The latest news from Captain Husband

Portrait of the modern military family

Captain Husband and I are super fortunate in that we're generally able to talk to each other about once a day on Skype, which means CH gets to see Sammy and watch him grow up even though he's several thousand miles away. I only worry a little bit about Sammy thinking that his dad lives in the computer, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Anyway, we were talking the other morning and it's now looking as though the earliest that CH will be able to make it home would be for Sammy's first birthday. In June. Of 2011. As in eight months from now. *Super sigh* I'm bummed, but I can't say that I'm too surprised, to be honest. I guess that's one of the benefits of operating on minimal expectations.

We're now toying with the idea of me (and maybe Sammy, depending on how brave/reckless I'm feeling) going over to South Korea for a week or so in February or March depending on CH's situation. Fortunately my passport is up to date, and I had the forethought to get one for Sammy as well, with the idea of us possibly all moving to South Korea in the near future. The thought of attempting an international flight with a small child all by my lonesome makes my hands go all clammy, but it's probably do-able as long as Captain Husband makes sure to borrow/buy everything that we'd need ahead of time so that I'm not saddled with having to bring all of Sammy's gear along with me. Another option is to leave Sammy under the watchful care of my family while I'm gone, but I would hate to deny CH and Sammy the chance to spend time together.

Everywhere a sign

This Saturday Sammy and I headed into Washington, DC, with my brother and his friend, Jim, to attend the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.  We drove to Alexandria and then took the metro to the Arlington Cemetery station and walked the 2 1/2 miles to the National Mall where the rally was taking place.

There were tens of thousands of people in attendance--it was rather overwhelming but for the most part everyone was very courteous and respectful. We worked our way through the crowd to the Air and Space Museum and set up shop there.  We weren't able to hear much of anything other than the occasional musical interlude, so we entertained ourselves with people watching and checking out some of the awesome signs. Here were a few of my favorites:

 Want to see more signs?  Click here.

I was initially worried that the crowd would be too much for Sammy, but he handled himself with aplomb.  We even managed to get in a few very public diaper changes without any fussing.  I'm glad we were able to go and be a part of such an awesome gathering of people.

See below

Happy Halloween from me and my little pumpkin; now go forth and get some candy!

An addendum

To be filed under things to which I cannot say no:

This face.

Baby clothes with elbow patches.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

In an effort to learn more about fellow MilSpouse bloggers, Wifey from Wife of a Sailor started this weekly meme; here are this week's questions.

1. What’s the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

This happened in the spring of 2009 when Captain Husband was deployed in Afghanistan; he was on his way home for his mid-tour leave but was unable to get a seat on one of the planes leaving the country. After three days of this (and me going crazy with the uncertainty of it all), someone gave his seat to CH so that he could make it home in time for my birthday. Best. Birthday. Present. Ever.

2. If you are having a hard time going to sleep, what do you do to help yourself?

I'll crack open a book and read for a bit; that usually helps take my mind off things and relax enough that I can then go to sleep.

3. Name something that makes you wish you were a kid again.

I actually miss the whole "going back to school" frenzy that takes place in the late summer/early fall. Whenever I see the notepads, backpacks and pencil cases hit the stores, I always feel a little pang of longing. What can I say? I'm a nerd.

4. What is something you never believed until you experienced it?

I don't want to say love at first sight, but I definitely knew there was just *something* special about Captain Husband from the moment I laid eyes on him (must have been the mullet wig).

5. What can’t you say “no” to?

A good deal on an antique, much to my wallet's chagrin. And usually dessert.

Trick or Treat!

I finally got around to digging my Halloween decorations out of the garage; how cool are these black lights that I found at the local hardware store? Now I'm officially ready for trick or treaters this weekend. How do you decorate for Halloween?

Packing for the unexpected

Image courtesy the Life Photo Archives

Before having Sammy, I would regularly leave the house with only three things--my wallet, keys and cell phone. Now if I'm going out, I have to make sure that I have several diapers, a wet bag, wipes, at least one change of clothing for Sammy (and maybe a spare shirt for myself), two bottles of formula, burp rag, the baby bjorn, and possibly the stroller. It's amazing how something so small can require so much stuff just for a simple trip to the store.

One thing to keep in mind is that, with babies at least, it's always better to be over-packed than under-packed--unless you happen to visiting people who also happen to have a baby on hand and you can borrow stuff if need be. I've learned this through trial and error and now know to bring practically everything but the kitchen sink if I'm going to be taking Sammy on any sort of day trips to visit friends or family. Take this weekend for example: I packed enough diapers and formula to more than last us the day at Stratford Hall. I wasn't planning on spending the night down there, but on a whim I also packed the pack 'n play, sheets and a blanket, as well as pjs and two spare bottles of "emergency" formula. My forethought paid off; Sammy surprised all of us and went down for the night at 6:00 pm. I didn't have the heart to wake him by loading him into the car seat, so we were able to hunker down for the night without any worries of running out of diapers or food. I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this parenting stuff.