Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

LadyBluefire:  he just called...  he said he has been super busy with this being his last week in school.  Plus he is pulling watch shifts and training someone to take over his job of scheduling watches for when he leaves..  but on Thanksgiving, he FaceTimed my brother and his family. My my parents were there but I had left because of the crap with my mom. So he talked to all of them for like an hour but I didn’t even get a text or call all day.   So I am just being the selfish mom who misses her kid and was feeling left out.  

Shanny ~ i’m glad you heard from your son. Geez Louise I don’t think our kids quite understand how tender our mama hearts actually are and how we would do absolutely anything for them! No matter what he knows that you are his constant and that you love him unconditionally :) 

Manycolors ~ we’re glad you’re here. Please feel free to ask questions and say what’s on your mind at any time. The admin and Navy mom veterans have a lot of information to give. My son just graduated BC a month ago and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to be during this journey. There’s quite a few of us whose sailors have been out of Boot Camp, even for a couple of months now, who stick around because we love the camaraderie and enjoy welcoming new moms. We know how tough this time can be on our mama hearts. Talk about a roller coaster! I felt like the more I knew, studied, and watched videos of their experiences, the more comfort I felt. I hope that you find comfort in that as well. 

(((((BNMH))))) Big Navy Mom Hugs

Shanny ~ here’s to your son and that he enjoys his time in Norfolk. Hopefully you can make it out there to visit the Vietnam wall with him. My son told me to get used to the idea of him going to Bahrain. That’s not where his orders are but he doesn’t want me to get my hopes up that he’ll be anywhere close by. Gerrr lol so anywhere else will be good news. 
Do we need to send the Navy mom posse to Pensacola? Call your mom! 

ladybluefire - Hello! That’s so cute that your son is decorating the Christmas tree and I’m sure he’ll get his growth spurt LOL  sweet boy! So hopefully we’re all still around to hear if your youngest goes into the Navy. But he needs to watch what he says - mom definitely doesn’t need to hear that kind of talk!

So I’ve only gone out on a black Friday shopping trip once with a girlfriend of mine about 13 years ago. We had a blast but it’s definitely not my cup of tea. My husband and I did some online shopping yesterday. My Sailor is asking for a leather tactical wallet that has the feature that it protects his cards. So if anyone needs any gift ideas for their sailors, that sounds like a pretty cool one.

And stitch fix sounds like a neat idea! I do not like shopping for myself at all! 

Yeah seeing the picture of his Thanksgiving meal was a bit sad but I have to be thankful that my son has food on his plate. 

So my son hasn’t started his classes yet so they chose sailors to help out in the OC obstacle course. His hands are pretty tore up from holding the punching bags. I said who do I call to complain to?! LOL He said he should be starting classes next week and then he will have to do the OC obstacle course himself at about five weeks in to class. 

Partyofseven ~ good morning :) doing pretty good. I feel like it’s mostly just sinus pressure and a slight cold. I am so glad I haven’t lost my taste and smell. My husband still hasn’t gotten it back 100%. Yesterday was his birthday and my daughter and son ordered him a heart shaped pizza and they put a four and a one candle on it. It was so cute they were very thoughtful all day. And then my kids were FaceTiming our sailor figuring out gifts to get each other and for us. It’s so sweet when you can sit back and watch your children do nice things for each other. 

Shoosh ~ sending all of our love and support to your daughter getting through this last stretch! 

BsNukeMomMMN ~ that’s hysterical! Thanks for the laugh! I wouldn’t doubt if that’s the way they do it! 

Hello to the rest of our moms! I hope you’re enjoying your Saturday afternoon. 

Shortcake. TxAggie, DallasNavyMom, Doribry - how’s everything going ladies? 

Hey howdy.  I didn't get tested after all, even after waiting.  I don't even feel like typing it out, so frustrated.  So it's back to bed. An old acquaintance is in town from California and wanted to come visit to "be there for me", but later tonight.  Uh, no, I don't want to get up and put on pants and a mask in my own house.  I only do that for a handful of people, not someone who hasn't messaged me since May....

I have my cranky pants on though.

Anti M:  I hope you feel better quickly!!!  Umm unless it is a best friend who is always there for you and around you all the time, I would be saying hell no go away too!  You don’t need to be entertaining people when you don’t feel well unless you really truly want to. Please get some rest and take care of yourself!

BelovedbyHim:  I think he is getting used to the idea of Norfolk. A lot of the guys from A School he has been friends with are going there. And 2 will be on the same ship as him. And they have the same rate so he is hoping he will be seeing them there. (They have already graduated). He called today and told me he is so ready to move on to the next stage. He said he is ready to get to Norfolk. My dad was stationed there in 1969. So he is ready to find some of the same things my dad did and show him what’s new. He is hoping to eventually visit South Carolina and see my dad’s old ship. (USS Yorktown) so he has changed his mind quickly 

Anti M ~ I agree with Shanny. Not the time to be entertaining someone. Drink plenty of fluids and get some rest. It’s OK if you’ve got your cranky pants on as long as they’re soft and cozy! Have a good movie to watch? 

Shanny ~ That’s so nice to hear that your son is excited for his duty station. That’s all we want and need is to know that they’re happy :) Aaah I can’t wait to find out where my son is going! West coast pleeeease for the first leg at least 

VintageGal:  I think knowing that his roommate from A School and one of the other guys from his floor are also on the same ship helps. I keep thinking this should be easy for him new things and he loves adventure. But I also have to remember he had less than 50 kids in his graduating class and 800 in our town. This is culture shock for him

Shanny - There will be more people on your son's ship than in your hometown - Yes, a cultural shock!! 

AntiM - I totally agree with the others. You don't need to "entertain" anyone if you don't feel up to it. I hope your cranky pants are comfy!!

Chipmunk:  there are 900 in his barracks right now lol when he first got there he told me there are more people in this building than in all of our town!  I remember feeling that way when I went to college. We had 54 in my class. I graduated in the winter commencement with close to 7000 lol

Shanny - 7000 in your graduating class!! Wow that is a lot!

The USS Yorktown is where the Prototype graduations were held for the Nukes at least prior to Covid. I don't know if they are still doing graduation there or not. 

Chipmunk:  back when my brain still functional, I graduated from Michigan State University. My home. I still feel more at home when I go back there than I do where I live.  

I should say 7000 was what we were told but we actually graduated by our college (so I graduated with the College of Social Science and all the majors that fell.under that category)  so not sure how many were actually in our ceremony. But it seriously took forever because they announced each graduate one by one

Shanny - well it sounds like your son is looking at the positive with Norfolk - good to hear!  There is lots to do all around VA and yes, DC is close too.  Hopefully you'll get to visit him there.  Also Shanny, B&C are both getting ready to graduate from MSU next month - thanks again to the US Navy!  I'm bummed - no graduation, just virtual.  Oh well, it is what it is.

AntiM - I hope you are feeling better soon.  No fun being sick and I agree - you definitely don't want to be entertaining!

Who said StitchFix?  I've been using them for the last couple of years and love it (I also despise shopping lol!).  I'm amazed at how well they put together outfits for me - I definitely recommend them.

B'sNukeMom:  i hadn't even thought about how they would do college graduations!  Oh that is so sad that they don't get to have one!  Congratulations to both of them and Welcome them to Spartan Alumni!  Spartan Nation is a special group of people!  I remember taking my son to an ENT when he was little for eat infections. He was wearing an MSU shirt and the doctor asked him of he was a Spartan.   My son said "Yes but my Mom is a real Spartan not like a Walmart Wolverine!"  The doctor laughed and asked if I was alumni. I said yes and he said he was and hoped to see me at alumni functions. He ended up being president for the MSU alumni association for my area lol. When we were walking out he opened his office door and said GO GREEN!  and my son, being a Spartan. Yelled "GO WHITE!"

B'sNukeMom - I think LadyBluefire mentioned StitchFix - I guess I will have to look them up. Our JC Penney's store closed down with the lockdowns this spring and never opened back up again - :-(

Shanny - that would be one long graduation!! I am glad that you still feel a part of that community though. 

B'sNukeMoM MMN- That is awesome!! That's right I had forgotten your two would be graduating soon. I'm sorry no ceremony thou, not the way the numbers are across the country. Congratulations to them both!!!

ladyblueFire was the one talking about the stitch fix clothes. I had looked into them but was unsure. 

So you are happy with them and it's a good thing. Thank you ladies for the tip. :) I will look into them again!!

Anti M- Thanks for posting and letting us know what was happening. I was in beautiful Prescott so I couldn't respond to you right away!!

Keep resting and taking care of your self and no I wouldn't be entertaining any one either. :) 

Shanny my son is the same way, his graduating class had 15 kids. He told me that was one of the reasons he signed up for a sub, they usually have under a 150 Sailors. He has another year of schooling before he hears where he will be going.

Chipmunk and AntiM praying for you both. My nephew just came off his quarantine, still has no taste or smell. He was one of the four who didn't get the virus up in Minnesota with the rest of my family. I hope you both are doing well, remember to take deep breaths and move around if you can, it is associated with pneumonia and you need to keep your lungs clear.

LBF, I've been trying to get things organized since my daughter left for college back in 2005. She was my organizer and when she left our lives have been total chaos ever since. She finally got me a app that helps me organize a little better , that is when I remember to use it.

Northwoodsmom- Hey, How is your Sailor doing? One more year of school left time is flying by it seems. 

I'm glad your nephew is off of quarantine but sad that he still has no taste or smell. Prayers for him to continue to get better.

What app do you use and do you like it?

We have communication with our new sailor as he is now sitting at his A school ... he says he will be sitting a long time as there are so many that came in before him that have to go through A school before he gets a spot...Not sure what that means for him and time line as such.  He has been walking a lot he says vs. taking the bus around the base so guess he is trying to stay in shape. 

He sent a picture of the Thanksgiving lunch...his plate had 90% corn & he said that was not his intention, but that the person serving just dumped it all on his plate for some odd reason...he said he had wanted to try some other stuff they had but, guess since plate was filled after the corn he didn't get to.  Oh well he will survive...  He called while we were at my eldest daughter & son-in-laws getting supper on the table...middle daughter had him on video call on her phone & showing him all the food we were fixing to have.  We were able to set up the phone at the table so he could "sit" with us for Thanksgiving.  Not exactly the same but, the laughing & ribbing of the 3 kids with each other was music to my momma ears.

He is thinking he will possibly get to fly home for part of Christmas break... crossing fingers & yes, we did purchase tickets for the dates he thinks... We all know it may not happen but, we can hope it does.

I am just thankful that he is able to call & for the blessing that everyone is staying healthy.

oh, and the turkey drama was a bit diffused as momma didn't go over in morning as son-in-law wanted (easier to do my cooking at home vs...schlepping all ingredients, pans etc...to their place as their kitchen is no bigger than my little one so easier to fix & take.  He managed to brine turkey & cook it just fine... felt so bad when he  told me what he paid for the turkey per pound as he bought a "heritage turkey"...  He asked what the average turkey in the store is per pound... I felt soo bad seeing his face fall at the realization that he way way over paid ... poor kid.  He is a great guy, caring, & takes care of his folks as well as us throughout the year whenever he can.  In the midst of the pandemic he took it upon himself to go each week to local farmer's market to shop for his folks and us so that none of us had to take a chance catching covid. 

Prayers & Hugs to each of you.  This ole momma tired so gonna sign herself out & wrap up what needs to be done to head off to bed.  Hoping tonight my old dogs can sleep so I can sleep too...but, not holding my breath....

BBH - I hear ya on the blues. Colorado right? Oooh so pretty - I will be there in a jif! I feel better when I have less clutter around me. Sending you BNMH to cheer you up! This year has been a doozy!

Anti M - I do not blame you one it for not wanting to have to put pants on for an acquaintance. Especially when you don’t feel well.

Vintage - I will move heaven and earth to keep my youngest out of the Navy (inwardly, lol so really won’t do anything, lol)

Happy 41st b-day to your hubby. Hopefully you stay as good as you are and he gets his taste/smell back. 

I love Stitch Fix - the clothes ALWAYS fit which is amazing since I gained 10 lbs - and I told them no polyester (sucks in humid weather) so it is nice that all the tops are breathable..
I know it sounds sad but I get excited when my fixes come and I try on the clothes. I used to do every 2 months but now I am doing every 3 months. They get me things I would not pick out for myself but when I put them on I love them..

Shanny - glad your son is warming to the idea of Norfolk. Tell him to stop by and have “Gravy” cut his hair. Though with his work schedule who knows when he is there, lol. 7000!! Wow and  I thought my graduation class of 400-500 was big!

NWM - since about 2000 I go through my stuff on occasion and ask myself if I would be upset if I lost this in a fire? Then if I don’t use it and the answer is no I donated it. Papers were scanned and saved on computers. I used to be good about “filing” them properly but these days I just scan and everything is in one folder - but I have loads of misc folders I need to combine and put the files where they go...I do a mix of Kon Marie and FlyLady..

NewMilMom - technology is great - not the same as being there - but still so much better than without. What a sweet SIL you have! Crossing fingers for a Christmas visit with your Sailor!
Well, time for coffee and then I have to go and grab my #3 sailors professional photos! Can;t wait to get them in the frames!

Have a great SONday ladies!

NewMilMom - I am glad that you were able to spend some FaceTime with your sailor. I remember our first Thanksgiving without our sailor and it was also the first year that we did not go to our out of town family either. We invited some friends to our  house for Thanksgiving and Skyped with our son since he wasn't having dinner with his friends until later. That was when I still had my inherited house and a place to have a large gathering!

We were all happy to see our sailor but I think he still felt awkward trying to talk to us and just sitting while we were eating. 

Northwoodsmoom - I hope your family meal went well yesterday. Thank you, I have been making sure I have been as active as I could be. 

Partyofseven - I am glad you and your grandson had a nice time at the movies. 

Good evening (actually almost good night for me).  Glad I didn't have to catch up too much.  I do feel better today, but that's been the problem, I start feeling okay and the next day, not so much. I did get my metal holiday barn stars on the front of the house, and will slowly get things done day by day. My tree is in the shed, and the big metal bells.  The roof lights are out there too, but that's not happening.  

I wasn't stationed in Norfolk, but my dad was (Oceana, the air base part) when I was 7 to 9.  I remember going to Virginia Beach, and Jamestown, and Williamsburg (before Busch Gardens was there).  Great Dismal Swamp was interesting. We went up to the Smithsonian in DC too.  So much to do there, my parents were big on educational things for us kids. Tried all the seafood, and I loved hushpuppies. Not sure how it is for sailors, but it was cool as a dependent. 

Hey Anti M,

It's good to see you on here. I am glad your feeling a little better. Don't over do it and take your time decorating and such. Back to work for me tomorrow. Then it's only 15 days before Christmas break. It's going way to fast.

My parents were also stationed in Norfolk and I was born at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital. We lived in Va beach at that time and I remember going to those places as well. Jamestown was my favorite. I also have family that lived in DC and they lived in one of those high rise buildings. Oh the fun we had. :)

It's definitely different now than it was when we were kids. 

Good Night and have a peaceful sleep.  

Anti M - Mornings I definitely had more energy than I did by the end of the day.

Good morning everyone!!  Well I am officially in non-quarantine status and I still have family in town so I will be busy and also busy getting ready for a grandbaby's birthday soon. I am thankful for the ladies who are able to reach out to our newcomers.  I am also having difficulty with my copying and pasting links. I don't think they are copying correctly, so if someone can repost BBH's blog for our newcomers and post the PIR groups if you are on today - Phoenximom or anyone else, thanks!! 

Good Morning All, It's good to be back.....Hope you all had a Wonderful Thanksgiving with your Family and Friends. Mine was Wonderful we had a great View of Phoenix from the Mountain. It was even Nicer because I didn't have to cook and clean YAY! We had a full course meal very well Don it was! I mentioned that I liked it so much I could do this again, well that got shot down by My Daughter, No Mom we cant do that to the others. HumBug! LOL!

Spoke to my Son  this weekend, looks like 75% of the Carrier are away at hotels quarantining,

Good Morning to all the Admins Hope you all have a Great Day and I will post Chipmunk!

This Morning's Prayer:

Almighty God, give me grace to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that I may fix my heart on Jesus Christ your Son my Lord where true joy is to be found. Amen.

For those that are new and just joining here is Mrs. Beloved's Blog in what to expect when first arriving.

BelovedbyHim's blog First Things First-- The Quarantine Edition

PIR DECEMBER 2020

Chipmunk - Glad you are in non Q status! You were more active of late, lol. Happy Birthday to the grandbaby!!!! Enjoy your family in town...get all those hugs in you need to

Anti M- just take it easy, the world won’t end if you do not decorate for Christmas. It is easy to be fooled into feeling well and then overdo it and then you get knocked on your butt the next day. My husband and I built this erector set type set up for Christmas lights - putting them in electrical pipes (that we cut slits all the way down the edge) and popping them together and then we just opened up the set and plopped them on the roof. We used them for a few years but now we have a metal roof -  no more lights on the roof. So we bought a projector and just put lights on our trees.

Party - hubby and I took the kids in 2015 to do a whirlwind tour of DC, Jamestown, Monticello, Mount Vernon.

Phoenix - glad you had a good Thanksgiving. Catering is the way to go! I don’t have to prove I can cook a Thanksgiving meal like I did when I first started out. I’d rather hang with family and enjoy them and not stress. Even just cooking for my children would stress me out and the years we went out or bought pre made were the funnest years...spent more time enjoying each other.

Everyone else, have a good day. I am gonna do my “home blessing hour” and then more computer organizing.

Has it really been 4 months since my son swore in and boarded the plane for BC?!? Wow. It both seems like yesterday and forever ago!!  

Morning everyone!  Welcome to all our new members!  You have come to the right place!  Please feel free to ask any questions you may have or just jump in and join some conversations!  We tend to get a bit chatty during the week and the board moves fast so if we miss your question, please ask again we will never intentionally ignore you!  

Hoping phone calls and letters are flowing in today!!  
looks like the snow is literally going to surround us but not reach us-west side of the state and east side bit getting heavy snow. Happy the lake effect snows aren’t heading inland today!  My son is in shocked they have a freeze warning in Florida and his low temps are colder than mine in Michigan! 

Good Morning Ladies, missed you all, missed our Chats Shanny! WOW! four Months already, time will fly by, My Bud has been in 3 yrs now counting the Next two and he will be out!

Welcome to all the new Comers Please stop by and Introduce yourselves. and bring any and all questions. we are here to help you thru these long 8-9 weeks, and yes Your Emotions will be all over the place I'm sorry to say. But you will be fine here. We have a great support system here and the  Ladies are Fabulous! So Welcome again!

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

You have come to the right place. Your questions will be answered and we are here for you.

Phoenixmom- I know you were missed to. I miss our chats.  :) I'm glad your dinner was awesome, I had a nice break off as well. 

Now back to work I go.   :)

Good Morning PartyofSeven, I was pretty busy packing my whole kitchen this week. Started wed. Night finally got done Sat. evening. Didn't realize how much stuff I had. Gave plates and mini plate away still need to go thru some things. I even went thru my closet and gave a 40 lb trash bag of clothes and shoes away. and I still have a closet full. but it slimmed it down as new jeans, pants and tops and new shoes sandals were all given. so I did make the accomplishment to do this as Ben would be so proud, He always hounded me about all my clothes and shoes. Now to buy new! LOL! Ive slowed down on buying clothes as I really don't need. now to get this Kitchen done. Spoke to my daughter and tamales are going to have to wait until after the holidays as she is also getting her home done as well. And I really don't want to stress over it. so in due time it will get done. and she mentioned she doesn't want to make a lot as we usually do 40 doz. of the meat and 36 doz of the green. so this year wont be so much. I'm good with that!

Phoenixmom- Oh my gosh that is awesome!!

That is a lot of stuff you did have. I know right? I always say stuff in my kitchen keeps growing the more I clean the cabinets out. Lol

Mmmm I love tamales. They are so good. I bet I've never made them but I know it's a lot of hard work from what I've learned.

PartyofSeven when you have help it's not to bad, I have like 3 spreaders I roll and I have one who bags but it is time consuming. I make the chili for all the meat but the cleaning of the Hojas is what takes time.

PhoenixMom:  I am so just coming over to eat!!!  I’ve never had a tamale!  I live a boring food sheltered life. Back when we could go to restaurants, I always order the same thing every time. I’m afraid of food allergies and mostly I won’t like something...  last time I visited a friend of mine she took me to this little hole in wall tiny take out Mexican restaurant. Then told me I wasn’t allowed to order what I do when we go to the chain places...  she was right. I was missing out!  Then found this little weird looking restaurant near me. I mean it’s painted black and has tinted windows. But someone I worked with told me I had to go on lunch and order street tacos.  I had no idea what that even was. See sheltered. But OMG amazing!!!  Next time, I took my son with me and he said why are we here and I told him to just wait, ordered him one of each kind (they had two kinds of chicken, a steak, and a chili pork). He ate all of them and ordered two more to go lol

Shanny Definetely! you can come over anytime. I love cooking and miss it very much. tamales for breakfast with some eggs MMMMMMM! Girl I can make you a Breakfast for Queens!  My Red chili Tamales I mix pork and beef together and it has quite the taste I put Green olives in Mine because of the salt. My Green chili tamales I mix cream corn in the masa and we put strips of Hatch green chilis with a hand full of shredded sharp cheese and roll it. those are Bomb! we usually have had some made already but We are behind this year with work being done to my home and daughter repainting the inside of her home, we decided after the holidays. I usually make a lot because I like to share and give some out. As many do not make them.

we usually grill carne asada and marinated chicken and make street tacos out of that, but there are so many ways to have tacos. Like Lengua (Beef tongue) tacos de pastor which is pork, tacos de birria made with goat meat, but also made with beef, veal, lamb or pork.

PhoenixMom:  I’m sending my Sailor to your house!  He would probably never leave!

OK. Here I go again. This mom is shaking her head looking for any kind of suggestion on how to handle this situation:

My sailor was granted leave after A School graduation. Orders to report to his new temporary duty station got him there on 12 November where he was put in ROM for 14 days. No contact with any other humans except for the guys delivering meals with a knock on the door and leaving the food outside. The 14 days were up on Thanksgiving. They even "forgot" to deliver breakfast, lunch and dinner food to the guys in ROM until Thanksgiving evening! Pizza, which is better than nothing at all. Due to the holiday, ROM continued through this past weekend. But that's a guess on our part.

Now, it's Monday and still no word on springing him loose from the confinement. He has no mentor in his particular program. Any suggestions on who he can contact on the base to get out of ROM. It's a crazy way to handle things this far into COVID. Really! Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Note outside the door for the lunch delivery guy? That's literally all we can think of.

At least he has his phone. We've been texting periodically. That's it for my mom rant. Thanks for listening.