Life as a Military Wife..

Happy New Year? Okay I confess it isn't quite 2014 yet, well not here in Louisiana.. BUT it is 2014 in Afghanistan. They are about 1/2 a day ahead of us- so I figure since I was going to post about military life that I could post early on the technicality that my husband is in Afghanistan and it's January 1, 2014 over there! Before I was a military wife I was a solider (though not long before I married my hubby). Sometimes I think that gives me an "insider" advantage to the inner workings of being in the military. But I've been out of the Army for 15 years almost.. I'm sure the soldier lifestyle has changed since my days as a cute bubbly private! We just did a 3-year stint of Recruiter Duty (when I say we I mean my husband- and our tag-along family) which had it's pro-s and it's con's. Which was nice because my husband came home every night, there were no field exercises, no staff duty, and best of all no deployments. That was probably the biggest pro. We got orders (papers telling us we had to move) that brought us to Fort Polk, Louisiana this past spring. This wasn't our first Rodeo in the Bayou~ This is actually where we both were stationed first- this was where we met and got married so it holds a special meaning to us. BUT it's one of those places that are seriously in the middle of nowhere (don't believe me? google it- the closest town, Leesville, LA has a mere 6,000 residents! Anyway enough about duty stations~ let's talk about life.. life as a Military Wife. * Military Wives can usually make friends really fast- we have to- we move so often that if we keep to ourselves too long we are off to the next duty station without friends- and that is not fun. We are also fiercely loyal friends- we take care of our own- always have and always will~ * Military Wives are excellent multi-taskers- again because we have to.. we can cook dinner, help with homework and fold laundry all without considering that we are doing it all at once.. think that's easy? You might be right- other moms and wives also multi-task right? But can you do it all while on the phone with your husband's FRG, while they are telling you the latest info on your deployed husband while you have to interpret what they are saying using OPSEC? Giving you information about the next trip to the PX to buy much needed items to send downrange to the FOB? Yeah, see we have our own language- I could probably get a college degree in military acronyms! * Military Wives can pack and unpack a house faster than those guys you see on TV who promise to carefully move your stuff from one house to another across town.. we can survive for a month or so without our own belongings while we wait for housing or the movers to bring our stuff from the last base. Did you know that air mattresses can double as sofas in a pinch? Or that you can survive with 1 pot, 1 knife and paper plates/plastic silverware for quite a while- one dish wonders is what we call them in our house! The day that household goods are delivered is always a celebratory day! It means I can start cooking again! * Military Wives can be both mom and dad when they have to- I taught my sons to ride bikes, climb trees, and if the army has it's way I will most likely teach them how to drive and shave. Do these things make me sad? Of course they do- BUT I know that one day my boys will look back and realize that I wasn't teaching these things on the blind- there were conversations held with my hubby while he was gone to learn how to teach them right. And I hope that one day my boys will look back at the things I taught them and know that their dad was behind it even though he wasn't here. * Military wives can mobilize quickly- have an emergency? We are the ones you want to call- regardless of how many kids we have at home and their ages if you need us in a hurry for that emergency- we can be there pronto- don't mind that we are still in our pajamas and our kids didn't eat (hence the box of cereal in one of their hands and the gallon of milk in the other) You call, we come! * Military wives are pretty handy- I can change the oil in both my vehicles, change tires and jump start my husband's impossible truck all without a man's help- do I like to do these things- not at all but if I have to I can. * Military wives can be financial whizzes- did the military mess up your pay? Don't worry- you will still eat, have diapers, lights and gas to get to work- just let your wife take a minute to figure it out- it may be 2 weeks of ramen noodles (promise I will cook them a different way each night) and you may have to stay at work during lunch (eating leftover ramen from the night before) to conserve gas but we will not starve and the kids will never know the difference.. when pay is fixed there will of course be the celebratory dinner at a steak house (that costs more than what the past 2 weeks groceries did {including diapers} but you deserved it after surviving that). So yeah, you get it- we can do a lot, and that is great- but there are downsides to it also.. like going to bed alone every night and spending your birthday, Valentines day, Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving and all the milestones your children go through without that one person who you want to spend it with. For long stretches of time. And then he comes home- but it's not really his home yet because he hasn't lived there long enough to know where the forks are, or where we keep the extra toilet paper. And just when he gets used to the house he leaves again or you move again and you repeat the cycle (I tried to put post it notes on everything when he came home from his second deployment to show him where things were but it didn't go over well). Would I change anything? Not for a minute- I love being a Military Wife- I love my soldier and I love my family!! xoxo <3

Welcome to My Blog

Welcome to my blog.. I wanted to have an outlet to talk about life and so here it is. I should probably tell you a little bit about myself (just in case you don't already know me) My name is Carrie and I am a wife to a soldier, a mom to TWO teenage BOYS, I volunteer for several different things and I run my own home-based business! I keep busy (or try to) And sometimes, well life just gets interesting ;) This will be my only post of 2013~ So Happy New Year to everyone!!!