New friends

Ok, I know I've been super sparatic at updating my blog, but this time I have something awesome to say. I have made a new friend. She's pretty awesome and kind of has a similar life as me. She grew up as a Military brat (Marines, not AF Spec Ops but still badass). Her husband is a Captain in the same course as mine, he was also in the Cav like mine before becoming an officer, like mine. We both want to be apart of a flash mob (which actually got us talking lol) and we have the same similar complaints about Army life while both being super proud and happy to be part of the Army life. To think, I've waited my whole life for someone like her!! haha!

Seriously though, to finally find a friend who can relate to almost everything is pretty fantastic. Don't get me wrong, I love my friends. Meg and Liz are crazy awesome. Megan and I can talk about everything and it doesn't ever get weird (and by everything I mean all that girl stuff and guy stuff and random stuff) and Liz and I talk about so much, but can we relate to everything? No. Can we expect anyone else to relate to who you are as a person? No but having someone come super close is pretty awesome, you have to admit.

Let's call her "Bee". Bee is very cool and very fun it seems. What excites me most is that we'll both be in the FRG together (and we both hate the Virtual one). Our husbands will be in class together and we will finally have a wife in the same unit as ourselves who doesn't give a crap about rank or ... let's call it Officer Wife politics (or as I've affectionately referred to it in the past "Petty Army Wives"). The best part is: we're going to have dinner together next week and meet in person.

See, I added this group on Facebook (or as I call it in my phone and to people in my daily life: Crackbook)  dedicated to the Army Wives here to make friends or at the very least find out what's what about this new post and after saying I wanted to have a playdate (which I did... yesterday, I guess since it's after midnight here) I added a bunch of wives. Anyways, tonight I was watching Greek (go ahead, laugh, I enjoy cheesy things like that), I saw a flash mob in a dance contest and started youtubing and went on Crackbook saying that I wanted to do one. Well, after a couple hours, Bee told me she knew someone who did them and that we should talk. One thing led to another and we started agreeing with pretty much everything the other said about this and that ranging from everything to hating the rank-pulling wives and the wives who belittle brats because we obviously "don't know anything." It was awesome to talk to someone. Then Bee asked me to be her bff saying "I'm going to be cheesy and ask you to be my bff." Of course I said yes, because HELLO, SHE'S AWESOME! And we arranged to have dinner next week, exchanged numbers and plan on doing dinner next week.

I really am excited by this. I mean, it's been so long since I met someone that I can really be friends with. Don't get me wrong, I still love the girls I met at Fort Polk, but I wasn't really close to any of them, even though I wanted to be. But here, I have an opportunity to build a really good friendship, hopefully a lifetime friend, which these days, let's face it, is a pretty rare thing.

So I am happy and I'm excited and I can't wait to have dinner with Bee. I can't wait to find out what this place will hold next.

Much Love.

Army wives, fact and fictional

Army Wives premiered tonight. It's a great show, but it doesn't always accurately show what the Army is really like. Sure, they get alot right, they even teach things to civilians that I wish they all knew but it's not always that simple. Needless to say, the premiere of season 6 was pretty awesome and I was really glad when Denise lived, when she woke up. She's my favorite Character on the show and if I had to be like any officer's wife, I would choose her.

Tomorrow is my last dental surgery. Thank God! I'm so ready for it all to be done. I definitely don't want to go through it again and Lily has her appointment on the 22nd. Right before we are out of here. I'm ready for all this to be done, for us to get to our next post and just to get settled in. I really, really hate PCSing.

The stress of moving, the stress of dental appointments, the stress of everything is just getting to me and I doubt I'll get pregnant this stressed out. And I just really need to get this done.

I need to get moved and I need to get all of this done so I can move on with our lives, so I can get us settled.  Being an Army wife (a real one) is hard, especially during a PCS. Dealing with stuff and movers and the living without things, changing your address, seeing friends one last time before you leave... The rush to pick up medical records, dental records, childcare records, find a new house, get the internet, cable, electricity turned on... send a million emails and make a million phone calls just to make sure your address is updated on everything, get kids signed up for school, preschool, doctors, dentists, etc... it's so stressful and so hard but this is the Military and this is what wives do. This is my job. And I have to do what's best for my family.

I need this to be done so I can finally feel at peace... I'm so ready.

Love,
Leah

Don't wear his rank

I love my husband. When I met him, I remember thinking "I can't fall for this guy. He might be perfect but he's an officer and he's about to deploy in a few months." You see, I'm an enlisted man's daughter, who grew up with rank segregation. I knew that officers were uptight and high strung. I knew that as someone who had grown up enlisted that I would always have a problem with that attitude.

Already I had a wife of a 1LT give me the officer's wife rundown. I was shocked and appauled considering how I don't only care about my husband's career enough to have a public face around his co-workers and superiors but I care enough not do have fun the way I used to, before I became his wife. I never want to be the officer's wife who has a stick up her butt, who acts like her husband is better than everyone else, who thinks she's better than other wives because of her husband's rank. Because she's not. He's not. I respect everyone but I know for a fact that no one, no matter the rank, is any better than anyone else.

I am a TSgt's daughter, first and foremost. I have enlisted friends, I have enlisted brothers. I married an officer but it wasn't because of his rank or even that he was in the Army (although, for me, it was a plus). I love my husband for the man he is, the fact that he's an officer, well, it almost turned me off to who he is completely because I've only ever met a few officers before him that I liked enough to even be friends with, and never met one I wanted to be with in a romantic sense. He changed my mind about that. Partially because when he told me he was enlisted first, I thought well, he's got to be smarter than the normal officer. And it turned out he was smarter, funnier, more down to earth.

We don't like hanging out with other officers. My friends here are enlisted and although, we do know a few nice and good officers, we aren't very social with them. We like to stick around the house, hanging as a family, keeping our complaints about this and that to ourselves.

When I got the officer wife rundown, I came home and told my husband. He works with hers (they shall both remain nameless because I'm not out to start drama) and he told me it doesn't matter because what she said wasn't true. I do what I'm responsible for, showing up at functions and being part of the FRG, helping the other wives, being nice and realizing that I do represent him. So I'm a little bit more honest and blunt than most, so I'm a little more wild and free naturally. So I dye my hair bright red and wear jeans and cowboy boots with tshirts, so I am an artist and not a normal "officer's wife" that's ok with me. And, even more importantly, that's ok with my husband.

He married me knowing just about everything about me. My flaws and faults and what I could bring into our relationship. He knew that I would be a good mother with enough history to know what I was responsible for as his wife. He knew I could cook and he knew I could make him look good at certain times. I do things for him because I love him. I represent him at different functions because that's what I'm supposed to do. And he knew the rest, the fact that I swear more than most girls, the fact that I'm more comfortable with a firearm in my hands in the woods than I am with a bunch of ladies discussing how to decorate an Army function. He knows who I am absolutely and I don't hide that from him.

So having another wife, especially one that has less history than I do, tell me that I'm not representing him properly, when my husband has never once complained or even let on that he was unhappy with how I behaved or acted in front of his co-workers and superiors, lets me know that she spoke out of line and she judged me based on my hair, my clothes and my 'don't-give-a-damn-what-you-think' way that I walk and talk. I don't give a damn but when it comes to my husband, I do. I'm a damn good wife and a damn good mother. I can make it through the rough patches that a Military life undoubtedly has in store and I've been through the absolute worse as a daughter. I dress up nice, put a sweet smile on my face, and can hold a conversation with the Lt. Col. of our unit and then have a nice chat with one of the lower enlisted soldiers at the same time.

It doesn't really matter about rank, what matters to me is the person wearing the rank or the person who stands beside him/her. If someone is a Lt. Col and an asshole, I'm not going to talk to him/her much, but if his wife is sweet, doesn't wear his rank, acts like a proper Army wife and carries herself with dignity, then I will like her. If a Sgt's wife wears his rank and acts superior to those who are below her husband and their wives/husbands, well I'm going to dislike her. That's just the way it is.

The wife who gave me the rundown will probably never read this blog, because we aren't friends, but if she were to ever run across it. I would love to tell her that she's in the wrong and that her wearing his rank, acting like she earned it... well, she's acting far too superior for her own and her husband's good. I may not do anything to harm her family by complaining to my husband, but I'm sure I'm not the first wife she's talked to, which means I won't be the last. One day, she's eventually going to start something with someone else, who won't be as good about letting go.

To other wives who read this, and even the girlfriends, please know, that your husband or boyfriend's rank is his. You didn't earn it and you don't deserve to wear it or act like it's yours. You may have stood beside him and given him unconditional love and supported him and made sacrifices for him, but you agreed to that and you also agreed to help his career any way you could. And wearing his rank, well, to be honest, I've seen it hurt relationships and his career. You don't want to be that wife.

Anyways, I was just thinking about that today and I thought I'd share my thoughts on the matter.

Much love.

Good to bad to good again.

Today was almost an absolutely terrible day. I had a horrible wake up in the middle of the night (which I explained on my 3am blog) but I had woken up later in a pretty decent mood. I had cuddled with my husband for over an hour extra (since PT was canceled) and had coffee brewing when I got up. All in all, a great start to the day. Made some calls that were practically useless then got the mail. The mail had my kids citizens born abroad paperwork returned to me because I hadn't reported them to the embassy (even though I had tried several times to do) when they were born. I then spent 40 minutes listening to a phone ring trying to call the State Department only to be told that I had to return to Canada to go to the Embassy to get it done. Are you kidding? Anyways, we've come up with a different plan and all will be well there.

My husband, in every attempt to cheer me up, brought home pizza to bake in the oven, let me relax and then we bought Kindles. The Kindle Fire and the Kindle Touch along with a few novels I've been wanting to buy for a while on the Kindle. I downloaded the Kindle app to my phone so I could start reading them and am in a pretty good mood now. I don't know what I would do without Steve. He is literally my source of comfort, security and strength. Before him, I survived, and it's my instinct to find a way to survive without help, but now that we're married, he allows me to vent and get it out so I can live again. And that's what I'm doing. I'm living.

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment with the kids going to the CDC in the afternoon for a few hours so I can relax at the appointment and only worry about myself. Then on Wednesday, I have my back appointment (thank God!!) and the kids will be in the CDC again for even more hours. I am not looking forward to the procedure, but I am glad that I won't have to worry about them.

Thursday is Lily's birthday and she has Dance Class that afternoon, followed by Spegetti and cake and a small gift from Mom and Dad and one from Bubba to celebrate. Her party is Saturday.

Friday they have a dental appointment in Alexandria and I'm going dress shopping for the 1MEB Sweetheart Ball on the 3rd of Feb. I can't wait. It's the first Army ball since we've gotten married that we get to go to and I'm excited to dress up and spend some alone time with my hubby. I even had a few wives volunteer to babysit that night for me that aren't part of the 46th or any of the Companys bellow it.

Saturday is Lily's party and we have over 25 kids coming!! It will be alot of fun packed into three hours and I just hope my back can handle it. Otherwise, I'm going to be ready to cry by the end of the day. But with Steve, I'm sure he'll make sure I get to sit down as much as possible and do the majority of the work. My ex used to say he was the guy who got shit done, but he wasn't. Steve is. Steve pretty much wills something to happen and it does. He might have to work at it but eventually he gets his way. And I'm so grateful for that. I love him beyond belief.

I couldn't live without my husband. Without him, I'd be merely surviving. Sometimes, I have to remember that because I don't think I always appreciate what he gives me and I need to. I need to remember to be grateful for the love he gives me, I need to remember all that he does for me.

Love,
For Now and Forever,
Leah

Birthday dinner

Tonight, I really had the happiest birthday I've had in years. It's still 3 days to go but Becca and Pody hosted a joint birthday dinner for Catie and me. It was great. Becca made steaks just for the birthday girls but tons of other great food too. We had a fire pit going and then the birthday cake.... She made us both Penis cakes. And everyone sang to us, Token, Palmer, Chewy, Sarah, Pody, Becca, Steve and yes, my kids too (they got cupcakes, not the penis cake and they had no idea about it just so you know). Everyone had a great time and we each got some candles that smell delicious from Becca. She's like the mother hen of the group and we love her dearly. I love her dearly. She's the best!

Catie and I talked and honestly, I really like her. She just turned 22 and is a fellow army wife. Her husband and Steve were deployed together. I really enjoy her company. Last night we sang Kareokee together at the VFW. "Hit me baby one more time" but we sang it as "Give me rogane one more time" to Pody. He's a great guy too, Becca's funny, offbeat husband. 

Anyways, it was a wonderful night, with wonderful people and I can honestly say this is the happiest I have ever been. I am loved, I have great friends, I have a wonderful family. I have an amazing life. 

Mine is the white plate, Catie's is the green plate.

Cutting the tip off.

 Steve had a ball and I ate the tip :) 

Well, lots of love,
For now and Forever,
Leah