I added “Mommy Help” to the left there. I just compiled some main dishes and shopping list for the girls lunches. I hope it can help some looking for ideas outside the square sandwiches. I know I need help in this area. I have only a few ideas but now I have a small list to refer to when I really need the help. I also want to get into packing a Bento style lunch for my girls. Bento looks like so much fun for the accessory lover in us all :). Check out Bento on Ebay, Lunch in a Box, Just Bento and Bento pictures at Flickr. As you can see so many things can be packed in these cute boxes, it’s really the limit of your imagination. I hope I can post pictures here when I start. I want to start tomorrow but Walmart didn’t and the local Asian Market had only one really ugly green set (really odd). I have read to check and see if Dollar Tree has any boxes. I hear they generally have a few. We’ll see. I may just start with Gladware and purchase some cute accessories.

Also check out this cute video that this little did: The Learning Bento. Too cute

Another thing under “Mommy Help” is a chore chart section. I don’t have anything up there yet. I would really love to get ideas, pictures, etc. of what other mothers do in their homes. I don’t care if it is shared or posted on your own blogs. Why not have all the sources available. I have older children and if I could just find somebody who has ideas after toddler hood that would be wonderful. Soon I will be working mommy outside the home and I would like to know how they accomplish getting house tasks done. How do you get your husband to take his Boots upstairs and hang his ACU top somewhere other than the kitchen chair… LOL. That needs to be addressed under “Wife Help”… LOL

I don’t normally post a lot of mom stuff, I like to think I have other things going in my life but let’s face it, I have three children, the subject is bound to come up. Along with my pets, husband, parents, Army life, politics, fashion, etc. etc. I hope you all have a productive day.

How do we keep our children on track and our homes? We do chore charts and routine is a huge part of this crazy house. There are so many families doing this yet when looking up charts and ideas there are not many who are sharing. I would have thought there were many families sharing their systems. Even if it’s just a list, a picture (clear picture), allowing others to download their digital charts etc. etc. but no, there is not much out there being shared. I think we should all share these things and help each other. I am tired of paying for plans and charts that just do not work in a real family. It’s a good idea then reality sets in. So do you have a system? Share it, leave a comment and I will make a master list, then we can all link to each other so other families (even those with out children) can get some resources. It’s amazing that this hasn’t been done. Or has it and I am missing out?

I have found blank charts but I want to see it in use. How the set up is at home etc. etc. So to make sure I’m putting my money where my mouth is, here is our Sunday Routine. I also have my chore charts saved as an image. They are the “wallpaper” on the family PC. I change the wallpaper at night to show the morning chart and again after I drop them off at school to show the evening chart. So I don’t hear “I lost my chart” or the crumble it up temper tantrum that has occurred around here.

I made chore cards too the other day. I’ll get those put up too if anybody is interested.

Wednesday Maverick had shoulder surgery. While he rested after his surgery the girls and I went downstairs to get his prescriptions filled. As most of you know you sit in a very crowded area with disgruntled people waiting to get their meds and get the hell out of dodge. You are also familure with this sound: Now serving B1098 at window number two, Now serving A1224 at window number eight. Our oldest daughter *A1* turned and said “Did she say B or D?” and replied “I believe she said B” A1 says “Well why doesn’t she say Bravo1098 instead of just B” I grinned at my twelve year old daughter’s HOOAH through osmosis moment and asked “So they should use Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta too?” She looked at me like “DUH” and said “Yes then you would at least know which they were calling”.

Maverick had his HOOAH moment too. His HOOAH moments are not through osmosis but actual thought patterns. Which, to me, seem just as “eek” as it slowly sneaking in. He was asleep in the hospital bed and I told the girls “Come here and watch this” I leaned over and very nicely and sweetly said “Maverick, Maverick, Honey wake up” and all I got in response was eye movement under his lids. Then I said “-insert rank & last name here-” and his eyes were wide open. *sigh* There is no hope for this man.

We haven’t.

ARMY OF ONE
Author unknown

I’ve noticed in my present job, there is a tiny quirk.

There’s no respect at all and it’s not considered work.

Well, I am here to show you another point of view, and give you an idea of what I really do!

Here’s my job description and to better understand,
it’s written in the language of the Army Man.

I’m the IG, complaints come to me.

I am the Medic, I bandage skinned knees.

I’m the Legal Office and the courts-martial, too.

I decide the punishment, how much and on who,
I’m Health: Welfare, inspecting for junk, and the 1SG checking the bunk.

I’m also Supply, in charge of food, clothes, house wares, diapers, toys, heaven only knows.

I’m the MP, who secures the door, I’m also the PVT who GI’s the floor, I’m the Mess SGT who cooks all the meals.

I’m TMP in charge of the wheels.

I’m MWR planning all the fun and I am the Bugler, announcing the “day is done”.

I’m the KP, who does all the dishes, I am the DA who hears all your wishes.

I’m the CQ and the Fireguard, too, there isn’t that much that I don’t do.

I’m the instructor too, you see,
because what is learned is taught by me.

I’m the Squad Leader, who knows his troops well,
sometimes the Drill SGT who really can yell.

I’m the S4, S1, 2, 3, just about everything must come through me!
Appropriations, taskings, commitments too, I’m responsible for all we do.

I never go to battle, and AR of some sort,
but you can count on me to bravely guard the fort.

I’m ALWAYS on duty, I never take leave, no Holidays off, it’s hard to believe!
I can never ETS, I signed for life, my primary MOS is Mother, my secondary is Army Wife.

For all my devotion to duty, my LES says “NO PAY DUE” because I’m not paid in money, but in the words of ‘I LOVE YOU’.

There is no reason for this list. I personally found it interesting. I do not promote Hollywood getting into politics, they are for the most part morons. However for historical documentation and my own curiousity here is the list of Celeb’s at the GOP Convention 2008 . . . .

Jon Voight
Pat Boone
Ben Stein
John Ondrasik - from Five for Fighting
Aimee Allen
Sara Evans
LeAnn Rimes
Fred Thompson
Trace Adkins
Cowboy Troy
John Rich - of Big & Rich
Gretchen Wilson
Daughtry - the entire band
Abraham Lincoln - ha ha, somebody came as him
Alice Peacock
Joe Nichols
Arnold Schwarzenegger

I’m sure there were more but I honestly didn’t look that hard. But speaking of celebrities… I watch CMT in the morning while the girls are getting ready for school and I saw in a matter of ten minutes, three videos all with a “Soldier Theme”. I have nothing against that, as long as it’s not showing our guys and gals in a bad light. There was one, and I can’t remember it, that I was like huh? What does the song have to do with the images they are showing. It seriously did not connect and I’m not normally that picky about stuff like that. Weird. Anyway the ones I can remember are:

“Just a Dream” by: Carrie Underwood - even the song makes me tear up
“Home” by: Blake Shelton - Michael Buble’s first original song, he also has it out as a single with a video
Then of course the one I can’t remember darn it…

And here I thought the Department of the Army had better things to do. Like, oh say, win a f’ing war…

A new Army message defines the wear policy of the new Army Service Uniform and gives “bridging” strategy for transition to the new uniform. The new Army Service Uniform will replace the white, blue and green service uniforms. Soldiers are expected to posses the entire uniform by July, 2014. The two key components of the uniform, the coat and slacks, are expected to cost around $140, or $200 with modifications. Enlisted Soldiers will receive an increase in their annual uniform allowance to help offset the cost of the uniform. For more information, visit the U.S. Army Service Uniform webpage.

First we go to European useless ass berets that everybody hates and isn’t even American made. Now we’re going to try and look like we’re an entirely different branch of the military. Who comes up with this shit? They just changed the material of the class A’s. It’s freakin’ Mega-tor and Mega-T, who freakin’ cares. Win the war first then we’ll talk fashion.

I just want to let the world know how wonderful Champagne is. Even if it is just an American Sparkling Wine that mimics Champagne. Go have yourself a mimosa and tell me if it isn’t true X’s and O’s Dolls, X’s and O’s…

“The night they invented champagne
It’s plain as it can be
They thought of you and me
The night they invented champagne
They absolutely knew
that all we’d want to do
Is fly to the sky on champagne
And shout to everyone in sight
That since the world began
no woman or a man
has ever been as happy as we are tonight!”

I have stopped visiting TrueMilitaryWivesConfessions.com. It’s the worst site ever and in no way is for True Army Wives. It’s full of simple minded idiots, I cannot believe how much time I have wasted on that site. I don’t confess, I have left simple advise and was done with it. So it’s been nearly two weeks since I visited the site and honestly my life hasn’t been better or worse, no impact on my life what so ever.

What I was originally going to start talking about was a conversation I had with my friend “B”. I was telling her how at age 19 Maverick and I moved to our first duty station, Fort Story, VA. I thought anybody 25 and older knew everything and had it all figured out. Then I got to know them and realized they had nothing figured out and at 19 I was a tad more together than they. Now here I sit at around their age (a lady never tells) and I see new wives all the time and some actually think I have it all figured out. Well I don’t. And any other “seasoned wife” reading me, you know damned well you don’t either. We may not be all wide-eyed and wet behind the years as when we first started our journey but let’s not kid ourselves, we’re still stumbling along the ins and outs of military life.

As I said I was going to start with that and started thinking about all the so called “advise” left at the above mentioned site. It’s full of women who think they have it all figured out and live a righteous life. Well it’s all B.S. and I seriously believe we all know it and that’s why some of us come off as hard nosed bitter hags ’cause we’re still flailing our arms around trying to keep our balance ourselves.

Go have a nice cup of tea and a cake. For me I think I need a drink.

I wrote an entire post a few weeks ago and WordPress or Yahoo ate it, I don’t know what happened. Anyway I think I will touch on it again ’cause I’m in that kind of mood.

Like many people I can flip a coin of love and hate on any given day and that will tell me how I feel about the military. Lately I have had a constant flip of hate. I don’t want to go on post, hear anything about Army, or they ( you know them, they, their, the invisible folk in green) and of course I do not want to hear the word deployment, that’s a big no no. I feel like many, that we give and give and lately I am just tired.

Sometimes however I flip the coin and there I am at an AFTB Class, or I am heading an FRG and I am looking at a new wife like “poor thing, you will learn some day”. Heck I will even defend the military and their strange kooky ways. It gets harder and harder for that 50/50 chance of which way that coin will land. I am beginning to think it’s a one sided coin. At least lately. However like everything else this too will pass and I may find myself at a bake sell wearing the unit pin and laughing with others. Until then I leave quoting Jack Sparrow “Gentlemen, I wash my hands of this weirdness.”