. I have learned how to do basic home repair and plumbing and car repair and how to rebuild a mailbox.....i have managed to keep the house up and all of the kids activities  and have even managed to not kill the children or the cat (though at times I may have been very tempted) . I have learned how to road trip with the 3 of them by myself and how to cope with no sleep and basically do it all including the taxes. And I have survived pretty much intact, with maybe 3/4 of my brain still there. LOL.

I have also managed to (forgive the horn tooting here, I'm really excited) pay down half of our debt and save enough for a vacation! Our first in 13 years.  In fact I paid off 2 bills today :) . I am really really proud of myself and excited .

I wish I had known a long time ago just what i was capable of or just how awesome I could be. I think back on all the time I spent feeling less than and defeated and the fear of being alone......if only I had known or could go back and tell myself.  I mean, I may not have a degree or some fabulous career. But I have a good life and I am now happy to devote my energy to the people around me.....

I know I have whined a lot this deployment or that my frustration and anger may have sometimes gotten away from me....but I have grown immeasurably in myself . And I have never felt stronger or more capable.

Don't get me wrong though after night's like last night where the baby has wet on my bed and the sheets needed to be washed and dried, and the use of the dishwasher and washing machine at the same time resulted in the kitchen flooding , again. And then discovering the toothpaste bomb that had apparently gone off in the kids bathroom at 2am when all i wanted to do was go to bed. But the dryer didn't care how tired i was and wouldn't dry the sheets...so there I sat in a heap on the floor praying to God to please make it stop. I am so looking forward to my other half coming home, because while I may be able to do this on my own I really don't want to, lol.

My hat is off to single mother's everywhere, because while this has been the hardest year of my life , i at least had the knowledge and the hope that my Hubby would be home soon. That this was not permanent for me is all that kept me going some days.

But this really has been one heck of a year and now looking back I wouldn't change a minute of it. (Ok well maybe just a few of them, lol) it has really helped me realise who and what I am and that is one Rockin Mommy and  Wife and you know that really is good enough for me :D

another one bites the dust....

I am so excited. Today I checked another thing off my bucket list! And while it is a silly thing to have on there as I have been told, I am proud of myself none the less, LOL. I taught myself how to wolf whistle. And while I can not do it everytime yet, I have done it at least 10 times so I think it deserves to be checked off now.

This has been a fun summer for me as I have checked 2 things off in a short amount of time. The first one was learning to knit, and while I am not very good at it (considering I am now on my 3rd attempt at the same blanket) I now know how to do it.

Most of the things on my bucket list are small achievable goals....I like to be able to say I checked something off and these give me something to do in between the really big goals , like cliff jumping in Africa over the zambezi river gorge. As really who has tons of oppurtunities to check those huge things off our lists often.

My list was a lot smaller before my trip to Africa. But after making a trip like that and having so much fun, I thought of so many other things I still wanted to do. And while cliff jumping may be hard to top, I now have the courage to try almost anything. And am looking forward to topping the thrill of that jump.

That trip also made me realise that I really want to see the rest of the world while I am still young enough to enjoy it and remember it. I want my kids to have a life full of adventure. I want a life full of adventure too. When I die I want to say, and believe that I truly lived. And really deployments are the best time to work on your bucket list....

And in case you wondering here are a few things on my list:

• Learn to do a headstand
• see the pyramids in Egypt
• learn to surf
• see Australia
• learn to crochet
• make a dress all by myself
• learn to speak French
• master the art of eyeliner application
• learn to walk in heels (and not look like a man in drag)
• go skydiving
• see the pacific ocean
• swim with dolphins or maybe sharks, lol
• get kissed at the top of the Eiffel Tower
• learn to paint like picasso
• learn to rock climb
• see Morocco
• ride on a camel
• celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary
• take a fabulous cross country adventure down route 66
• learn ballet
• drive a Race car
• ride a burrow into the Grand Canyon

These are just some of mine....I am always adding more it seems. My goal is to never stop growing or learning. And to step outside my comfort zone as much as possible. But for now I am happy just finally learning that silly whistle. LOL. Hopefully by the time I ever reach NY City I will be able to hail a cab with it Carrie Bradshaw style :)

Ok, I am ready to find that next item I can check off....but until then I am just happy i finally figured out that whistle. LOL.

No more late night snacking for me.......

Holy Crap! I just saw a huge rat in my pantry!I did not know that Splinter had left NY for GA, I wonder if the Ninja Turtles are in there somewhere too? I mean I have known that something like that was around....I saw the evidence after I returned home from being gone all summer. And I have heard him in the walls, but oh Lordy I was not expecting that. All I wanted was some Froot Loops, and snacking is rare for me as me and food do not get along so well most days.....now I may never eat another  snack , ok I kid. But this just reminds me of how much I miss having my Hubby around. Because this is totally a "Man" job.....I mean I will set a trap, but then who is gonna take the thing to the garbage can....not me.

I usually try to look on the bright side of things and when I get real down about being here alone with the 2 demon spawn that call me Mommy, I remind myself of the things I am enjoying about this time apart.

• Less laundry to wash and fold
• I can get away with serving soup and sandwiches for dinner
• my bed is not all destroyed when i wake up in the morning
• nobody cares that I have not shaved in 3 days
• NO Football!
• I was able to go home for the summer
• I can stay up as late as I want and not disturb anyone else
• I can play loud music when I shower or clean
• I do not have to share my bathroom ever! (except with trusted guests that I know will not pee on my seat)

And these are the things I have to remind myself about on the days that are rough, like today. Days where your feeling horrible and your foot is hurt because you fell off the rock climbing wall at the playground because you were wearing your butt firming shoes; and you know you can't just hide in bed all day because there are Mommy meetings to attend and care packages to be mailed and kids to shuttle and feed.....and rats to kill.  But hey we have almost made it half way through........and the kids are still alive.

Just remember it can always be worse and we are lucky it is not! So if your going through something similar get your list together and remind yourself of the silver lining.....

But seriously who is going to take the dead rat out after I murder it? help....