Deployment
It was a Saturday night and I was alone. Scratch that. I was sad and alone. I was a military girlfriend with a deployed service member and I struggled to balance waiting by the phone with getting out of the house and enjoying life. I mean… Do you stay or do you go? I laid down on my couch getting ready to watch a movie, wondering what [...]
military deployment tips
The MilSpouse’s Guide to Keeping Your Cool During Deployment
The big D is happening, all of the things have imploded, and Murphy's Law is in full effect. The car has broken down, the dishwasher exploded, and the kids are running wild. If you are like me, all of these things happen even during short TAD trips or long weekends of 24 hour duty. Once, when my spouse was away for literally four days, [...]
Murphy’s Law of Deployment for Civilians vs. Military Spouses
It was only a few days into the deployment. I looked down at my iPhone and it was completely blank. Couldn't turn the phone on or off. Couldn't press a single button. Couldn't reset it. Murphy's law of deployment was in full force and I still had months of deployment to conquer. The worst part? When you live overseas--at least in [...]
The 7 Stages of Deployment Anger (and How to Manage Them)
I’ve never considered myself an angry person. In fact, when I look back into my past there are few moments when I remember feeling angry about something. I never expected deployment anger to take center stage of my emotions. Then again, I never considered myself a “military wife” type of person. And here I am years into life as a [...]
How Strong Military Spouses Rock Deployments
I peeled my body out of bed at 5 am, washed my face with Noxzema and headed straight for the kitchen. Even as a military spouse in the middle of deployment, I can’t help but creep my way out of bed to greet the stillness of morning. [...]
15 Must-Do Things to Prepare for Deployment
Brown socks were flying in the air like a giant sock explosion just went off in our bedroom. He couldn’t find the one sock to match the other. I could tell he was getting frustrated. This is a typical pre-deployment in our home. Chaos, socks everywhere, gear sprawling across each room of the house. post contains affiliate links, see my [...]
MilSpouse LifeHow to Survive the Holidays Alone During Deployment
Alone for the holidays as a military spouse in Costal North Carolina, I was exactly 1,051.3 miles from my family in the Midwest while my husband was deployed. It was the most difficult holiday season of my life. Working as a critical care nurse, I had a life that was filled with responsibility and obligations. It wasn’t all that easy to [...]
Best Toys and Resources for Military Kids During Deployment
Beyond parenting military kids during a deployment, there are tons of toys, products and resources that can offer that little bit of extra support. As I recently shared, I frequently get questions about how to best help military kids during a deployment both on my Facebook page and via email. A huge thank you to all the military spouses [...]
Best Tips for Parenting Military Kids During Deployment
Parenting military kids during deployment presents a unique set of challenges. Readers often message me via my Facebook page or email asking for help and a list of deployment parenting strategies for military kids. To be honest, I'm far from expert myself as our son is just old enough to really sense the impact of daddy being gone. *post [...]
The Deployment Diet No One Talks About
You always hear these stories about military wives transforming their lives with healthy eating during deployment. They lose all this weight, look more incredible than you ever thought was possible, and make you wonder how they did it all. But then there’s a secret group of spouses who maintain the type of military wife deployment diet [...]
