Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones)

Good Morning Everyone!!  We are back home from our holiday travels to my in-law family. We were there from Christmas Eve - Sun.  The zoom meet on Christmas Eve went well with my sailor and his gf but I dropped the ball on communicating completely with my Momma daughter and they missed out - Too much going on at once!! I simplified my Christmas a lot this year, but still wrapping presents, packing & taking to G'mas is just hard and even harder now that we had to downsize from our 15 passenger van to a small sized sedan! My sailor had to work on Christmas Day but his sweet gf made him dinner!!

I have started a list of anyone interested in a Navy Mom Posse night. I need to double ck with B'sNukeMom on something before we make it completely virtual, otherwise, I figured I can look for a movie on YouTube and we set up a discussion above and we can make comments on the movie in the discussion as we are watching the movie. I don't have Netflix or anything so let me know if you have other ideas. 

If you are interested be sure to note it here or post a comment on My Page. 

Shanny  & others, I had thought I would have a chance to reach out to our ship ombudsman and find out more information on why they are requiring the sailors to pay their ROM bills out of their pocket and reimburse - but I just have not had a chance. I asked my sailor & his gf and honestly, they said things have just been hard with COVID. So much is different. When my son evacuated for a hurricane from his school he had to turn in a reimbursement for his gasoline and wait for it to be paid. But his gf said that when she went for a training at one point, she was given a Travel Voucher card and did not have to pay anything out of pocket. Most of this is new to me and I only started hearing some of this prior to your son's experience.  - Anti M or Ellen0502 do you have any perspective on this? 

So - My advice - for those of you with sailors getting to A school, and then needing to ROM afterwards before heading to their duty station - tell your sailors, make sure you have money in your accounts. Don't start spending money right away until you have gotten a small nest egg built up for emergencies like this. Prior to Prototype in Nuke school, the sailors were instructed in things like this as they have to get their own apartments and pay deposit fees, etc. Not sure the A schools are being as proactive with our sailors during COVID. 

Shanny - Thanks for the weather report! Yes, Suffolk is west of Norfolk and looking at the line of damage and that the tornado was an F-1, I see why my son most likely had not heard about it. You have to realize the  May 3, 1999 F-5 Tornado   was almost a mile wide & ~ 38 miles long. It cut between our house and my husband's work. F-3 + are more of what we see, although any tornado that is going on in our area is going to receive news coverage!! If your son wants to be a storm chaser, then he needs to move to OK and learn from the best. As I recall though, in our Zoom call my sailor said the wind was as strong as back home because he could lean against it and not fall!! So there were very high winds that night. I love to hear of your son's interest in the weather. 

Suffolk, VA also had a tornado sometimes this year as well. I do have friends that live there so I need to check in on them. Thanks again for sharing. 

Partyofseven - I hope you get to feeling better. Snow is pretty even if just a small amount. 

I said something to my husband about not putting the Christmas decorations away just yet. He said, well they stay up till Epiphany. I said, yes, but that is Jan 6th and I have such and such to do. I will take them down on New Year's Day. That is what Mom always did before going back to school. If I don't then end up staying up till who knows when I get them away. 

VintageGal & others some of you have had your trees up for awhile for your sailors and family. I understand the need to take everything down and start this new season all fresh and ready to go! New seasons in our lives are like a new chapter in a book. Each one reveals something new that will complete the story. We continue moving forward in our story but we can always turn back to previous chapters and review our story (our memories). 

Northwoodsmom, C'sMom, Katharine, Phoenixmom, Anti M - Thinking of you as you have been or are preparing to move from one chapter to another. 

WarriorProtector -  Yes, sometimes we have to go through the trials, just ourselves and God so that we learn to rely on His strength and grace (Enabling ability) more and more. Then we are able to share our story with others. The candle we burned as we were writing our own story - reading our own book - becomes a light to guide another along the way. 

Looking forward to hearing more from our new members - Jump in where you are at and come walk this journey with us, we are here to help you in any way that we are able. The more you visit here, the more we get to know you and you get to know us. 

Good Morning All, Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas! Mine was short and sweet didn't do much in bed early as usual. Spent it with my Daughter and grandkids. I had given my daughters their Necklace of my Husbands fingerprints really pretty they both began to cry as it is the first Christmas without my Husband. I was ok had a few tears but I am ok. went to the cemetery a few times and made it all better. I will be on and off as I have a lot of catch up to do.

Hope you all have a Fabulous Day!

Prayer for the Morning:

Dear Lord, It is only through you, Lord, that we can become truly free! We pray that we will intently look into your perfect law that gives freedom. Father, plant it in our hearts and then bring it to life in our everyday lives. May we not only be blessed by this but may all those around us–family, friends, and those we don’t know yet–be blessed by your love lived out in our lives. In the One who showed us the power of love and redemption – In Your Name we Pray, Amen!

Good Morning Mrs. Chipmunk, Yes Ma'am I am so ready to move on with a New Chapter. I have been seeking to find my self in many ways and I am off to a good start. Trying to change my attitude and trying to seek more into the Lord, to find peace and Joy and Love. Instead of cold, bitter and angry, and I think the Lost of my husband has had made me feel this way, I know he is In a Better place so It is time to make a Brand new me. I'm excited as I have made a few steps in the right direction within myself! AMEN!

Good morning.  Party, Chipmunk, I am okay.  Okay is different than fine, but I am good.  A secret santa sent a whole pound of Lindt truffles.  I do not need a pound of chocolate, and am not eating more than one or two a day, but it surely was some good holiday cheer. 

I usually leave the christmas stuff up until my January birthday, but I think not this year. I was given a lot of sweets, so I took them all down to the basement pantry, into the old breadbox.  Out of sight, I can still have treats but not graze.  I don't eat huge meals, but I do graze!  Trick is to have the healthier stuff at hand rather than the sugary things.   

My friend and I are trying to figure out a road trip during her spring break.  She wants to go to Bodie and Yosemite, but until I get the vaccine, California is out.  She agrees, I am too high risk.  We are looking at St. George, I have access to luxury condos there, and we can do distancing out in the wild, off road. I mean, warmer weather and a hot tub on the deck?  oh yeah.  I did book a trip for my birthday in 2022, to San Diego.  Right by Balboa Park. This year, meh.  I can keep hibernating until things settle down.  Lots of time to mediate and make art.

Anti M - I understand! I am glad that you and your friend are making plans for a road trip. I love road trips and hiking. Or just being outdoors. Quiet and solitude is nice as well but it is good to have a change of scenery every once in awhile.

I tend to be a grazer as well. I get busy with my day and it is easier to grab at that peanut butter filled chocolate than eat healthy. Usually I want chocolate at Christmas but I am finding myself doing the same thing, hiding it for a treat.

We always enjoy seeing your art.

So I finally heard from my Bud! He didn't say much but that he was ok, and I love you. so I received 2 messages from him that he was ok working crazy hours and he loved the kitchen and Loved Me! Hoping to hear from him again. said Email to the ship was down but he was able to messenger me.

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

Please come and introduce yourselves and let us know where you are in your Navy journey. No question is ever dumb and someone will answer you.

Please keep your phones with you at all times and your ringer on loud as you never know when you will get a call. 

If your SR (Seaman Recruit) just left start writing now and number your letters so they know what order you have written them in.

Phoenixmom- Good Morning, I am so glad that you heard from Bud and that you had a good Christmas as you could have. I'm glad your daughter's like the necklaces. How's everything? 

Thank you for posting the scripture and our prayer!!!

That sounds great about moving forward and making changes within yourself. It's always good when we do that. 

Amen!!

Blessings that you did hear from him. Glad he sounds ok.

Anti M- Mmmmm chocolates. I bet you were so surprised. :) Good Morning. That's what I have to do with my treats, cause I will graze to and I don't need to either. Lol

I love road trips. Next year you will be in my area. Love San Diego it's one of my favorite places!! If we remember I would love to meet up with you girls.  :)

When is your birthday? St. George sounds awesome!!

Yes plenty of time to mediate and make art.

Love your art.

Good Morning BBH, LBF, Shanny, VintageGal, warriorprotector, DoriBry, mom2blondies, hope everyone receives calls, letters and texts. 

Happy Monday.

I haven't been on for a while, but I've been keeping up on everyone.  To all of you that had sailors home and then had to say goodbye again--my heart goes out to you!  How hard that must have been.

Phoenixmom:  that must have been a special moment with your daughters when they opened their necklaces.  What a special treasure for them to have!  May you find joy in the coming year!  

Our tradition used to be (before kids) to take down the Christmas decorations on New Year's Day.  Then we had three kids born November 29.  At their second birthday, we started waiting to put our tree up until after their birthday.  Then three years later, we had another child on December 27.  When he (our sailor) was two, we started taking the tree down the day after Christmas so that it wasn't up for his birthday.  This year, I decided to wait until the Sunday after New Years.  A new tradition, at least since our "Christmas" baby isn't home this year.  

Yesterday was probably the oddest-feeling day since our sailor left.  It was his 22nd birthday, and he wasn't home!  He said it doesn't even feel like it should be Christmas or his birthday because it feels like spring down there.  I think this has all messed with his mind!  Lol!  But maybe it made him not miss Christmas or his birthday as much.  I inundated him with social media birthday greetings yesterday and we face-timed.  So that was good.  He seems upbeat.  Thankfully, he doesn't let much get him down.  And right now all his Christmas presents and his birthday present are sitting under the tree.  I sent him a picture of them yesterday!  

And we have a convenient way to get him his laptop.  Family friends of ours has a son who is in the Air Force stationed at Lackland.  He and his family were up visiting his parents for the holiday.  We were talking Sunday, and he offered to take our package down when he goes back to San Antonio.  I feel so much better with this scenario rather than shipping the laptop.  And he offered and said it wasn't any problem! 

Phoenixmom - Glad you heard from your Bud. It is a wonderful comfort when you hear any news from them. 

C'sMom - Sounds like you are working on some of your new traditions!  My youngest's b'day is a week before Christmas, so many years the tree did not get decorated until after that. Now, that he will likely be out of the house before long, I think I want to go back to decorating as soon as I can. Thanksgiving we use to be traveling between both grandparents so it never happened then either. We do what works best for us in each season. 

Glad to hear that the laptop dilemma has been solved. I agree, mailing or shipping is not my first choice. 

PhoenixMom:  I am so glad you heard from your Bud!  So sorry communication is down but happy you finally heard something!  Missed you over the weekend around here!  Sending you some BNMHs!

C’sMom: my sailor’s birthday is tomorrow!  I don’t even know how to approach the day. Can’t call him...  can’t send him anything...  he said he would contact me when he can. He just got to his ship today. So he isn’t sure how things will work.  We didn’t do Christmas this year so no tree to take down. I am so happy you found a way to get your son’s laptop to him safely!  

well, proof of life call just came in. My son has made it to his ship... made it through in processing. And was just sent out to deliver meals to the other sailors in ROM.  He said he doesn’t know when he can call or text since phones don’t work on the ship. So he said he will get a hold of me or text when he can.  His birthday is tomorrow. So strange to think I don’t know if o will talk to him tomorrow depending on what he has to do...  but so happy I got to talk to him this evening!

WELCOME TO ANY AND ALL NEW MEMBERS!!! 

Please feel free to ask any and all questions you may have!  Someone will always answer and no question is a stupid question. If your questions get lost in our sometimes endless chatter, please ask again we will never intentionally ignore you! The ladies here are amazing!  I can’t even begin to tell you how great they are. We will laugh with you, we will cry with you, we will get angry with you and support you any way we can!  Welcome to this crazy journey!  We are glad you are here!

VintageGal:  just checking in on you...  haven’t seen you post yet today and thought I’d say hi!  

Wow. I still have not stopped crying over my sailor going back and his twin sister just walked in and told us that she found an apartment and will be moving out in 2 weeks! I guess I should be proud. She is 18 and a CNA and is going to school full time and working full time. We just had a "family meeting" and she is financially very secure ... she can pay two year's rent out of her savings, even her just out of Seattle!!!

I wish she could have delayed a month or two. I am not ready for this. I think my DH is feeling the same way because he said if we couldn't get the house ready this spring, it would not hurt to stay another year and have just one more Christmas here. Then he went back to installing flooring, and I came here. 

Katharine:  oh my heart breaks for you!  So much to go through all at once. You have raised some amazing kids!  So very strong and confident to go out and conquer the world. Doesn't make it any easier...  HUGE hugs for you!  

PhoenixMom:  i have heard they reimburse very quickly-well quickly by Navy standards anyway. But still. He was given a letter of intent to pay from the chief so we will see. He is happy to not be eating chicken and rice again today-thays what he was delivering to the sailors in ROM. 

Hi Shanny I'm so glad to hear things are moving along. Poor guys sounds like slop to me...…….Just saying. poor sailors chicken and rice WOW! I have pics of what they were serving to our Sailors in Guam when the Theodore was full  of Covid. It was horrible! what was suppose to be boiled eggs were runny under cooked boiled eggs. the whole thing was a mess. Very Ridiculous and you wouldn't think this would be even going on to our Sailors but it does.

Good afternoon ladies,

All my love to Phoenixmom and Shanny and to all of our moms who’s Sailors are boarding their ships. I’ll pray for their safety and happiness. I’m so proud of these young men and women for their courage and bravery to do what they do. BNMH!

C’smom ~ what a nice treat that you were able to get your sons belongings down to him without having to ship them. Now our boys are finally together at the same school!

I did message chipmunk earlier in the day and had her put me down for the Navy Mom Posse meet! 

Shanny ~ hello! I definitely wanted to say hi sooner but I got a text from my coworker that I work with one on one this morning. Her dachshund passed away Christmas morning and she didn’t want to tell me while my sailor was still here. She was only five years old and apparently she got sick the day before Christmas Eve. The vet (Who she’s really close with) took the dog to his house to watch her overnight and she passed away the next day on Christmas morning. The vet thinks she must’ve gotten into something poisonous because her it happened so fast. She and the two dogs had gotten into some hot chocolate but he didn’t think that was what caused it. So I had found this really cute fuzzy blanket with dachshunds and hearts on it so I took it over to her and spent the afternoon with her.

Katharine ~ oh my goodness I feel for you! She’s 18?.. come on sis! It’s too soon for mama. She sounds like she’s on the great path though. You’ve raised them well :) 

Chipmunk ~ I’m glad you were able to zoom with your sailor and have a nice Christmas with your family. That’s a huge bummer that your Van that has been in your family for the longest time is now out of commission! 

I shouldn’t have complained and said I was going to put away my decorations. I just need to get some cleaning done but I will continue to enjoy my Christmas decorations until after New Year’s. I told my husband that my decluttering and cleaning will be put on the back burner for a few days so I can read my book club book. :) We all agreed that we would meet the second week of January and I picked the book. We’re reading Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly. 

Anti M ~ That sounds like a great trip! That’s my neck of the woods! I’ve been wanting to take the camper to Snow Canyon next to Tuacahn. Looks like they’re Going to have a lot of great shows this year. 

Partyofseven, Mom2blondies, Warriorprotector, Shortcake, NewMilMom ~ Hello! Enjoy your evening! 

So I have said I would pass on any recommendations for items your sailors may need when entering the ship as my son tells me about them. Tonight he called and asked me to send him some Crocs. He hates crocs so I was shocked. But he said the guys on the ship recommended them as they work for shower shoes and can be worn to stay on if they need to run to an emergency and happen to be in the shower. Just a suggestion as it was passed on to him by the guys on the ship

AntiM I hope you get to go on your road trip. When I worked at Zion National Park we would go to St. George all of time. It was such a clean beautiful little city/town. We would switch of between Cedar City and St. George, of course I was only in my twenties but enjoyed it there. We also would go to Lake Powell and spend the day and night, back then you could pull your car right on the beach and spend the night, I am sure that isn't possible anymore.

VintageGal, I am up north of SLC, we have the pretty Union Station.  That should tell you the town, yes? Snow Canyon is marvelous, some of our state parks are every bit as good as National Parks.  l want to go camping in Valley of the Gods, BLM land, but you can drop by the office and pay the fee.  (Westerners know what BLM means in this context, LOL).  We are talking about Monument Valley too.  It will be in spring before it gets hot and touristy.  My husband and I went to Toroweap, primitive north edge of the Grand Canyon, but not North Rim.  In the park, but no gates, no paved road, and no railings or platforms.  It was amazing, one of our great trips.  

Anti M ~ yes, I know the area you’re speaking of. Utah is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve seen pictures of an underground hot spring just west of Salt Lake that I would love to explore! I believe it’s called Homestead crater. Have you been? My husband has family in Layton, Provo, and his grandparents lived in Garland. Can you guess his family’s religion? :) camping in Valley of the gods would be absolutely magnificent! I’ve been wanting to explore the northern area of the Grand Canyon. We’ve only been to the west and south rim. 

Good evening ladies!  I just wrote a long message and it went poof!  Arrrg! 

I hope all of you had good day and was able to accomplish all you wanted.  I'm so thankful for you all! 

Shanny: Yikes with the hotel business, terrible. Glad his is there safe and can get into his job. Love the crocks idea.

Chipmunk: Great sharing of ideas about money. They really have to have 3 to 6 months in an emergency fund for any unusual expenses that might crop up.  

VintageGal, DoriBry, PartyofSeven, Phoenixmom, Chipmunk, Proudandgrateful and Northwoodsmom.  Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. So grateful!  If I missed someone, please forgive!

C's Mom: I feel for you, I too will miss my son's birthday (1/12) for the 1st time (sure it will not be the last).  BIG HUGS!

Good night dear ladies, can't wait for our first Navy Mom Posse event!

Oh Katharine, I moved out at 18 but I was the oldest and had 2 brothers still at home. Will her moving out leave your nest empty? My oldest moved out last year and my SR just left 20 days ago leaving my nest empty. Wow! I can't believe it's been 20 days already! Hopefully time is flying by as fast for him. Yeah, I feel you, hard to see them go but so proud to see my 'ducklings' fly! 

AntiM-I love Utah. Many years ago my parents were considering moving to St. George so we went to visit and it is just gorgeous there and certainly easy to distance from others. Last year we spent some time in SLC and had a lot of fun. We didn't have a car so just rode those stupid electric scooters all over and covered quite a bit of the city on them. Would have covered more except I wasn't willing to go as fast as my husband and son, haha! 

Shanny-I'm imagining my son asking for Crocs, here at home he wouldn't be caught dead in them but I suppose at some point function outweighs fashion! 

Busy day today at work...we got to move into our brand new hospital!! It is absolutely gorgeous and we have so much more room. My back prevented me from doing any heavy lifting so I focused on the details of getting our exam rooms set up and stocked with all of the needed supplies. It is pouring rain all day today and the streets are so flooded. Where my oldest lives got so much snow they are snowed in which is fine, they like it and it was expected so they were prepared for it. Hoping that is clears up at least a little bit tomorrow because we are still doing curbside service and I'm not excited about going out in the rain to bring dogs inside all day. Have a great night everyone! 

Thought I would share a bit of my silliness that is keeping me from missing my kiddo too much. Both he and his girlfriend left this month, a week apart, she left first. My SR had some of her things that he was going to take to storage at her dad's house. The shark is her comfort animal and I asked my SR to ask her if it could stay here until she got back instead of into storage and she was thrilled that I wanted to 'watch him' while she was at bootcamp. The teddy bear is my SR from when he was young. This bear was so important that through the years he had birthday parties and I would have to make him a matching Halloween costume to his each year. So of course I had to order him this to wear! 

mom2blondies:  my son has always hated crocs. He didn’t understand the whole thing. My brother will wear them in the summer out by the pool and my son always laughs at him. I have a pair someone gave me because the ordered the wrong size and forgot to return them. I wear them to take the trash out but never where people can see me. They are BRIGHT yellow!  I asked him what color and he said it doesn’t matter. Mom they are shower shoes. That’s it. And if you ever see me wearing them for real, shoot me. The guys he is hanging out with tonight told him no flip flops they had to be like a water shoe that won’t just come off when you walk. 

Mom2blondies ~ the stuffed animals are too cute! Will you be sending a picture of their lovies in your letter? I took my son’s teddy that he got in the hospital the day he was born out of hiding and put him on my Sailor’s bed as well. I needed to see him. Your Sailor and gf will get a kick out of this!! So sweet! 

Shanny ~ My daughter has a lavender pair of crocs with charms on them. When she puts the back strap on she says that’s putting them in sport mode! :) She and her fellow cheerleaders slip them on after practice lol it took a long time for her to cave! 

Shanny, I might be aging myself but does anyone remember the 'jelly' shoes that were like webbed plastic shoes. They were super popular when I was in middle school but my mom had a thing about 'good shoes' and would only allow us to wear leather or canvas. She thought the plastic would cause unhealthy feet....and she was probably right, haha! I'm wondering if my SR had a plan for shower shoes?? He'll probably want his swim fin booties....but who knows, he might surprise me and ask for Crocs like yours did. 

VintageGal, I got his bear out of his closet when I was cleaning his room the day after he left. I'm for sure sending them photos of them as soon as I get an address!! My husband wants to get creative and have them do different activities and send photos. Not exactly sure what kind of adventures they can have, especially since that shark is pretty big, he is basically a pillow, but if we get bored enough one day we might put some thought into it. 

mom2blondies:  i think i may still have blisters from jelly shoes!!  Omg i would wear them even with huge blisters until they popped then formed new blisters. I loved those things!  My feet heated them. And me for wearing them! My mom took scissors to them and cut them all up to keep me from wearing them. She swore she didn't....  

Hi All,

Scanned last couple days as best I could on my phone but, again I am a bit behind on all the goings on.  I am a bit behind on a lot of things & have been for awhile now ... think that is my "new normal"....

We are finally getting some decent rain ... guess the weather is sharing my Navy Mom tears... friends hauled my horse to his new place yesterday & then they gave me a NavyMom bracelet...we were talking a bit & yep, I broke down in tears.

My sailor is in ROM, as are a lot of them at A school again... after hearing the horror stories with food issues - I being the Momma I am was like can I send you packages?  He was like Mom I can't leave the room to get my mail or packages. Dang!  Guess asking the mail room to do mail delivery in ROM is out of the question. wink wink

As soon as he gets out of ROM and can get his mail I want to send him my chocolate chip cookies...he had asked us to make when he was home but, it was 1 of the things that didn't get done.  I was surprised when he took 2 of his coveted Nut & Chew bars from the box he got for Christmas and gave the  rest to his sister. (They both get a box every year)...so I will send a box of those at some point too. 

Chipmunk -  Navy Mom Posse event-- not sure what y'all thinking at this point...think I saw something about a movie or?  is this like book club where everyone reads same book then share about it?  or ???  just let me know what the group decides & maybe I can join in too.

Shanny - was it your sailor that asked for crocs?  oh my, I wonder if mine will ask for as we all abhor them. I can't imagine him wearing so if he does I am gonna ask him for a picture of them on his feet...hahaha!

I told dh & dd I wanted to take down the Christmas tree & stuff after he left & they had a mini fit...dd reminded me we aren't supposed to take down until the Epiphany (12th night)...Good grief! these 2 are the least likely to follow any traditions & yet, they are all agog I want to take it down this year before the 12th night.  Just got to shake my head & walk away...so up the tree stays a bit longer.  I had hoped to get it all down & put away before returning to the office...granted I should be in this week but, took off extra days.

VintageGal - so sorry about your friends furbaby passing. This year has been hard on so many fronts & I will be glad to see it go.  I may actually stay up to make sure 2020 leaves but, maybe not as have an 8am appointment with a new farrier for my boy & since I moved him further away from home I have a bit of a longer drive ... Can not believe the guy wants to come out on New Years Day at 8am...

Hugs to Everyone!!! 

NewMilMom:  my son hates crocs. Neither one of us can figure out how they are comfortable. He just kept say that's what the guys tell me is the best option for shower shoes because they can get wet and if you have the strap thing in the back, they will stay on to run if you had to respond to an emergency. I think regular water shoes will work too but he said no flip flops. I told him he has to wear crocs with socks or they aren't legit. 

Oh Shanny, I begged and begged for some and my mom would never give in. She said they would cause blisters and make my feet smell. We didn't have a lot of money growing up but 2 things we always had were good shoes and good food. 

About the food situation, is this happening in bootcamp?? Seems like with the amount of physical activity they are doing they need to be fed well. My SR eats a LOT and I was worried about him getting enough to eat. Funny story....he researched all of the different military branches when he was thinking of joining. He said he was discussing it at work one day and his 'boss' overheard and came out and said, "Is (name) out here making life decisions based on the quality and amount of the food they let him eat?" and he replied, "Yes sir, I sure am." No one else was surprised, haha! 

Anti M- That sounds awesome. I've been to the Grand Canyon but not that way. I would love to do that.

warriorprotector- Hey, I also remind mine of this and encourage him to keep building up his savings. Especially now when they have to pay for things or their room and have to wait to get reimbursed. 

I know me either. 

mom2blondies- Hey, I love the snow. I am hoping we get rain here tomorrow so we will see. It is already snowing up north and it is beautiful from the pictures. Hoping we can take a drive up there this week.

Congrats on the new hospital and prayers for everything to transition over smoothly.

mom2blondies, Shanny and NewMilMom- My Sailor didn't wear crocs at all either lol and when he asked for some for Xmas I was like what??? It's amazing how their sense of fashion changes as they see others wearing things or doing things that they didn't know or were aware of.

He got the crocs and he loves them. Be forewarned that yours may be asking for some as well. Lol

mom2blondies- I never take my tree down until the 12th either or I wait until the 5th. I love that picture, it is adorable.

You have to send them a pic of it. Mine has his tiger here and I have it out on the bed looking all cute!! :)

NewMilMom- Awe it will be ok and it's good to let the tears out. Big hugs to you!!!!

Night ladies and another day closer to PIR!!

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

Keep writing those letters so when you get an address you can mail them off right away!! Keep your phones on you and those ringers on loud.

Prayers for all the Sailors that are in ROM and that are in the fleet. May God protect them every day!!

It will be a cool 59 degrees this today. Hopefully rain will be on the way.

Phoenixmom, Anti M, VintageGal, Shanny, LBF, BBH, Shanny, mom2blondies, warriorprotector, NewMilMom, Chipmunk and anyone else that I may have missed Good Morning. 

Happy Taco Tuesday!!!

Good morning Ladies, can't wait to hear more( I am a Sailor) calls. Prayers to all of you anxiously waiting. Just wondering if they will start giving out the vaccine in Boot camp to help eliminate the need for ROM. I know my brother is a patient in the VA and they gave all of them the vaccine even before they gave the nurses it. Talking to my son he told me they are making sure the fleet is getting the shots before the schools because of the close quarters they live in. It makes sense, and the RTC has pretty tight quarters too. Maybe all you Moms won't have to worry about them getting caught in the ring of fire anymore. 

Doing zoom sounds so wonderful but I don't have internet, we can't get it where I live unless I do HugesNet, wifi is really bad and isn't worth the effort or cost to install it. There are advantages of living in the middle of nowhere but communication isn't one of them. I do hope you all can do it though, together we are stronger. God Bless your day!

Good Morning Everyone!

I am working my way through posts, so answering things before I forget. 

VintageGal- I did not take your post on removing Christmas decorations as complaining, and I apologize if my reply made you feel like that. I was mostly sharing what I tend to do or not. My first tree was real, and well .. it was up longer than it should have been so we do artificial now!

Northwoodsmom - I will put you down for our Navy Posse Mom event - but with a note about no internet. I thought of that originally, so we shall see. 

NewMilmom - Our Navy Posse Mom night sort of sparked from an idea of us all watching the same moving some night with our drink of choice and fuzzy blanket and chat - It is still in the planning stages - I put your name down on my list when I can figure out the details. 

Good Morning All, Hoping this Morning finds all well and safe and warm. It's a bit chilly this morning here in Phoenix, didn't want to get out of bed...….Havent been sleeping the best at night and waking up really tired. But I'm sure it's just anxiety. Yesterday has been a Year since I had services for My Grandfather who was like a father to me, we were very close, we had each other's Back. Been getting calls from his second family who adore me, they are so sweet! Looks like his puppy dog passed on Christmas and is with him now. so the family was a little distraught from this. I told them he is at peace now and not hurting so Hoping they understand.

Well Good Morning to all the new Comers, please come Introduce yourselves and lets begin this Journey you are about to embark on. Please ask any questions. You will find we have some Wonderful Awesome Admins and MOMs here that help out and can answer about anything you ask. and soon you will be answering questions as well when you begin learning the ropes.

Have a Great day all!

This Mornings Prayer for scripture below:

Blessed Lord and Father, what wonderful truths are contained within Your Word. I pray that I may learn to keep the eyes of my heart fixed upon Christ, and to daily search the Scriptures more faithfully, so that I may learn more of You and increasingly reflect the Lord Jesus in all I say and do. I pray that my life may be a mirror-image of Him, that I may only say the things that He has taught me, and only do those things that honor Him, so that His grace, and love, and care, and beauty, may be seen in me and flow out to others. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.

mom2blondies  - Yes, I will be an empty-nester in 2 weeks. She is technically not the youngest (she is 2 minutes older than our sailor). Last night she apologized for sticking around for so long! She did graduate from high school 3 years ago. She went to community college for 2 years and decided to take a year off to "figure out what she really wanted". She interned full time at her church and was a manager at our little town's Candy Shoppe. She got her CNA license in September and went back to school in the nursing track (she paid for all of it). She is working full time in a nursing home (more right now because they lost a third of their staff in the last 2 weeks because of positive covid tests!). I know it's time, but I wish I could keep her for a few more months. Her roommate is a dear sweet girl from church (and a twin too), and a CNA also going through nursing. It is for the best. Too many changes!!

Oh, and I remember jelly shoes. I could never get them though ... they did not sell my shoe size in Canada except for really expensive custom shoes (size 11). By the time I was old enough to make a run to Detroit to buy cheap shoes, that fad was over. 

Well, this today is my Sailor’s 19th birthday!  Can’t believe he missed Christmas and birthday but also know it is the first of many. At least I know he is busy working today so he can’t be calling me and telling me I can’t post baby pictures on Facebook like I do every year just for the fun of embarrassing him. ;) 

Northwoodsmom:  I haven’t decided on my thoughts of the vaccine...  reports have shown those with a history of severe reactions to medications should not receive the Pfizer one...  haven’t seen anything about the Moderna one. Until more is known, I am hoping my sailor can avoid it. As a small child he had a horrible reaction to an antibiotic. It is not a common medication for adults but he became a case study for a teaching hospital because of the reaction. They took pictures of his poor body and shared them with major research hospitals before being able to determine what it was.  Long story way too long, if having reactions in the past is a hard no according to the CDC I hope he is allowed to skip it. 

Katherine Congratulations To your Daughter! That is Great achievement!

PhoenixMom:  he was pretty happy last night when I spoke to him. He was out delivering meals to ROM. Then his LPO gave him keys to his car and asked him to go to the store and get a “liter of cola”. Pretty sure it was a test to see if he could figure it out. He called me and wanted to check and make sure a liter was the “bottle on the bottom shelf at the Shell Station”. I laughed and said yes the one bigger than the 20 ounce and smaller than a 2 liter. Kind of short and fat. Then I said where is LPO from because it can change what you’re really looking for by the term “cola”.   He said Ohio. I said ok you need the liter bottle of coke unless he told you specifically. When he got it back to the LPO he told him good job for figuring it out 

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. We had my daughter and her soon to be fiance over for the last half of their leave. It was the LAST day before the boy asked for permission and even then my husband brought it up, lol. We spent most of the time staying up way too late and playing jackbox games and they got me to play Among Us..that was easier for my #4 sailor in ROM.

I am not going to even try and catch up.  I will have boots in the house again tonight...so I won’t be on much - or will I? He is not the same as having my daughter home. I wonder if I will see him much at all..

I skimmed  bit and saw military time - we taught our kids that as part of homeschool so I can easily convert thankfully.

I feel bad for not catching up but y’all were chatty!

We are doing Christmas tomorrow with my #2 and I take him for his photo reshoot - just need to recall where I put the flagpole! I guess I should wrap his presents. We will be throwing away all our outside decorations this year. The sun has ruined them and they are all brittle. They are on their last leg. When we move (if we move) we will get new for that house.

My husband is off this week so that also makes it harder to keep up with the boards.

Phoenixmom - Thanks

As for vaccine, I cannot get it. A few of the testers in England came down with MS after getting it. They may have had undiagnosed MS before, but it caused a severe exacerbation. The worst I ever had was from the chicken pox vaccine (it took out my legs for a month and vision in my right eye for a few weeks). It seems to flare part of the immune system and overload the T-regs. My doc said that because I have 5 autoimmune disorders, I should not get any of the mRNA vaccines. She said even people with severe allergies need to be careful (I am allergic to bee stings), and anyone that has been prescribed an EpiPen counts (me). So no vaccine for me.

My sailor is trying to figure out if a family prevalence of autoimmune disorders might get him out of the shot, even though he has no autoimmune issues himself (yet). Each of his sisters has two and his brother has one. Besides, he has already had covid with only a little discomfort (lost of taste and smell too for 4 days). Some doctors are recommending banking sperm before the vaccination because it has caused at least temporary male infertility in some testers. I don't think the Navy will cover that cost.

Katharine:  i had not heard those results in reference to MS!  Thank you for the heads up! And thank you for mentioning epi pens. Reminds me to refill mine before it expires next month! (Kiwi is my anaphylactic allergen)  only 2 autoimmune for me. 

LadyBluefire:  nice to see you!!!  I hope you are having a wonderful time with your sailors!