And the winner is...

BabyLuv!!

Congrats on winning the $25 American Express Gift Card

courtesy of Kelly Ripa and Electrolux!!

Thank you all for participating!

Adjustment

So our Soldier is home. Hubs has been home for 3 weeks now. (this post has been in save mode for 2 weeks) I'm so glad that he is home safe because that is one less worry I have to think about.  That's one less thing I have to have on my mind and that's one less time I have to wonder why he has not called in 2 days and what is happening for there to be a lack of communication.  Strangely, while he was gone, I didn't talk much about my worries.  Of course I had a lot of worries.  I knew that there were bombs going off on a regular basis not far enough away from the base.  I knew there were people being injured and attempted kidnappings going on right there where he was. I chose not to talk about these things often.  I think it was kind of a coping mechanism.  If I didn't talk about it, it wasn't a scary thing.

So now it's all over and he is home.

Now, of course, we are in an adjustment phase.  We were given classes to be prepared for this phase.  They tell the Soldiers that things are going to be different when you go home.  After a year, the spouses have developed a routine and to try not to go in and start stepping on toes.  The kids are use to there being one parent.  Go into "being a parent" again easily, giving time for the kids to adjust.

This is our first deployment, and hopefully our last.  I'm adjusting to him being here okay. He asks tons of questions that I have to get use to answering again.  When I start doing the laundry, he still takes over and finishes, just as he use to do.  Can't complain that the man does laundry.  Can, however complain that he doesn't do it my way, putting towels in with the regular clothes and not washing whites and lights separately.  AND he doesn't FOLD the laundry.  

I HATE FOLDING LAUNDRY!  

I can wash clothes all day.  Not a problem there.  But I will leave clothes in the basket for DAYS before I get around to folding them.  

YOU WANNA HELP, BUDDY?  

Let ME wash and YOU FOLD!  THAT'S a HUGE help!  I try not to say anything, though.

We are not doing great. I talked a little about our marriage and the issues here.  Funny, there really isn't much in this blog about my marriage.  Another case if me feeling like if I don't talk about it, it's not happening, I guess.  Just smile because everything is fine.  But truth is, I'm still wondering if everything really is fine. Military is hard on families.  He has been gone 3 years out of the last 7. That's a lot of time to be separated.  It's no wonder so many end in divorce.

Giveaway!

It's hot.  No, it's really hot!  In Georgia, hot is a different kind of hot.  Like, walking outside and feeling like someone turned a blow dryer on in your face type hot.

This past week, the kids and I had to find something to cool us off to try to escape to 103 degree weather.  The neighbor's pool has been a hit this week with the boys and yesterday I took them all to a friends house and let them swim while I had some grown up conversation with a few of my girls.

There are times when I just want to sit with my head in the freezer.  Now speaking of freezer let's get to that giveaway!

Kelly Ripa and Electrolux are joining forces once again to celebrate the launch of Electrolux Appliance's new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer - that's right, the familiar duo has split up. And to sweeten the celebration, they're bringing in the "Emperor of Ice Cream" Stephen Bruce, owner and founder of Serendipity 3, the landmark New York City restaurant and dessert spot, into the mix.

Kelly and Bruce teamed up earlier today to make banana splits for a cause.  And now we want you to dig in, with your virtual spoon! Starting today, at www.Kelly-Confidential.com, you can build your ultimate banana split using virtual ingredients from classic whipped cream to caramel sauce to rainbow sprinkles. For each "split", Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund as part of its $750,000 commitment to help fight ovarian cancer.   

As usual, Electrolux and Kelly find new and fun ways to say thank you to those who support this great cause. Everyone who logs on to the site and builds a split will be automatically entered for a chance to win the daily prize - $50 towards sweet summer treats - and the grand prize:  the new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer from Electrolux.  

Now, that's one great giveaway, right?  I mean, who can't use a chance to win a brand spankin' new fridge and freezer??  MEEEEEEE!

Now, just for helping out, Kelly and Electrolux are allowing me to giveaway a $25 American Express gift card to on of my lucky readers!  

  All you have to do to enter is go over to the website, www.Kelly-Confidential.com, and build your favorite banana split (remember, $1 will go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund!)  Then come back here and tell me in a comment what kind of banana split you made!  That's it!  This giveaway will close on July 25th and the winner of this giveaway will be announced shortly after.

Want extra entries?


* 1 Entry - Tweet about this giveaway with a link back to this post and leave the tweet link in a comment.

* 1 Entry -  Post to Facebook about this giveaway with a link back to this post. 
** 2 Entries - Follow my blog on the Networked Blogs link my sidebar.  

Spaghetti Tacos, hmmm.

They kids are really strange.  Their newest endeavor was spaghetti tacos.  Yeah, that's taco shells with spaghetti on them.  Okay, so the idea came form iCarly, where apparently Carly's older brother, Spencer, is the very eclectic inventor type.  Well the kids have asked me several times if I would make them spaghetti tacos and my answer has been, "Ew! No."  So it just so happened that my fridge contained left over spaghetti noodles and left over taco shells and toppings.  They were hungry.  I was in a rush to get out after lunchtime and VOILA!  They decided on Spaghetti Tacos.  Okay, Miss Missy only eats plain, dry noodles, so her Spaghetti Tacos were just that.  Noodles on taco shells.  She was in heaven!  Cam, on the other hand, is a bit more creative with his.  His included noodles, salsa, lettuce and cheese.  C.J. opted out and decided to eat a bologna sandwich.

Okay, perhaps not the most normal meal, but hey, with a picky child and a very creative one, this was a perfect chance to let them be expressive and a great way to get rid of the left overs in the fridge!

EXHAUSTED!!!

That's how I feel today after spending 3 hours in the yard.  I took advantage of the cooler weather today... it is only 84 degrees... and went out to mow the grass and pull the weeds in the yard.  I literally woke up, put on some clothes and went outside.  You see, I am down to two weeks until the husband returns from Iraq, and I don't want it to look like I haven't done ANYTHING in the yard since he has been gone.  Well I haven't, but HE doesn't need to know that!

These are all of the weeds that we pulled today....

 ...that came off off this hill.

I know that looks like crap, with the tarp showing and all that old pinestraw coming off, but that is something I'm going to tackle another day.

It was so horrible and so manual labor-ish and my manicured nails were red underneath the pink and white gel.  AND there was dirt under them.   AND I was sweaty and sweaty in places that probably shouldn't be sweating.  AND I sweat in my hair which means that I have to make time to wash it.  UHGH!  I so don't like yard work!

I am literally too pooped to pop as I lay here in my bed on my laptop wondering how I am going to get up and make it to the commissary today to shop for groceries for the block party tomorrow.  I am trying to figure out if I even want to go and pick up my birth control prescription, which is really important because, well... Hubs IS coming home in two weeks.  I'm too drained at this moment to clean anything in the house and I'm praying that NO ONE comes over today and sees my shame, as I have not monitored the cleaning of the house today and I have no idea if the boys have cleaned the bathroom or the kitchen yet.  And on top of all that, the fireworks are going on on the base tonight and that is a tradition I just never miss.  I love the fireworks display.  I guess I better get UN-EXHAUSTED and get back to work!

Happy Independence Day, Y'all!

I slept in today until 11 and it was AWE---SOME!  I usually wake up between 8 and 9:30 but today I think the fact that I go to bed after 1:30 every night for no real reason what so ever has caught up with me. 

I've become an insomniac of sorts, as going to sleep at night is kinda hard for me.  I'm tired, yes, but my mind is always still wide wake and not ready to drift off.  So I play Bejeweled on Facebook until I can't take it anymore and then I watch TV until I can't take it anymore.  When that hasn't put me to sleep, I turn off all the lights, pray for a while and lay there in the dark with my mind wandering until finally sleep takes over.  It's amazing because when Hubs was here I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, and that was usually before the 11 o'clock news.

I am really enjoying this school thing.  It really gives me a sense of independence and a sense of accomplishment.  It is amazing to me when I can focus on my Management class and understand what the book is talking about and I can relate some of the things that go on to my everyday life.  I was never much of the studious type back in high school, unless the course was Boys 101, and I never applied myself, but this has been an eye opener for and I'm now kicking myself for not thinking I could do this way before now.

So what's going on in your area for the 4th?  I've got a few plans this weekend.  I really love that the base has their Independence Day festivities on Friday this year. They always do theirs on a different day of the city because the city always has a big festival downtown and then this huge fireworks show over the river.  So the base has their carnival, concert and firework display.

Anywho, we are going to the fireworks display on Friday, visiting a friend and getting into her pool on Saturday and our neighbors are having a block party on Sunday.  I've gotta go shopping because I'm making some sides.  This should be fun because one of my neighbors has a pool and the other is renting a bounce house.  I love my neighbors.  They are so awesome.  When we first moved here, we were all a lot closer and we all would get together more often than we do now.  I think when my neighbor, Erica and her family moved to a Navy base in California, it slowed down.  She was kinda the glue that brought us all together because she was the most outgoing of us all. 

So it's PARTY TIME!  Can't wait to just enjoy myself, ya know?  Oh and the time for the soldier's return is right around the corner now!  2 weeks!  The kids are so excited!