And It Begins

So I just had my first real pang of anxiety since all of this "my husband joined the military" madness began. I was sitting here reading blogs of seemingly "normal" families (read: non-millitary/civilian families) when it hit me.

The thoughts went a little something like this-

Average Wife: I would love to start doing some of the cute things together that they do.
Military Wife: We can't right now.
Average Wife: Ohhh, I'd love to redecorate... that dish set would be perfect for.....
Military Wife: Wait, we can't right now.
Average Wife: When the kids are in school next week the hubs and I should..
Military Wife: We'll be in different states next week...
Average Wife: Ahhh, that's such a cute Bed & Breakfast, maybe for my birthday...
Military Wife: He won't be here for my 30th Birthday in January....
Average Wife: The Hubs could totally take our son camping at this cool place.....
Military Wife: We can't right now....

It all came in at once at that last one. When I realized our son wouldn't have any bonding time with his father in the forseeable/planable future. It snowballed from there. My house wouldn't be my house anymore. We won't be living in the same state together. I'll be a guest in somebody elses home with my children for an entire school year. I'll have to be Mom & Dad all at once. The disciplinarian and the soft shoulder all at once. There is no more comfortable home to make our own. No romantic evenings we sneak after the kids have gone to bed.

I've always been able to calm down the butterflies. I just tell myself it will be fine and may isn't that far away. Even when I remember that he could be deployed right away and it will be a over 18 months before we'll have something resembling normal again I think I just push the thought away and I'm fine.

But I can't push this one away and I feel like I want to throw up.

Lord give me strength.

Channeling My Inner Betty

......Crocker that is! I have officially joined a Baking GALS group. I stumble upon Baking GALS while I was trolling the army wife blogs. I went to the Army Wife Network and their blog website, Loving A Soldier Living the Life, had an entry that mentioned the Baking GALS organization. And let me tell you I was EXCITED. There is nothing that this chicky loves more than to bake..... well, after hanging with the family and trying to get a good nights sleep. I love challenging myself with increasingly difficult recipes and I have won a place in the hearts of my co-workers by being the official baker of the office.

My fascination with cooking/baking began early. I come from a long line of women who won over the stomachs then hearts of their men through cooking (on my mother's side.... my dad's side, not so much). I have a great aunt known island wide for her fantastic cakes. My grandmother fed all 6 of her children on a tight budget and still came up with some recipes my mother passed on to me only after swearing me to secrecy. I toyed with the idea of becoming a professional chef but two things stood in my way. The first, my mother who was ever afraid that I would divulge family recipes in my quest for foodie praise. The second, while I like winning just like the rest of you, I'm not an outwardly competitive person. I like besting myself but don't really worry about how I stack up against others. I was told that the world of chefs is a competitive one, especially when you're a woman, and I wasn't sure I was equipped to deal with it. I find joy in cooking and didn't want my career choice to diminish that joy. So now I'm a wife and mommy and I share my love of cooking with my close circle of friends. And much to my mother's surprise and joy, I have managed to keep Pandora's recipe box firmly shut.

Although I turned away from a career in cooking I thought of participation in the Baking GALS group as a good use of the skills. Maybe one day, if The Hubs gets deployed, somebody will be kind enough to start a group for him.

So it's off to the kitchen for me. Hopefully I can make a good first showing :)

Have you thought of participating in Baking GALS? Any go-to recipes you think the troops would appreciate?

Stupidity

So I had read this story on msnbc. Then I read it to my husband. I essentially stared him down and told him that if I ever caught wind of him participating in something like this, war would be the least of his worries.

I'm never really one to give people ultimatums or threats, but my husband knows guns... he was raised around them and anybody who has been raised around guns knows never to point a gun at someone unless you are willing to possibly take their lives. Never point a gun, whether you think it's loaded or unloaded, unless you are willing to take responsibility for what comes next. In recent history there was a list a mile long of news stories regarding people accidentally shooting others or themselves. They either thought the gun was unloaded but forgot about the chamber, or they thought the safety was on, or they didn't have their finger on the trigger so they thought: "nothing could possibly go wrong".

I understand that when soldiers are faced with something as life altering as war the rules change. As a military spouse you accept that your soldier is going to be off doing things you would rather they didn't. You know they'll be running face first into dangerous situations out in the field. But you never want to hear that your soldier is in danger from his fellow soldiers... his brothers.

So I told my husband, if he is injured because of this stupid game (even if they call it a "trust" activity, I refuse to acknowledge that pointing a weapon at another humans head is a valid activity for gaining trust) I will let him heal then it will require every MP on post to drag me off of him (again, I'm not a violent person, so he knew I wasn't messing around). And if, God forbid, he injures someone else playing this "game" and winds up in military prison don't expect me to come rushing to comfort him.... or visit him.

This may sound harsh, but my husband and I aren't children. I'm on the eve of my 30's and we have two children of our own. I know that when we agreed that he could join the military I signed myself up for countless sleepless nights. But I DID NOT sign up for him checking his brain at our front door when he leaves the house and walking into the world without the common sense God gave him.

Have you ever worried about what your military spouse and his/her battle buddies may be doing while off at war?

I'm Such A Loser..... Or At Least I Hope To Be!

So, over the years, I've found that the weight has been sneaking on. Like a rodent, the weight has tunneled up under my foundation of good eating habits and work-out schedules and brought with it a lack of willpower, sleepiness and a craving for anything cake-like. I'm lucky enough to have a husband who loves me no matter what, but for my own sake I want to make a change.

Once I knew that The Hubs would be gone for 19 weeks I thought "This is it!". The perfect time has presented itself. What better gift to him (and myself) then to be able to greet him as a hot mama?!? I'm just so excited now. It gives me something to focus on, other than the Mom gig, while he is away and may make time go a little faster.

I've considered a few options, but can't really decide on a single course of action. I can't get a gym membership (I'm not a fan of working out with others.... or smelling other people's sweat). I'm a "work-out alone" kind of girl, but I need a way to get more energy. Once I'm done with work and take care of the kids needs I am exhausted. I already get up ridiculously early for work and go to bed super late in order to keep up with the housework. What's a girl to do?

So I'm putting the question out to the Blog-o-verse: What is a busy working Mom to do for exercise when her schedule barely allows for sleep?

Hello Blog-ville!

Hi Everyone! I've started this blog in an attempt to chronicle military life from the beginning. A couple of months ago my husband became a Future Soldier in the US Army. He will be leaving for training in January 2010 and should be out in May.

I'm going to use this blog as a place to jot down things I've learned, things that concern me, baffle me, make me laugh and make me cry. It's going to be a real blog..... no spared feelings, no sugar coating. Just the true tale of a military family.

My husband and I have 2 kids and 2 dogs. None of these family members have moved much which should make for an interesting adjustment period. I, on the other hand, spent the majority of my life moving from town to town, state to state. So let's just say I think I'll have an easier time of all this.

One of the first things I did when my husband and I were discussing the possibility of him beginning a career in the military was do some research. I'm just that kind of gal. I like to be "in the know". While perusing one of many military websites I stumbled upon a list of military acronyms. One that caught my eye was HH6. This stands for Household 6.... as in 6 o'clock..... as in your back. It means your family has your back, they stand behind you and give you support. That is something I want to always be true about my relationship with my husband and I make choices with this goal in mind. I want my husband to always know that we stand behind him 100%. That is why I chose "HisHH6" as the blog address.
Are you a military family? Any advice for a Future Soldier's family?