Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

Kristel:  he is in Pensacola so he had to have his flight in a holding pattern yesterday because the Blue Angels were flying. He said he can’t wait to see them today. Being a northerner he told me he saw his first palm tree yesterday. (I love palm trees). He said hurricane damage is serious. 
He called this morning already. Man I miss him and just seeing his face show up on my phone multiple times a day is amazing. I can’t wait until all of you get that!  I forgot he was in a different time zone and when he told me what time he had to be at orientation I was all like dude you’re late get your butt moving!  Mom I have an hour check your time zones!  Then gave me the details on the Ammo I have to look for. (We have a serious shortage and wasn’t able to purchase any home defense rounds only target rounds)  he said in one of their firearms training they had to break down a hand gun and the instructor picked him to race with. He said the guy barely beat him. He looked at him and said, “Damn you’ve done this before! I have to keep my eyes on you!”  And my sailor said, “I have a gun safe in my bedroom at home.”  Some of his stories had me rolling this morning!  Hope everyone has an amazing day...  Hope phone calls are coming and the mail shows up!  

No bank robbing, we promise! We have learned quickly to be patient so we will hang in there. It also gives us something to look forward to today. Kinda fitting to get letter today instead of yesterday. Today is exactly 4 weeks from when we watched him board the bus for MEPS and begin his journey. Like everyone here, we are beyond proud!!

C’s mom - did he ROM at GWL or Ft McCoy? Surprisingly mine was at GWL and had 3 hotel meals a day AND bag nasties (which he said were not all that nasty)

Beloved - where abouts in FL? Curious how far you were from me..I hate when places don’t bill properly. Many moons ago I worked in medical billing at 2 of the largest group practices in the area in FL.

Shanny  - I am glad this group was here for you. I know it has kept me sane these 7 months of boot camp.

 I agree the Navy Mom Posse is infamous and a force to be reckoned with and once word was out we were a coming things fell into place! I know you are worried about sending stuff since his A school is short but it could be weeks before he classes up. That is too funny about your SR being asked about rules, lol. The answer is Navy PT gear or NWUs out and about til they can phase up to civvies. ;)

VintageGal - married?/swoon. HOw sweet they are first loves and you had to have a vintage kind of son. How many old stories do we see of first loves being married forever?

Kristel - I think you and I are Kondo twins, lol.

My husband and I are first loves (at 16 and 20)  but were married to other people and have now been married 12.5 years. Leap Day 2008.

Kim - here’s to your letter coming today!!!

DEP test is them being tested on the START guide they received while in DEP. 3 of my SRS passed it and only 1 passed the initial PFA (my daughter - ha girl power!) so only she advanced to E2 upon graduating boot camp.

Katharine - OMG that is awful about the PO Box. I saw another mom in one 4th PIR group that got one  after moving (after her son was at RTC) and her mail would not forward properly. How did you manage to sandboxx your son without his Div/Ship? I had a dream about this - last night - all his letters came to me and they had no stamps on them and they were addressed weirdly. These poor kids aren’t used to getting/sending mail cause of technology. I have a stupid 4x6 (it feels smaller) box I have to walk a half mile to. Hate it!!!

Good morning to everyone else party, Phoenix, Chipmunk, Anri M, Davesmom, and I know I am forgetting someone.

I have to attack the next section of my floor today!

LadyBluefire .... I sent one to Div 391, and one to Div 393, and one to Div 394, and one to Div 395. I had gone through the Facebook posts to find all the families that had SR's show up on the same day as my son. 392 was girls, so I knew he wasn't there ;). Carolyn Mor said that Sandboxx would refund credits for returned lettters, so I am not out that many credits.

Vintage - I was drinking my coffee and your e mail came through so I have to answer, lol. It has been me with the house. It feels like the white house - 6 bedrooms and nearly 4000 sq ft (have I mentioned I want to downsize?)  I neglected it so these last 7 months. Not giving it extra love. I spent a week or so decluttering - though I had Marie Kondoed the stuffing out of my stuff years ago before I even heard of her.

Now I am tackling the deep cleaning. I normally deep clean once a month using FlyLady so it doesn;t feel like you are deep cleaning. You are to do a zone a week. This week is the living room so my floors haven't had TLC in a long time. In all honesty I skip a month half the time when I am on track cause I am like why clean the windows when I did it last month? lol. I don't skip ALL things but a lot of things that aren't important. Kitchens and bathrooms ALWAYS get attention...

My hubby has  quite a collection of Disney Pins and then a lot of Balloon Fiesta ones. That is the result of Disney passes and going every weekend for years...

Katharine - does Sandbox tell you which address worked?

Wanted to share the first wedding cake, I have another one next week.

Good Morning All, Happy Tuesday! what a great morning it's beautiful outside here in Phoenix, mornings have been great afternoon still on the hot side but its getting better! Hope you all started your morning off great, although I am not a coffee drinker a pepsi or coke gets me going! LOL!

Wow you Ladies have been on a roll this morning, Good to see! I love It!

Make sure to keep phones close as I'm a sailor calls coming through! Any I'm a sailor calls yesterday? if not then today should be the day!

 "I'm a Sailor!" calls, which are typically made 1 to 7 days before PIR, but can come up to 10 days before PIR, are in the afternoon and evenings and begin around 2ish pm CST and end around 8ish pm CST

Northwoods - Beautiful. Are those gorgeous flowers icing too? If so, I might hate you :).

LadyBluefire - Sandboxx has a track feature so I assume that when the three are returned it will show up on my tracker. So far they have not, but they only got to BC on Thursday.

NorthWoodsMom how beautiful is that! Wow you amaze me that is some talent you got there! Love It!

PartyofSeven's scripture:

Shabby - you made me cry happy tears. 

Chipmunk & Katherine - I had to read the part about low lights too! 

Kim - I was frustrated with ID as well as it frequently indicated I had “unscanned mail”, leaving me to guess. Since my SR told me on Sunday that he has only written one letter - to my nieces dogs - it certainly took ID anxiety away!! :|   I knew there was this risk of no letters since he hates to write, so I sent him “multiple choice” letters to mail back, but he says his leadership position just has him too busy.  Says it took him 4 nights to just read my first letter to him because he has so little free time. I am ok with missed letters since he has a good reason. 

Phoenix - hope you are feeling better this week  

everyone else - have a good day! 

Prayer for the scripture below:

Dear Heavenly Father, You created our Life, You  gave the sacrifice, Jesus you yourself set the Example, and you've given us your word to light our Path. Help us to imitate you with everything we do. Help our Heart's to be forgiving, Our words to be Loving, And our thoughts to be pure. Go with us as we follow your commands with faith as a child. In Your Name I Pray, AMEN!

DavesMom2020 I am feeling great! Thank You.

I go to see the surgeon today to see what he has found if anything, during my Colonoscopy, trying to see why I get pain every time I eat, to the point that I don't want to eat UGH! but I am good. I cant complain truly! Trying to figure out what the next step will be and I'm thinking my Pancreas, as I have been dissected with the rest of my organs LOL! Needing to do this fast as our Insurance is changing for the worst this new sign up, don't understand why they do not leave well enough alone!

Had teacher conference yesterday and as I figured, my little one is struggling, finally they are seeing what I am seeing after explaining it  over and over. Just hoping to get the ball rolling on getting him much needed help and working with him on the weekends as my days are long already.

Have a Great Day all!

Good Morning Ladies,

Happy Taco Tuesday.

Phoenixmom- Thank you for the scripture. The last two mornings have been beautiful here. 

Amen!!!

As far as leave goes it really depends on their base and what their restrictions are. Mine was able to come home after graduating from A school but of course that was before COVID days. So it really does depend.

Some moms have been able to go and visit their Sailors. It's one of those wait and see things.

Shanny- That is awesome. I love hearing the stories. He will love it down there. And yes when I look at the time I automatically figure out what time it is back there. Lol 

We have been running short on our ammo to so when I do see it I buy it cause I know it's not going to be there if I go back. 

DavesMoM2020- You have a great day as well!!

Katharine- This is good to know. Mmm your apple strudel sounds good.

Northwoodsmom-Your cake is beautiful. That's amazing.

VintageGal- Have a good day. 

Keep those phones on you at all times and those ringers on loud as you just never know if calls will come in.

May calls and letters come today.

Davesmom2020 - To be honest we didn't know what to expect as for letters. We were shocked that he wrote his grandparents in addition to us and his girlfriend. Guess he was a little bored during ROM lol.Hope he sends more but we aren't hold our breath.

I seriously feel so calm knowing my SAILOR (wow it doesn't get old saying it) is happy and adjusting.  Made friends his first night in Pensacola.  Said they had some issues with the guy in the next room playing his keyboard and singing very badly at 1:00 am.  I told him he has to remember these guys aren't all coming from the crazy of bootcamp.  He was like but I just want to sleep for real, tomorrow I can join in.  

Umm.. that is one beautiful cake!  I can barely get the frosting on right on a cupcake lol Seriously, I don't know what happened to me.  used to love to bake..  loved cooking.  Now I just whine about wanting a decent restaurant to open in my area.  I wish i were talented like that!  Love it!

I am so happy for your letters and calls!  Makes me so happy for you guys!  I may have had Navy allergies a time or two reading everyone's posts!  Do we have any PIRs coming up this week? I am ready to celebrate someone else's I'm a sailor calls!

Time to get moving here...  Hoping my kid's BC pictures arrive today!  He was laughing today about the cost of them.  He was like I have no idea what we will do with all of them...  I said add them to his shrine.  ok for real, I must accomplish something.  He won't call again until 1600 he said  has to go to NEX and buy a whole list of things

Northwoodsmom - you are so talented!

Katharine - I am so glad your puppy and you know mail is coming from both ways - we just need to sick the Navy Mom Posse on the US Lostal Service.

Vantage - no such woman exists though I joked to my husband I need an emotional support maid = just to do the surface cleaning in my home, lol. He was so kind as to “help me” move furniture I was not going to move so I could clean the floor under them. I am too old for this and my knees did not like me on them to towel dry the floor so today I have fans blowing and it cut 30 minutes out of the routine, yay!

Phoenix - praying for answers for your digestion and for wisdom for the teachers as the work with your little one.

party/shanny - I have been scared to look at the ammo amounts in our stores and we stocked up on a lot before we moved and we did a lot of shooting on our property when we first moved here - I would not know where to buy in this area as a lot of shops closed down.

Shanny - I saw photos coming in in my last PIR group from the day of PIR (for those who BST early in the week) til just NOW 26 days later. It is such a weight lifted when they get out of RTC and onto A school. Even the quiet times from my 2nd SR do not feel as gut wrenching..

Recruits will continue to graduate and participate in a smaller-scale ceremony, which will be videotaped and posted each FRIDAY on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NavyRecruitTrainingCommand/ as well as our YouTube channel for RTC Public Affairs

Well I found out yesterday that my Bud will be leaving to Bremerton, WA earlier than expected. was thinking end of next year but actually middle of next year. My heart is sad as he will be 1459.6 miles away from me 22-25 hour drive to fly 4 1/2 hour flight. which he only a  5-6 hour drive now. and 1 1/2 hour flight. He always wanted to go to Canada so he will be a 2 hour ferry ride from his bucket list. as A Little kid he always wanted to live in Canada and wanted to take me with him. Funny Kid!  And now soon he will be on another deployment as they just recently returned, heard the Ike will be heading out as well and they just recently returned, not sure what is up with these back to back deployments makes no sense to me  as the Carriers work extremely hard to run and if not in good/great shape that is a big worry. what Moms need to worry about. Praying for all our Sailors to be safe out at Sea!

Oh, Kim!  How disappointing.  And Shanny and Katharine!  I won't complain anymore about our mail not coming until 3 p.m!  It obviously could be a lot worse!  But Kim, it's coming today!  Yay!  And I didn't realize it until you mentioned it, but today is 4 weeks from when we dropped our SR off at the recruiter's office.  He actually shipped out the next day.  And from what he said in his letters, we should expect this call maybe within the next three days.  I just hope those recruits who are bucking authority don't lose phone calls for the division.  I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for that possibility.  

LadyBuefire:  He ROMed at Fort McCoy.  Ha!  I like the term bag nasties!  Did they mess up his gut?  Our SR usually doesn't have any stomach issues with eating anything, so this surprised me.  Thanks for telling me what the DEP test.  He also said in his letter that he memorized everything there was to memorize.  He also said in his boredom, he realized he could do 5 one-handed push-ups.  He said something about if passing the DEP test by 80% and meeting certain standards on the PFA, he would get a bonus.  He was fairly confident, so I don't know.  He was in pretty good shape going in because of having to meet MCOLES standards for police academy.

Phoenixmom:  So glad you are feeling better and hope the surgeon has an easy "fix" to keep you feeling good!  Hope your little guy can get the help he needs now while he is at the start of his education so he can get a good foundation!  

Shanny!  Yay for the late night phone calls!  He's making up for lost time, huh?    

Northwoodsmom:  You have such a beautiful gift! I'm not creative at all, so I'm always very impressed with things like your beautiful cake!

Prayers PhoenixMom, perhaps after this deployment he might get some well deserved time off and you can got for a nice long visit. Washington is beautiful and alot cooler than the desert. Here's to hoping.

Thanks NorthWoodsMom I am planning a trip to SD next year when he returns from Deployment, I was just thinking he wanted to come for the Holidays and it looks like he may not be able too. So definitely planning a trip to see my Bud. I was getting him and the girls a gift for Christmas with Dads fingerprints my girls a locket and him a very nice Dog tag. looks like I will be hand delivering it when I see him. I just keep thinking 2 more years is all just 2 more then he is out!

Thank you Ladies, I self taught myself back in my 20s. If you go to my page I think you can view my very favorite wedding cake. It took me a while week to do but every snowflake was handcrafted out of white chocolate and everyone was different. It was a 4 tier and then they wanted 300 cupcakes that all had a handmade snowflake on. The wedding had over 500 people. I was a nervous wreck because it had to be delivered over 100 miles away over snow covered roads but it made it there beautifully and I got several orders for more cakes off of that one wedding. It's only a hobby though, I do have a full time job. I just love making people happy.

DavesMom2020—I’d move to the A school pages and or Ship page/ Duty Station page and limit what you share elsewhere.  It’s not bad to stay on those BC pages and remind them of OPSEC and PERSEC.  Just know they may get ugly and or block you from time to time.  New moms have very raw emotions and don’t always think straight. I re-joined a group but now I remember why I left in the first place, So much drama and almost no OPSEC/PERSEC.  I’ll be limiting my time there.

Shanny—HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! They are so funny when they get the first taste of freedom and he has his phone back and likely can’t believe he can call anytime he needs to!!!! You can sleep when you’re dead. (BTW—Outside their room, the answer is NO unless they are going to PT, until they have classed up!  After A school it gets much easier to know the rules!)  There is still a HUGE Ammo shortage for Civilians!  However as I told my DH, Ammo is Ammo!! Target rounds, .22 vs 9mm hit ‘em enough and they will either stop or give serious reconsideration to their life choices!  It is not my intention to ever have to take a life and my neighborhood is seriously safe, middle class and mostly white but that doesn’t mean we are not prepared if someone decided to be stupid and make us a target!

We have several PIR’s this week and a BUNCH next week!!! I also have a ton of moms that I don’t know where they are right now either because they don’t post often or because I missed it.  We may have to do a roll call soonish.

Kristel2400—Hello

Kim—As much as you don’t want to ride this roller coaster any longer the pain of getting off (Your SR/Sailor being removed from the Navy) would hurt even more!

Phoenixmom--  Back to back deployments are not that rare.  It’s even super common for moving sailors to end up with back to back deployments.  My DH was on 2 back to back deployments on 2 different ships.  It is hard but it happens.

C'sMom2020—the call may also be next week based on recent experiences. Fingers crossed for letters and calls this week though!!

LadyBluefire—We were visiting in New Smyrna Beach.  I’ve only been home a day and I’m ready to pack up and go back!  Thankfully today the skies in CO are a Brilliant, Clear Blue and the sun is shining but I miss the oxygen of the lower elevation.  I believe you were also the FlyBaby?  I have been with her since early 2000’s (I’d have to do math to figure out the exact year but it has been a LONG time.  I need to get some stuff decluttered but the Pandemic messed with my head and I just couldn’t. Now that things are better I really need to release the STUFF that has held me back!   How Funny about you and your Hubby.  I met mine in HS.  He was my first “Real Date”, I dated others but those never lasted.  I was in College and had been through a BAD relationship with a guy who was just using me  and another guy who had been crushing on me for a while asked if we could see if there was more than just friendship there.  I tried to gently let him down (I really liked him, He was super sweet and kind but only as a friend—Our respective roommates were engaged) Came home on vacation after breaking guys heart and met up with DH for fun and it was clear there was more there.  DH was not a believer and I broke up with him (Badly) He wanted to know why I thought God was more important and found salvation and a relationship with HIM while we were apart. Swore my parents to secrecy.  I was home for summer vacation and called him to apologize for how I had treated him and it was clear that our feelings had not waned!! We started dating again and 6 months later he told me he had been attending church and we were engaged!  Married the following year and have been friends and lovers ever since.

PhoenixMom and anyone else with Bremerton deployments. We are about a 70min drive (with ferry, 80 min to go around, unless it's rush hour). Next year we are moving and will be about 20 minutes from Bremerton. We can absolutely give shelter and food to whoever needs it. We used to have 4 kids living here (plus a guest room), and now we have 1. We have space, and while our next house will be smaller, we will still have guest space. 

My Grandmother always had people in the house .... traveling musicians, college kids needing a rental, dissidents seeking asylum, (really) etc. Until this last year I never understood what motivated her. Now my house is too empty and I get it. So any weary travelers will always be welcome.

BelovedbyHim:  so before my son left, we had purchased a new hand gun. I have very small hands and the gun dealers wouldn’t sell the gun he thought I should have to me because it didn’t fit in my hand correctly. So I picked this super nice sub compact and it fits perfect for me. I bought an extended magazine for it so he can shoot it too.  He loved it the first time he shot it. We stopped at a friends house on the way home from buying it-he is the county undersheriff. He looked at me and said your coming to my concealed carry class right?  He was excited how it fit perfect for concealed carry. Well, my son has never seen me shoot. In another life time I went through the police academy. I used to know how to shoot really well. So I said I am only shooting one round. After you guys shoot, I’ll take my turn. I fired one round as the boys were complaining about getting used to the sights. I hit just outside the bullseye. And said told ya I only needed one shot. 
damn I was lucky that day lol probably couldn’t do that in one round again   But the look of shock on their faces made it worth it 

Shanny-- We never had guns in our house until the kids were grown.  I had never shot except a cheap BB gun that seemed to shoot sideways.  First time I was shaking and jumping so much.  They all laughed at me, Then I shot.... Tight grouping and just to the right of center.... They still correct me on lots of stuff but when DH added a laser sight (I wear glasses but shoot w/o because I may not have time to get them.....) I am good enough that the Bad guys will either be hurting and rethinking their life choices or taking the issue up with God and He can sort them out!  My Sailor is always giving us grief for getting cool after he moved out!  I tell him we were always Cool but we also had kids who did stupid and we wanted to give them a chance to grow up first! 

BelovedbyHim:  we always had hunting rifles on our house growing up. But my dad has never liked handguns. I guess he never got comfortable with them. Everything is locked in a gun safe. But my son started hunting and took hunters safety classes before he touched a gun. I am not a hunter. But I love target shooting. My dad taught him how to properly clean and store his guns. And before he left, he cleaned his shotgun and made sure it was put away safely. Then cleaned the handgun again before locking it in the safe. Then lectured me about it. Like I didn't teach him or something lol 

Hello all!

My youngest left MEPS today, September 29th, for RTC>
Anyone else have a child leave today? 

This is my second Sailor and I also have an Airman.

It's been 7 years since I have had a Recruit, so where will I find the page for my kid's Division?

I can't wait to get to know some of my fellow Moms!

Laura 

GM & MA Mom

Shanny, We had guns in my house as well. My kids and grand kids were all raised with them. We taught them gun safety and how to clean the guns as well. We love going target shooting. We prefer going outdoors in the desert verses a shooting range.

belovedbyHim- Hey, your last post made me laugh and yep I get it. Lol

Phoenixmom- Glad to hear the conference went well and that they are on board with you now.  Hope everything goes well today.

Katharine- I'll keep that info in my hat so to speak.  :) Thanks for opening up your home and welcoming everyone!!! God Bless you and yours!!!

Welcome momm2five it is good to have you on here. Thank your Sailor and your Airman for their service.  :) 

Here's a link to get started.

Boot Camp First Weeks Timeline

Ship/Division--How it Works. 

momm2five- Here's the other link that tells about what to expect during COVID.

First Things First-- The Quarantine Edition

My husband was from WV, and grew up shooting and hunting. We didn't have guns for a long time as we were overseas, but once we got back he got his long guns.  I had learned to shoot black powder in college, but didn't often have the opportunity to go shooting once I was in the service.  I could hit a milk jug and keep it in the air with his shotgun, a huge pump hunting one. Family heirloom.  But as I got older, I couldn't handle it anymore.  When he passed, I gave his long guns, including an old Winchester 30-30 to his "work son".  So it's in the family in a way.  
My friend is taking me to the range on Thursday so I can try out some handguns.  I know what I want, very specifically, as I have tried some out.  Not going for CCW, as it's strictly home defense.  I hate carrying a purse, so I know I would simply be annoyed.  We have so much high fire danger that target shooting has to be done in indoor ranges.  I'm pretty ambivalent about a handgun in the house, I have some pretty nifty large blades near the doors...

I grew up with my dad's hunting rifles and shot guns but never fired them. He took us out to try them and when my brother fired the gun and ended up on his rump and my sister shot and had a HUGE bruise on her shoulder, I Noped out of there! I also knew a family that lost a child due to an unsecured handgun (visitor to the home, unlocked car and loaded gun and an unspeakable horror) so I was not super excited about them. My DH was on a Competition Rifle team in College and was/ is an excellent marksman but I simply put my foot down. About 8ish years ago I told DH that he could get ammo for his Grandfathers rifle he had inherited and he could have 1 gun if he felt the need for it. We now have over 5 and 2 more that we are considering. Every gun has a purpose and they are all kept SECURED and not where anyone can easily get at them (unless they know the secrets... Hubby loves mind puzzles like that) and we are considering getting CC guns but that is where I am LEAST comfortable. I remind him often that it would not be wise to have a gun that I am not comfortable carrying as a CC weapon and I'm just not there yet.

BelovedbyHim:  sadly I know that horror as well. A very good friend of mine had recently separated from his wife and he had the kids. He had a roommate just move in and the guy did not follow his rules about locking up firearms. He put a loaded handgun on the floor in a closet. My friend’s 3 year old son found it. It made national news. And I found out by seeing it on the nightly news. :( the man did prison time for it

I also grew up in a hunting family but I can't even kill a bug. I actually scoop them up in a container and take them back outside. You can imagine my family when I told them I was going to Fleet Farm and look for a gun before November. My hubby was freaking out. He told me I don't need one because he thinks I will never shoot it. He has a couple and he told me if I need to scare someone off just to pick up one of them. I told him they are much to big and I don't even know how to load them. According to him, I don't need to load it, me with a gun is scary enough. Do you think he is afraid of me that he doesn't want me to have one. I have asked him several times to go with me and he just says no, you don't need a gun. I am not prissy, I have my own chain saw so I don't understand it. Men!

Yep that is a Horror that never ends! 
NWM- That is what one of our is for.  DH said just point it away from anything I care about and pull the trigger-- It is so loud that it will scare the Hell out of them and they'll be angels in no time! (and it will wake the neighbors a mile away and hopefully send everyone out to see what just happened!!) I just want to know how I'm supposed to get my ear protection on before then?

Northwoodsmom - Your cake is beautiful. My daughter's cake was suppose to have those really smooth sides as well, but I just could not get it to come out right. I finally gave up and she got what she got! That was my first wedding cake, I had never done a tiered cake like that and was trying to learn everything, plus make lemon bars from scratch with two different recipes I had never used before!!

momm2five - welcome aboard!! We chat about a lot of different things on this site but everyone either has a loved one in BC currently or has been there, done that and we stick around to help you through the process as well. 

Due to COVID the PIR groups that use to be set up for each week of PIR have not been created. Ellen0502 was making them for each month but I don't think we have one set up for October yet. 

momm2five - welcome.  I hope you find this group as helpful as I have. Really amazing group of ladies that offer support, joke around with each other, and provide information.

phoenix- I really wish your Bud wasn’t going to be so far away, and sooner that expected. I’ve been thinking about you today. 

Shanny- sounds like your shooting skills stuck with you! Did you ever become a police officer? 

Northwoodsmom - such a pretty cake. I loved to bake as a child but never could develop the skills to make cake pretty! 

Sounds a bunch of us are into Guns! 
Before our son came along, we always kept guns in the house. My husband owns a jewelry business, and has had friends that experienced home invasion robberies. When our son came along we locked them all up because I felt it wasn’t safe with a child in the house. When I grew up, my dad kept a handgun. At some point I knew where he kept it. I remember thinking about using it when I felt depressed. Would’ve been a really stupid thing to do as a young teenager. For that reason I would never have a gun in the house with kids or adolescents because I do think kids can make stupid choices that are forever bad.

However, we’ve always had multiple guns in our jewelry store in the event of a robbery. We taught our son how to use guns when he was young and once he left for college, we brought guns back in the house, but locked in our room.

We’re actually very fortunate as my BIL owns a gun store. For the last several birthdays, my son was able to bring several buddies (with parental permission) out to the desert and they shot everything - and a lot of it! It’s been so much fun. My son would find a gun on Xbox or in a war movie, and just ask his uncle if he could bring one to the next shooting trip. My son was quite popular with his friends, who are now all customers of my BIL. This last year, because of Covid, his uncle (my BIL) had to ration the ammo. Very hard to come by. We still got to shoot off a couple thousand rounds but the “birthday trip” had to be postponed twice -happened 5 months late. My son was worried it would not happen before boot camp. Between Covid, perceived food shortages, riots and pending issues this November, my BIL has had 1-3 hour lines around the building most of the year. My SR is not a hunter, just shot at targets. Will miss this fun trips. Those and camping, Skiing, ATVs and wave runners. We did it all before he came along, but now that he is gone, I’m just not sure how much fun it will be. 

Unfortunately, I don’t think my son ever learned to clean or dismantle a gun - how fun it must have been for (who’s SR) to compete have the RDC complement his abilities!!

If any of you have a PIR of October 16 - be sure to check out the discussion above and reply!

Phoenixmom - thinking about you and your grandson!!

May you all have a restful evening!!

Pheonixmom- I hope that what is ailing your stomach is figured out very soon. You need relief!

I’m sorry that your Bud will be further away from you and I hope that all will be well with him. 
That’s great that you had a meeting of the minds regarding your grandson and that there will be more attention paid towards his individual needs. We’re all rooting for you!!

Regarding gun talk... my favorite gun to shoot is a shotgun. The power behind that puppy! We have a couple handguns locked up for home protection but they’re not as fun to shoot in my opinion. My children have also been schooled in the proper way to handle a gun. Grandpa takes us out for target shooting and boy is he ready for an invasion of some sort! I’m glad they’re all at his house though and not mine LOL It’s a Little too intense. More power to him :) 

Welcome to our new Navy mamas! We’re glad you’re here! We have on here moms, beautiful surrogate moms, and women to support friends and family. We’re all in this together to hold hands in fellowship! 

Good night and sweet dreams to you and your SR. <3

Chipmunk - My SR has a PIR of 10/15 .... what am I supposed to be looking for?

As for guns .... I grew up in Canada. End of story. The end. Except .......  I entered a contest 4 years ago and won an S&W M&P Shield ..... to the horror of my parents, siblings,cousins (except the one Canadian cousin that served in Afghanistan ... now I am an ugly American to all of them too). I took a class and have been to the range twice. I need waaaaaaayyyyyyyyy more practice but have trouble finding time. That is what retirement is for .... right? The recoil is a bit much for me ... but I am in in PT for balance issues (after the spinal fractures 5 years ago) .... I will be supple and balanced and strong within the next year. Then the recoil will be fine. Or I will get a woosier gun. Boy my Canadian family hates me .... except cousin Kyle.

On our last trip, my favorite gun to shoot was my neices pink cammo AR 15 with a scope. It made me look good. I could it a target at 100 yards 8 out of 10 times! It was so fun. Then I tried my BIL AR 15 and could not even hit the target! Never realized how the gun makes such a difference. I just live the challenge of target shooting. I have figured out I like metal targets that make a ping sound or balloons that pop. There’s no question you hit it. With paper or clay, sometimes at a distance you just can’t be sure if you hit it, or how close you are to bullseye. 

My BIL is a shooting instructor, and because we own the jewelry store, I know I could get a conceal and carry permit, but I really have no desire... I don’t personally own any. They are all in my husbands name. 

Well we finally got letters and just reading his hand writing helped a bunch! In fact he had 11 stuffed in the envelope and it required 3 stamps to cover the postage, lol. They were all for time during ROM. They started very positive then a few sounded a little down due to the boredom. The last few were very upbeat as they were getting closer to ship to GL. He did seem more worried about his dog than mom and dad LOL.He did say when they ship it would be 10pm and it would be the normal "night of arrival" followed by the moment of truth. Not sure if that was right or if they just assuming that. Now we'll wait for more and hopefully a phone call, WooHoo!

Good Morning Ladies and welcome to all of our new moms,

Come and introduce yourselves and let us know where you are in your Navy journey. We are glad you are hear. The first few weeks are hard with no to little communication. Keeping busy is the key and start letter writing now as this will help you as well. Your SR will love getting the letters.

Keep those phones on you at all times and those ringers on loud. Answer every call you just never know.

Kim- Glad to hear you finally got letters!! whoo hoo that's awesome!! I love it. That's usually what happens when they first get to GL. 

Thinking of all of you ladies, ladybluefire, Phoenixmom, Chipmunk, Anti M, Shanny, VintageGal, DavesMom2020, Jen(OS mom).

Katharine, I hope you are starting to feel better.

Unicornlily05- How are you today?