Wordful Wednesday

Why hello blog!  It's been a while.  Where have I been you may be wondering?  Well, there have been two things keeping me busy and away from my computer. 

Six Months Old

You all know the first one well.  The fussbucket!   At eight and a half months old he's as mobile as can be.  He's crawling all over the house now and getting into everything he shouldn't.  This means I'm chasing him around most of the time, unless of course, he's sleeping!

I'm ready to move Mum!

The second thing keeping me uber busy was our recent move!  Mental note to self, stop moving while husband is deployed!   We just bought our first house and trying to pack up the old one, get everything in order for the new one, move from old to new and unpack has been quite the time consuming adventure.  Considering it was mostly done in the two to three hours that Liam is asleep and I'm awake it's a miracle it happened at all!  Many thanks to my dad for coming out to help wrangle the fussbucket and keep me in line!

Our New Place!

Let it be known that the next time I move I hope it's to our forever home.  And I hope my husband is around to help!  I know he wishes he was for this move, but he'll get to enjoy the perks without the pain of moving.  It's no joke moving on your own.  For now, I'd better get on an overdue crochet project that's harder than I thought it would be, but hopefully you won't have to wait so long to hear from me again!

Loose Lips Sink Ships

You've heard the old adage from WWII and it still holds true today.  So for those who've asked, I'm not ignoring you.  I swear.  There is this thing in the military called OPSEC, or Operational Security.  There are a lot of rules around what we can and cannot say about deployments.  So while I'd love to divulge all the details on this blog or Facebook, I can't.  Here are the three main reasons why:

1.  God forbid something horrible happens to my husband or one of his fellow service members because I ran my mouth.  While I trust those of you that I know personally, I just can't put it out there for the whole world to see.  Call me paranoid, but you never know who's watching!

2.  Communication has been known to be shut down when spouses say too much on the internet.  Communication is our lifeline during deployment.  It keeps me sane.  Since at home we battle insanity every day (I kid...sorta...) loosing that contact with our loved ones would be devastating!

3.  When the time comes for homecoming, it's not unheard of for homecoming or deployments themselves, to be delayed due to loose lips.  Of course we want to vent about our spouses leaving us.  Who wouldn't?  It's just not normal to be married and not live together for the majority of your marriage.  But I'm not going to take the fall for the delays and at some point you just want to get things over and done with.   When we get close to homecoming we get excited, we want to share, but you'll know when they're home.  Trust me, when they are safe and sound and in our arms, we won't be able to keep it to ourselves. 

I decided to write this blog because I've gotten a lot of questions, on Facebook mostly, and didn't want you to think I was ignoring you.  I'm not trying to be rude.  I'm just trying to do my part to keep my husband safe and the little connection that we have with him intact.  I know this is a strange world and so many of my friends and family aren't familiar with it so hopefully this will help you understand where we're coming from throughout this deployment and in the future.  I cannot tell you how much we appreciate your friendship, support and prayers.  They mean the world to us!

Wordless Wednesday - Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye, going away, seems like goodbye's such a hard thing to say,

Touching a hand, wondering why, it's time for saying goodbye

Reality Bites

Yep, it sure does.  As many of you know we are gearing up for yet another deployment in our household.  We've all been putting off the inevitable, but there is only so long you can put things on hold.  The fact of the matter is that packing has to happen.  We have to get power of attorneys and other legal things sorted.  I have to finish that hat I promised I would knit for deployment.  I've been putting off closing it up since the road trip.  It's one of those weird reminders that soon we will be without one of our family members.   Maybe if I don't finish it he won't leave?  The Marine Corps is just laughing at me now! 

Despite the state of denial I've been living in this deployment will happen.  I find that for some reason I'm having a harder time dealing with this deployment than in the past.  Normally I'm totally calm, cool and collected, but I feel a bit emotional this time around.  I don't know if it's different now that we have the fussbucket, or my hormones are still out of whack, but man, my eyes are full of tears at the silliest things.

To be quite honest, this whole overly emotional thing is driving us all nuts!  I know it drives my husband nuts, but it bugs me as well.  I guess I kind of pride myself on being strong and pulled together so not being "together" really stinks!  I know that we'll be fine when he's gone.  We've managed before, quite successfully, and we'll do it again.  I know that I rely on my husband a lot and appreciate all his help with the fussbucket so I will miss those little breaks.  I'll miss the banter and laughs, the hugs and kisses, but I know at the end of this challenge we'll all be stronger for it.

I struggle to find the right words to say about how I feel, even after writing this, but that seems appropriate for my state of mind.  I know that with courage, strength and a lot of prayer we'll get through this deployment.  God doesn't give us anything we can't handle.  I have to remember that as I'm overly emotional, because we can and will handle it.  And knowing that we can handle it gives me peace that I need to embark on this adventure.

Giving Thanks

Every day I am thankful for my husband, but as we gear up for deployment I am reminded each day how much I love him, depend on him and need him.  Yes, I am a capable and independent young woman.  (Well, at least I still feel young most days!)  After all, I have lived on my own all over the world and supported myself.  I could do it again if life necessitated it.  Mind you, I have no desire too.  I love my husband.  I love being married.  I love motherhood.  All the ups and downs make life exciting.  Each challenge is worth conquering.  There is a reward smiling up at me every day.

Since the hubs will be gone for Thanksgiving this year, we decided to appreciate our time together and  do Thanksgiving early.  So last night was Thanksgiving at our house.  We had turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes and my "famous" (according to Cody) pumpkin pie.  Everything was delicious!  And, in the grand scheme of things, way too much food!  But it was nice to take a minute to enjoy our family.  To thank God for all that he has blessed us with.  It's not often enough in our every day lives that we take a moment to do that.  I appreciate Thanksgiving for forcing me to reflect on what I have and I'm glad I got an extra day where I looked around the table, at all my boys, and remembered that no matter how far apart we are, we are truly blessed.  Not everyone is as lucky as we are.  Not everyone is as loved as we are.

So, whether it be a minute or a day, I am thankful for every bit of time I have with my husband.  I am thankful that he gets to see our youngest grow and change as much as possible.  I am thankful that he can get up in the middle of the night with him.  I am thankful that he can wrestle with our oldest.  That he can help him with his math homework.  I am thankful for the laughter and love that fills our home every day, both when he's home and when he's away.  And I'm thankful for the two little men who remind me each and every day what an amazing man I am married to.

Cake In A Jar

This is my all-time favorite homemade treat to send in care packages when my hubby is deployed.  It stays moist and fresh until it's opened and enjoyed!  Recently a few friends have asked me how to make the infamous cake in a jar so I thought I'd post the instructions right here for everyone to see. 

This really is simple!   You just need a box of your favorite cake mix, the ingredients on the package and nonstick spray.  So, here goes:

1.  Preheat oven according the directions on the box.

2.  Choose your favorite boxed cake mix or recipe and prepare according to the directions.  (I made my cake today in the WW fashion with a can of diet soda instead of the oil and eggs.  Shhhh...don't tell the Marines receiving these! ;) )

3.  Liberally spray inside of clean, wide mouthed Mason jars with Pam, or other nonstick spray.

4.  Fill jars halfway with batter.

5.  Place on cookie sheet and into oven to bake for about 30 minutes.  (The cookie sheet simply makes it easier to get the jars out of the oven.) 

6.  Place lids in boiling water while cakes are baking.

7.  When cake is done, remove from oven and place lids on jars one at a time.  (I use tongs to pull them out of the boiling water.)  Then screw on second part of lid.

8.  Listen for a "ping" as the jar cools which lets you know the lid is sealed.

9.  Once jars have cooled the cake will pull away from the jar slightly, but it should slide out easily.  (So long as you got wide mouth jars!)

10.  When you pack it up be sure to include a tub of frosting, plastic forks and knives, paper plates and to bubble wrap it for it's journey overseas!

Cody's favorite part of the process is that I usually save a little batter to make cupcakes or a small cake for us to enjoy at home!  He has been waiting "forever" for me to make these cakes so he can enjoy them.  I made cupcakes today.  Yummy!

Next I'm going to try banana bread and see how that bakes up!  Here's to all the military members overseas.  May they enjoy a little piece of home as often as possible!