Mike Rowe (from Dirty Jobs on Discovery Channel ) , along with top notch Ford experts, will inform you about simple, helpful steps to maintain your vehicle through a series of videos. I’ll post a new video every week. (and who doesn’t like to look and/or listen to Mike!)

Make sure to visit FordOwner.com ( this also links you to Lincoln and Mercury sites as well) for additional services and savings. Tell your friends and family to check-out this exciting new campaign and remember to follow Ford and Lincoln Mercury Service on Twitter at @FordCustService . and Facebook at Facebook.com/Ford .

I’ll post pics (and hopefully video) as soon as I can !

Tammy

This very same week last year– Kiersten graduated from elementary school, our awesome dog Jack died from contracting Parvo  and SGT Daddy was getting ready to leave for a year in Afghanistan. Talk about a roller coaster of emotions and it pretty much stayed that year for the next 12 months.

I remember thinking how in the world was I going to get thru the next year , what would happen, what would I do if the BIG IF happened, what would SGT Daddy go thru, how would each of us deal with the seperation, would we be ok after it was over. You know — all the normal quesition an Army wife has facing a 12 month deployment to Afghanistan.

During one of our early conversations, SGT Daddy and I both commented on how the Miley Cyrus’ song “The Climb” reminded us both of the deployement.  It still rings true today.  It wasn’t about how fast we got through or what was waiting on the other side. It was about the journey we were on.

How did I deal with this?

First of all, I have some amazing family and friends that were there through the good and the bad. I especially have to thank Alli and the rest of the  girls over at Blissfully Domestic. (too many to list and I don’t want to leave any of you out)

You guys were there for me when I needed you..  you listened to my vents, cried with me, prayed with me and celebrated with me too. I love each one of you!

Secondly, I managed to learn a few things from experienced Army wives that had been through this deployment jail before.  Everything is easier when you break it up into small more managable peices.

Break the deployment into small 3 month chunks — what can you look forward to during those chunks? When you reach that milestone, celebrate it! One thing we did was a weekly celebrations– if we got thru the week , the girls and I celebrated by going to Baskin Robbins every Sunday. (we will be continuing this tradition by the way SGT Daddy, you’ve been out-voted.)

Don’t count down but count UP! At first it seems like it sucks but after awhile you really see how far you’ve come.

So what did I learn on this journey?

I learned lot about myself and how strong I really am. I learned that if I had to I could do this all by myself, but I don’t want. I want SGT Daddy by my side forever and always. I learned that my husband truly loves me and doesn’t want to live without me either. (i knew this before but it cemented it for me)

I saw my girls deal with grown up topics and concepts. I saw them miss their Daddy terribly but also be strong for their Mama. I saw Kiersten start to turn into a lovely young woman with her mama’s attitude and sarcasm to match. I saw Becca grow by leaps and bounds academically and socially.

I saw our marriage go through a significant change as well. Some of the things that we both took for granted before he left , we no longer take for granted.

Lots of change happened this year.. but change is not always a bad thing. I know that as we look ahead to SGT Daddy’s homecoming and we get to be a family again.. there will be lots more change but we will be together and that is the only thing that matters.

SGT Daddy is NOT home yet but will be soon … I’ll be sure to post pictures once that happens !

I also got a special note from SGT Daddy via email –

Household6,

I just wanted to wish you a Happy Mother’s day! Your service as a Mother
brings due credit on yourself, *our  family, and Mothers as a
whole. For this we award you with a deploying husband, kids that don’t
listen and more work than you can shake a stick at! Never the less we
love you and I am very happy that you are the mother of my children!

V/R
SGT Daddy
2nd in command

I think I’ll keep him! : ) So I hope all the Mom’s that are readers had a wonderful day! I know I did just knowing this was the VERY last holiday/special occasion without my husband.

Like I said , the Scentsy warmers and pods are awesome! They are perfect for any household, especially military households. This is especially true for those PCS moves — just pack up your warmer and scent pods and off you go !!

So here are all the details about the Scentsy Military Spouse Appreciation Contest

Patty will give the one lucky winner (on each of the participating blogs)  with their choice of a Scentsy warmer and three fragrance bars of their choice. This contest will close at 11:59pm Eastern time zone Wednesday, May 5th. The winner will be announced via video post on May 7th – Military Spouse Appreciation Day !

Don’t forget to make sure to join me for the Military Spouse Appreciation Twitter Party that I’ll be hosting from 8pm to 9pm EST

The following are ways to gain entries in the drawing:

1. In comments section of this blog post, tell about your experiences with moving around in the military and what you do to make your new house feel like home. (1 point)

3. Tweet linking back to blog (post Tweet url to comments of this blog post for verification)- if not sure how to do this please don’t hesitate to contact me! (1 point ) The contest hashtag is #milspousescents

4. Post on Facebook – make sure to comment in the Blog comment section with a url to the facebook status update (1 point )

4. Write your own blog post about this giveaway and link back to this blog post . Make sure that you put the blog post URL in the comment section. (2 points )

5. Create your own video and post the video URL in the comments section (5 points)

About the Contest Sponsor – Patty Santiago aka MommyTac0

Patty is an Army wife who recently became a Scentsy independent consultant so that she can share one of her favorite things with her friends: Scentsy wickless warmers. Patty knows that it can be hard to feel at home when the military often requires families to move to new locations every few years. Scentsy helps create a warm, inviting atmosphere that helps make a house feel more like a home. She believes that the sense of smell is the main sense that triggers memories.

With over 80 scents to choose from, Scentsy will not only bring back fond memories but help keep memories created in our new homes smelling familiar and comforting. In  participation of the upcoming Military Spouse Appreciation Day, Patty would like to sponsor a blog give-a-way to three fellow Military Spouses. The contests will be held on three Military Spouse blogs, where each will have one winner.

Disclosure – I am in no way directly affiliated with Scentsy nor is the give-a-way sponsored by Scentsy. This give-a-way is being sponsored fully by Scentsy Independent Consultant Patty Santiago, and I have not been paid to promote Scentsy or their products. I did receive a warmer and 3 scents as compensation for the product review.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter holiday this weekend!

The girls reminded me that this is the LAST official holiday without SGT Daddy! Isn’t that awesome?!

The girls and I are having yet another low-key holiday here at the house, which include the regular Sunday excursion to Baskin Robbins for our ice cream treat.  Of course, the Easter Bunny stopped by this morning with lots of chocolate and candy.  We talked to SGT Daddy this morning already too. He is doing pretty good, is ready to come home next month  and even forgot it was Easter!

So, please take a moment to remember those troops and their families that are apart this Easter day!

Tammy & SGT Daddy in 2009

12 years ago today , SGT Daddy and I were married. Of course, SGT Daddy and I won’t be together today for the first time in 12 years. Well we’re not happy about it … it is what it is. We’ll be together very soon and we’ll celebrate then .

The last 12 years have been a long road filled with some awesome times and some not-so-good times too! There have been fights, tears of sadness and joy  and lots of laughs! All in all … I wouldn’t  trade it for anything in the world.

Happy Anniversary Honey… I love you !

Spring has Sprung

Well Spring has arrived and today was the first day in a couple of days where it actually felt like Spring. Late last week –  we had a lot of snow hit the area. March 20th felt more like a regular winter day than the first day of Spring.

It was just beautiful out today.

Spring also has a tendency to bring lots of changes and new beginnings. It is no different for me this Spring.  I’m sure you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about.

I was chatting with my friend Tishia Lee this afternoon and she mentioned her exercising. Well that got me thinking, it was time to get back in shape.

I bought a bike early this year but haven’t been able to ride it much with all the low temps and ice/snow. The weather is so much nicer that I can actually start doing exercise outside. So the exercise regimen on tap is of course mountain biking and I’m adding running to it this year.

my super cool running shoes

So I’m going to  be doing the Couch to 5K running program. Ultimately, I’d like to run in a 5K but we’ll see about that. I’m really serious about this– so I went out and bought a really nice pair of running shoes.

This running program created by Cool Runnings is over the course  of 9 weeks. ( No its not the movie – Cool Runnings -  and no this post is NOT sponsored)I should be done and in super awesome shape right about the time that SGT Daddy is getting ready to come home!  (alterior motives people )

So what are you doing this Spring to ‘change’ things up a bit??

Win one for your Valentine!

So yesterday — I talked about the Sony Reader Touch Edition and how awesome and perfect it was for our military community!

As promised –  now its YOUR turn to win one! (and comes preloaded with 10 books!!!!) Yes you read that right — one lucky reader will get one for FREE just in time for a Valentine’s Day delivery !!!!! (they retail for $299)

So here are the RULES of the contest:

1. The contest will run from January 18th to January 30th at 1159 pm (or 2399 for you military time people)
2. Any ACTIVE DUTY military family is eligible to enter (sorry to all others.. I’m working on something for you very soon)
3. I will pick the winner (at random)  of the Sony Reader Touch Edition of all the people entered on January 31st.
4. We will be verifying IP addresses (for those trying to be sneaky)
5. We will verify the winner’s servicemember  status  as Active Duty

All you need to do is answer this question — will e books and readers change the way you shop for books?

So how do you enter ?? Well that’s the fun part !  : )

1. Leave a comment on THIS blog post
2. Tweet  about it on Twitter using hashtag #borderscontest (make sure to post the Tweet URL in the comments section here )
3. Share about the contest on YOUR blog (make sure to post your blog url in the comments section here)
4. create a video , post it on You Tube and post the URL in the comments section below .

So what are you waiting for ?? You have your orders — now get to it !!

Remember the more times you enter, the more chances for you to win~ I can’t wait to see all your entries!!  As always, if you have any questions– don’t hestiate to contact me

Good luck!

Tammy aka Household6

*Full Disclosure – the winner of the Sony Reader Touch edition from Borders will be receiving theirs directly from Borders, not Tammy Munson. I will also be receiving a Sony Reader Touch as part of compensation for this contest. For full disclosure policy – click here