Sergeant

This weekend was a special drill weekend for Derek-- he got promoted from Specialist to Sergeant! We're so proud! :) 

Don't they all look great in their camo??

I've been itching to share this news for what seems like forever!! Derek has been promotable within his unit for over two years and the promotion talk really started taking off last fall when openings became available. The paperwork started earlier this spring and his official promotion on paper was in April! I've known how awesome he is for quite some time and I love that other people recognize it too! :) 

With the promotion comes additional training coming up in the next couple of months. Fortunately, it will be broken down into two, two-week trainings. He does have his two week annual training in between the two other trainings, but even so, six weeks doesn't seem all that big after managing nine months two years ago. 

Derek really enjoys serving in the National Guard, though he wouldn't describe it as "serving". He loves the culture and the camaraderie. And while he sees it as something he feels led to do, I see his service every time he goes. Even though he "only" serves one weekend and two weeks each summer, those are weekends that he sacrifices each and every month. Those weekends he spends at drill creates a 12 day working streak between his civilian and army job without a single day off. And that happens every month. Even when he loves what he does, his army weekends wear him out.  Eventually when I'm employed, I'd love for him to be able to take a day off in between because he really deserves it!!

The guard and reservists get a lot of grief at times from their active duty counterparts, and even sometimes lack of recognition from the civilian, at times. And that's okay-- the soldiers I know don't really do it for the recognition. But service in the guard or reserves comes with a unique set of challenges, which includes managing two careers at once. Derek excels at both-- and that makes me a super proud wife. :)

Christmas at the Armory

This past weekend was Derek's drill weekend, but it was a special one! Sunday was the annual family Christmas celebration so we traveled up to visit his "army work", like Jackson likes to call it. He's been a part of this unit for about 18 months now and so I'm starting to feel a little more connected. 

Finding the military connection as the wife in the Guard/Reserve is a challenge as families are generally only involved in two annual activities. But also, Derek's unit location is about 80 miles away, an hour and a half drive. Most Guardsmen that I know actually serve multiple hours away from where they live, many even in different states {which can sometimes lead to large expenses in terms of finding places to sleep and meals out on drill weekends}. And while a Family Readiness Group (FRG) does exist, the families it represets are scattered across the state and so there's not a centralized location to actually go to. This is a little off topic, but it just consider it a bonus peek into our Army life. :)

The FRG had some amazing collection of gifts for the kiddos! We tried to get Belle to be interested in the cutest Pillow Pet, but she wasn't having it. There was a doll in her package and as you can tell, she was TOTALLY into it {not}. Though she was thrilled to play with one of the Spiderman tops that Jackson got in his present. 

Jackson's favorite part was when Derek took us out to the motorpool. 

Derek is a part of the signal corp. These big trucks carry giant satellites.

They took turns making special calls regarding the mission...

And lastly, Jackson showed up his upper body strength!

 Oh, and a quick pic of me and my soldier! His buddies teased him about me making him take a photo-- so naturally, I planted a big kiss on his cheek right after... :)

It was a great afternoon! I loved that the kids were able to experience a little bit of Daddy's army work so they can understand a little bit more when he leaves on the weekend to go up there. We love our soldier and we are so thankful that he gets to be celebrating this holiday with us unlike many other military families. 

Being the Wife in "Wife hat"

This past weekend, Derek and I attended a Strong Bonds marriage retreat hosted by the Army Chaplains here in Missouri. We didn't really know what to expect, but it turned out to be a really great experience. We were treated to two nights at the Four Seasons lodge in Osage Beach, most meals, and we came home with some great reading material! But more than all of that, it was just really, really, REALLY nice to have a full 2 1/2 days to focus on just being a wife!! And being a better wife at that. :)

It started out with an enjoyable three hour road trip through deadbeat rural Missouri. We seriously should have taken pictures of the sites we witnessed. A town called Tightwad, which included a closed down and vacant Tightwad Bank.

Sessions started on Friday night, resumed on Saturday morning and afternoon. Saturday evening was left open for a date night and we finished up on Sunday morning. There was a combination of speakers, panels, videos, and exercises. I laughed, I cried... and I only dozed off for like three minutes in the afternoon session on Saturday.

I think the biggest thing Derek and I both brought home from this weekend was a rekindled friendship. It sounds so simplistic, but it's true. With kids, jobs, school, etc. we were focusing more on co-parenting, maintaining the house, doing finances, blah blah blah.... But we laughed more together this weekend than we have in a long time. It was good.

When I named my blog, I purposefully wanted "wife hat" to be in front of "mom hat" because I know that my marriage should take priority, however, it's not always easy to make that happen. This weekend was a good reminder that I should be making more of an effort to always fulfilling my "wife hat" and letting other things fall behind it.

I will end with saying that I wish the Chaplains would have spent a little time addressing how not-good-husband-like it is to jump out from behind a corner to scare your wife after watching a creepy movie. Also, that good husbands with competitive (read: poor loser) wives should learn to lose at mini golf to minimize the case of the grumpies that follows.

Oh, but he did buy me a new Coach purse. And it was cute to see him excited that we got it on sale at the outlet mall. So, all is forgiven and he's still totally my BFF. :)

My Military Children

April is the month of the military child. I have two military kiddos and I got the idea to interview them {Jackson at least} about what it means to be a military child from a fellow military blogger.

Jackson is kind of young to ask an open ended question like "what does it mean to be a military child?" so I had to break it down a little bit and get him to focus for a minute on this subject.

Is Daddy a soldier? 
Yes

What does that mean?
He goes to work in soldier clothes.

What does Daddy do at soldier work?

He keeps us very safe and he works on computers.

What makes Daddy a soldier? 

He puts on soldier clothes. I don't like when he puts on his soldier 

clothes and he goes away. I like when he wears day clothes. 

And he walked away and said he was really sad and he wouldn't talk to me any more about anything. I know we are only a National Guard family; not active duty. And Derek isn't currently nor has he ever been deployed. But it still takes a toll on Jackson-- and all other reserve and guard children.

It's been almost two weeks since Derek's been home and Jackson asks Derek nearly every day how many days he will be gone when Derek leaves for work each morning. Jackson tells him to only be gone for a little bit and to come home that night. I just know that deep down, Jackson is unsure of how long his daddy will be home. And that breaks my heart. I have decided to find a local toddler with a military parent that Jackson could connect with. Maybe I can find one in the yellow pages?

{I wish Katie lived right next door! She is a much more put together military wife and her kiddos are so close to mine! Can I just say I am so grateful for the internet and blogs to help find people to connect with!?} 

I didn't sit down and have a conversation with Belle about being a military child, but her response would be something like this, "Dada. Dada" and then she'd kiss the Daddy doll we have. She's just loves her daddy.

I'm proud of my soldier and I'm super proud of my kiddos. 

Circle Day

First things first… Derek’s home! Yay!

As soon as Jackson woke up this morning, he came into the kitchen, looked at the calendar and asked very energetically, "Is it circle day, when Daddy comes home? Can I stay here for a bit so Daddy can come home and I can give him a big hug and be very happy?" I was so happy to be able to tell him yes. He was so excited.

I told Jackson that we were going to church, come home and eat lunch, take a quick nap and then Daddy would come home. But then, Derek showed up at church this morning, way super early! It was quite the pleasant surprise.

Derek and I went over to Jackson’s class and when Jackson first saw Derek, he shouted with delight, “Hey! That’s my Dad!!” and he ran over to Derek, jumped in his arms, and said, “I just didn’t see you for a long time!” It was so sweet. Belle was a little more timid with Derek, but she had also just woken up from a nap. She kept giving Derek cute little smiles, but wouldn’t go all that close at first. But then she kept getting a little closer and a little closer until she finally clung onto his legs for a hug.

And she didn’t let him out of her sight for the rest of the day.

If she was a Daddy’s girl before, I don’t even know how to classify what she is now. She would fuss to be picked up, but if I tried, she just pushed me away. She cried and cried when Derek closed the door to go to the bathroom in peace. When I took away some small object she was putting in her mouth, she marched right over to Daddy to “tell on me.” Belle apparently feels that Daddy owes her lots of attention and I’m nothing but second class. But that’s okay. It’s super cute seeing them together.

Jackson has referred to this day “circle day” all day long, so I’m sure the term will stick. And as it goes, circle days are hectic. Lots of excitement, kids off schedule, lots of catching up. I’m super thankful that Derek has tomorrow off work so we can enjoy some more family time together!

{and why I blogging when I should be hanging out with my hubs? Well, he’s watching Black Hawk Down—he always gets into these war movies after he comes home from extended army time. I’ve been watching a little bit with him, but I just don’t really do war movies well, so I needed to take a break! Tomorrow is chick flick movie night FOR SURE! Dirty Dancing I think.}

Almost There

Jackson and I have been marking off the days on the calendar until Derek comes home. Tomorrow marks 14 days… and then he’ll be back on Sunday. He’s actually done tomorrow, but in true army fashion they won’t let them leave until Saturday morning. But then, spending the past two weeks at WLC doesn’t disqualify him from April drill, so he has to report on Sunday morning to his normal unit. Only a few more days. We got this…

I’m sort of all over the place. So I’m thinking bullet points are the best option.

• First and foremost—I’m listening to Justin Bieber right now. I was really just in the mood. I’m kinda embarrassed, but I’ll own up it. My fave: Somebody to Love.
• I have been all over the place while Derek’s been gone. It’s embarrassing and I’m sure the feminists hate me for being so dependent on a man. But seriously, the other day I started walking into the store until I realized that I LEFT THE CAR RUNNING. Good grief. Ask me to make a decision—I just can’t do it. Too much brain power goes into kids/house/school that I have nothing left for common sense.
• Jackson is having the hardest time with Derek gone. Three is just difficult anyway and it’s just been worse the past two weeks. He asks about Daddy after most breakdowns and searches the house whenever we come back home after running an errand. Typing it out breaks my heart and I now I feel like a terrible mommy for not being more patient, but it’s just been tough.
• A sweet friend of mine at church yesterday asked if Jackson wanted to spend the night and play at her house today. I nearly cried {see, can’t keep it together!} I felt bad for needing to accept the offer, but I had to and it was beneficial for both me and Jackson. In his baby book that I don’t keep up with, this would go down as “first sleepover” {non-family} and it was with a GIRL! He’s three; it’s okay.
• Belle slept until 9:00 (!!) this morning. I haven’t slept that late in months! I also needed the sleep. I am horrible at going to sleep at a reasonable hour.
• I realize I’ve been sooooo whiney during Derek’s training. I apologize to my friends and family. Thank you for still loving me. :)
• I hate Power Rangers. It’s no secret if you’re on facebook. The concept is dumb. It has made Jackson way more aggressive. And the show is sooooo lame, as in “Hey Kimberly, who’s the raddest boy in your class?” And their dinosaur machines all connecting to make one giant can’t-be-defeated bad guy—why don’t they just use that first instead of a last resort? And it kind of seems like a Transformers knock-off.
• Tweeting is what happens when I don’t have someone to hangout in real life. I have a need to talk {just ask my mom, she’ll tell you stories…} and when I can’t use my real voice, I have to do so online!
• The whole thing about Ann Romney not being qualified to be the voice of women’s rights because she was a stay-at-home-mom is so ridiculous. Even if she didn’t ever HAVE to work outside the home, that doesn’t make her out of touch with those who have. I need to stop there because I could just go on and on and on.
• Top three things I enjoy when Derek’s gone: Driving my van everywhere even though it gets horrible gas mileage. Being in charge of our daily schedule and plans. Having my shoes all over the house—and knowing exactly where they are because I left them there!
• Top three things I don’t enjoy: Eating crappy meals because cooking for two kids {who would rather have PB&J anyway} is lame. Having no one in bed to warm my cold feet {this would probably be on the top of Derek’s best-things-about-being-gone list}. Dealing with all the poop by myself.
• Back when I made a list about positive aspects of his absence back in 2010, the top of the list was not having to explain to people that “Daddy dressed him” when Jackson was completely mismatched. Well, this is what Jackson wore yesterday IN PUBLIC. His favorite basketball shirt, blue army shorts, mismatching socks {and he wore little work boots as well.} Wow. And today, it was in the 40s and Jackson insisted on wearing shorts “because he’s brave”. I didn’t have it in me to make him change. Maybe he will get a little more fashion sense as he grows older, right?

Easter Events

It was kind of a bummer celebrating Easter without Derek, but it was harder on him I think than it was on us. Thankfully, Easter means more to our family than just spending time with family and hiding plastic eggs. Jackson is beginning to understand why we celebrate Easter and that really reminded me of what’s really important!

As I got out this sticker activity thing that tells the story of Easter, Jackson pointed to the cross and said, “I know that! We talked about that at MOPS!” I was so proud. And he told me that the stone was rolled away and that the angel was there. That sure made this Mommy proud.

But of course, we still had an Easter Egg hunt for the kids. And we did this before Derek left. It worked out perfectly—the weather was wonderful and it was good practice before they were bombarded by hoards of kids at our church egg hunt.

 

Once Belle figured out there was candy inside the egg, she quit caring about finding more eggs and spent her time trying to open the few eggs she already had in her basket.

These guys were far too excited about their eggs and candy to hold still and look at me for even a second for me to take a picture!

 

Okay, I got Jackson to cooperate after Belle got up, but this is the best smile I got. I love this goofy boy! And I want to make sure to document that Jackson refers to the activity of finding Easter eggs as “Easter Egg Hunking”. That cracks me up.

I spent the holiday up at my parents house. Both of my sisters were in town and it was nice to go to church with them.

The kids looked so good in their Easter outfits. Jackson looked so, so handsome. I am going to have to have him wear the outfit again soon so I can get more pictures! He was a little stud muffin. Belle, on the other hand, loves to pose for the camera. She doesn’t hold still for long, but she loves the attention!

The kids opened their Easter baskets first thing in the morning.

Belle immediately started snuggling her stuffed animal and Jackson was super excited about his toy gun {which is staying at Grammy’s house!!}  

Gram Gram and Grandma Dryer drove down from Trenton for lunch, which was delicious. I had the responsibility of cooking the ham and ya know, it was pretty tasty if I do say so myself. {okay, it was a precooked ham and everything, but I’m still taking credit.}

Belle and Aunt Wa-wa. Jackson spent most of the day with Ashley and her boyfriend, Zach. Whenever Zach is around, Jackson becomes his little shadow.

 

The weather was wonderful!

And Aunt Wa-Wa snapped some super cute pictures of my kiddos.

Is this little girl not the most precious little thing ever!? This picture just makes me want to pick her up and give her lots of cuddles and kisses!!

We didn’t get around to dying Easter eggs until today. Jackson had lots of fun. He wasn’t a fan of waiting while the eggs soaked for a bit, but he sure loved switching colors!

 

The finished eggs! Too bad Jackson doesn’t like boiled eggs, but Belle sure does!          
Okay, so sorry for massive amount of photos in this post! Derek misses the kids so I wanted to make sure he had plenty of picture to hold him over until next Sunday. Hope you and your family had a blessed Easter!