Military Resources
If there is one thing about military marriage that surprised me, it is the massive learning curve that occurs once joining Tricare. After my husband and I got married, we hopped into our SUV and took a week long road trip from the midwest back to coastal Carolina where we lived. I specifically remember driving through the country roads [...]
military resources
MilSpouse LifeHow Military Spouses Can Reduce Anxiety During High Stress.
Oh the joys military life brings us. Often towing immeasurable amounts of anxiety along, you know the drill. In fact, as a military spouse, you are more likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder than your civilian peers. And it’s easy to see why. Military life is full of unpredictable events, moves, and deployments. It is one [...]
DeploymentHow to Create a Roadside Emergency Kit for Deployment
Inside this post: Every military spouse should have a roadside emergency kit for deployment. Learn the items you need and where to get them. Right in the middle of deployment, I got the kids ready and headed to the car outside our apartment building. After wrestling each of them into their car seats, I hopped into the driver's [...]
One Simple Tool That Will Make Deployment Easier
I’m going to be brutally honest with you: I’ve never used a deployment binder before. Each time deployment would come around (and it seemed to come around an awful lot) I’d run around like a lady with her hair on fire. It was mildly embarrassing, but I know for certain I’m not the only spouse who does this. So there’s that. Plus, I [...]
The One Phrase That Will Reconnect Your Military Marriage
I opened the door to our apartment, walked in and melted into the couch. I just finished a two-hour round trip of taking my parents to the airport and returning home sans houseguests. The visit was amazing. We got along. We did a lot of fun stuff. We connected as a family again. But now? The week-long family vacation was finished and [...]
How To Spot a Toxic Military Spouse Friendship
I should have known something was off when she told me she used to be best friends with someone and suddenly she wasn't. But you know, people change. It happens. People lose touch with one another. So I filed her comment away. We became military spouse friends rather quickly. Our kids got along. Our husbands got along, bonding over [...]
The Pictures You Didn’t Take With Your Service Member
My husband missed our fourth wedding anniversary this year. In the middle of the day, I remember looking out the patio door window into the distance and thinking he was out there. Somewhere. But not here. Deployed again, our anniversary marked another celebratory milestone where his absence was heart-achingly paplpable. I took a break [...]
How to Save Big on Your Next Military Family Vacation
Our trip was nothing short of a vacation nightmare. We were preparing for a big overseas move, and in the midst of all that stress, we decided it would be an excellent idea to take a military family vacation back to the Midwest before we leapt across the pond for three years. The vacation itself was amazing. But the travel getting to [...]
The Best List of Popular Places That Offer Military Discounts
I don't have the time or energy for couponing. I am terrible at remembering to check sales. I always hesitate to seek out places that give military discounts, and sometimes I just assume they don't. That is, until the day I purchased my computer. I would have saved over one hundred dollars that day, had I known. A couple months after [...]
How to Get a Breast Pump Through TRICARE for $0
At 7 months pregnant it was time to finalize the baby stuff. I still needed a breast pump and I thought I discovered a money-saving solution. After three kids, my friend announced she was officially hopping off the baby-making train, and she was ready to sell all her baby stuff. Lucky for me, this included a breast pump and I was ready [...]
