Things Are Different

There are so many things that are different this year. First, the deployment. That in itself is a HUGE change. Second, we sold our house and moved into an apartment. Third, this is such a strange winter. The temps. are up and the levels of snow are down. Wait...what snow? I'm not usually one for winter, but I really hope next winter acts like winter (especially since we'll be all together again).

I need to take a moment to thank our friends and family for all their support. They are all so great and definitely make life a little easier right now. I appreciate the fact that they don't treat us any differently. They help us continue our day-to-day life as if everything is normal. I guess things are normal, just a different normal.

The boys and I have been working on a list of things we want to do when daddy comes home. We have a good list going and I can't wait until we start crossing items off that list. Some of the things we have listed are going to the zoo, taking a train ride and fishing (for the boys at least). If anyone has other ideas we'd love to hear them! The longer the list the better!

We Love Our Flat Daddy!

I'm not exactly sure where my last few posts went, but let's try this again!

(this is the picture we used for our flat daddy)

Flat Daddy is such a wonderful concept and our boys are in LOVE with him. It has definitely made this deployment easier for them to handle. Here are a few pictures of our life with our "temporary daddy."

Flat Daddies and Flat Mommies are life-size photos of deployed service members. They are provided to help children better cope with the separation they experience when a parent is away from home for long periods of time.

I would 110% recommend a Flat Daddy for any family with a soldier preparing to deploy. Kids love seeing it everyday and knowing their soldier is still with them even though they aren't physically there. Our boys like it when we bring "dad" for a ride with us or bring him to a special event. Flat Daddy will also come in handy when dad is home for good because he is often training or "playing army" for a few days here and there.

(when we moved into our new apartment)

(Like father, like son)

(Halloween - daddy went as a mummy!)

(Our photo for our Christmas cards.

 Some people even thought he was home when they saw the picture.)

(Christmas)

(Celebrating my birthday with me)

Let me know if you have any questions because I'd be more than happy to tell you about the benefits of having Flat Daddy around.

Kisses From Daddy

One of the first ideas I came across while preparing for deployment was a deployment countdown jar. I started by filling a jar with Hershey kisses (hence the "kisses") - one kiss for each day your loved one is gone. We obviously don't have enough room to hold a piece of candy for each day (x2 because each of the boys get one) so I fill it up every couple days so they don't see the level going down. It'll be REALLY exciting once we're counting down our last few weeks because we'll actually see the candy level disappear!

Once we moved, unpacked and got situated I set up the jar. I explained the concept of the jar to our boys who nodded in excitement about the thought of getting a piece of candy every night. Considering they're only 4 and 2 years old I can't imagine they really comprehend the idea. The original plan was to get a "kiss" from daddy every night after dinner. I was surprised when we went to get their first piece of candy. I picked up our 2 yr. old so he could reach in and choose his kiss on his own. When I took the lid off, little man raised his hand to his mouth and blew a kiss into the jar before choosing his chocolaty treat. Our 4 yr. old then followed in his steps...

Hershey's was nice enough to give us milk chocolate and the NEW air delight kisses to help us get our Kisses From Daddy jar started. I've always been in love with the regular milk chocolate kisses, but was pleasantly surprised when I tried the air delights. It was like my favorite chocolate kiss, but lighter! My oldest son asked me where we got the "fun" Hershey's kisses from and all I could do was smile and laugh to myself. We all love the cute little kisses and the boys look forward to them every night after dinner (and I look forward to them when the boys are in bed).

Home Sweet Home

I'm proud to say that we're all moved and settled in at our new apartment. This place is great - unless you ask our 4 yr. old who will tell you "I don't like our new house." The first time he told me that he started crying. It broke my heart! He said he didn't like it because he didn't like having to be quiet. It is a huge adjustment considering our house is the only home he's ever known. I feel so bad that he's sad. I explained to him that it's only temporary until dad gets home and then we can build a house. Now every time he tells me he's sad we talk about what kind of house we should build.

(This is our "welcome" can outside our apartment.)

Just recently I came across a special that Tiny Prints was having. This was my chance to help make my boys a little happier. I made each of the boys their own Santa card. I was able to get one for free so I figured I would buy a second one (one for each of the boys) at full price. It was great! I personalized them, had them sent in the mail addressed to the boys themselves and the return address read: Santa Claus, North Pole. I even added a sentence from Santa: "I can't wait to bring your presents to your new apartment." My 4 yr. old LOVED it!

My Blue Star Flag

I recently went online to My Blue Star Flag to order my free flag to put in our balcony window. While I was ordering I noticed I could sign up for a FREE custom blue star flag, so, of course I did. A few weeks later I received an email stating I won!! I emailed them what I wanted my custom flag to say and a soon enough it was delivered to my door. I couldn't be happier - it's beautiful!!

Here's a picture of my free flag hanging up:

Here's a picture of our custom flag hanging up (I love it!!):

A special "Thank You' to www.mybluestarflag.com for my free flag and the opportunity to win my custom flag. Another special "Thank You" to Dave England for the emboidered custom flag I won. I looks beautiful and it fits perfectly in our new home!



Army Pride

I've been receiving a TON of compliments on my purse so I figured I should repost this for anyone who missed it the first time. There are several styles of purses/bags that you can choose from. I chose this one because I knew it would be used as a purse and diaper bag all in one. Because of this I splurged and went for the large size. I can't tell you how much I love it!! The best part? I have a piece of my husband with me at all times...I love it!

Click here to order your Hero On My Arm bag

If you don't have a uniform top available to send in, you can choose to use one they have in stock for an additional price. They have seeveral different styles and sizes you can choose from. You can also choose your interior color/pattern, accessories and more. Don't need a purse? They have several other items you can purchase such as wallets, teddy bears and keychains. (They also have a summer special going on right now with their keychains.)

Here's To The Heroes

Any active duty, activated or drilling reservist, or National Guardsman is entitled to free admission under the Here's to the Heroes program. As many as three direct dependents of military personnel also are entitled to free admission. Dependents may take advantage of the offer without their service member, though an adult must accompany minor dependents, and dependent ages 10 and over must present valid dependent I.D.

Valid for one complimentary single-day admission per person, per year, during the regular operating schedules at one of the following: SeaWorld Orlando, San Diego, or San Antonio, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or Williamsburg, Sesame Place, Water Country USA, Adventure Island. Not valid at Discovery Cove and Aquatica. Christmas Town at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va. is not included as part of this program.

Click here to sign up and for more information. Please pass this on to any military families you know.  

Everyday Chores

And now it begins...Plenty of rain + lots of sunshine = growing grass! Playing "single mommy" to small boys and mowing the lawn don't mix very well. Yesterday my dad emailed me and told me he would stop by after work. Thank you, dad!! He spent quality time with the boys while I got some exercise and mowed the lawn. I have to admit that our lawn looks like a work of art - it's beautiful! Now we just have to see if we can make this a weekly ritual for the next several months or until we sell our house...which ever comes first!

For those of you preparing for deployment you might want to think about responsibilities like mowing the lawn, snow removal, etc. Ask friends and family to take turns helping you out. Hire someone for the season or as needed. American Legions, VFWs, local rotary clubs are all very good resources. They will know people available to help with almost anything. Your FRG will also have several resources for you.

Success!

I'm happy to announce the party was a hit! I was pleasantly surprised to see almost everyone showed up. We had plenty of food for everyone (including cake - what's a party without cake?). I bought postcards so people could fill them out. Once my husband is overseas and we have his address I'll send them over to him. It's always nice getting FUN mail, but it's even better when it's from someone you don't hear from that often. We had a wonderful time catching up with friends and relatives we haven't seen in a LONG time! Too bad we can't get together more often - under better circumstances.

A Very Special THANK YOU to:

• The Homewood Suites for letting us use their party room at no charge. They were SO helpful and wonderful to work with!
• Tiny Prints for waiving the Rush shipping fees on our adorable invitations.
• Cash Wise Foods for giving us a $25 gift card for the cake.
• My friends and relatives who helped make this day possible!

My husband had a great time! Even though he wasn't sure about a party in the beginning, he was so very happy that we had one!

And We're Off!

This weekend my husband and I are going to a marriage retreat! I'm so excited! I have no idea what to expect, but I believe we'll be working on communication skills to help us during deployment. Tomorrow night we're given the evening for date night and I've been looking online for nice restaurants to go to for dinner. I'm not not sure what to do after dinner, but bowling sounds like a lot of fun! It'll be nice to spend the weekend together without the boys...not to mention the 3 hour drive - I can't just hear the silence:) Hopefully I'll have some fun tips I can post Sun. night when I get home since I've been updating the Ideas and Links pages the last few days.
I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!! I know we will!