Memorial Day 2007

Okay, it's not even 9:00 a.m. and already I have things to write about!

This morning I was laying in bed with my girls (they get to sleep in my bed on the weekends when daddy's gone) awake and playing with the cat when the phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and it said "unknown number" and had some freaky phone number that I did not even recognize. For a second there, I thought about not answering it, but then I figured I probably should. And also, in the back of my mind, I remembered that hubby was pulling into a port on the other side of the world.

Yes, it was hubby! He was so happy to be on land! They had spent almost two months out to sea with no port visit. They even got a "beer day" for being out so long (they get two beers each, so it's not like it was a drunk fest out there, hell it probably wasn't even a "buss fest" out there for most of them).

We talked for a little while and then I handed the phone over to the eldest and she got to talk with her Daddy for a while. I always love watching them talk with their Daddy. Sometimes I can hear his voice too on the phone while they're talking. Then the youngest got to talk to Daddy and her telephone skills are much more concise than the eldest. I've got to figure out questions to have Daddy ask her next time where she will answer them and not have to think too much. That's when it gets her, when you ask her questions that she actually has to think to answer. She becomes silent................... If it was night, you could probably hear the crickets it would be so silent on her end.

So we got our morning call from him and I showed the girls where Daddy was. He's in a place called Dubai, that's in the United Arab Emerites. The eldest says, "Dubai? Is that where you got "do buy" things?" ............smart ass................................

Then some sad news. The eldest came out to the family room to see the hamster and the hamster wasn't moving. That always sucks. Being the one that finds the deceased pet. My youngest sister found my grandma's dog, Lady, when Lady passed away. I was so heartbroken then. So it was up to me to get rid of the hamster. Now, if you know me, I'm NOT one to have to deal with dead animals. I had to get rid of a dead fish (it was one of those sucker fishes and man when they are dead they are hard as a rock) and I had to scoop it up to flush it down and so I used the fish net, put it in a cup and it went THUD. :::::::::::::::shudder::::::::::::::::: Blech!!

So now we are one less pet in our house (okay, why is hubby always away when an pet in our house dies? He was away when I had to get rid of that fish, and now the hamster), and we are not replacing it. Dr. Doolittle has one less pet to worry about. Oh, don't get me wrong, I LOVE our dog and cat, and even enjoy the fish. The hamster was one thing thought that didn't rock my world. But I never hated it. Rest in Peace Jackie The Hamster.

Today the eldest has an indoor soccer game and then we are off to our friend's house for a dip in the pool and bbq.

United Through Reading

Have you ever heard of this program?

I had, a while back, something that I tucked away back in my brain.

United Through Reading, is a program that brings together moms and dads to their children when they are apart. The mom or dad reads children's books to a video camera, thus to their children, and the DVD is sent back home, so that the children can "see" their parent, even if they are far away.

This program has been on hubby's ship. We just got the 2nd DVD from him this past week. My youngest has been SO entranced by them. She likes seeing Daddy on TV reading and talking to her. The first one he sent, he was growing a moustache (hey, sometimes they get creative in their "trying to entertain" themselves when they are on a ship). The 2nd one, he had shaven it (thank goodness! He got bored with it and it was bothering him anyway) and my youngest said,

"Daddy doesn't have that hair on his face anymore!"

Too cute.

He read 4 books to her, two of which were Dr. Seuss. When my oldest was a wee one, I got just about every Dr. Seuss book they had (I'm sure there are a few I don't have). Well, I still have them and I pulled out the two that Daddy was reading to her and she was so happy that we have a couple of the books that Daddy was reading to her.

What a wonderful program, I tell you! For my girls to be able to see their Daddy on TV talking to them, while he is away.

Oh, I love that we have e-mail now, as when he first went out, almost 15 years ago, e-mail wasn't around then. Sometimes it would be 3 weeks before I got a letter from him because of the mail. Now I get an e-mail every day or every other day.

And when he's in port, he can call us too.

But having that video is just another good thing that is out there for my girls.

Love Thursday - Being A Navy Wife

picture taken by the Navy

This picture was taken yesterday, as our United States Navy entered the Persian Gulf.

I love this picture.

My hubby is on one of those ships.

One of the bigger ones, one of the aircraft carriers.

Seeing pictures like this make me DAMN proud to be a Navy Wife.

When hubby and I got married, he was already in the Navy, but I did know him before he joined the Navy (that story will be for another time).

We will have our 15th wedding anniversary this year.

However, hubby will not be home for it, he will be on one of those ships.

Of course it makes me sad that he's not here.

But I swell up with pride when I see pictures like this, because I know he's out there, doing his job to help protect our county. Even if it is halfway around the world.

Do I get scared? Of course, all the time.

He was over there 4 years ago when the Iraq War started.

And I'm hoping that this deployment will be part of it ending as well.

When it started 4 years ago and I knew that he was over there, I cried when the war first started. I was scared. I mean, come on, a war was starting and my hubby was over there.

Now granted he was on an aircraft carrier, which makes him a lot safer than being on the ground.

But I was still scared.

After 9/11 happened and I saw the show of support that our United States had for it's country and it's service members, I got all choked up with emotion. When I saw that every house on a street had their American Flag flying, it made me so glad to see that our people came together and supported our troops and rallied for our country. All the stories of people clapping their hands when service members came around, or offered their seat on a plane for them, etc. made my heart fill with pride.

Today, the Iraq war certainly isn't favorable among the majority of the Americans.

But they still support the troops and that makes me so happy. So happy that America has learned from Vietnam, that even though they may not support the war or the reason why we're over there, they still support the troops and are thankful to them for going over there and risking their lives.

I am a Navy wife.

Do I like war? Ummm....no........of course not.

Do I wish that there would be alternate ways to handle things? Oh yes, definitely.

But there are people out there in the world who refuse to compromise. People who want to kill people just because of their skin color. Or their religion.

Is this the only reason a war starts? Of course not.

While I certainly don't like being separated from my husband, I love him tremendously and I love him for serving our country. And so I deal with the hardship of being separated from him.

A Glutton For Punishment?

Today I took the girls to the softball fields so that my eldest and I could watch the All-Star games. She has friends on the teams and wanted to root for them. I enjoy watching the games too, and plus I get to chat with some of the parents that I have gotten to know as well.

And the youngest likes to play there, in the dirt, mostly....

Oh, and I've decided to be on the softball board for next season as the Uniforms Coordinator. Am I crazy? Like I don't have enough on my plate as it is. I wanted to do it, then found out that I really couldn't because of the "once a month" meetings they have and hubby will be in and out to sea for the next year and because they are in the evenings, I don't want to have to have to take my girls somewhere to be watched, I'd rather they be at home. But then I find out that you only have to be at the meetings for "voting rights". Oh hell, it'll be my first year there, I don't care that much about voting rights, I just want to help out the league. So I'm putting my name in the hat again to be the Uniform Coordinator. I'll really only be busy before the season even starts, getting the uniforms ordered and distributed. That's just one big lump thing to do all at once and I can handle that. Hell, I put a yearbook together in a couple of months and that was labor intesive on the computer.

Maybe it's just the "Uber Mom" in me wanting to come out again........

Conversations with my pre-teen

Ahhh.....the preteen years and the early teen years.

Hell, the late teen years and early twenties as well!

Okay, back to the preteen years.

Such the start of an emotional time for all preteen girls. The hormones are starting to flow, the bodies are changing, and the desire to "fit in", and have the cool clothes.

Being so sure of yourself one minute and so UNsure of yourself the next.

I frequently have conversations with my preteen about life and living it. Tonight was about being a good person (actually quite a few are like that). Treating others the way YOU want to be treated. Not judging someone by what you think they are like. And if someone you know is acting a different way, to ask them about it. You'll never know the answer if you don't ask. You'll never find out if there's a problem if you don't ask. It's about caring about the other person.

My preteen can have the biggest heart there is. Last year she spearheaded a Katrina Relief Fund at her school and the school ended up raising almost $1000 for it. All because she wanted to bring in a jar to her classroom to raise a few dollars for it.

But sometimes she can be the biggest snot and brat too.

Like I said....hormones.

I also think society can play a part in it too. That's why I frequently have convesations with her about it. And give her examples and show why certain things are wrong, or why certain things are right.

When I meet someone, I rarely, rarely ever had a preconceived notion about that person. I don't want to say I've NEVER had a preconceived notion about a person, because I'm sure I have at one point in time. I'm sure someone has told me something about a person I may find unflattering and that may have allowed me to think negatively about that person.

But I try to be a good example to my girls. To show them that you can't think a person is weird or different just because of how they look. Or dress.

I do have to say that I love the friends I grew up. And the atmosphere we had. It didn't matter the hair color, even if it was purple. Or a mohawk. Or ripped clothing. Or with spikes on it. We were open to knowing all people. And still are.

I could easily, EASILY, have the worst potty mouth in the town. I could cuss them up and down and sideways. But I don't, because I want to show my girls how to have good manners. Does that mean I don't cuss? Oh hell no. And I know they've heard me say things at times. Do I want them to think I'm perfect? Oh no. I know they need to know that I make mistakes too and I have to learn from them. And I will apologize to my children if I've gotten mad at them just because I'm PMSing. And I thank them when they do something I ask.

All I want is to raise them to be good, polite people with good manners, with the wisdom to know and learn from their mistakes.

I sure hope my preteen listened to what I said and took it to heart.

You never know with those preteens........ I know. I was one of them once......

Waiting For That Last Link On The Chain

And then he'll be home.

I miss my hubby.

I want him home.

We're not even 1/2 way through his deployment yet.

Sometimes the kids drive me bonkers.

Especially the youngest today.

She's in one of her non-stop talking moods.

At least I get a break on Saturday when I'm going scrapbooking with my friends.

Another friend is going to watch my girls.

I hate the way my body feels on the first day of my period.

Like today.

It makes me cranky.

And sometimes towards my girls.

I don't like that.

My cat likes to chew on cardboard.

Very weird.

My dog still likes to try and hump the cat.

Very, VERY weird.

I enjoy the fact that my eldest and I like watching certain shows together.

Like General Hospital.

And Dancing With The Stars.

And America's Next Top Model.

My youngest makes some of the cutest facial expressions.

It makes me smile and laugh.

It sucks that hubby is going to miss all of our (and his) birthdays and our 15th wedding anniversary this year.

But we deal with it.

That's Navy life.

It seems like a lifetime ago when we went through this for the first time 14 1/2 years ago.

This is our 6th time doing this.

And it's probably not going to be our last.

I'm rambling, aren't I?

Oh well, I'm in one of those moods.

If you don't like it, bite me.

That's one of my favorite sayings.

Bite Me.

I want to put it up on one of the walls in my scrapbook area.

I already have a "NO WHINING" sign hanging in there.

Time to get the youngest one in bed.

Ta.

This, That & The Other

Damn, I can't believe this month is almost 1/2 over already!! Hubby has been gone for almost a month and a half now.

April was not a fun month for me. I was sick with the stomach flu for over 2 1/2 weeks! Blech! And it's not like I could just lay in bed all day long and have someone take care of me. Being the sole parent sucks big time when you're sick. I still don't know how my mom did it, and she had 3 kids all by herself, all the time.

Which brings me to my youngest sister. She's 10 years younger than me and we are a lot alike in a lot of ways. Sometimes when I see her go through things in life, I'm like, "Wow, that was me back then". We have always been very close too.

She just recently lost her father, due to a brain tumor, that somehow got "activated" when he had to have surgery on a broken leg. He was 80 years old. Before that he had rarely been sick a day in his life. I feel for her. But before he passed away, she was able to let go of all of the negativity she had for him. I never got to do that with my father before he passed away. It warms my heart that she got to do that with her father.

Yes, you read that right. We have different fathers. In fact, our other sister who is inbetween our ages, has a different father too. Now some of you may be thinking, "Wow, their mom must have been a hoochie-mama, with all of them having different dads." You couldn't be further from the truth. She just had HORRIBLE luck with me. Part of me wonders if this was because she lost her own dad when she was 13. My grandma did marry again when she was 16, so she had my grandpa for that, but I know it wasn't the same for her. My father ended up still being married to his first wife when he was married to my mom. (Yea, I know, nice, huh??!!!)

Then came along my younger sister's dad and he and my mom were supposed to get married, but then he decided to take off on her before it happend and before my sister was born.

And finally, came along my youngest sister's dad. When my mom got pregnant with her, she was already set enough in how she lived that she did not really want to get married to her dad.

Pretty much after that, she just quit dating alltogether. I mean, come on, how could she, raising 3 girls all on her own?! And she never asked for child support either. She told me once that she didn't want to have to rely on it for one thing, and she also didn't want to have to be obligated where we had to spend weekends, vacation or whatever with them.

I'm sure you are thinking, hello??!, there is a thing called birth-control. And no she wasn't catholic either. Maybe she was naive. In a lot of ways I think she was. She was a trusting person for the most part as well.

So even though we all had different dads, we were all together all the time. My dad rarely came around, my younger sister's dad NEVER came around, and my youngest sister's dad probably came around more than anyone else's.

But having your dad come around here and there, never at any specific time, doesn't make for a good relationship there. And both me and my youngest sister definitely had issues with that. Our grandpa was always around for us, so we did have a male figure in our lives, but he was grandpa, you know?

Anyway, back to my youngest sister. The service for her dad was this past Wednesday. She went and got to spend time with her two older sisters and older brother. I am SO happy for her. I LOVE the fact that she is getting to know another part of her family. Over the years, I have gotten to get to know my two older sisters (I actually have 3, but I've never met the other one) and my older brother before he passed away in 1992. And even though they are my family too, it's still so different from the relationship I have with my 2 sisters that I grew up with.

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My eldest daughter's softball team won first place in their division a couple of weeks ago. It was SO exciting! I was so happy for her team, and not just for my daughter. I was actually more happy for the coach, his daughter and the pitcher for the team. They had all been in the playoffs for 5 years in a row, and each time they had always taken 2nd place. Until this year. So it was a very heartwarming win for them.

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Mother's Day is this Sunday, and all I've asked for from my girls is to let me sleep in, and let me scrapbook that day. I don't want them buying me anything. To make me something is the best thing, because they made it for me.

It's also definitely a time where I do miss my mom a lot too, but a few years before she passed away, she let me know that it was okay for me to stay at home and enjoy my mother's day. After all, I'm a mom too. That was such a wonderful gift to give to me too. I got to start making my own mother's day memories with my girls (hubby and the eldest got on their hands and knees one year and cleaned the floors for me, because I was pregnant with the youngest at the time). So even though I miss not having my mom for mother's day, it's not as bad as if it was a day where I was with her every year.

And I do have my mother-in-law too though. She has been wonderful and has been there for me when I do need her.

Only Mothers Can See

Lately my youngest has been obsessed with eating Shrek Gogurt. For those of you who don't know, it's yogurt in a tube and you just squeeze it out to eat it.

Since it's Shrek and all and with the Fairy Tale theme going and all, I've told her that when she eats it and blows air out of her mouth that magic sprinkles come out with the air. But no one else can see them except for me. Mommy. Not even sister can see them. Only Mommy.

She LOVES this, and totally believes it.

Make believe. It can be such a sweet thing. :)