latest happenings about all of us...

I can’t help but be a little sad at this time of year. So much change is going on. Some is very good and some is just typical change and it may be good for that family but it’s just once again the Marine Corps way of life. It’s always changing and evolving.

We aren’t going home for Christmas to see our families. It’s simply too hectic, stressful and a lot to have to handle in such a short amount of time. We decided to stay here but we’re sacrificing our normal routine of seeing our parents and siblings so that’s a little sad. We get to see our Marine Corps family which is always an awesome event!

We recently attended a Christmas party at a local country club honoring Marine Corps families which was very inspiring and emotional. We realize most Americans care about and support our men but seeing it firsthand is purely heartwarming and brings tears to my eyes every time. The unit Christmas Party and my friend’s unit Christmas parties were fun! It’s always great to see friends and coworkers we haven’t seen in a quite a while. My friend’s Air Wing Holiday party was absolutely amazing! The beautifully decorated hanger bay with the helicopters all around, kids’ bouncy, toys everywhere and all the different stations for people to do arts and crafts at was amazing! We loved it all!

On my birthday last weekend we threw a Christmas Party and played the White Elephant/Yankee Swap game among others. It was fun and we found out a lot about each other that night! LOL! The San Miguel’s brought games for all of us to play and it was hilarious! I swear we had almost every dessert known to man over here. If I see any more cookie dough in the near future it will be too soon. The pasta and the gumbo were great! I always make too much and even after giving away a lot of cookies we still have a lot at our house! LOL!

So here’s the latest on everyone out here. The good news first is that some of our closest friends the Doyle’s are proud owners of a house and new puppy! We helped them move so we’d know how to get to their house in case they cook dinner or throw a party! LOL! Jk. Thankfully the house isn’t too far away from Camp Pendleton so we can visit often and it is amazing and suits them perfectly! I really do love it and so does Anthony apparently he already picked out a sitting spot on the porch!

The Norris’ have been through a lot of trials and tribulations to say the least here in the past few weeks and I think they are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. There are so many changes that have happened to them and so many more coming up but we just have to roll with the punches. We never know a lot of things that the Marine Corps has in store for us so a lot of things are ‘go with the flow’. This is the sum of their and our life right now and it can be discouraging at times. We have no real control of how our outcome will turn out and even though we want to stay in the Marine Corps may have a different view of our situation. 

We went to four different doctor appointments on Monday alone. It has been pretty crazy around here. We may be getting a new brace very soon and going through surgery. If any nerve surgery is going to work we need to do it in the next 8 weeks or so. We are just trying to get transferred to a Wounded Warrior unit who specializes in our situations and recovery which has taken longer than expected. We also need a lot of very important paperwork turned in and situated since its all on a very short time limit so that is pressing right now. If it isn’t one thing it’s another right? On a positive note; Anthony’s foot is twitching when he tries to move it! We didn’t know if that was going to happen before the surgery but it has! YEAH!

To top off all the craziness some of our family is moving! The San Miguel’s are moving in just a few hours and we don’t know what to do with ourselves. We didn’t think it was going to bother us and their moving on is just something that we take and deal with like anything else with the Marine Corps. It has bothered us though and we are bummed. Their moving will affect and change almost everything we do around here. We support each other in every way possible not only because the husbands were pretty close friends at work but we genuinely all love hanging out with each other. When Cody had football games or Jackie wanted to have us over or anything; we’d be there. If Anthony had an awards ceremony, when he came home from Afghanistan, when I needed him to coach the wives football team or if any of us needed anything we would all be there to support each other. It’s very sad to see friends go and they are both two very special people to us. They’ve always been there and we always will be as well. We’ll see if I cry my eyes out on Friday when we go see them off. I told Cody today; what are we going to do without Jackie’s jokes and hilarious statements she doesn’t realize are hilarious until after she’s said them?! It won’t be the same around here without them but we’ll always have a room for them if they want to ever make the trip to SoCal to visit! They are both going to be missed greatly!

Hope everyone has a great time this weekend! Enjoy your holiday and time alone with your family and friends. Slow things down a little, try not to get frustrated and upset over everything, take a deep breath and just look at your family. How hilarious they are, how they bicker over the silly things, how they make each other laugh. Enjoy it all now and memorize everything..people come and go very quickly from our lives but we cling onto the memories they give us. Thank goodness for memories! I can only hope my Dad and Granny Little are hanging out with my other relatives who’ve passed just watching us with smiles on their faces proud of all of us. Remember those in harm’s way, who are injured and have fallen. Dangit I am crying now! Semper Fi!

Merry Christmas ya'll!

Marine Christmas Poem---by me :) a little silly, a little serious..

Tis’ the time of year yet once again

When we soon gather our family and friends

To round the tree with laughter and hugs

And to wish this season never ends

Please this Christmas if you will

Say a prayer and have a silent moment

For the men and women in harm’s way, who are injured and the fallen

And also for their families who stand by their hero’s and always will

We all are a proud breed and never ask for much

Yet our men are out there fighting so that you can Christmas shop and such

So please be patient these days with those you zoom past

For their husbands and sons maybe in places civilians can’t imagine where their lives pass before them very fast

All these men serve and sacrifice without hesitation

With pride, dignity and a very humble obligation

To the citizens of the United States

I care not your political stance;

Just know that we all owe these people admiration so very great in advance

After getting on that plane many of these men and women may not be coming back home…

So love a little stronger to your family this time of year
Since some Marine wives and moms are very much feeling all alone and wish not for presents only for their Marine's voices to hear...

So this Marine Corps Christmas I think of the guys in the sandbox Grunts and all
I want to wish them a Merry Christmas and good night

I wish for many secure and humorous moments and a watchful eye from the man on their left and right

Be aware Marines but even more important be accurate and observant

And when the time comes I wish them sweet respite and a care package from home and many long lost ‘cousins’…

For the fallen Marines who have gone to be with the angels in Heaven

Their story is of heroic tales Americans should always remember

We all owe a lot to each and every Hero

So the least we can do is show our support and pride

Through this devastating 2010, during 2011 and on and especially every 25th of December.

the latest books that are out about us...

So I’ve been reading the latest books out there regarding being married to the military and how to cope with our lives in this environment. All I can say is WOW! There are a few pretty good books out there! Most if not all are just very vague as to simply stating ‘military’ or 'soldier' and from their point of view being in just their husbands MOS but still vague and sometimes inaccurate pertaining to the masses. If you or someone you know isn't aware please inform them that our guys are Marines and NOT soldiers! Depending on how moto your Marine is he may rudely correct the unsuspecting individual of how strongly these men feel about going through the toughest boot camp around and a part of the few and the proud. Marines may be the smallest but have been a part of every major war requiring the strongest punch in the face and show of force for the United States or our allies.

I read where one author told her readers if they have a problem with their husbands pay and he is deployed that they should go to the NMCRS or Army equivalent to get money. My problem with this is that if any problems with pay go on for very long it will be a nightmare to unravel and correct so why wait? You can fix this! It happens and sometimes more than once. Your husbands pay is incorrect, off by a few hundred dollars but if you have pre-planned and gotten the POA’s prior to his deployment like the command instructs you to do so then this is a problem you can handle. Typically it’s just a human error and is pretty easily corrected if you’re close to a base. You’d go in, show them your military ID and POA and they’d check his LES and fix it in order for the following pay to be accurate. In case you don't have a POA your deployed husband can still fix it but it will just take longer and he'd have to hunt down a location to see the admin about the situation.

One author in particular really had some intense conversations going on in my household due to the choice of information she put in her book. She stated that you and your husband can choose his career plan that improve your chances of meeting family needs and goals, such as relocating to specific bases (whether its back home to your family or a spot in Hawaii) or limiting how often your service member is required to deploy. She also said that his career plan will determine the type of job he’ll have when he leaves the service which he will do no matter how often he wears his boots to bed. Also as fun as playing with stuff in the field is; is that infantrymen will not be able to find a variety of civilian jobs once they are no longer in the service and may have to settle for security or law enforcement. This is also the lady who referred to the traditions and abbreviations our husbands use on a daily basis as ‘really stupid acronyms and jargon’.

Well, where do I start with all of THAT? ARGHHHHHH!!! OHHH GOODNESS!!!! First of all, the official definition of a Career Planner for the Marine Corps is that he's under the directive of the CO of the unit and must be familiar with Marine Corps provisions, associated orders, publications, and directives. As well as they are responsible for accurate completion of all forms pertinent to career planning, to include the reenlisted contract (DD Form 4), Selective Reenlisted Bonus Program (SRBP) forms, the career planning contact record, extension agreement and appropriate Service Record Book (SRB) page 11 entries. He isn't a miracle worker, he doesn't answer to your husband and have to do what your husband says. There is no way to determine by any job whether your Marine is going to deploy or not. If he works as a postal or law clerk he pay not deploy as much as a grunt unit but he will eventually deploy. I would never say that your Marine isn’t going to deploy if he does any particular MOS because first and foremost they are all Marines so if they need the men they will take them.

Why would she say that they all leave the Marine Corps? So many Marines have come through and done 20, 30 and many moons ago even 50 years so don’t tell my husband that he’ll eventually get out because ‘they all do’! That’s CRAP! The old man of the Marine Corps who died while still in the Marine Corps at more than 70 years old would roll over in his grave hearing that ridiculousness! I am wondering if her husband was a grunt and wasn’t able to find employment after he got out or if her comments were just hear say and she needed to fill space in her book.

I was completely flabbergasted and kind of pissed off to read her book! Thank goodness it was only for informational purposes only. I don’t understand how she could say that the grunts aren’t able to find work in the civilian world if they choose to get out. Firstly these Marines take countless classes on everything from second languages and intelligence training to financial management so this information and knowledge could lead them anywhere. Not all who get out of the service intend to find work right away and have the option of going to school to better themselves and their employment options are only limited to their imagination! They could teach, instruct others in martial arts or weaponry, they could test weapons and equipment for the government, there are too many programs to mention that work with the military that they could apply for, ect. So come on now be for real and don’t rag on a specific MOS that you apparently aren’t completely involved in or are aware of. I took that one personal! Sorry, I think I am done venting and sticking up for those men and women who may or may not have known about this book and its inaccuracies!

My hope and prayer is to put out more clearly defined information which helps everyone that has anything to do with the Marine Corps a better understanding of why our lives are the way they are. As the Marine Corps have proved time and time again this organization is unique and is set apart from all the rest. So our traditions, views, organizations and ways of life are just as different. We are proud, patriotic, close knit and take care of our own at all costs. I’m off to go and do some more research!

How to Contribute/Care Packages during the Holidays

So the time has come to focus on the holidays! Christmas is typically the main event so I wanted to keep it limited to that for now. For my ladies and gentlemen who have loved ones overseas on watch this one is mainly for you. Besides keeping their presents under the tree for months or doing a Christmas in July because of the crazy care package ideas. Last two deployments I became known as the Care Package Queen since I sent one almost every week or every other week. It kept me busy, entertained and always thinking of something new to send him. I sent everything from the usual trail mix to specialized items like Covert Thread Socks (www.covertthreads.com) which specializes in every climate kind of socks and undergarments for military and law enforcement imaginable. The USPS Holiday delivery dates are about to be here so I hope everyone is prepared!

2010 USPS Holiday Timelines
Addressed To                          Express Mail®/ First-Class Mail®/Priority Mail/Parcel Post®
APO/FPO AE ZIPs 090-092  Dec 18/////////////Dec 10/////////////////Dec 10//////////Nov 12
APO/FPO AE ZIP 093           N/A//////////////////Dec 4///////////////////Dec 4////////////Nov 12
APO/FPO AE ZIPs 094-098  Dec 18//////////////Dec 10/////////////////Dec 10//////////Nov 12
APO/FPO AA ZIP 340           Dec 18//////////////Dec 10/////////////////Dec 10//////////Nov 12
APO/FPO AP ZIPs 962-966  Dec 18///////////////Dec 10/////////////////Dec 10//////////Nov 12


This time of year I love MarineParents.com since there is a Care Package Idea for every occasion. Need a way to warm them up, Patriotic theme, Christmas, Birthday, Halloween, Poker Party ideas or anything like that?! Go there! I will put some on here for ideas and I typically brainstorm off of their ideas posted. Some of these items is a given and I sent them more than once and on a pretty regular basis as he needed them. I used an Excel Spreadsheet so I knew what I sent the last time and didn’t send the same thing over and over or if he didn’t need it or like it then I would know not to send it again.

Warm Them Up:
Hot Tamales, flamin’ hot Cheetos, hot sauce, hot nuts, cajun spices, Fritos and Jalapeno Dip, Atomic Fire Balls, Cinnamon Gum, Red Hots, Hot-Flavored Planters Peanuts, Mini bottles of hot sauce, Cinnamon TicTacs, Icy/Hot Sore Muscle Rub, Crystal Lite Iced Tea, Andy Capp Red Hot Fries, Jalapeno Jelly Belly Beans, a Hot Rod magazine and Tums

Cold Season:
some cough drops, kleenex, tea, instant noodle soup, hot chocolate,

Christmas Ideas:
those little Christmas trees that they sell in all of the mail order catalogs (Lillian Vernon, Oriental Trading Company, etc.) that come with their own ornaments, mini Christmas stockings, candy canes, little candy bags of coal (bubble gum ones), the green and red M&Ms for the holidays, an Advent Calendar. There are also little pine trees (about 4" tall) that have a mineral solution on them. You add water to the little base, and these color mineral salts "grow" on the tree and look like colored snow and decorations. Of course this all depends on where your Marine/Sailor is stationed at because if he is out patrolling in Afghanistan he can’t carry a Christmas tree around with him but if he is on a MEU out in WESTPAC or somewhere then it might be easier for the guys to put up and maintain your holiday decorations.

And my favorite trick of the trade is Cake in a Jar!

CAKE IN A JAR
It's basically a mini cake inside of a mason jar. It arrives moist and fresh and tasty!
Here's how to make them: Get wide-mouth canning jars. You can find them at Walmart, other stores, or online. Boil the jars to sterilize.

1 package of cake mix or any cake recipe

1. Make the cake batter according to the instructions or recipe
2. Grease the jar by liberally spraying the inside with cooking spray
3. Fill jar no more than 1/2 way with batter
4. Place jars on cookie sheet on rack in the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean @ 400 degrees
5. While baking, boil jar lids in a pan of water
6. When cake is done, take on jar out at a time and cover with hot lid. Screw on jar ring tightening it slightly
7. The lid will seal as it cools. Listen to hear the "ping" as they seal.
8. As the cake cools, it will pull away from the jar slightly. That's ok; it just means that it will slide out of the jar easily.
9. DO NOT FROST cake in the jar! Send frosting along.
10. Make sure you wrap the jars well (bubble wrap is preferable, but wadded newspaper or clothing and other items will pad it too)

Don't forget to include a couple of plastic knives for the frosting and some plastic forks.

Even if you don’t have a Marine or Sailor overseas you can still contribute to their holidays at http://www.carepackageproject.com/sponsor.asp for only $22 or the USO at https://www.uso.org/DonateHolBrandCPDD2010.aspx?src=WH10CPDD10 for only $25. There are so many outstanding organizations who help our Marines and Sailors out there and even ones who are here injured like the Wounded Warrior Project and Semper Fi Funds.

I LOVE this time of year since everything cool is during this month! No seriously, my birthday, my kids’ birthdays, my husbands’ birthday, our anniversary and even my dog’s birthday is ALL in this month (Amber’s is 11/29 but still a Sagittarius lol)! Ladies if your husband is home have fun ordering him around for once and having him hang lights on the roof, get tangled up in the inflatable characters and try figuring out where to plug in all of the extenstion cords.  Deck the halls, sing Christmas carols, volunteer for the elderly or needy and just enjoy the family time together.  Hold your family a little tighter this year because there are many out there who won’t ever get a chance to do so. Hope I didn't miss anything on the list above! Merry Christmas everyone!