Wordless Wednesday - Too cute for words

Deployment - Fun Money

The above picture is the reason for my post.

Someone out in the interwebs land was brought here asking the question "Average amount of money a sailor spends on deployment?"

I can not answer the average but I can tell you what works for me! 

When my hubster and I first went through port calls we set a certain amount of funds per port. If you read my post about the challenge of deployments then you would have known there was something in there about communication and money. 

For us we set an amount of $250. If it is gone with his first tour, it is gone. Most places the USD goes rather far and we have never had an issue. Now that we are in a situation that we are more stable we sometimes alot a bit more. 

If you are aware of family separation pay (Navy, not sure about other branches) then you would know that is also $250. In my personal opinion our husband (or wife) is away from home. They deserve a nice dinner or drink (no matter how bad YOU want one too!) and that amount of money will get at least one of those! 

We also communicate about this subject a lot. Seeing that I have the kiddos at home my hubby never wants us to go without so he can have fun. There have been situations where $250 just does not go as far as you would think. For example, Singapore. While for $100USD you would get $140SGD things there are very expensive. It is not a cheap place to visit. Then there are places for port calls that $250USD would last a long long time!

I also take into consideration how my husband will get around. Will he rent a car? Will he take a taxi? Those are not cheap. 

There is really no average. I think it is what works for you and your significant other decide.

To talk or not to talk....

Is that really the question?

I get a lot of questions about how my son is doing. The most common question I get is how is HE adjusting to having a new baby in the house?! What, wait! What about me! I have three babies all 2 years apart and no one cares about me!

Yeah, yeah, yeah it's normal!

Prince is actually doing awesome! He is doing super well in speech. His vocabulary is through the roof.... When he talks! For the most part he does talk, he does use words. There are those other times that really leave us puzzled. His confidence levels are sometimes lacking. At least that is what I hope it is.

When he gets frustrated and upset is when I have the issues. It is hard to determine what is three year old boy behavior and what is SPD related. We will be receiving some new therapy for that in a couple of weeks.

Prince will be starting school after this school districts spring break. He will be going twice a week for two hours. I am a bit uneasy about it since there are so many kids in the class room. We got a chance to meet his teacher Friday. That was nice. She seems like a sweet lady.

He was also accepted into a summer school program at the school which is five days a week. Hopefully that will help him with social skills and proper problem solving.

We are excited for him. Hopefully all of this will lead up to a confident little dude so he can go to the preschool Princess attends this next school year!

Food Revoultion- Homemade Chicken Nuggets

This weekend I watched Jamie Oliver's show Food Revolution. Rather eye opening. I can say that I will not let my kids purchase school lunch until I eat it first!

When I was in school, up until 9th grade, my Granny and Mom packed my enormous lunch. This lunch would most certainly not leave me hungry. Granny mastered how to make my lunch creative. Amazingly she masted to make soups stay warm until lunch. Lots of trial and error I am sure.

With Princess going to a private school I really do not worry about lunches. I pack her a lunch daily and they provide a snack. These snacks are things I would give her anyway. Infact, they got her to eat celery! (Celery stalks filled with cream cheese topped with raisens!, whatever works!)

Since I have the 3 kids there are somethings that are just automatic for us, my kids will have a lunch made from home. It is cheaper, healthier and lets me know they are getting what they truely like with items I believe are healthy for them. Seeing as the kiddos are sensitive to things it also makes me feel better in that department.

Since I have 3 kids and most of the time it is just me, there will be times where I will need help and knowing that school lunches are there was a bit refreshing. Until now.

If you have not watched this show you should start. It makes me very thankful that my parents took the time out of their days to make my healthy lunch.

I was really preplexed as to some of the things that they fed these kids. Mashed potatoes that came in balls, chicken nuggets that were not really chicken but the entire chicken smushed and mushed, breakfast pizza, pizza for lunch! AYFKM?! WOW!

I understnad standing and peeling potatoes for 450 kids is a but absurd but just as some machine can make those balls, one can peel and cut. Chicken nuggets it seems that they are doing it purely for cost savings.

So that really got me to thinking. I try to make sure the kids eat healthy. Veggies are important to them. They would eat them over meat.
What makes it hard for me is cooking for basically two adults. The kids do not eat to much, so deployment times are hard.  I am sure they ate more corn dogs that I would like this time, more frozen waffles then ever before!

As I was doing this thinking I was getting ready for dinner. I had chicken out and frozen fresh carrots.

The kids got homemade chicken nuggets with steamed carrots. It was a hit!

Super easy!!! 

I felt better after dinner. They gobbled them up and wanted seconds!

So here is my recipe. Enjoy!

1 chicken breast  1.5in cubes
Tip: Cut chicken while it is about 50% still frozen, makes it easier to cut because it does not move around)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
bread crumbs
dry Ranch dressing
Parmesan cheese

Mix egg and milk together in bowl

Combine bread crumbs. dry Ranch dressing and parmesan cheese. 

I did not really measure. I just poured them out until it looked like the right amount. 

Because I was not really prepared to make something breaded I did not have a bag around so I covered them by hand. 

A faster way to do this is to add all ingredents in a bag and shake! 

I put them on a foil lined baking sheet (easier clean up!) and baked at 350 for 30 minutes. I turned half way through.

They were yummy and all gone after dinner. 

Enjoy, if you have some free time DVR Food Revolution and you will be amazed!

Homecoming, My one regret

My first Navy spouse deployment was in September 2006. Two days after our second anniversary. I was about 5 months pregnant with Prince and Princess was 18 months or so. I had had a really rough pregnancy so I decided to close up our house, we lived in housing at the time, and head home. Home is where my mom lives, across the US in lower Florida.  Yep, that far away.

I went to Florida so I could be with my parents, good thing I did. Aside of the fact I was spoiled beyond belief, I had a rough pregnancy. I had weekly appointments and was on bedrest at 28 weeks. My parents took care of me. I never had a second thought about my choice.

I got monthly updated from the ombudsmen and updates from my husband. I was not apart of the FRG (Family Readiness Group) because I was not local. I was pretty much kept out in the dark of any homecoming events. It was a bummer but that is life.

My husband returned March 13, 2007 not to me with his newborn son and daughter, but a dear friend.

He was the first guy off the ship. He had a newborn baby who had a rough entry into the world. We should have been there.

See, I had a rough recovery with Princess, even after 2 months I was still hurting. I could not imagine traveling after she was born. So we decided not to take the chance and he would fly out to help me. We had a great vacation in the Orlando area. That part was worth it.

I promised myself that for my hubster's next deployment we would do what we could. So I have been doing what I could.

I along with 2 other ladies helped build the lei for the ship... I involved the kids the second night. This was quite a chore considering this thing is 75 feet!

I am planning our outfits and what we will do. A lot better then planning who will get him from the airport!

The one thing I tell anyone who decided to go home for deployment-No matter how you have to make it happen, make it happen and be there when your guy returns home. I will never miss another homecoming if I am able!

Our countdown has began! We can not wait to meet him at the pier!

Quotable Thursday #33 - Pets

Welcome to Quotable Thursday! 

This week's topic is Pets!

I wanted to find some quotes about pets because during this deployment Kipper has been my sleeping buddy! He gets on my nerves at times but when it comes to night time he is my cuddle bug! He is truely a great dog and takes with the babies dish out to him! 

• If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater, suggest that he wear a tail. Fran Lebowitz 
• If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer. Alfred North Whitehead
• My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to 99 cents a can. That's almost $7.00 in dog money. Joe Weinstein 
• If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. Mark Twain
• A boy can learn a lot from a dog: obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down.  Robert Benchley 
• Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that's how dogs spend their lives. Sue Murphy

Prince - Broken Leg update

As you might know Prince broke his leg. So for the last 3 weeks he has had a cast up to his thigh that he is not supposed to walk with. I guess they did what they thought would keep him off of it, they bent his leg at the knee. It did not work.

He seriously walked off part of his cast!

On Monday we had an appointment to get his cast removed and he would get what they call a "half cast". Just a cast on half of his leg. This of course is saying the xrays look good.

We got there got his xrays and got his cast removed. 

He did pretty good. This guy was the same one that put his cast on. So he remembered him and was cool with him. He did have to rock out to his music to tune out the saw. 

The nurse washed off his leg with warm alcohol and water solution. Prince did okay. He really didn't mind it actually. Just weird. I will say this much, when a cast is removed do not let your child itch their leg. Prince now has a major rash and irritation. Hopefully it will not bother him with the new cast. Live and learn. I had no idea. 

He is showing off his cast.. He wanted to save it for Daddy... So that is what we will do!  We had to wait for the folks to get back from lunch to get his new cast. So we waited....

And waited.... Thank goodness for dummies and stickers. You know the Military Motto "Hurry up and wait!"

There we go! I guess they restocked colors because this time we were able to get BLUE instead of Royal Blue! 

The doc (dude to the left of the pic) gave me the results of his xray at this point. From what he stated, they look good and he is happy with his progression. He also said that because Prince is not good with his communication that he wants to put the half cast. I feel better having that on his leg anyway. 

This is a two week cast. Which is perfect because Daddy will be home shortly after it is off! YAY! 

There you have it! We are able to go back to our regular lives. No jumping off the couch though!

Works for me Wednesday - Washable Fabric Marker

This week I am going to share a little tip that works for me and my wallet.

Instead of buying fabric marking pens I use Crayola WASHABLE Markers.

I make sure they say washable!

I choose a color that is close to the color of the fabric. For white fabric I use yellow. 

The marker one the fabric. 

Then I just cut out my pattern and sew. 

I wash before use of course. 

This is what works for me! 

You can view other Works For Me Wednesdays over at 

We Are That Family

Wordless Wednesday: Throwback, Princess

Munchkin- 7 months

Munchkin is now 7 months old. She is such a sweet baby, total morning gal. Loves to hang out and play for a few hours before she starts demanding attention.

Munchkin, currently has two bottom teeth and two more are coming in. This little one does not handle pain well. My previous two babies would do great with Hylands Teething tablets, not Munchkin. I have even bought Hylands Teething Gel, it didn't work. I broke down and bought Oragel and give her motroin and she does well.



Munchkin is mobile now! She crawls and gets to where she needs to go. She is able to crawl but a majority of the time she scoots her head on the floor without picking it up. She stood at the couch for the first time today. I have mixed feelings about that, we have a large opening to our kitchen.

We are still nursing. She really is a champ. She would be more of a champ if she nursed anywhere, but I guess I can't be to picky. She loves to eat big girl food and loves her veggies. We have another veggie lover on our hands ;)

From what we can tell as of now she is on track. She is very vocal and babbles. She laughs and can carry on a "conversation" with her toys.

For a little munchkin that surprised our family, she is filled with so much love and laughter. I am so glad that I was blessed to have this sweet little girl come into my life.





-- Post From My iPhone

Quotable Thursday #32 Communication

Welcome to Quotable Thursday!

This week in honor of some new friendships and relationships I am doing quotes on Communication. 

I am a big fan of no matter the relationship there should be decent communicaton. 

Lord knows that there is no way I would ge through deployment without wonderful communicaton! 

Enjoy!

• Lying is done with words and also with silence.   Adrienne Rich
• Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to speak it to?    Clarence Darrow
• When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.     Ernest Hemingway 
• The problem with communication ... is the illusion that it has been accomplished.    George Bernard Shaw
• It is very hard to say the exact truth, even about your own immediate feelings – much harder than to say something fine about them which is not the exact truth.     George Eliot

Works for Me Wednesday - Juice

 

This weeks WFMW I am sharging with you a little cheating tip that I use. 

My kiddos still get water downed juice. I believe that it is better for them. 

I usually save at least one or two juice containers and make 2-3 bottles of "juice" with that. 

Now that I have the Munchkin, she can get a bit of flavoring in her water. That is just what it is. 

Keeps it cold and saves a tad bit of time.

Works for me, saves money too!

For more WFMW head over to We Are That Family.

Military Monday- Military Discount list

I wanted to start my own Military Monday. All about the military. I want to feature one company, business (online or local for me) that is owned my a military spouse or offer a military discount. I think this would be a good way to get new companies out to the readers. Some I have bought from, some I will buy from. I will let you know which I have done. I look forward to sharing new business with you!

This week it will just be a list of places that offer military discount.


Remember that it never hurts to ask for a discount. Even if they do not have a policy towards it I have noticed that some will offer it. Especially when you are not in a military town.

Restaurants ·        Arby's ·        A&W ·        Back Yard Burgers ·        Burger King ·        Captain D's ·        Chick-Fil-A ·        Cotton Patch ·        Denny's ·        Dunkin' Donuts ·        IHOP (20 percent discount with military identification) ·        Java Cafe ·        KFC ·        Long John Silver ·        Pancho's Mexican Buffet ·        Pizza Hut ·        Quizno's ·        Sizzler ·        Sonic ·        Taco Bell ·        Whataburger Services ·        AT&T ·        California Cryobank ·        Geico ·        Jiffy Lube ·        Meineke ·        Sears Portrait Studio Travel and Leisure ·        Blockbuster ·        Movie theaters ·        Ripley's attractions and museums ·        Professional Sports teams

Products ·        Apple Computers ·        AutoZone ·        Barnhill's ·        Bass Pro Shop ·        Bath and Body Works ·        Big 10 Tires ·        The Buckle ·        Champs Sports ·        Copeland's Sports ·        Dell ·        The Discovery Channel Store ·        Dress Barn ·        The Finish Line ·        Foot Action ·        Footlocker ·        Gadzooks ·        GNC ·        Goody's ·        Great Party ·        Happy Harry's ·        Hot Topic ·        Jockey ·        Lerner ·        Michael's ·        NAPA Auto Parts ·        New York & Company ·        Pac Sun ·        Payless Shoes ·        Play It Again Sports ·        Pure Beauty ·        Quizno's ·        Sally Beauty Supply ·        Spencer's Gifts ·        Suncoast ·        Timberland Outlets ·        Wilson's Leather

Cell Phone Service Discount

All Federal employees are able to get a 15% discount on their personal cell phones by calling their carrier and mentioning the "Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 - Discount to Federal Employees Past and Present."

Cingular - 800-319-6393

Sprint - 877-812-1223

T-Mobile - 866-646-4688

Nextel - 800-639-6111

Verizon - 800-865-1825

You will need to know the military member's supervisor's name, phone number, and full address, so that his/her military status can be verified.

Oh the joys of broken bones

So my little guy broke his leg, he was in a splint for my last update. Now he has a cast.

Before I get into his cast let me tell you a lesson I learned. I should have known this. Really, I should have. I wanted to trust the emergency process given this is an injury that needs attention.

When I was discharged with E (Prince) his discharge papers told me the referral was to take him to Children's Hospital for his plaster cast. Those papers were to be faxed to his pediatricians office. Why else would they need to know who his ped is? Well I call and make the appointment. They day of the appointment they office calls and asks me for a authorization number. That right there tells me none of the above was done... I call everyone and there is not one person to help me. No one answers. 

I panic

I wanted him to go to Children's because I did not have good luck at the Naval Hospital myself as a kid. Plus, I want kid docs working with him. No such luck at this point. He was unwrapping the splint. He wanted it off! 

So, I called the Naval Hospital and they got him in. 

I was really nervous because he doesn't do well with people touching him. I took all his thigs with him that keep him calm. Including headphones. (post to come about that) I have to say, he did really good. He spaced a few times, that is better then screaming. He did good though. He made me proud. 

So, how is he?

I was told that he will have a full leg cast for 3 weeks and should not walk on it. After those 3 weeks he will have a half leg that he CAN walk on. 

E has what they call a Toddler's Fracture, this is something he will recover from. I asked a lot of questions, probably some stupid ones, I left there feeling much better. Most of all I left there with his cast! 

Even though E is not supposed to walk on the cast, he is. He is getting around just fine. He crawls, scoots or walks. He is doing really good.The only complaint that he has is taking a bath. 

This mom made it happen!

See, E loves his water. Loves his bath. It really relaxes him if something is wrong. Especially if he is having a major melt down. It helps him get out of it a bit faster, calmer. Many people told me about the trash bag thing. I was not for it. I was to worried that water would get in and we would have to go back to the hospital. Someone mentioned to me something called Dry Pro. This was a tad bit expensive. Way more then a trashbag. I feel much better then the thought of even using a trashbag. 

The feeling of this is like rubber. It is rubber. It is a bit tight on his upper thigh but I believe it needs to be so that there is a seal, there is a pump to get out all the air. Amazing I tell ya! 

 

This was before I pumped out the air. It is a half size for an adult but a full size for a kiddo. 

 

After the air was pumped out. There is a bulb type pump that just get the air out. Feels a bit like the end of a turkey baster. 

 

There you have it! 

After his bath, E informed me that it he was "Having a happy day" 

There you have it! Our update on the broken leg!

Quotable Thursday #31

 

This weeks Quotable Thursday is just one quote... It is simple and says a lot!

Have a great weekend everyone

 

"A Birthmother puts the needs of her child above the wants of her heart"

Skye Hardwick

Wordless Wednesday: iPhone drawing by Princess

Busy, busy, beaver

I get the question a lot "What do you do to pass time on deployment?" Honestly, and as sad as this is to say I am really to busy to sit and think about doing this alone. I have really 3 days a week that I am sitting with nothing to do. Two of those are weekends. With Princess in school and Prince in 4 therapies a week we stay busy. I also decided that a hobby would be good. A hobby for anyone is actually a good thing.

Having three babies all 2 years apart sometimes going in public is hard. Especially with a child with SPD. I have come up with my own little system and that is what works for me. I have a lovely Sit-N-Stand stroller. Prince rides in the front and Princess stands in the back. I have them together and they have their own little spots. I wear the Munchkin in my Boba Carrier and I have free hands to do things for me.

As with any military wife, I think our nights are hardest. I contantly tell myself that no matter where he is, just at the base or halfway around the world, we both see the same stars at night.

Military Monday

I know, I know this is not Twitter ;)

I wanted to start my own Military Monday. All about the military. I want to feature one company, business (online or local for me) that is owned my a military spouse or gives a military discount. I think this would be a good way to get new companies out to the readers. Some I have bought from, some I will buy from. I will let you know which I have done. I look forward to sharing new business with you!

 

Sweet Baby Bottoms carries natural parenting items. Cloth diapers, laundry soaps, soft structured baby carriers, body soaps, and baby clothes.

SSB, is located in North County San Diego.
I purchase my Rockin Green laundry detergent for my Cloth Diapers from her. I also bought my Boba Soft Structured Baby Carrier from her.
I love my Rockin Green, honestly I could eat my laundry. I know that sounds weird but it is lovely detergent.
My Boba carrier is a life saver. I bought it to carry Munchkin, it is seriously a dream. My Boba carrier evens out the weight and I do not just her on my shoulders. Today at the zoo I carried around Prince and he is 40 solid pounds. It was really great. I love my carrier and I will never own another brand.

Please click on Sweet Baby Bottoms picture link above and take a browse around.

For my fellow Military folks you can enter the code MILIMOM for 10% off your order