Tag Archives: military

Care Packages!

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While I hate pretty much everything about deployment, the one thing I do enjoy is sending care packages to my husband.  It’s been years since I’ve had to do it (5? 6? I don’t remember!) So I’ve been having fun coming up with ideas of what to send as well as making the boxes themselves fun.

This was the first box I sent out. I LOVE these large size priority boxes from the post office. First off, you get a discount if you are sending these particular ones to an APO/FPO. Second a 12×12 sheet of scrapbook paper fits each side perfectly!  I decided to put some pictures on here, just printed them out on copy paper so I could glue them on. I was hoping it would give him a little boost to remember why he is doing this and what he has to look forward to when he comes home.

 

The next box I sent was my favorite and I forgot to take a dang picture of it! I am so mad at myself! I had it all decked out with a Navy theme, that one had the PS Vita he wanted as well as his iPad cover/stand he forgot to take. You’ll just have to picture it in your mind. It’s terrible but it was a good use for the Navy embellishments that I didn’t like and wasn’t going to use for actual scrapbooking but didn’t want to throw away. So don’t throw away your ugly stuff! Just use it on your husband, he doesn’t know the difference!

 

Okay, I normally try to split the box at least half and half between snacks/junk food and meal type food but this one went a little overboard on the junk food. What can I say? I am trying to eat less crap so when I see something tempting I just buy it and sent in off in a box. Seriously, those Pocky sticks were tough, I LOVE them!

 

 

And here is the latest box, just sent this one this weekend and I am a little mad at myself, didn’t realize how late it got in the month! I want this to get there before Halloween but it probably won’t.  This is my first ‘theme’ box.  I didn’t want to just sent a crap load of candy so I sent some other snacks in there too… The little jack o’ lantern tin was in the dollar section of Target, I put some of those single piece candies you see, pumpkin shaped snickers, rotten egg cadbury, etc. Also Target had the crinkle paper filler in lime green so that is in the bottom of the box. Oh and I found a stupid creepy mask at the exchange for a dollar so I threw that in too…

 

There are some things that I know I am going to put in (like the gel insoles, those steel decks are murder on feet!) febreeze to make his rack smell a little nicer and not like ship. Yes, ship. It is a VERY distinct odor. And haribo gummies, his favorite candy (which will hopefully bring back memories of the haribo candy store we couldn’t stay away from in Germany!)

But then a lot of times I just cruise the aisles of the grocery store or exchange and just see what crazy new stuff is out there.

But here is a list to help get started on packing those boxes:

Food – meals

Precooked rice packets

Cup o’ noodles

Microwave soup

Single serve mac & cheese

Tuna steaks

Tuna salad kit

Single serve oatmeal/cold cereal

 

Food – Snacks/Junk Food

Trail mix

hostess/little debbie stuff

Combos

Gum

Mints

Nachos

Pringles

Beef Jerky

Single serve cookie packs

Popcorn (I love the new bowl one)

Goldfish

Energy shots

Granola Bars/Clif Bars

Toiletries/hygiene

Insoles (I bought the ones made for work boots)

Travel size toothpaste, shaving cream, qtips, shampoo, medication (they take up less space and I replenish them as needed. If your husband has hair a full size shampoo may work better for you!

Foot powder/spray (wearing those dang boots)

Febreeze

hand sanitizer

sanitizing wipes

Etc.

Cards, letters, notes from the kids

Entertainment such as playing cards/dvd’s or handheld games

Magazines/books

I do tend to send lots of food, the galley food isn’t the best and I want him to be able to have something to snack on if he’s hungry. If there is ever something he doesn’t like he can just give it away to someone else.  I am going to try to do the cake in a jar, we’ll see if it works and if it is still edible when he gets it however many weeks later!

 

 

 

First leis!

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So my neighbor (and fellow ship wife) is from Hawaii and she and her mom were busily making leis for some function or another… Mckenna happened to be over there giving her a hand and got to come home with a couple of leis. We weren’t greeted with any at the airport (something that if we ever have anyone come visit us I will to do!) so this is the first time we got to wear a lei in Hawaii!

Omar’s interpretation:

 

Look mom! Flower hair!

My goodness I wish this kid could take a normal picture. Oh well they are still cute.

And of COURSE I had to torture my dog.

Right here he is thinking ‘wait until she releases me, I am going to eat this thing in 2 seconds.’ Which I didn’t let him do. I of course had to hang them up so they can dry. 

And so my collection starts. Just wait until Omar comes home, I am going to pile him up. The exchange even has leis with the mini bottles of booze. Love it!

 

 

Someone got a job!

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And no! It’s not me!

Mckenna got her first babysitting job and she is SO excited. Our neighbor’s husband is on the same ship as Omar so we are going to be deployment buddies! Well she is home with a 3 year old and a set of twin baby boys. Yikes! 

Anyways, we had gotten together with a few of the other spouses on Saturday and Mckenna was all over her babies. She remarked that she  would love to have Mckenna come over and help anytime!

Mckenna took her seriously and after a few texts back and forth went over this afternoon for a couple of hours.  She isn’t technically babysitting, just being a mother’s helper but she had a great time. Plus it’s great practice for when she CAN babysit in another year or so.  Our neighbor really appreciated having an extra set of hands and Mckenna loved playing with babies.

I am so proud of her! I am so happy that she is responsible and that parents are happy to have her help out!

Reason #1 why it sucks being a military wife…

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Your husband deploys.

This is the worst thing and unfortunately it’s something we are going to have to deal with very soon and with very little notice.  I’ve been MIA because we’ve been trying to spend as much time together as possible before he goes. And without giving firm dates he’ll be gone until next summer. That is a really long time especially with kids involved, one of whom has never had daddy gone before (not even for overnight duty! We were so spoiled in Rota!)

I’m anxious because I hate being home alone, I hate having my husband in harm’s way, and I hate that he is going to be missing such a huge chunk of the kid’s lives – holidays, birthdays, soccer games. I just want to throw a tantrum and say ‘But I don’t WANT to do it! I don’t WANT him to go.’ It just sucks. There is no silver lining for us.

Yes, I know my husband is in the Navy and that his job is to deploy but we were not prepared for this. Another ship needed him so he was ‘traded’ from the command he had checked in on and SURPRISE we are about to leave.

And it’s horrible because he has it so so so much worse than I do. I still get to sleep in my bed and eat homemade food and hang out with the kids. I am hoping and praying that he’ll come home early of course but it’s one of those situations where you hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

And yes I will be having a pity party for the next few months!

And so it begins…

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Soccer season that is. It has already been a little bit crazy just to get him on the team.

I’d been looking into the MWR sports that are put on for the military kids but the only sports they had were flag football and volleyball (for Mckenna) and they were full. So I am searching the internet trying to find something, anything to put my kids into for fall.

I finally find AYSO and see that registration has already ended but I don’t care, I am going to be THAT parent who wants to register their kids late. Through multiple emails back and forth with the lady in charge of registration, I am finally able to meet up with her and get him registered. Mckenna is on a wait list and probably won’t make a team which really sucks. But at least this is a two season per year league so she’ll be able to play in January.  Anyways, while I am registering him I ask if he can get moved up an age group. The U5 group that he is in is that whole “kick the ball around the field with daddy” thing. Been there, done that, he was bored when he had to do it LAST year, I didn’t want him to suffer through it again! This boy loves soccer, plays ALL the time and just wants to get in a game!  So the registrar tells me she’ll get back to me as she has to get approval from whoever.

Luckily she emailed me the next day letting me know he was good to go for the older U6 league and that they had a team that was short and needed him.  We got a call from the coach last night saying there was a game today, could we make it since two kids had dropped out and Omar made the 4th kid on the team! So at 7:45 we run out to the exchange to but cleats and shin guards (why can’t our stuff get here already so I can stop buying multiples of everything?)

We get to the field and find out coach, change Omar into his uniform and get him on the field to warm up. (NO time for cute poses with the ball in his adorable uniform!)

He even picked number 4 because he is four (for two more weeks anyways).

Oh, and his team name? The Incredible Hulks. I could die.

Running laps around the field.

Kick it in, baby!

Water break!

Taking a break

halftime snack

Boys are weird.

They ended up winning 5-3 and Omar scored TWO goals! Visions of World Cups are dancing in our heads! But really, he had a great time out there and his coach seems like a really nice guy. I actually had to cut out early due to this mutt:

I brought him to soccer because we (he) had his first obedience class and I didn’t want to have to run home. Well he was horrible at soccer, not wanting to sit still or lay down and wasn’t much better at class. I had no less than 5 people suggest putting a pinch or prong collar on him. I don’t know how he can be so wonderful IN the house (seriously, obeys EVERY command, perfect sit/stay/recall) and is just terrible on a leash! I don’t know how many more dog classes I am going to be able to make because most of Omar’s soccer games overlap and I really don’t want to miss out on those.

Anyways, so we had a great morning (besides my ill-behaved dog {which I know is all my fault}) and we are getting ready to go see ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ with the kiddos!

Kaneohe Bay – Pyramid Rock Beach

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One of the first things you learn when you move to Oahu is how the island is divided. Down the center of the island runs a mountain range (gotta love all that volcanic activity!). The north eastern side of the divide is the windward side, it gets all of the winds and moisture. The southwestern side (where we live) is the leeward side, not as cool and much drier. This becomes very apparent when you go from one side to another. I LOVE the windward side! It is so lush and green and every time I see it I feel like I am in Jurassic Park (because it was filmed here!)

 

 

 

This is the tunnel that cuts through the mountains, it is fairly new and is much easier than having to drive all the way around or over! And when you pop out of the tunnel this is what greets you:

 

The hills all have those distinct ridges due to erosion, all of the rain has carved the rock.

 

 

 

We were looking for someplace to snorkel over on the Marine Corps base at Kaneohe Bay but there wasn’t really anything suitable so we headed to Pyramid Rock Beach. It was a beautiful breezy day but the surf was really rough and we were advised by the lifeguard to stay shallow and keep our kids close.

 

 

Yes, I know it is all beach and ocean pictures all the time but seriously, this has been my life! We have spent a disgusting amount of time at the beach, but isn’t that what you are supposed to do when you live in Hawaii?

 

 

My gorgeous girl. This was the only picture I have where she isn’t posing like she’s trying out for America’s Next Top Model.

 

 

Oh this boy, he melts my heart.

 

 

Pyramid Rock, I wanted to go see if we could hike up the stairs but as you can see it’s REALLY far away and I am incredibly lazy. I bet the view from up there is great! 

 

 

 

Super crowded beach, I don’t know how we deal with the masses of people. Seriously though, I love going to beaches on base.

 

 

 

 

 

We also stalked a crab… cutest thing ever.

 

 

And the weirdo dog that was happy as hell to eat the leftover ice from the ice chest. Also please ignore my dirt back yard. My gardening stuff isn’t here yet, give me a couple of months and it will be beautiful!