How Time Flies!

It has been FOREVER since I have written on here! I totally thought coming here I would have ample amounts of time to blog to my heart's content...WRONG! I am so busy all the time and I swear I have more free time at home working full time and taking care of the kiddos than I do here kiddo free! But I will say that I have actually had a pretty good time so far on my deployment and I can't really complain because there are far worse places to be! So here is the run down of things I have gotten to experience since the last time I blogged.

1. Met the Secretary of State John Kerry

2. Experienced the culture off base

3. Got to work with the Singapore Air Force

4.My hubby came to visit!

Until next time folks! Which I promise won't be another month and a half :) Enjoy!

2 weeks down!

You know that song "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall"...yea that should be my theme song on this deployment. Maybe it will make the time go by faster. 

I feel like I should give you all an insight into my "deployment." It isn't really that hard...really the hardest part is being away from the family (a no brainer) and finding things to do to fill the time. 

I am at a pretty nice base with quite a bit of amenities such as a movie theater; which by the way we get new releases just as you guys do so that makes it nice. We also have an outdoor pool, a gym, and a bunch of restaurants in case the chow hall gets to be bland. And it does fairly quickly I might add. And there is free wifi...yes I can't really complain about where I am at considering there are worse places I could be. 

One of the perks of being where I am is that we can take a cultural tour off base. I can't wait to do one but I might add that I'm a little nervous because I hear that the drivers here literally have the world's worst road rage and accidents per capita. Yikes! But it will be an adventure non the less and I can't wait to see how other people in this world live so differently than us. 

So this is a picture of my small abode here. 

So this is small abode here. 

It is my part of the room as there is also a bathroom and two other bunk beds. I am just now getting a roommate so 2 weeks without one has been pretty nice. 

So I am adjusting fairly well to the time difference and to the heat...it has only been 108 so far!! It is strange because some people think that since I am a "weather girl" that I am used to this heat...umm negative. When I left Arkansas it was only high 70s!

Well as most of you are starting to wake it is actually bedtime for me so until we write again...see you soon!

Chalkboard Picture Frame

So I have had this craft to do for awhile now but with summer time here it is always hectic. But this craft is easy to do and super fun for the kids!

Since Justin has been deployed we are using it as a way to count down the days until he is home. 

You will need: Chalkboard spray paint, chalk, and a wooden frame.

Of course make sure you put something under the picture frame so that way you don't make your garage floor half chalkboard.

Make sure you spray it really good. Add a second coat if necessary.

Then when you are done add your favorite picture and and write a note around the frame! 

Things to Know While Hubby is Away

So Justin is deployed again which isn't anything new because this is the 4th time he has gone. You would think by now that I would have everything down pat but alas reality has shown me otherwise. So I made a list of things that are helpful to know while the hubby is deployed.

1. How to Change the Spark Plug on the Lawnmower

Yep never thought of that huh?! Me either! But a few weeks ago I tried to start the lawnmower and nothing happened. I checked the gas and there was plenty. One of my coworkers mentioned that it was probably the spark plug and sure enough it was. You can find a replacement at any Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, etc...

2. Fire Alarms

Yep that is another doozie!! About 2 weeks after he left at 1am my fire alarms started going off. They stopped after about 5 seconds but needless to say I was wide awake after that. I assumed it was a fluke but around the same time the next night it did the same thing. So...I changed out the batteries and thought it was fixed. NOPE! One alarm kept chirping at me and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I tried to reset the alarm but nothing worked. I googled to find out why and I needed to get a new alarm because this one was busted. This website worked perfectly to find my answer- Smoke Detector Beeping.

3. Bank Account

Yep this is one of the no brainers but it has to be said. Make sure that you know what bills have to be paid and when. Also it is good to know password question answers for the bank account if you aren't normally the one that does the bills. Perfect example....I didn't know the password question answers to log on with my husband's log in and had to find out. 

4. Power of Attorney (POA)

This single piece of paper can make your life so much easier while the hubby is gone I promise! The last deployment that Justin was on he didn't tell the legal lady correctly and she gave him a medical POA for me for the kids. Well I already have the nifty yellow card for on base and off base I don't need anything since they are my kids too. It would have been much easier to have a general POA because as it turned out I needed it. In Arkansas if you or your spouse have been deployed you can get a license plate and pay 2 bucks instead of 25ish. Well because I didn't have a general POA they wouldn't take his orders to get him a special plate so I had to pay the 25 bucks instead. 

5. Airman and Family Readiness Center (AFRC)

Now I am not sure about Army, Navy or Marines but the Air Force AFRC provides a lot of perks to the spouses while the spouse is deployed. Here at Little Rock they provide a monthly deployed families dinner which is nice because then you can meet other people who are going through the same things you are. They also provide a voucher to get a free oil change 30 days after your spouse has left. And also there is deployed child care as well. If you are a stay at home parent it can be a nice stress reliever to drop the kid(s) off for an hour or two while you relax or go get some much needed errands done. 

The hubby has only been gone for a month so I can only imagine what else I will need to add to this list before he comes back!

The Life of a Military Wife

It's that dreaded time of year again...deployment time. Ugh. My heart has been heavy all day and quite frankly haven't had much of an appetite. Every other time Justin has deployed it has been relatively earlier in the day but not this deployment. They left in the evening, which is good because we had longer to see him today but it also made the day seem to drag on because we knew the inevitable was going to happen. 

 

I definitely am not a wife that complains about deployments...we both signed up for the military so we knew what we were getting into when we did. And when I say we both that is also because I am active duty. We are one of the rare dual military families it seems. Not only do we have to deal with him deploying but there also comes a time (albeit very rare) when I have to deploy. Either way it isn't fun!

 

And while this sucks completely to be separated I thank god that Justin's job keeps him behind the wire and at a relatively safe base so that keeps my nerves down a lot! Regardless it isn't a goodbye but rather a see you soon! So to all those other military wives out there I know what you are going through (4x now..eeehh!).

 

 

The girls love their daddy!

 

So until he comes back us girls are going to be running the show!

Deployment Care Package Ideas

Like I said in my "About Me" section both my husband and I are active duty in the Air Force. It is definitely challenging at times with having two kids and trying to work out our work schedules so that way someone is home with the kids in the evenings BUT I wouldn't trade it for the world!

I am definitely one of those moms that would love to be a SAHM but I know that I would go stir crazy so bad. When I was on maternity leave it was wonderful til about the last week because I just felt like I needed to be back at work and being productive in my job. So let me say I am jealous of all you SAHM because you all can handle the daily home stress way better than I can!

My husband is currently deployed but actually in transit back to the states so I should be seeing him in the next few days and I am so very excited. While he was gone I sent him quite a few care packages of things he needed and then of course things I wanted to surprise him with to spoil him a little bit. So I thought I would share my ideas on care packages.

1. DON"T go online and order a prepackaged care package from a website- for 2 reasons. One they can very easily get lost on the mail. I had sent one to my husband back in 2009 and it never made it there and I was out 50 bucks. And secondly they aren't really that personable. Our spouses like something that you have put thought into. Even if it is a small package with just a few things they really enjoy that you took the time to go out and buy those things for them and send it instead of going online and in 5 seconds ordering the first package you see.

2. Put a card in the package. It doesn't have to be a novel that you have written it can just be a simple note or a "Miss You" Hallmark card. They are sentimental and lets your spouse know you are thinking about them. 

3. Send their favorite snacks! You can never send too many snacks for them. Most of the time if they don't want every snack in their care package they will put it in the community pile so that anyone from their work can have it they want. This deployment that my husband is on the chow hall had horrible food and I think I heard him complain about that more than anything else. So I knew he loved tuna so I sent him a huge box of tuna and some mayo to mix it with. I have never seen my husband so happy over something to menial but it is the small things that they love!

4. If you have kids have them draw pictures for them. I think this is by far the best thing you can ever put in a care package for your spouse if you have kids. My husband and I both deployed at the same time in 2009 and my mom had my daughter draw pictures and I cried when I saw them because they were so cute and I loved how she would draw a house with all of us in front of it. She also would write little notes on her pictures and that just tugged at my heart strings!

5. I am torn whether to put this on my list or not because each unit and person that deploys is different. When I deployed I asked people NOT to send me baby wipes. The reason being is that is the first thing that people think of to send someone since it is the desert and it is dusty. Well I had baby wipes coming out of my ears because there were so many already there. I did like when people sent the disinfecting wipes though. Those made me feel like something was cleaner than when I just used a baby wipe.

?????

6. For women that deploy: Send them girly stuff! So when you are at your deployed location most everything is tan. NOT a cute girl color! Yes we are at war but we still like to feel like girls at the end of the day and pamper ourselves. It can be something simple like some nail polish or a small pedi kit to keep your feet looking pretty. I loved when my best friend sent me a cute pink VS blanket to put on my bed and when I would get cute new eye shadows from my other friends in the mail. Really made my week!

7. Lastly send them some funny stuff. My boss got sent 8 small water guns so we went out and had a water gun fight one day at work. Made us laugh and for a moment forgot that we were in Iraq doing the same every day. 

Hopefully these ideas help because I know how sometimes you can draw a blank on what to send someone!