Steps

Last week Cody went to a meeting (skip through all the pictures and read the bottom) discussing his upcoming training.  With this meeting they had to take steps towards getting prepared to deploy.  One of those steps is getting all legal work completed.  One of the documents he completed was a power of attorney, allowing me to do pretty much anything in his name.  There are several specific power of attorneys that you may also get, but typically this is all you need when your spouse is deployed.  It always amazes me to hear some of these "experts" speak about such matters.  I have heard this same women speak 2 other times and say the same damn thing, "Make sure you know how to pay the bills and what bills get paid when and how to access them, because I never have taken care of the bills it has always been my husband's responsibility.  When your spouse gets ready to leave make sure you have all the keys to the vehicles and house, because there was one deployment that my husband took the only keys to his vehicle with him."  And the idiotic rambling continues.  I have always been and always will be in charge of our financial matters, it just works out better for our family for many reasons.  Whenever Cody does leave for a deployment I drive him up there typically really late at night.  First deployment he left sometime after midnight.  2nd deployment it was well after 10pm.  I keep thinking about all the logistics of when Cody leaves.  Bringing all 3 kiddos with me (probably having to wake them up - having to take them all back home extremely pissed off and overly tired)  Waking up the next morning to three crabby under-slept children. 

Grocery shopping with 3 small children:  Do I go once a month and stock up at Sams?  Or, do I go every weekend to the store up the road?  Either way, three kiddos in a cart with a mound of groceries should equal a good time. 

As of now we are assuming the "rumors" are true and just hope for the best.  With that said, the last holiday we will celebrate together for quite a while will be the twins' birthday in September.  Being the scrooge I am, I do not know if I will even celebrate the other holidays.  I won't want to go out for Halloween, I won't want to do anything for Thanksgiving, and Christmas (FORGET IT).  We typically put lights up both in and out side, this year, it won't happen at all.  I won't even probably put up a tree.  I may not even buy the kids anything.  They are little and don't know when holidays are, so why bother?  Aren't the holidays about being with loved ones?  If we all can't be together, then to me it is not a holiday.  No point.  I guarantee that my parents are going to want us to go there for Xmas, but there are some circumstances that must happen first:

1. My mother must come down here this summer.  She keeps telling me she is coming down, even tells everyone specific dates, but has failed to commit.  Fine.  But, I don't want to hear that you don't see your "distant" grandchildren.  Your choice.  We have been there twice since the twins have been born.  December and March.  You have been here once (September).
2. I will not fly with all three children by myself, nor will I drive.  Someone will have to fly here to fly back and forth with us. 
3. I will not pay for it. 

This weekend marks an exciting holiday, one of my favoritesfor many reasons.  I hope to write a post about my hero, as he has helped our country remain free and independent.  Cody will be off for 4 whole days, so we will see if I get to post.  With that said, we are taking another step towards preparation for his month long training.  2 years ago, Cody made the following for Addyson when she was just 2.5 weeks old:

 

It is not just a bear, but a bear that he recorded a message for.  Well, over time the recorder has stopped working.  Cody is going to record a new message for her bear and have them surgically remove the old recorder and replace it with a new one.  Cody is also going to make the twins an animal with a recording, as well, this weekend.  Once the animals are created and fixed, I will post a picture of all three. 

We are slowly, grudgingly making steps toward training and then....