Top 25 Military Family Blogs

I am participating in this year's Circle of Mom's Top 25 Military Family Blogs and can I just say how surprised I am at being in the top 50 blogs. I'm currently ranked in 39th, but of course with numbers being added constantly the numbers and positions change frequently. I'm loving seeing the numbers change and I love seeing my blog move up the chart. In order for me to actually make it into the top 25 I need a total of 74 votes and that puts me at 25. I would love to make the Top 25, so if you love reading my blog and think that it deserves making the top 25, please go to Circle of Mom's Top 25 Military Family Blogs and vote every 24 hours until the 25th of May and help me. I appreciate all your support and if I can make the top it will be my first official award for my blog! So, let's see Misadventures of An Army Momma With Three Under 3 make Top 25!

Has It Really Been That Long?

I cannot believe that my sweet (most of the time) little boy turned three today. Where has the time gone? I remember all the months struggling to get pregnant with him, all the miscarriages we endured, the surgery and the car accident all before we found out we were pregnant. As hard as all of that seemed, it must have been necessary steps to us getting pregnant because like two weeks following my car accidents we got pregnant and we found out a few months later that we were. Boy were we excited. The beginning of the pregnancy wasn't too bad compared to what lay ahead, I had morning sickness pretty bad, but eventually it subsided and I started to feel pretty good. But right around 20 weeks my health started to go downhill and it was rough the rest of the pregnancy. It started with a kidney stone sending pain ripping through me in the middle of the night and eventually came down to either I get a nephrostomy tube or I lose my right kidney. So, I got the tube and spent the last three months of my pregnancy carrying a bag of my urine, draining it every few hours and having to have the tube replaced every couple of weeks while I was a awake (not a pleasant experience.) Then I was induced a week early and after having the first epidural work too well and the nurse turn it off (got me in trouble with the Dr), and the second not working at all, I delivered Aidan naturally with tons & tons of tears. I looked at my baby and forgot about how awful all of that was. He was here and he was a miracle. Now, he's three. My baby that I suffered so much for isn't a baby anymore and I feel like I blinked and his being a baby was gone.

Happy Birthday Aidan! I love you and I hope you had a pretty good birthday!

By the way, I'm doing okay following my gallbladder surgery. I hurt. Alot. I've over done it, but my help went home yesterday and we're still waiting to find out if they'll let my Hubby come home or not. I'm frustrated. I'll do what I have to do, I'm an Army wife, it's what we do. I don't mean to sound whiny cause I know there are so many of us out there whose spouses are overseas and are going through alot of crap and would love for their spouses to come home to help. But he's not over there and so it kind of makes it easier for him to be sent home for an emergency and it is an emergency. Its not like I have the stomach flu and want him sent home, I did have major surgery and now all three of my kids have raging fevers, including my preemie which is very scary and I can barely care for myself and take care of all our basic needs because I have to. Anyway, we're fighting the Army and I'm stressed. Just tell us yes or no and don't say these are the reasons we will send him home, then change your mind. Grrrrr. Its been one of those days. I hurt so bad I can barely move. I feel like I'm an overly grouchy mom today and my kids have picked today as a massive rebellion day. Perhaps I'll send them to live at the zoo till my Hubby comes home. Hmmmm...that's an idea....

I Can Not Win

I've decided that God must think I need lots of testing or that I can handle a ton cause here I am just recovered from my D&C. It was two weeks ago this last Monday and now I have new issue. My Gallbladder has decided to turncoat on me. It gave me issues during my pregnancy with Aislynn and for a short while after and every so often since, but it sent me to the hospital last night with the worst pain I have ever had in my entire life. I was bawling like a really big baby and it doesn't help that I am a 'Single' Mom at the moment either. Aidan kept telling me its ok and not to cry the whole hour part of the two hour drive I managed to drive. My brother-in-law, his wife and my sister-in-law all met me part of the way and we played musical cars. My brother-in-law took me to the hospital and my sister-in-law took my car & kids to my in-laws. After all the tests and meds, then going into meet a general surgeon today it was decided that it was my gallbladder and that more than likely I'll feel better once its removed. So, I'm looking for all the help I can get since I'm not altogether sure if my husband will really push to come home early or not. He's a little stressed about money right now and so money/Army take precidence over me. I wish he'd come home, I don't want to do this surgery alone. Anyway, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to get on, but I'll try when I can so don't worry that I've dropped off the face of the planet I'm still here.

Mommy....

Aidan: Mommy?
Me: Yes, Aidan?
Aidan: 'Nannon's eatin' you.
Me: Rhiannon's eating me, huh?
Aidan: Yup, she's hungy.
Me: Ok.

I had decided to attempt to nurse her today since I normally pump and then feed her the bottle. She never really did get the hang of nursing. Sometimes she can with the help of a nipple shield, but apparently I'm not supposed to use that long term. I'd like to know who decided that? Anyway so this is the conversation Aidan and I had while I was nursing. It makes me laugh the sorts of connections his little three year old brain makes. Gotta love him!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #32-?

I am way behind on this I know, but I hope you will bear with me while I try and catch up. Here are a few of the questions answered and hopefully over the next day or so I'll finish the rest. I hope to be ready for this Friday's questions. So, come join me on MilSpouse Friday Fill-In!

Have you and your spouse agreed to live in separate locations (a geographical bachelor tour) knowing that the short-term inconvenience would have long-term benefits for your family? How did it work for you? submitted by When Good People Get Together
 No way. I give kudos to any couple who can make a decision like that and make things work, but I couldn't do it. Its one thing if they go on a hardship tour of duty ie Iraq or Korea, but any where else I couldn't bear to be apart from my husband and nothing is worth it to me to be. We're better together.
What is your favorite thing about being a MilSpouse? submitted by Sarah Ruth Today
I think its the pride in knowing that My Husband is out there fighting for us all and not everyone can say that. I love being a soldier's wife, even when things aren't easy. There are a lot of people who didn't think I could handle being a soldier's wife and I love proving them wrong every day. 5 years and going strong!

Courtesy of zoobooz

If you could still have your spouse/significant other and your family, but take the military life out of it…would you?  submitted by Trust. Love. Believe. Bake.
I met my Husband pre-Army, but he told me long before that this was what he was going to do. I think even in an alternate reality it would be a toss up. There are things I love about being a MilSpouse which include my Hubby & kids, but things I hate, as we all do. So, I couldn't really say.
What have your homecoming experiences been like after a year long tour of separation? submitted by Army Soldier, Army Wife
I actually saved up and sold the $500 worth of Girl Scout cookies my Hubby had bought prior to deployment, and drove to Ft Carson where he was flying back after serving in Iraq. I got to meet the buses as they drove through the post and sat anxiously through the 'Welcome Home' ceremony. I couldn't find him in the endless sea of uniforms and I went looking for him on the floor, while he'd gone looking for me on the bleachers, eventually we found each other. Lots and lots of tears, it had been the longest year of my life. They had to stay in the barracks on post, so I secretly stayed in his room. They were pretty nice (except for the twin size bed that COULD NOT accommodate 2). It was two sleeping rooms connected to a kitchenette and a bathroom. Apparently everybody really knew I was there, but no one wanted to make him send me away and I wasn't bothering anyone. Made for quite the adventure. Then we drove back home to Utah and took our time doing it. We even stayed a night in a haunted hotel with a ghostly experience.
If you have a child(ren) why you chose their name(s)? If not, why you would name your child something?  submitted by Tiara’s & ACU’s
We both come from larger families, I have four other siblings and he has five so the odds of coming up with a unique name is tricky. We also are very big into our Celtic Heritage and so the combination seemed like the solution. So we have Aidan Christopher (Christopher is actually after my Hubby since he wanted a JR and I said NO!), then there's Aislynn Elayne (Elayne is from a book series we really like) and Rhiannon Brielle Adelaide (poor kid got stuck with two middle names cause we couldn't decided which name we liked better). The thing is though their names fit them and I can't imagine them any other way, including my little Rhiannon.
How many pets do you have? And what type? submitted by Life and Times of a Displaced Jersey Girl
We have two dogs. A pure breed Alaskan Malamute and a Wolamute, but really they are more my Hubby's dogs even though both were supposed to be mine. Its what happens I suppose when you get a puppy and then find out you're expecting. ;)
What are your favorite projects to do while hubby is away? submitted by my-inspired-nest

Scrapbooking and quilting. I also make cakes such as this dragon I made for my husband. What do ya think?
What are the must-haves in your deployment care packages?  submitted by Christine’s Little Blog
I found that the things he couldn't get were the must-haves and always the surprise. Ask me about the time his package jingled! Its the little luxuries from home. I even made him homemade beef jerky and dried fruit, which he loved!
If you could star in any TV show, which would it be? submitted by Just a Girl
Vampire Diaries, I love it. Its got hot boys, vampires, and interesting drama that isn't everyone sleeping with everyone else!
What was the biggest hurdle that you faced during your/your significant other’s first deployment? submitted by The Pavlik Perspective
The entire first year of marriage. Ok, so besides that I had to have a surgical procedure to remove all the endometriosis that had built up on my bladder, ovaries, etc over the years so that we could actually maintain a pregnancy. We'd already endured three miscarriages at that point and this was the next step. It wasn't the most horribly drastic surgery, but to have a major surgery while your spouse is deployed is hard. I wanted him there when I woke up in recovery and I wanted him to take care of me, but instead my sweet Mom took care of me instead.
With PCS moves happening every few years, do you take the time to paint and decorate your home? submitted by Life as Mrs. JPT
As a Reservist's wife I hadn't had to worry about that one, but we do live on base now because of my Hubby's civilian job. We've been here almost two years and haven't painted & haven't really done any wall decorating. I'm not really sure why to be honest.
What inspired you to start your blog?  submitted by Pink Combat Boots
I need to write, to break out of my writer's block and it worked. It also gave me the chance to write the little stories about my kids, the ones you want to remember and to write about whatever comes to mind. Plus the idea that its 'out there' is kind of nice.
What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen on base? submitted by Adventures in Life
I had to wait for three antelope to cross the road and it was at their leisure too. It was in the middle of the base, too. I almost felt like there was some kind of invisible but given Antelope crossing sign. I also saw a dog in the library. Ok, so she was on a lead and was being trained to be a physical therapy dog, but still last place you expect to see one.
Which historical figure (politician, writer, artist, scientist, actor, etc…) would you like to have dinner with?  submitted by Army of Two
I'd love to have dinner with William Shakespeare, because that man had talent. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I love to read his plays and get lost in their stories. It was actually something I loved doing in English in school. Normally I hate picking apart a story, ruins it for me, but Shakespeare I can go over and over again. I might think of someone else later, but for now its just Shakespeare
If you were allowed to deploy with your husband to a war zone would you and why? submitted by I & J
Maybe, but having had to deal with the whole you can be in the same unit but have to pretend you aren't married I'm not sure I could do that over there for a longer frame of time. A weekend is one thing but months is something else entirely. Of course, my Hubby told me its different over there and that they had a married couple deployed together over there and they even got to live in the same hooch together. Sometimes that beats all that time apart. But then I think of my babies and could I be apart from them? That's where the question really lies.
Have you ever done anything (intentionally, or unintentionally) to embarrass your spouse/significant other in front of his military cohorts?  submitted by Marrying the Navy
Once when we were dating, I came to have lunch with him and a buddy during a Drill weekend. When we got to McDonald's I saw BDUs out of the corner of my eye and so I reached my arm around his waist only discover it was his buddy and not him. Maybe it was me who was more embarrassed, but he can tell people I hugged his Army buddy. Someone from his unit once thought that we wanted to have a threesome with him. All I can say is for as open minded as I am--ehhh gross!
What is your most irrational fear? submitted by Eights on the Move
Enclosed spaces and the elevators crashing the moment I set foot inside & the door closes. I am SO clausterphobic that its not funny. Infact, I'm going to school to become an archaeologist and so my father-in-law hooked us up on a tour of some local with our state's archaeologist. I forced myself to go and then I took photographic evidence to have proof that I went into a cave and spent more than 5 secs in them.

If you could only live in one kind of climate for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?  submitted by Many Waters
Mediocre. A nice 60 degrees with occasional rain, real breezy. I'd be in heaven. Unfortunately, during my time in the Army I have been a heat casualty and a cold weather casualty, so I can't really handle extremes of either. I don't really enjoy spending time in the ER for either.

My Dream Ring

I promise I really do intend on going to bed and soon, but I had to share this picture I found. When Christopher and I were dating he picked an engagement & wedding band set for the 'someday' when we'd get married. He printed off a picture to show me and wrote the words I promise underneath. Well, a couple years later when we were really ready to get married we could no longer find this ring, but I still had the photo and we both knew that we could probably find some custom shop to make it for us but money was, is and probably will be for a while an issue. Anyway, I decided out of the blue yesterday to look at various Celtic style rings. We are very true to our heritage if you can't tell by our children's names: Aidan, Aislynn and Rhiannon. Low and behold I found my ring. I was delighted. Still can't afford it, but I found it. Here it is in all its Celtic glory.

I think its absolutely gorgeous and the bands have the same design just minus the diamond. For now I wear a sterling silver sliver band with a 1/4 kt diamond and a plain gold band purchased from Walmart the day we got married for $75. They work. I've had them the entire I've been married, but someday I want the fancy matching set. Remind me sometime to tell you the story about where my engagement ring came from, its an interesting story. Alright, I truly am off to bed at least for a while before my little Pixie decides its time to eat again. I hope to hear from you all soon.

Military Monday

I'm participating in this blog hop this week and maybe, just maybe we'll get a whole passel of new readers. So head over and join too. The more the merrier!