A Sad Day

 If you have read the last post you already know that my mother-in-law was diagnosed with late stage cancer in December. When she first called and told me that she was going into the hospital I debated on how to tell my husband since he rarely was able to call and never could check email. I wrestled with what to do for a few hours until it was determined that she was being admitted indefinitely. I made the decision to contact the Battalion Executive Officer. and see for where in the world they were. I knew they had started their turnover processes but I had no idea where they were or how soon they'd be ending their deployment and starting the long journey home. My second question for him was for the Red Cross number to have an emergency message sent.

My mother-in-law with our oldest, July 4th 2011.

 As I dialed the Red Cross I was questioning if it was the right decision or not. I knew they were SO close to being done but was I over reacting? 'Cause we all know that pregnant women NEVER overreact and have the emotional coolness of a Drill Instructor, right? The women who answered my call was very nice and told me that it depends on where he was but that he should get the message to call me in no more than 24 hours. I anxiously awaited the phone call all day, and finally at 2am my phone rang. It was my husband and my Red Cross phone call couldn't have been more perfectly timed. He was out of country and he and his Marines were heading to their next destination. I filled him in on what little information we had been given that day. He asked me if he needed to be on the next flight home and I told him I thought so but it was up to him and that I was going to be at the hospital first thing in the morning.

 I got to the hospital at 11am and my mother-in-law had settled into her room and was waiting for all the tests to begin. My phone rang with the usual funny number that shows up when my husband calls from a foreign country. The first thing he said was, "I don't have much time. My flight is leaving, I'll see you tomorrow morning, can you pick me up?" OF COURSE!!!!

My husband with his mom at our wedding in 2007.

I had less than 24 hours to get the house, myself and baby ready to welcome him home. It was a crazy, whirlwind time to say the least. We picked him up from the airport at 7am, came home so he could shower after 9 months in Afghanistan and let baby get a nap and have my dad come watch her so we could go up to the hospital. That extra 2 weeks home was priceless. Had he not come home just that little bit early, he wouldn't have gotten to spend that little bit of time with his mom.

She lost her battle about a month ago. We are so thankful for the time we had with her, and we know she is in Heaven. She was an amazing mother and teacher and she will be greatly missed.

Homecoming

 What a crazy few weeks it has been for us! I have been having some signs of pre-term labor and been on doctors orders to take it easy. For those of you with a toddler and a deployed husband you know how hard it is to "take it easy". About 2 weeks ago my mother-in-law called me with news that she was being admitted into the hospital. Her doctor had found nodules on both lungs and said she needed to be seen immediately. I contacted the Red Cross to get a message to my husband so I could let him know what was going on.

......Well, what a crazy few weeks it has been! I started to write this (the above part) on December 7th, 2011. It had been a long day at the hospital with my Mother-in-Law. My husband was finally tracked down by the Red Cross and was able to call me at 2am. I filled him in on what little we knew at the time. His Command put him on the first flight out they could and he arrived home on December 9th, just 11 days early from his original Homecoming date. Those 11 days in hindsight are priceless! My mother-in-law was in the hospital until just before Christmas and we were going to host Christmas at our house since I was ready to pop and didn't want to drive anywhere 9+ months pregnant. She had several procedures done and it was determined that she has late stage cancer of an unknown origin. They know it started either in her Pancreas or GI Tract but can't pinpoint it. She did her first round of chemotherapy.....

Back to Christmas:

 My husband and I stayed up until about 1:30am Christmas Eve finishing putting together our daughters play kitchen since Santa's Elves didn't send it assembled. I woke up at 6am on Christmas morning...in labor! I poked my husbands shoulder and told him "Hun, I'm having contractions and they're 2 1/2 minutes apart." In typical fashion he told me to give it a little to make sure and call the doctor. I went down stairs and called my OB/GYN to let her know we'd be on our way to the hospital and then called my best friend (who's more like my sister) to watch our daughter, and then called my brother-in-law to let the family know we would NOT be hosting Christmas this year. We were able to get ready to go and open presents with her before we left for the hospital. Our beautiful baby girl was born on Christmas Day at 2:50pm!

  Just a week later my mother-in-law was readmitted to the hospital. She has remained in the ICU since she was readmitted and last Friday it was decided that only her symptoms will be treated and we will just do pain control. Please keep her in your prayers for peace. We are so thankful that my husband was able to get those last few good days with her while she was out of the hospital and that she was able to hold her newest granddaughter before she went into the ICU. I hope you have all had an amazing end to your 2011 and a very happy and healthy 2012 so far! I'll post about what's going on with Baby Battle Rattle products and changes to the store very soon!

Should I Stay or Should I Go

 I know many wives have a lot of back and forth about going "home" over deployment. The thought of going home never made much sense to me though. I am home. We were stationed here, we've made a home here, our life is here. Why would I leave just because my husband is deployed?




With a few friends in NC during our 1st deployment.


During our first deployment I had a job, friends, and responsibilities. I wasn't about to quit my job or leave some great friends (some of whom were also going through a deployment). For me, there was no question of going "home" or staying put. Our second deployment we were stationed in California, 2,989 miles from our hometowns. I kept busy volunteering with Young Life and friends and a trip to Europe. Now we're on deployment number three and we're stationed at Quantico and this is actually where I grew up. I went to high school in Northern Virginia and have old high school friends here, but I've also got a lot of Marine Corps friends who are stationed here from our past bases. Whatever your situation, make the most of it! Life is life and it will be what it is. You can't change everything so you need to find a way to make it work if you stay or if you go home. Best of luck for those of you making this decision!

Filling the Calendar

For those of you on your first deployment you'll quickly learn that the more scribbled on days in your calendar the faster the deployment will fly by. With our first deployment I filled my days working and hanging out with friends as much as possible. Our second deployment I filled with the task of growing a baby, OB/GYN appointments and of course Young Life. (If you have a middle school or high schooler and haven't heard of YL, look them up ASAP, it's amazing!) Now with this deployment I'm filling my time with our toddler, building my business more and redecorating our house.

  I like to split up our deployments into smaller chunks. For me it makes it seem like the time goes by quicker. For instance, I'm currently counting down to the 4th of July. There are only 11 days to go!!! Then I'll count down to Halloween...and so on and so forth until I have nothing major left between me and our homecoming. Makes it so much better and lets me look forward to something each month...and sometimes each week!



Baby Battle Rattle at the pumpkin patch last year.



 Another thing we're doing is we joined a farm co-op. It's fantastic! We've been out to the farm twice so far this season. The first time was to check things out and pet the animals. Then we went out for the Strawberry Festival. It was such a fantastic day! We got out there in the morning and it was crowded. We headed over to the animals first since my daughter loves them. Then we made our way through the rope maze and the toddler playground. We ate an amazing lunch there (cheeseburgers made from cows on the farm!). If you've never had FRESH beef, it's a must try!!! Then we made our way out to the field to pick some strawberries.



Baby Battle Rattle & I at the toddler playground on the farm.

 It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel at the start. Once you find the things you love to stay busy with the time will go by faster. I hope you are all keeping busy and seeing your countdown shrink quickly as well! 

Luckett's and the End of the World

 It has been a very hectic few weeks in our house! Getting my husband ready for deployment, saying a very tear full goodbye at the very public National Airport, my daughter getting molars in, a trip to visit my parents in Charleston, SC and a drive out to Luckett's for their spring fair. Wheeew, I'm tired just typing it all out. I suppose I should start at the beginning, but since that's what you'd expect lets mix it up and start from the end!

Luckett's is an amazing antique store. It's a mix of classic antiques with a new twist on antiques. It's antiques meets cottage chic meets french country meets awesomeness! They have things your grandmother, mother, sister and daughter would love. My friend Runs (yes, I'm going to use her nickname) and I set out for the annual Luckett's Fair yesterday. We figured that if the world was ending we might as well have one last great adventure on Earth and get some sun while we were at it. In my determination to redecorate the house I thought this would be a fantastic event to find some new treasures for our home. I had the great privilege to meet Marian...you know, Miss Mustard Seed. Her booth was amazing and if you've seen her blog those gorgeous pictures she posts of her creations don't do her work HALF the justice it deserves. She had some stunningly beautiful things. I was so lucky to snag a few of them! I could go on for a very long time about Luckett's and Miss Mustard Seed, but I'll save you and you can check them out for yourselves.

Before Luckett's we were in the good 'ol South visiting Grandma and Grandpa. My little bug had a wonderful time down there. She got to go swimming and run amuck on Grandma and Grandpa's land while I got to spend the day/night in downtown Charleston with an old friend having some girl time. My baby girl has been getting more and more teeth and she is turning into the "puppy" that chews on everything! I don't mind until she decides that my fingers look like good teething rings...OUCH!

The most unfun of all was deployment day. It was a little unconventional from our past send offs as he left in civilian clothes from a regular airport. We were running on time and had planned on the little bug and I going to the gate with my husband to spend a little more time with him and say our goodbyes there. Thanks to traffic...and my husband thinking he knew better than I did (as all married men do) we were late and had to drop him at the curb. Which I was not prepared for. I was trying my best to blink away the tears and pretend they weren't there, which worked until we were tugging his bags and gear out of the car. He got our little girl out of the car to give her a hug and a kiss, at which point I lost it because she started to cry. We stood there on the curb of the airport in a family group hug, tears streaming down my face. At which point I see a couple of people unloading their bags from cars behind us get out their camera and start to take pictures of us. Who does that!?! They didn't know us and they were taking pictures like we were on display at the American History Museum. Note to those of you out there reading this: It's not appropriate to snap shots of strangers, it's stalker-ish. The first day of deployment is always the hardest. You'll get into your routine and then before you know it you'll be getting ready to go to the airport to welcome them home again.

(I'd post our goodbye pictures, but I don't know the strangers who took them...I'm sure they've posted them to Facebook though.)

End Table Makeover

While my husband is deployed my biggest project is to redecorate the house. Yes, the WHOLE house. Little by little I've been finding things here and there, gathering new furniture and painting. If you don't know, I have a secret love for paint. I found this amazing end table a few weeks ago at the thrift store! I saw it and ran over with excitement and my friend Renee was looking at me like I had just told her "I have three boobs!"

Here is my beautiful new table (the before). It was baby powder blue(ish) on the bottom and a honey stain on the top. So I set to work sanding the ugliness off to turn those beautiful turned legs into something amazing.

It took 3 coats to cover this up in Churchill Hotel by Valspar (spray paint) but it was finally done. I found new hardware for the drawer at Lowes and HAD to have it. How cute is this?!

There is my beautiful new end table, bee and all! I love the way it turned out, I was so anxious to get it up in my living room I didn't even take time to distress it  make it looked well loved! I have a new dining room table and chairs that I'm working on next. They were great Craigslist finds! The table was all of $25 and the chairs (Queen Anne's) were $80 for all SIX of them!!! I can't wait to share them with you all!

Ball Jars and Betty Crocker

Ball Jars and Betty Crocker = A cake in a jar! I don't know who first thought of this fabulous idea, but I'm going to share it with you all because it is one of the best things to throw into a care package. I mean, who doesn't love cake and mail?!? Here is what you'll need:

 * Ball canning jars
 * Your favorite cake mix
 * Boiling water

1. Make the cake batter according to the instructions/recipe (***note*** I only used one box and it made 5 jars)

2. Grease the inside of the jar by spraying with cooking spray
3. Fill jar no more than 1/2 way with batter (about 1 cup)

4. Place jars on cookie sheet on rack in the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean @ 400 degrees

5. While baking, boil jar lids in a pan of water (make sure lids are dry when placed on jars)

6. When cake is done, take one jar out at a time and cover with hot lid and ring.

7. The lid will seal as it cools. Listen to hear the "ping" as they seal. The center of the lid won't make a "pop" noise when pressed if it has sealed properly.

 Voilà!!!! You have made a delicious Cake-in-a-Jar. When you put them in your care packages make sure you pack them in bubble wrap. Don't forget to send along a fork or two and some frosting. I like sending the funfetti frosting because it has the frosting AND sprinkles in one package.  PLUS...they come in just about EVERY occasion! Perfect for any care package theme!

Hello Murphy...

  You know you're starting a deployment when Mr. Murphy's Law shows up. He's an old friend to us all. You know what I'm talking about, right? Your husband leaves for the field, training school or deployment and something breaks, your basement floods, you lose your cell phone and you have to take your child to the Emergency room all in the same day. We've all got those stories! As my husband has just left we had our own clandestine meeting with Murphy. After we dropped my husband off and said our goodbyes we started for home. My daughter didn't eat that morning and when we got home I made her favorite for lunch, mac n' cheese. She wouldn't eat it and ended up throwing it at the dog. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to pick mac n' cheese out of the poor ol' dogs fur. 

  Finally we reached nap time! She played for a little while and drifted off for a lovely 3 hour nap. I was emotionally drained and took a nap with her thinking the day would be better when we woke up. Silly me! I knew better than that, but alas it was not to be. When my baby girl woke up we were playing and she ran to her favorite spot in the house; the front window. (Enter Murphy) I hear the kind of thud that mommies know ice, band-aids or a trip to the ER are about to follow. I dart over and pick up my poor baby who has a geyser of blood pouring out of her mouth. My heart breaks for the second time today as my poor little angle is screaming. When the dust settled it wasn't as bad as all the blood made it seem, just a little cut on the inside of her lip. At dinner time the little princess decided she would not eat again.

  The day ended with one wore out fat-lipped baby, a frazzled Mommy who was covered in tears, blood and chocolate. We kicked Murphy's Law in the bum and wrapped up the day with a glass of wine and a phone call from the husband.

Deployments and Power Tools

 Every time my husband deploys I find new ways to fill up my days until he returns home. Our first deployment years ago I poured myself into work. I was working 60+ hours a week, volunteering and doing the Sea Turtle walk once a week with one of the other wives. My days were FULL, and it was fabulous to have my days going by so fast with some great distractions! Our next deployment was going to be filled with traveling. We had just gotten to our new duty station a few months before my husband left and my parents had just gotten stationed in Europe. While my husband went on his dessert "vacation" I went on my European getaway. I was gone for 3 1/2 weeks and it was wonderful to explore new cities (and some I'd already fallen in love with). Then when I'd gotten home I realized that "hmm, I was gone a few weeks...and I'm late..." I took a pregnancy test the morning after I got home...positive! My time was now filled with OB/GYN appointments a little bed rest and a lot of trips to Babies 'R Us.

  Now we get to this deployment. I now have a business that I'm growing, a one year old to run after and my newest love...building furniture. I am in love with it and I'm saving so much money by building it myself! How am I doing this you wonder? Ana White...and she is amazing! My first project is the 6 Cube Cubby. I was so happy to find these plans to make it myself and save $200. I like to keep busy when my husband is away and what a better way to do so than to work with my hands and create something fabulous for our home? With the wood, paint, nails and new drill bits my total cost to make this was $52.13! When I first found Ana's website I had a hard time choosing where I wanted to start. There were so many fantastic plans. I hope you have found things you love to keep busy with while your spouse is in the field, TDY or deployed. It really does make the time go by faster and before you know it you'll be showing off your fabulous talents and fun adventures when they get home!

Just about half way here.

Building complete...time to paint!

FINISHED!!!

 

Thoughts, Fears & Pre-Deployment

 Just before my husband leaves for deployment is the worst. I hate having down time. To me, it gives my mind too much time to race around and settle on thoughts I don't want to think about. There is so much stress, but I think the most stressful part is before they go. The 'what if's' and all the unknowns. You never know when you'll get that first phone call from them after you see the bus or plane leave with your heart on board. Your phone becomes a part of you. Now you're the crazy girl who eats, sleeps, showers and pees with a cell phone attached to your side; but it's better than the alternative of missing that call. Then there's sleeping while they're gone. Sleep becomes that elusive animal that you only hear about in storybooks and fairy tails.

Helping pack the gear to keep them safe, the photos to make their tent a home away from home and the little notes you hide among the gear and uniforms to lift their spirits at unexpected times. There's also the other side to the pre-deployment craziness. I love sending my husband care packages! When else do you have an excuse to buy so many cards, jerky, miniature Christmas trees or an Easter basket for a grown man a Marine? I start my care packages before my husband even leaves. That way I can start sending them almost the day he leaves. While he's away doing pre-deployment training, I'm at Target and the like finding little things that will make the time go by faster (for us both). Need care package boxes and supplies? You can call 1-800-ASK-USPS and they will bring everything you need right to your doorstep. Does it get more convenient?!

So, here is to care packages, Hershey's kiss countdowns and a safe and fast deployment!

Chi Town Here I Come!

  Another week closer to our upcoming deployment. I always have mixed feelings around this time. As we get closer I just want it to be here and have him gone, then when the day gets here I wish for more time. This will be our 3rd deployment, so it's not like we haven't done this dance before but it never gets easier.

  I will be flying out to Chicago tomorrow for a meeting with the Battalion and some of the other wives. I don't know how I always end up working with my husbands Battalion, but I do. Oh wait, I get voluntold, I remember now! I'm happy to help so don't get me wrong but if it's anything like this last deployment there will be some unhappy wives/girlfriends/family members. During our last deployment I was pregnant and had 200+ family members to keep up to date and answer their questions. I have higher hopes for this go around though, we're with a new Battalion. Time will tell though!

  I know one thing is for sure, this won't be like our last two deployments. One thing the Marine Corps is good for is keeping you on your toes. It is an ever changing beast that takes no prisoners. How you ask? My husband had just gotten home from the field, we were driving to San Diego from Monterey when we got a call from the Colonel. A few 'Yes Sirs' and 'Will do Sirs' later my husband got off the phone and says, "I'm going to be deploying." WHHHAAA??? Turns out my husband impressed the Colonel and he wants him to deploy with the company that's going out next. I find it ironic and a little funny though. You do a good job at work and you're supposed to get a raise or a silly plaque. In the Marine Corps, you do a good job and you get sent to a war zone. I know the year just started, but I am ready for 2012 to get here soon and have this all behind us. Who's with me?

The Hits Keep Coming

  Oh let the "fun" begin. When my husband came home for a short four day weekend we figured, "it might be short since you've been gone a month and you're leaving for another 6 weeks, but after that husband will be home." Boy were we WRONG! We found out the morning after he flew in that he would be deploying. After my initial what-the-heck moment we talked schedule and training and all that follows. We decided to enjoy the weekend and worry about it all when he went back to work.

  Back at the Battalion he finds out that the person who told him the original details about the deployment was beyond wrong and the deployment date was so much sooner than what we were originally told. Great. I told the husband that I needed to know what his schedule would be with the new changes. A lovely email was sent to my BlackBerry with his whole schedule mapped out for my type-A self. It's LOADED, even when my husband deployed to Fallujah, Iraq during the height of the battle there he didn't have this much pre-deployment training! I'm trying my best not to jump onto the Debbie Downer convoy but seeing that he will only be home a handful of days (and I'm being generous when I say a handful) it's hard not to.

  After our last move (Camp Lejeune to Camp Pendleton) I swore that I wouldn't drive a Uhaul cross-country, towing a car behind it solo again. Well at least I was right about some of it! I won't be driving a Uhaul (I'll be driving my car) and our daughter will be keeping me company this trip. We will be moving to Quantico, VA shortly before my husband leaves for deployment. With his rockin' schedule however, our daughter and I will be hoofing it across I-10 (or maybe I-40 for a better view!) alone.

  I am looking forward to Homecoming already and can't wait to get this next one behind us! It's amazing how strong you become when you get thrown into these situations. An amazing spouse and fabulous friends will get you through just about anything.