Army Household6

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Well another week has come and gone… and of course it was another week of learning new things about our current reality. (i just love my new nifty counter )

The kids are doing pretty good… I think Becca is starting to adjust to SGT Daddy being gone and just how long he will be gone. She has started sleeping in Kiersten’s bed at night. I’m not worried (yet) she talks about the deployment and her feelings with me all the time and Kiersten doesn’t mind her being there.

I’m surprised they want to sleep together in the same bed considering the way they fight like cats and dogs during the day.

For me, it was a weird week. The reality has sunk in now and I’ve accepted it. I’m not used to having to worry about certain things like did I get everything in his package that he asked for, do I need to be moving over money to his Eagle Card for him,etc.

Speaking of the Eagle Card, let me just say that this thing is a P I T A! Why can’t they just let soldiers use their debit cards or cash downrange at the PX. The hardest part about this is making sure he has enough money in his account. For example, SGT Daddy called me the other day and said he needed some money moved over ASAP because the Eagle Card said he was overdrawn by $200! I love my husband dearly but I know he is cheap and wouldn’t spend $200 in a week. (he will admit that to you too!)

SGT Daddy and I also learned that what things are important for one are not necessarily important for another. I’m a details kind of person … I want to know the little things that happen not necessarily just the BIG things. SGT Daddy is a ” let’s hit the highlights” kind of person.

I’m sure lots of couples have had to deal with this during deployments. In non-deployment life, this is not usually a problem for us. It became a problem this week. (I won’t go into all the gory details and bore you to tears) I finally just had to let SGT Daddy know that I needed to know the details from him. It was more than just being curious about his day.. it was a way for me to still feel connected to him.

How do you stay connected to your soldier when he is downrange?

Boy ,what a couple of day huh? First Ed McMahon, former Marine and longtime sidekick of Johnny Carson passed away on Wednesday. Then yesterday I hear that Farrah Fawcett passed away as well as Michael Jackson.

When any celebrity passes away, you normally get a lot of “chatter” about them, their movies, what they did,etc. The posts about Michael Jackson were one after another glorifying this man who obsessed with plastic surgery and little boys. I actually had to turn off Twitter and Facebook because I just couldn’t stand it anymore.

I’m not saying he did not contribute to pop culture… he did. He was someone’s son, brother and father. It was just the amount of coverage this person got was seriously above and beyond. All of sudden Michael Jackson’s classic songs were the top songs downloaded on Itunes, Facebook apps were being created (”What M.J. song are you “) . Congress even went so far as to have a moment of silence in MJ’s honor. (this just sickens me) The list goes on and on ….

It got me thinking … why in the world does our society mourn our celebrities (especially a pedaphile in my opinion) but we don’t honor our troops who provide the ultimate sacrifice in the same manner. Why don’t we honor there lives like we saw yesterday?? Our troops are the real heroes that deserve that honor.

It really says a lot about our society and the media when we forgot about the people that are truly make a difference for ourselves and our children, our freedoms and our future.

What do you think ?

With Summer all but here, our girls spend alot of time outside.  They love to play outside with the other neighborhood kids.  But it never fails while they are outside having the time of their life someone always comes in with a scrapped knee, bruised elbow, or  even an occasional broken leg or arm.

I was recently contacted by After The Injury that asked me to share their great website and resources with you.  After I reviewed the site I thought wow this is really a great site and they also offer some great downloads.

So many times when our children get hurt we don’t know how to deal with the emotional and physical care our children need.  After The Injury helps you deal with all those emotional and physical cares you are unsure how to care for.

I would suggest if nothing else just bookmark the site because there might be a day when you are facing a owwie or booboo with your child and this site could offer you the resource you need.

Most of you that know me know that I don’t normally put a press release on here.  But I recently received this press release and it was right up my alley.  Plus this contest is something that I know will help so many of our soldiers and families.

AllAmericanDirect.com announces second contest giving away thousands in technology prizes to military families

Leading e-tailer hosting Laptops for Flat Tops contest for military families to improve communication with loved ones serving overseas

AllAmericanDirect.com , a leading e-commerce provider of consumer electronics and satellite services, today announces the company’s second Laptops for Flat Tops contest, which will award one laptop with an embedded Webcam (for the family) and an additional Webcam (for the soldier) to two families who have an immediate family member serving in any branch of the U.S. military overseas.

This contest arrives on the heels of April’s successful Laptops for Flattops contest, with a new twist to the submission process. June’s contest now accepts video submissions. Participants can either submit a 400 word essay or a one minute video that explains why their family deserves to win, and how a laptop can improve their lives and communication with their loved one serving overseas. Families must be able to verify their loved one’s military enlistment.

Videos can be submitted by going to www.youtube.com/grouplaptopsforflattops, joining the Laptops for Flat Tops group and uploading a one minute video. At the beginning of each video, participants should state their name, city, state, email address and telephone number.

“After hearing all the compelling stories from military families that participated in our first contest, we have become even more passionate about helping to provide more interactive means of communication for soldiers overseas,” said Mike Mountford, CEO of AllAmericanDirect.com.

Entries for the contest can be submitted as early as 12:00 AM EDT (24:00 GMT) on Monday, June 1 via allamericandirect.com/military for essay submissions and via www.youtube.com/group/laptopsforflattops for video submissions. The contest closes at 11:59 PM EDT (15:59 GMT) on Friday, July 3.

Judging will be done by a panel of three judges including: Col. (Ret.) Dale A. Kissinger, partner at MilitaryAvenue.com and a colonel (retired) in the U.S. Air Force, Mr. Scott Davis, an Air Force veteran of Operation Desert Storm and father of Army PFC Sean Davis, who is stationed in Vicenza, Italy, and is preparing for his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, and Ms. Jenna Richards, the sister of Capt. Phillip Richards and his wife Capt. Michelle Richards who are active in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and will be deployed to Iraq for their second tour of duty in September 2009.

Winners of the first contest will be announced on Monday, July 13. Families may re-submit a new essay for each bi-monthly contest if they were not previously selected. The contest will continue every other month through December 2009.

To learn more about Laptops for Flattops, visit http://www.allamericandirect.com/military. Further information on AllAmericanDirect.com’s products and services is available online at http://www.allamericandirect.com/?pr.

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About AllAmericanDirect.com
AllAmericanDirect.com is an established provider of consumer electronics and satellite services, founded in 1983 and acquired in April 2003 by CEO, Michael R. Mountford, and president & CFO, Jon K. Pardieck. AllAmericanDirect.com is a privately held national retailer of DISH Network, Verizon Wireless, HughesNet; and an e-commerce consumer electronics retailer, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. All American Direct is the sole provider of U.S. distant network television channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX) to DISH Network customers, currently serving more than 120,000 active distant network customers. For media inquiries, please contact Christy Oberley at Dittoe PR at (317)202-2280 ext. 16. To learn more about All American Direct, please visit www.allamericandirect.com .

Happy Father’s Day to SGT Daddy and all the Daddies who currently serve.

I was emailed about this and thought I’d share it with all of you! If you or someone you know, enters the contest let me know, so we’ll be sure to vote for you!!!
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USAA and U-TURN are looking for The Next Great American Road Song !!! The call for entries has begun for U-TURN’s annual Garage Band Playoff ’09, a national battle-of-the-bands competition sponsored by USAA and open to aspiring musicians and songwriters ages 13-21.

This year – in the tradition of immortal songs like Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild”, and Rascal Flatts’ “Life is a Highway” – U-TURN is looking for The Next Great American Road Song.

U-TURN’s judges are seeking original compositions that celebrate cars, driving and the freedom of the open road. Song entries can be something the artists have previously written and recorded, or a completely new creation.

If a song makes the cut, it’ll face off in a series of online, head-to-head match-ups against others… until only one song is left to be named The Next Great American Road Song.

THE GRAND PRIZE INCLUDES:

• $2,500 cash
• a professional photo and video shoot
• an in-depth interview on U-TURN’s audio podcast
• tons of free buzz on MySpace, Facebook and more!

RULES OF THE ROAD:

• Open to solo artists, groups and bands of any musical genre
• Song must be original (no covers)
• Song topic must be about cars, driving or the freedom of the open road (instrumentals OK if evokes a driving feel)
• Song must be clean/radio-friendly
• Solo artist or at least one band member must also be a USAA member
• Solo artist or all band members must be ages 13-21 (as of July 31, 2009)

DEADLINE TO ENTER AT GARAGEBANDPLAYOFF.COM IS JULY 31, 2009. VOTING BEGINS OCTOBER 16, 2009. FOR MORE INFORMATION, E-MAIL UTURN@USAA.COM .

No purchase necessary to enter or win. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.

Well today was a pretty quiet day .. the kids and I have settled into a routine which I am loving. I think that is what was bugging me so much last week. I’ve gotten pretty used to the routines that we have here around the house over the last several years. Now everything changed… this is our new “normal” now.

I’ve been staying busy planning my various personal and business projects , trying to get back to normal. I’m starting to realize there really is no ” normal ” in the Army.

One thing I can count on here at Ft Carson is drama. If its not the drama of the people in our neighborhood (think Melrose Place ) the community issues (housing issues ), or the post itself. We experienced it again first hand the other day.

Last week was filled with drama , so I thought on Monday , ok this is going to be a drama free week. Not necessarily. My friend Virginia, my girls and I were coming back from Target (big surprise there huh) and we heading to the main gate. We pull into the “DOD Tag Express Lane” and we notice there is a truck in front of us being inspected. Of course, my patience is starting to wear thin but then we notice more guards coming over to the truck inspecting the freezer in the back of the truck.

The next thing we notice the MP’s come up and tell the 2 guys in the truck to get out and put there hands on the wall. We all were shocked and amazed at what was unfolding in front of us. The two guys in front of us had a unregistered firearm, marijuana in their possesion and couldn’t tell the guards of the address they were heading too. Scary huh!

The MP’s made us all back up and go into the other lane so we could get out of there and on our way. I was never so happy to get through that gate. I was glad to see the Carson guards and MP’s doing their job and make sure the residents of Ft Carson were being protected.

Also, I heard from SGT Daddy today again. He is safely at the FOB (forward operating base) in Eastern Afghanistan, so I should be hearing from him on a regular basis from now on. I won’t post specific information here because of OPSEC… so if you want the details, call or email me.

This was our first weekend since SGT Daddy deployed so I had several things planned for us to do, to make sure the girls and I didn’t get “bored”.

On Friday, it was payday! So the girls and I headed to the mall for lunch and an afternoon of shopping. We had fun trying on clothes, looking at books, and glancing at the puppies at the pet store. I got a new bluetooth headset for my Blackberry, which I love! (review on that coming soon)

Saturday was a day of playing outside and running to the post office. SGT Daddy requested his beloved XBox to be sent along with some games,etc. We even threw some extra goodies in there for him too! I have to say I miss the xbox. I’m on the lookout for the Halo 3 Edition, so if you know of a good deal let me know!

We had gotten free tickets to the Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey Circus so we went to that on Sunday. Becca had a great time and Kiersten was her moody self. I nearly had a fit when she refused to stand up for the pledge of allegiance. After a minor attitude adjustment, she did. It was a great show, just a lot different than what I remember the circus to be. I guess when you’re a kid … everything is on a much grander scale.

Sunday night I was in a funk. I was expecting to hear from SGT Daddy by then and when I didn’t hear anything I guess I got kind of depressed. The neighbors were even having a BBQ that we were invited to, but it was mostly a couples thing. Quite honestly, I just didn’t want to be the only single person there. It’s been a REALLY long time since I’ve been in that position(12 years) and I certainly didn’t like it back then.

It’s hard to believe that SGT Daddy has been gone a week.. in ways its flying by and standing still. I’m doing better than I thought I would but I do have my moments. I was determined today to start getting back to my old self… the kids were going to a summer program for 4 hours and I wanted to take advantage of the alone time. Then I got a big surprise… a morning phone call from SGT Daddy.

I was so happy to hear his voice and know he was ok. I knew in my head that he was ok but hearing his voice made me feel so much better. I don’t know when we’ll hear from him again.. as I expect it will be several days.

So I’m out of the survival mode and onto the thriving mode! I’m just glad that I know that I’m not the only one in this boat.

Happy 234th Birthday to you – US ARMY!

Message from SGM of the Army Kenneth O. Preston :