Highs and Lows

Lifelifelife. Infrequent blogging. Blahblahblah.

How about some recent highs and lows so you know the low-down? And the high-ups?

High: I have been walking during my lunch breaks most days. The weather has been bee-yoo-ti-fullll here, as we finally got some semblance of summer. I walk around the concourse at our minor league baseball stadium along with all the other sneaker-sporting office workers doing the same.

Low: 3-year-olds, amirite? I just can't even with this one. She's going through some definite three-nagerdom right now.

She's still pretty cute, though. I think I'll keep her.

High: Audrey is a dream baby. We moved her to her crib a few weeks back (which is upstairs while our master is downstairs), and it's like it wasn't even a thing to her. She's very close to crawling, and already does a creep-type thing. If I walk away for a few minutes, she's usually not all that close to where I left her. Childproofing may need to be a thing here again soon.

She's so happy!

 Low: I got suuuuper sick 2 weekends ago. It was a stomach bug thing that lasted about a day and a half (and no, I didn't even miss any work because that's just how I roll it seems). We had to miss out on going to the free day at the art museum. I guess there's always next year...

High: I had my first-ever review at work (I guess it's only annually around here?), and I got a raise! Hooray me. Insert "you like me, you really like me" meme here. There were some also some other long-term goals that my boss seems to be on board with that came up in that meeting. Like, things that could help my work/family balance actually be, well, balanced.

Low: My husband's courseload this semester is rough. We barely see each other because he's studying all the time. I also have to do Thursday nights all on my own since he has class until 9. (The Thursday thing was going to be a low, but those nights are going pretty well.) Our anniversary is next week so hopefully that will be a nice time to actually, y'know, talk to each other. If I wasn't nursing a baby, I was going to suggest a night at an (Amish!) inn about an hour away. Maybe next year. We're going to an indoor trampoline park instead (thanks, Groupon!). And then dinner or such.

High: Hubs got promoted to Lieutenant Commander last weekend! And I finally got to pin it on him (he had been at sea for his previous promotions). Another raise, too. :)

No more "railroad tracks" for this one!

And that's a wrap.

Thank you to Ana for the blog-spiration.

Camel Rides, Fat People Crying, and a New Belly Button (7QT)

--- 1 ---

Baby Audrey is 8 weeks old! Read her birth story if you're into that sorta thing.

So...the blog has been quiet other than the [video] House Tour I posted earlier this week. Enjoy these quick(ish) takes of how I spent my 2 months of maternity leave.

--- 2 ---

My husband did his annual "2-weeker" for the Navy Reserves back in May. That's in quotes because it actually was 19 days. I remained with both kids at home and only lost my ish a few times. I spent Memorial Day weekend at my in-laws' house to regain my sanity. (I basically just nursed baby, slept, and watched Netflix while my MIL handled Cora. It was glorious.)

Daddy and his Purple Ladies

B visited Pompeii during his time in Italy. His thoughts: "It's like going to the zoo, except if all the animals were dead."

--- 3 ---

In other big news, Cora had surgery this past Wednesday. She has had an umbilical hernia since birth that never closed (and never will--it should have closed by 2 years old), and that's something that apparently is better to get fixed now before she starts school. My kid now has an innie belly button, but it still looks a little weird to us. :-/

The idea of surgery freaked me out since I've actually never done one. Even my wisdom teeth were taken out under just local anesthetic (it really wasn't bad!). So her surgery was probably harder for me than it was for her. It was a quick procedure and we were home for dinner that night. She's doing fine, and you would never even know it happened except that she's refusing to bend over sometimes. But for the most part, she's back to her semi-obnoxious 'threenager' ways.

--- 4 ---

I go back to work on Tuesday. I like my job, and boy do I neeeeeed a break from the 3-year-old, but I'll miss my little peanut. I was somehow handed the World's Easiest Baby. Seriously. She even sleeps for an 8-hour stretch at night right now. (I'm currently waiting for the other shoe to drop because this must be some sort of dream.)

B will be a stay-at-home dad this summer, and I'm hoping he can bring everyone for lunch some time. Food Truck Thursday picnic?

--- 5 ---

This past weekend our town hosted a [very] small Arab Fest, and I dragged B and the girls so they could get in touch with their heritage. (I'm half-Lebanese.) Cora rode a camel and made a bracelet and I ate kibbe.

--- 6 ---

One of my favorite summer shows is Extreme Weight Loss on ABC. B has dubbed this one (and all weight loss shows) as "Fat People Crying." Have I ever mentioned that B has a type of blunt honesty about him? It's not always endearing. But on the topic of weight loss, check out this awesome article at Patheos by Rebecca Frech on her weight loss and why she's ticked that people keep asking her what her husband thinks about it.

--- 7 ---

I celebrated my 31st birthday last week on the 1st! It was the day after B got back from Italy. Our original plan was to hit up a baseball game here, but it was too cold! (A June birthday should never be 'too cold' on this continent, but it was.) I did however to my annual birthday freebie spree, and I will be sharing my favorites with you soon. Here's a preview to tide you over.

For more Quick Takes, visit This Ain't the Lyceum

7QT: Big-Girl Beds, Toddler Hugs, Wine Cake

Actually hosted at Team Whitaker today.

--- 1 ---

My husband B is on his annual 2-weeker with the Navy Reserves. It came up suddenly at his drill weekend, and within a week he was on a plane to Naples, Italy.

Airport hugs: Cora has never been away from her Daddy for this long.
She also has now hit the age where she understands he's gone. So that's new.

--- 2 ---

That means Cora and I will be driving to Georgia by ourselves next week, and B will be meeting us a few days into the trip. (He'll miss one baptism but make it in time for a wedding.) I've done a 2-day drive by myself with her before, so hopefully it will go as well as it did last time. She's a good car traveler, no fancy gadgetry required.

--- 3 ---

Cora got to spend a couple days without us last week. She and her Grandma were basically joined at the hip for 4 days, and then 2 days after she returned, her daddy left. All that means is I have a child on my hands that has regressed with potty-training, is pushing all my buttons and throwing fits about everything and nothing. Typical toddler? Probably.

She also had 2 nosebleeds Monday morning that I got the joy of cleaning up.

--- 4 ---

Speaking of nosebleeds, I took a picture of her aftermath on my phone. I had forgotten that we had put Dropbox on B's phone in addition to mine, and he set it so that any picture taken automatically backs up into the cloud. When we got to talk to each other Monday night, B mentioned that he'd already seen a picture on his phone of our kid covered in blood. At least she was smiling!

I refuse to put that picture up anywhere online, so here is a picture of a cake I made for B's grandma this past weekend:

Still working on my icing penmanship, but I was going for the French Script typeface

--- 5 ---

We had some Navy friends come stay with us on Wednesday! They're moving across the country (CT to WA, we knew each other way back in our VA days), and Cora and I provided a free place to stay and a hot meal. We hadn't seen each other since I was pregnant with Cora (during another one of their moves), and they have added a #3 since then. All of our girls had a blast together! It was crazy noisy in here. And two minutes after they left, it was strangely quiet.

They were towing their van stuffed to the brim with belongings. So smart!

--- 6 ---

We took the front rail off Cora's crib when she returned from Grandma & Grandpa's house. She did well with it until B left. We had a few rough nights, but now I think she gets the idea. I had started writing this earlier today and was going to comment how she has slept in the bed every time. I knew it was too soon.

After crying, screaming, getting Mommy to re-tuck her in for over an hour, and finally throwing her blankets over the gate, this was her nap today:

I have zero mommy guilt about gating her in there, since you were wondering.

--- 7 ---

B's Mt. Vesuvius selfie:

(Don't be too jealous, he's working 12-14 hour shifts every day, and this was taken while still on the base. The last time we Skyped, he was yawning after every sentence.)

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A Milspouse Once Again

I guess he just couldn't stay away.

In reality, we had gone back and forth about B joining the Navy Reserve after his separation from Active Duty. For various reasons, he decided to postpone any decision one way or another until we knew where we would land. He actually kept telling me that I should join it myself, and I was honestly starting to consider it. It would be nice to have something of "my own" I thought. But then I also thought that I would have to do a full 20 versus B's 11 years left for retirement. Why oh why didn't I do this when I was 23 and living in Norfolk?

{Source}

Well, now that we have landed ourselves somewhere, the decision needed to be made. Once B found out he could drill two hours away in Indianapolis, I think it sealed the deal. I can even tag along and just go hang out with my in-laws for the weekend if I feel like it. He signed the contract for three years. They threw a bonus at him, and he started telling me how much it was. I said "Yeah yeah, that's great, but when can we sign up for health insurance?"

Yes, this is a enormous blessing in the insurance department. His new job offers really crappy benefits that were going to cost and arm and a leg and still have a high deductible. I don't think his company even subsidizes the insurance since I found something similar online that I could just buy privately. The Reserve version of TRICARE insurance isn't free by any means, but it's pretty good in comparison to what we were offered.

He's actually gone for his first drill weekend right now. I was a bit concerned about doing church on my own for the first time since Cora was born, so I called up his aunt. Of course she wants to help hold the baby during mass! Living near family, even if it is family I married into, is such a godsend and something I should learn to utilize more often.

One weekend a month and two weeks a year. That's how we're doing the military life now, and I'm happy about it.

What I Wore Sunday (Vol. 4)

Today was no ordinary Sunday. I'm still not sure what an ordinary Sunday will be in this town anyway. But today was definitely not it. Right before we went to bed last night, B asked if I wanted to take a day-trip to South Bend today. So we did!

We attended mass at Notre Dame's Basilica and then walked all around the campus, where B showed me stuff from his college days. (I've actually had his tour before, but it was over four years ago. This one was much more detailed.) I'm only going to show the "what I wore" picture because I'm exhausted, but I promise an honest-and-true photo-dump later.

Join the fun at Fine Linen and Purple

I think I did a LOT better with my outfit than last week, to say the least.

The top is from New York & Company. The blazer is also NY&CO, but bought secondhand from another blogger who was cleaning out her closet (thanks, chambanchik!). The pants (which I also wore in Week 1) are apparently Spoon brand, and I think I got them from the Delia's or Alloy catalog--they're an odd-numbered size, which means I am wearing Juniors-sized clothes at age 28. The shoes are the same as Week 2, and they are American Eagle from Payless. I changed my shoes almost immediately after this picture, since I knew we would be doing a lot of walking.  Also, instead of a ponytail holder, I have my hair pulled back in my Lilla Rose clip. Love that thing.

And the baby? I let B dress her, and then I commented that "she looks like she's about to go camping."

Speaking of the hubs, I couldn't leave you hanging on this Veterans Day without a picture of the handsome veteran I married :-)

Thank you to all our veterans!

3 Years!

It's my favorite day!



It's kind of amazing to think that even though B was in the military, we have spent all of our anniversaries under this same roof in Pensacola.  What wonderful and adventurous years they have been married to my best friend. Here's to many more in wherever life takes us!

It fits again! (But only after I nursed the baby, LOL!)

Check out the dress in other years:

2nd Anniversary attempt (pregnant!)

1st Anniversary

One of my favorite wedding pictures!

On Leaving This Crazy Lifestyle

I've mentioned it before, but my husband is leaving the active duty military very soon. (Terminal leave starts Aug. 17).  I have a guest post up today over at Many Waters, explaining my views on the matter.  Here's a taste of it:

My husband’s job search has been a big adventure, but I, personally, have very little to do with it.  So instead I want to focus on what his military separation means to me.  For one, I can only call myself a Navy submariner’s wife for just a few more months. It all goes away August 31. For the past few years, I’ve let his military service define our relationship and also myself . . . read the rest here

And if you found me from Poe's blog, welcome!  If you're wondering, we still don't know where we're headed next!

Friday Fill-in

Joining up with this link up today.

Link up with Wife Of a Sailor

1. What’s one thing in the past month you would have changed?
I wish the baby and I hadn't gotten sick (it was just a cold, but it stayed with baby long enough that I ended up taking her to the doctor).  I also wish our apartment hadn't gotten infested with flies this week!  It's grossing me out.

2. What was your favorite thing that happened in June?
I liked taking our trip to Houston and getting to see some familiar faces.  I was starting to get the travel itch again anyway, so that was good timing.

3. What did you do to celebrate Independence Day?
Not much.  We didn't feel like venturing out for fireworks, so we just hung inside all day.  The weather was crappy here, so we didn't even go to the pool or anything.  We watched some fireworks on TV; it was lame.

4. When you PCS, what items do you take with you and not let the movers pack (and if you do a DITY, what do you take with you and not box up) (thanks to Sespi at And You Never Did Think for inspiring this question)?
Other than the important documents, it would be my wedding dress, because if they lose it, I know I'll never order another one.  I think that's the only thing we own that's irreplaceable.  Our movers did an excellent job boxing everything up, to the point where I've decided never to move ourselves ever again.  Worth every penny.

5. What are you looking forward to in July?
My mommy is coming this Sunday, and B and I are going parasailing!  But after all that, umm . . . nothing.  And that saddens me.

Well, this post turned into a real downer.  I'll post something cute, funny, or thought-provoking in a few days.

Celebrating

This past Friday, I celebrated two very different occasions.  On the one hand, it was my birthday.  But more importantly, it was B's Captain's retirement.  I had never been to a formal military retirement ceremony before (or even a change of command), so I thought this was pretty cool.

Even though the guy was a submariner (a previous commander of the USS Pennsylvania), he decided to have his ceremony right under the replicas of the Blue Angel jets flying in the Naval Aviation Museum.  Hey, when in Rome . . .

If you look closely, you can see the Dolphins on his chest

I've only seen B in his dress whites ONCE before, and it was after we had driven for two days straight (to get to this duty station), so I didn't appreciate it much.  As this is the second and probably last time I got to see it, I was very excited, as he and the other LTs were Sideboys (that term cracks me up!).

B is on the left

One of the special parts of the event was a Flag Ceremony.  The MC read this poem while a flag that had flown atop the Captain's former sub was passed along the line, saluted by each sideboy, and then presented to the Captain.

Sorry some of those pictures are a bit blurry--I was actually standing at the back holding a squawking infant in one arm while taking pictures with the other! 

B was the lucky one who got to hand it off to the Captain.  He told me it was because he was the shortest, as they were in height order.

I also really liked how the Captain thanked his family, and they gave his spouse a certificate as she transitioned from "Navy Wife" to "Navy Wife, Retired."  It was also their daughter's high school graduation; her ceremony was the following morning.  The family got to leave on the red carpet as a Boatswain's Mate rang a bell and declared, "Navy Family, Retired, Departing."

During the ceremony, the MC read a brief timeline of the Captain's naval career.  He was commissioned a week before I was born in 1984, and for whatever reason, that was just really neat to me.  Actually, at the party that night, it was mentioned that it was my birthday, and the Captain asked me (slightly joking) if I was 22.  I said, "Nope, I'm the embodiment of the length of your naval career--this is what 28 years looks like," as I leaned into my husband and my baby.  "Looks pretty good, right?"

Yep, it looks VERY good.  :)

milspouse friday fill-in

I haven't done one of these in a while, and since I only have a few more months left of milspouse-dom, I might as well go for it.

Go link up with Wife of a Sailor

1. What is your favorite/most unique anniversary/birthday gift from your spouse? suggested by Bel at Being a Better Me
The favorite and most unique gift wasn't for a birthday or anniversary (we're terrible at forced gift-giving in this household), but it was one B sent to me in 2008 while he was deployed the first time and we were still dating.  It was a custom puzzle!  And the best part was that I had no idea what it looked like until I put it together.  I had a really awesome time doing this and have put it together a few more times since.

2. What’s your first thought when you see it’s snowing (or what would you say if you don’t live somewhere with snow? suggested by Poekitten from Many Waters
"Oh great, they're gonna shut everything down and cancel all my plans."  I've only lived in places that typically get less than an inch of snow a year, so everyone freaks out.

3. What’s one thing in the past month you would have changed?  suggested by Erika from Chambanachik
I wish my baby wasn't such a lazy eater!  We've been having tons of ups and downs with her weight, and it hasn't made adjusting to breastfeeding  and motherhood easy at all.  Actually, this whole month has been really stressful.  I'm going back to the hospital for yet another weight check this afternoon, which will make it 3 times this week.  I need my own reserved parking spot there!  (Seriously, I had to park in the freakin' grass the other day.)

4. What was your favorite thing that happened in February?
Honestly?  It's mostly a big haze.  I guess when we went to visit the office where I volunteer to show off Cora, and one of the ladies gave us this adorable elephant with her name and birth date and stats on the ears.

5. What are you looking forward to in March?
Just watching my little one grow (oh please gain weight!), and both of my parents are coming down next weekend so my dad can meet his newest grandkid.  I also look forward to starting working out again and maybe getting into some sort of routine.  Yeah, that would be nice.

 

milspouse q&a

Since I only have a few months left of being considered a "milspouse," I figured I would answer some questions on it now.  (Yep, joining the bandwagon!)  Mine might be a bit different from others you have read lately, since we're on our way out of this interesting lifestyle.  This was looking like a major wall of text, so I added some pictures :)

How did you and your spouse meet?  Via the internet, specifically okcupid.com.  I had been using this free dating site my last semester of college and found B on there right around the time I graduated.  We met in person after I moved to Jacksonville, FL, a few months later.

This was taken by one of my new AmeriCorps friends on the night we met

How old were you when you two met?  I was 22, he was 23.

How long have you been together?  Dating since fall of 2006, married since fall 2008.  So, together for 5 years now!  (That still kinda blows my mind sometimes because I still feel like I'm 23.)

Where are you and your spouse originally from?  I'm from Lawrenceville, GA (read: suburban Atlanta), where I lived in the same house for as long as I could remember.  B's hometown is Zionsville, IN (read: suburban Indianapolis), but he moved around a bit as a child.  His family settled in Z-ville when he started middle school.

How did you feel about him joining the military?  We hadn't met yet, so I had no say in the matter.  I didn't grow up around military, so I didn't really understand it until I met him.

Where did your spouse go to Basic Training?  He was commissioned through OCS here in Pensacola.  I don't think he ever thought he'd be coming back here to live!

Has your spouse ever been deployed?  Yep, twice with the same sub.

Ever been to his promotion ceremony?  Nope.  I was a girlfriend when he was promoted to LTJG, and he didn't know he was allowed to bring me (his command at the time was pretty anti-girlfriend).  He got his dolphins while on deployment, and he was promoted to LT while on an underway right after we got married.  In the grand scheme of things, this is all not a big deal since we're trading it in for him to be home for things like his daughter's first day of Kindergarten.

His first homecoming.  I'm pointing to his newly-earned dolphins!

How long have you been a military wife?  2 years and some change.  And I won't make it to 3!

Did you marry him before or after he joined?  After he joined.

How did your husband propose?  We took a long weekend trip to Charlottesville, VA, to celebrate the end of his first deployment.  I told him to pick a nice restaurant for one of the nights, and he made reservations.  He proposed in the restaurant, after dessert.  I honestly did not expect it that night!  If you want to read the long version of the story, here it is.

Where did you get married?  My home parish in Lilburn, GA (same place I was baptized and hit every other Catholic milestone).  I think that was the one stipulation my dad gave B when he called a few days before proposing to "ask" for my hand.

How old were you two when you got married?  I was 25 and he was 26.

Did he wear his uniform on your wedding day?  Nope; B wore a rented tux.  The only person in uniform there was our friend who helped as Eucharistic minister, whom I had known since high school and was one of the enlisteds on B's sub (small world, huh?).

Our wedding day: no ribbons or swords

Where are you and your spouse currently stationed?  NAS Pensacola.  And no, he's not in the aviation community!  (His command is NSTC Great Lakes Pensacola.  Confusing?  Yes.)

Do you live on base?  No, but we live 2 minutes from the back gate.  I like the buffer.  And the monthly profit we make from BAH.

How long were you married when you had to go through your first separation?  I think about 10 days.  He went on an underway for a few weeks, missing Halloween and a fun party where I somehow got involved in a ridiculous dance-off.  During that underway, I also moved us into our 2-bed apartment (we didn't live together beforehand), and he had sent me an email about how late he'd be home when he got back, so I didn't leave keys to the new place.  His version of "late" was different from mine (I usually got home from work at 6), and he ended up hanging out at a local pizza joint until I got there because there was nothing at all left in the old apartment.

What is your favorite base so far?  It's really hard to compare Norfolk to Pensacola, since I did most of my time in Norfolk as a full civilian, not a milspouse.  The community I had in Norfolk was amazing, but I never really even felt welcome on the base there.  In a pure aesthetic sense, the base here in Pensacola is beautiful, but I haven't been forced to make friends in the same way, so the community is a bit lacking and people don't stay here for as long.

NAS Pensacola jogging trail with sandbar and bay behind it.  Picture taken from the passenger's seat of B's car.

Does your spouse look good in his uniform?  We both think he looks ridiculous in NWUs, but he only had to wear those for a brief time.  He looks good in the khakis he wears every day here, though!

Do you think military life is more advanced than civilian life?  I think it can make things move faster, as I see people get married and grow up a bit quicker than they may be ready for.  But if you're thinking of "advanced" as in "more forward," no.  I think military life can be a bit backwards at times--hell, sometimes I blame it for turning me into a 1950's housewife.  I don't think one way is better than the other, however.

Do you like the benefits you receive as a military dependent? For a frugal gal like myself, of course.  The top 3 parts I will miss when my dependent ID expires: 1) Free healthcare.  This keeps me awake some nights, but then I remember that both B and I grew up in civilian households and our families didn't go bankrupt from  our civilian insurance.  2) Commissary.  Even though the cost of housing is way lower here in Pensacola than it was in Norfolk, groceries are the same price.  And most FL stores don't double coupons, so the best way to shop without spending 30 hours a week trying to find the best deals at each store is to use the freakin' commissary.  3) Free gym.  I've budgeted in a gym membership for after we leave, but we even have a gym here at the other base that has free childcare.

Do you have a lot of military wife friends?  Yes and no?  I volunteer on base, so almost everyone there is a milspouse (or a retiree).  I click a bit better with milspouses right now, but just don't have a lot of friends in this area.  I'm planning on joining some mommy groups that will hopefully have a variety of women.

What is the hardest part of being a military wife?  It used to be the deployment "work-ups" (underway times) when he was on the boat.  Yes, the years he wasn't deployed were harder than the years he was.  And we somehow planned our out-of-town wedding around that blasted work-up schedule, which was a feat in and of itself.  I don't think there's anything hard about our life right now though.  This shore tour is so easy.

Do you own any military wife stuff?  I don't think so.  I have one shirt that just says NAVY across it.  Oh wait, my mother-in-law gave me this rock thingy when B was deployed that says, "God bless my sailor" that's on our bookshelf next to some trinkets B brought back from his port calls.

Bookshelf pic from old apt with the rock-thingy in the top middle.  Left of it, genie lamp from Bahrain; bull from Spain.

Do you support your spouse as a member of the military?  Of course.  And if he had any desire to be a "lifer" or even a reservist, I would be behind him 100%.  I'm definitely not the one who made him want to get out.

 

the start of our military farewell

Last week I got what will hopefully be the last "military surprise" dumped on me.  In the grand scheme of things, it's really not a big deal at all, but it has changed some plans around.

B put in his official resignation letter with the Navy last week.  We knew this was coming; we planned on this.  However, when he submitted it, he was told that he has to get out in August.  We have been telling everyone November 2012 for the past year or so.  I know it's only a matter of months, but it was still a bit of a surprise.  He even asked to be extended a few more months, and the powers that be weren't having it.

Discharging from the military is simultaneously frightening, liberating, the most natural thing in the world, and apparently the most unnatural thing around this base.  The base we are currently at seems to have two types of people: those who just joined the military (currently in A-school or flight school), and those who are only a few years from retirement (currently teaching/commanding A-school and flight school).  For the record, B works at a command with a ton of civilians, and it's not A-school or flight school.  I've met very few people in that mid-range level, but I love it when I find them.  It usually happens around here that when I tell people, "He's getting out," they respond, "He's retiring?"  At our last base, I watched oodles of men and women separate from the service, and no one batted an eye because they knew how much it sucks to be on a ship.  I guess here they're still bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?

B and I have gone back and forth about him joining the Reserves, and after a talk with an O-6 from the aviation world who discouraged it for submarine officers, I think we both agreed that we will be fine without those headaches.  (In case you're wondering, B has a degree in electrical engineering and can also do nuclear engineering thanks to the Navy.)  When I first brought up the Reserves, B told me I should join it.  I'll keep that in my back pocket if times get rough--I think I'd make a good Reservist!

We purposely planned to have our first child while on this shore tour.  The timing worked out right, he's home all but 3 predictable days a month, the pre-natal visits and birth are free, and we were ready.  I'm glad that our plan is panning out, but the fact that we will have a child adds a bit of worry to the date bump-up.  B doesn't want to start a new job until October, so I'm trying to factor in the cost of insurance to our 2012 budget.  If it was just the two of us, we'd probably just go without.  It's not looking very cheap right now, but hopefully we'll get some answers when he goes to his Transition Assistance class on base.

You may have noticed that I rarely post about the military on my blog.  I started this whole thing to pass some time while he was deployed last year, but everything went rather swimmingly so there wasn't too much to vent about.  Plus, we'd already been through it before (with me as a girlfriend), and it was ten times worse.  I purposely never branded this thing as a "milspouse" blog, since I've known that B wouldn't be career military since the moment I met him.  I also realize that I will have spent just as much time out on my own in civilian land (post-college) as I have under the protective cocoon of the Navy.  That's about three years with each.  That fact won't stop me from missing the amazing perks we get around these parts, namely the commissary, free healthcare, and a free gym.

One thing I realized I really won't miss are the military traditions.  I didn't grow up in a military town, I don't have any close family who made a career of it (except my grandfather, but he died before I was born), I didn't know the difference between officer and enlisted until meeting B, and frankly, B just isn't into the traditions, so I guess I'm not either.  He wouldn't even take me to the military ball once we got married (we went to one in Virginia when we were dating, and it was pretty lame so I don't blame him).  I've only seen B dolled up in his dress whites once in our entire 5-year relationship.  I'll still have a soft spot for submarines, especially women on subs, but that will probably be all I take with me.

Oh, and this great picture of him with the Blue Angels from yesterday morning:

B is in khakis and black jacket on the right.

Since this post is semi-appropriate for the upcoming Veterans Day, feel free to see some thoughts and research on the semantics of that word (and whether it applies to B and other active-duty submariners) from a post I did last year.

While I'm ready to tackle the civilian world, I'm still wary about the next place we live possibly being our "forever" home.  But more on that later!

 

CREDO retreat recap

I "dragged" B on a Marriage Enrichment Retreat this weekend, and I'm so glad I did!

I first heard about these retreats back when I took COMPASS in Norfolk, and I'd been wanting to go on one so badly! Now that B is on shore tour, it was much more feasible, but the CREDO website never had any listings of ones near us (most were in the Jacksonville FL area, which is too far of a hike). Apparently they don't list everything on their website, because I found out about this one from a friend and it was never listed until it was way past full. I also found out there was one in Mobile this coming weekend, which was never listed as well.  My suggestion: call your chaplain and ask! I wish I had done that when we moved here. Anyway, I'm just glad we're getting to do this before Baby W arrives.  It was very easy for us to get the call on Thursday and agree to go!

There were about 15 couples total, and most had kids of varying ages.  Some of them had not had a weekend together away from their kids since they were born!  There was maybe one other couple around our age, but the couples varied in length of marriage from under a year to 24 years.  And as I said before, they put us up--FREE OF CHARGE--at a resort on the beach on Alabama's Gulf Coast.  It did not disappoint!  I saw the room bill when we checked in, and the going rate for this place right now is $150/night.  We also got five meals for free.  Thank you, military!

Here are a few pictures of the place:

Yes, I dragged my body pillow there.  Pregnant girl has to sleep somehow!

View from our room's balcony: inlet from the Gulf

Also a view from our balcony: the parking lot

Hotel as seen from beach

Best pic I could get of the pool.  More pool on the opposite side of the bridge

As for the retreat itself, it was done pretty well.  Some of the stuff we had hashed out before and was a bit of a repeat from our pre-marital one-day class that the Catholic church made us take.  Also, since I studied Child and Family Development in college, including a few classes on relationships and family life, I knew a lot of it.  But I did learn a lot too!  If anything, it was nice to just re-connect with my husband.  We didn't turn on the TV all weekend (except to check football scores, but we did that together), we didn't have internet, and I didn't even bring a book with me.  We were given some free time on Saturday afternoon to just have fun together, so we hit the beach and the pool.  And took a nap :-)

Since the retreat is done by the chaplains, it was obviously religious in nature.  CREDO actually stands for Chaplain's Religious Enrichment Development Operation.  However, it was mostly just based on a belief in God.  The name of Jesus was never spoken, but the chaplain did read the "Love is patient" passage from Corinthians at one point.  That was about as religious as it got.  Most of it just focused on communication and personality types, with a few other topics thrown in.

Overall, I would definitely recommend any of my military friends to take advantage of this opportunity!  I know for some it may be hard because you never know when a schedule is going to change, but go ahead and sign up if you can.  Then, if you need to cancel, there will be a very happy couple ready to take your spot.  It doesn't cost anything, so it's not like you lose a deposit!  There are also other types of retreats that they do, listed on their website.  On their Facebook page, I even saw that they have done Family Retreats, where the kids come and you do it as a family.  How cool is that?!