A Soldier's Welcome

I have been waiting to decorate our home and truck for weeks!  I bought the window paint months ago!  I made a wreath for our door for just this occasion!  Finally, homecoming day had arrived! I was up at the crack of dawn placing little flags along the walkway.  I used my son's sidewalk chalk to write "Welcome Back Daddy" along the path.  I hung a patriotic bunting and welcome home sign along the fence.  Here's a taste of what our home and truck looked like on that beautiful homecoming day...

The Coolest Care Package Ever

Yeah that title is a pun, but you can take it literally too...because Penguins are awesome! You would already know that if you had read my previous post.  Anyhow, as I've already noted, my husband loves penguins, so I HAD to send him a penguin themed box this month.  To date, this one is my favorite :D  Honestly, I think the boxes just get better and better.  I've got about 9 stacked up in my office, every other day I'm adding a couple items to each box until they are filled.  I have a box that is just about filled to the top, so I just need to make some cookies this weekend and I'll have it in the mail Monday.  I can't discuss the details of the box yet though, it's Top Secret.  Well, really it's because I think my husband has been checking my blog lately, spoiling his themed box surprises.  So you'll have to wait until he sees it before I can discuss it.  But to hold you over, here's this week's box.

Operation Camo Care Package

Based upon yesterday's posting about the camo cookies, you should already know that today's box theme is all about the Army.  HOOAH! I packed this box with camo cookies, some camo cake jars (later posting), a military movie (Born on the 4th of July-also appropriate for the month), The Art of War (a common military book he's been requesting for a while now), and a couple other odds and ends. I recently found some camo paper that I had apparently bought 5 years ago this week.  I had bought it for our wedding for some reason but never used it.  Anyways, I finally put it to use.  I wrapped his jars of cookies and cakes in the paper (and also in bubble wrap for extra measures) and then covered the box in the paper. I topped the box off with the team of soldiers I hired to protect his cookies in transit.

Freedom isn't Free

My hubby's 4th of July box is packed and ready to go out in the morning! :D  Here's a quick peek at the contents.  Check out the post that follows for more details on baking & decorating the cookies.

Is this enough care packages for you??

So I've always been a bit of a smart a**.  So it was obvious what I was going to do when my husband told me he wasn't receiving enough care packages (poor guy, apparently everyone else gets more than just 3 a month).  He said he wasn't sure if I loved him anymore :*(  (Don't worry ladies, I could see his fake poked out lower lip through the phone). Well, of course I felt soo sorry for my hubby, I knew just what to do...send him 4 ridiculously embarrassing packages.  One was filled with hearts, hershey kisses, teddy bears, chocolate, poetry, and anything else that would be sure to get some hazing outta the surrounding soldiers.  The next box was Jagger's fathers day box to his daddy, which included his own hand painted pottery plate and Perry The Platypus (my husband's favorite cartoon to watch with Jagger). The third package was a requested package...his supplements and a new toiletries bag.  However, I still managed to "girlify" the bag and throw in some kisses, poems, a flower, a card, and more.  The last box I sent out was a tribute box. You see I took my father to a reds game for an early father's day gift last week.  My husband was so sad he couldn't be there with us.  He kept saying stuff like, "Oh well, you enjoy that Reds game, I'll just be here, alone, serving our country"...again picture that lower lip poking out and quivering.  Well, I felt bad for him (a little) so I sent the game to him (figuratively speaking.) I sent him a couple of our favorite baseball movies, a reds cap, peanuts, pop corn...etc.  You get the idea.  I also took a picture of Jagger and myself in our Reds fan gear.  So this father's day, my husband can have us and a reds game too, sort of :/ But hey, that's the army for ya, you gotta learn to compromise.  Well anyways, I have about 4 boxes in the dining room currently being filled and prepared for next week.  As I finish those, I'll make sure to post them too.

It's the little things...

Typically, I send my husband a care package every 2 or 3 weeks.  I'd send them more often, but getting to the post office hasn't been easy this winter (I hate you too, Fort Drum).  Now that the snow seems to have melted for good (fingers crossed), I plan to make up for the shortage of care packages my hubby has been receiving these past several months.  Recently, my husband sent me on a mission to clothing and sales with a mighty large shopping list.  Apparently, getting your standard issue isn't so easy in the sandbox.  I wonder what men without families back home do about getting these things??  Okay, back on point...So I went to the clothing and sales, purchased everything he requested (which I might add was not cheap...why do we buy the uniforms anyway?...okay another blog...) and then took my son over to the PX and tried something a little different.  I told him to pick out whatever he wanted to get daddy.  I guess he's done this enough with me now, because he did REALLY good.  He picked up cheese-its, gummy worms, instant mac n cheese, oreos, oatmeal, beef jerky...you get the idea.  I think he might have done better than me.  When we returned home, I took some photos of Jagger packing the box and I threw in a DVD slideshow I made of us.  All in all, it was an awesome care package.

I also found time today to make a countdown chalkboard frame that I discussed in a previous post.  I promised if I ever made one, I'd post a photo.   Here's my completed masterpiece. It's not great, but I'm proud of it.

Making time fly...or at least walk at a fast pace

My husband's deployment recently hit the 100 days mark!  It was an exciting day for us.  Though we hadn't discussed the countdown with one another, ironically we both remarked that day that we had reached 100 days.  While my husband was counting down the blocks on his calendar, I was watching my iphone app.  During his last deployment (2 years and 3 cell phones ago), I did not have the luxury of a convenient phone app to tell me how many days we were into the deployment or how many were left.  So at night, while laying in bed, I would count the days on my phone calendar. Just knowing how close he was to coming home comforted me and always helped me to fall asleep.  Thanks to technology, I no longer have to count every block on my phone calendar...I have a simple and free app that quickly tells me how long I have til he returns!  I just hit the app button and ta-da, there is a photo of my hubby and the days left before he returns for good. It's a free app, so I cannot put more than one countdown on there. Otherwise I would also include the days left til R&R, as well as the days he's been gone.  But I'm cheap, I'm not paying $1.99 when the freebie is sufficient.  The phone app is called Big Day Lite and can be found here.

Here's a screen shot of mine (For OPSEC reasons, the countdown in this photo is not correct)

If you are lucky enough to own a mac, you can download a free countdown widget for your dashboard, which can be found here.  

If you do not own a mac, first let me say that I'm sorry...macs are amazing (but that's another blog another day), secondly I'll tell you that you aren't out of luck on countdown widgets for your PC.  When I had a PC a few years ago, I used the military deployment countdown clock found here. I'm sure there are better ones out there now though.  

Now, in case you live under a rock and do not own a smart phone nor a computer, there is still another way to keep up with the deployment countdown without an actual calendar.   You can purchase a desk countdown clock.  This clock is actually customized for an army, navy, marines, or airforce deployment! It comes with 4 faceplates and it costs about $13 and can be found here.   

However, if you are crafty (or just a cheap person) like me, you can always make your own like the one shown here that I found on etsy.  

All you need is a blank wooden picture frame (from a craft store), chalkboard paint, different colored paints, chalk, and a creative mind.  I think this is really cute and I know my son would have fun changing the days on it every day.  I think I'll make one soon.  If it comes out cute enough, maybe I'll put some on my own etsy site.  I don't think mine will come out this cute though.  

I also found this cute one here.

Sending Cupid Abroad

As if the normal day to day life with your spouse deployed isn't hard enough, now comes Valentines Day. Civilians know this holiday to be filled with romance, cards, flowers, candy, chocolates, and dinners for 2. However, for those of us wearing the 'silent rank', this holiday is better known as the stay at home alone and wallow in self pity holiday. We aren't single, but we are alone. Luckily, I have no intentions of making my reservations for 1 this year. My sis-in-law (married to my husband's best friend, whom is also deployed) is going to be my Valentines date this year. It's more fun to wallow in self pity with a friend :) But while we'll be having dinner our poor hubbies will be lucky to get a "lovely" meal at the DFAC and then it's back to work. In my best effort to ease the pain of the dreaded holiday, I've compiled a special (non traditional) Valentines day care package. I know my husband, and chocolates and a teddy bear just won't do...

For when he comes home :)

What's a Valentines package without Conversation Hearts?

Headphones for when we Skype

He's been begging for a Bulldog for when he comes home...I thought this might hold him over

New Running shoes...nothing special because he's just going to wear them out again.

He loves these, but told me not to get him any junk food...too bad :)

And the grand finale...yet a 3rd pair of Oakleys. Hopefully, these won't get stolen or broken or lost...

Help Keep Them Close

During my husband's first deployment, my son was just a newborn.  His only care was eating, sleeping, and crying for hours on end.  The fact that his father was thousands of miles away probably didn't have much of a major affect on him at that time.  When my husband redeployed, it really began to hit him just how much of our son's life he had missed.  He left home with a pregnant wife and returned to a walking toddler.  Over the next year, my husband did his best to make up for lost time with our son.  The day he deployed again, our son was nearly 3.  We had prepared our son for several months beforehand for what was to come, knowing he was too young to fully grasp the situation.  We talked to him about it almost every night after prayers, explaining that daddy would be gone for a long time, but that he didn't want to leave us and that he would be home as soon as he could.  A week before the deployment, we took our son out for a special day, just for him.  Before the day was over, we visited Build-A-Bear, where my husband dressed the bear up in camos and recorded the bedtime prayer in his voice.   We asked our son what he wanted to name the bear and he said, "Daddy Bear".  We teared up right there in the mall :)  Now every night before bed, my son makes sure he presses Daddy bear's hand and says his prayers with daddy and then gives it a kiss goodnight, just like he always did with daddy before.  It is the one thing that really keeps daddy close to him when he's so far away.

If your child doesn't have their own "daddy bear", have no fear!  There are plenty of alternatives out there for keeping daddy (Or mommy) close during deployments. Here's just a few I've found:

http://www.operationhugahero.org/

http://www.huggeemissyou.com/product_p/rcdc2.htm

http://flatdaddies.com/  (If you cannot afford one, you can also apply to have one donated to you).

http://cool.canvasondemand.com/category/operation-hi-mom-honey/operation-hi-honey/  (Again, you can apply for a free one.)

Here's a photo of my son and husband building "Daddy Bear"

Who wants cake? They all want cake!

A few months ago, my friend posted a photo on her facebook page of some cake jars she had made to send to her deployed husband.  They looked delicious, and it was such a great concept.  Cake in a sealed jar to maintain freshness for weeks to come!! I immediately looked up the directions and ran to walmart for supplies.  After baking and sealing the cakes in a jar, I covered them with holiday themed material, surrounded them in bubble wrap, boxed them in a flat rate, tossed in some icing and plastic forks and shipped them to the hubby.  I couldn't wait for his reaction.  It was a success! He loved them.  I just sent him a few more this past week, this time tossing in a pack of candles.  His birthday is next week, and you better bet my husband is going to have cake on his birthday!

What's with that name??

I am an old fashioned southern gal, with the mindset of a 50's something housewife.  I bake, clean, take care of my husband, child and home.  Let me point out that by no means am I pushing an anti-feminism ideology on anyone, this is just what works for me.  But back to my point, when my husband and I were first married, I still had those "my husband wears a uniform" stars in my eyes (which by the way I still get those butterflies in my tummy when he puts on the full battle rattle). So everything in my home had somehow been touched by Uncle Sam's decorator.  If it wasn't red, white, and blue, it was covered in camo.  I was also very gitty with the idea of being a new wife.  I wanted to do everything right, really make grandma proud.  Though my cooking skills were pretty horrific to begin with, I made up for it in the baking department.  I always had cookies, pies, cupcakes, or some sweet treat cooling on my glass cake platter, and before long all my husband's battle buddies started noticing.  On the rare occasions where one would stop by and there wasn't a sweet treat on the counter or in the oven, they would ask, "Hey, where's the dessert?"  I loved it!  I was starting to fill the homemaker role I desired.  But I was missing something...my apron!  Every good housewife needs an apron!  And of course, mine just HAD to be patriotic.  Luckily, I had some digi camo material lying around my house (leftover from the Christmas stockings of course), and so I went to work.  I wasn't much of a seamstress yet, but I figured I'd give it a shot.   It looked terrible, but I wore it proudly for 4 years.  Luckily, over those last 4 years, I'd like to think my sewing skills have drastically improved...so I decided to use the last of my camo material (I still had some laying around), and give the apron another shot.  This time, it came out perfect and I've since retired the old apron.  Many of my friends have requested I make them their own camo apron...and I would, if only I could find more of that darn material.  But anyways, now you know the meaning to the blog name.  Yes, it obviously represents the apron itself, but it's also a metaphor, duh. Camo= Army, Apron=Wife.  So there ya go.  Here's the inspiration in photo form: