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Meeting Daddy After Deployment #MissionCare

Jun. 12 Charities, Contests, Deployment, Featured, Military Life, Sponsored 84 comments

DISCLOSURE: This post was sponsored by Dove Men+Care via MSB New Media. All opinions and words are my own. As always, my time can be hired but not my opinions are not for sale.

Wave after wave of intense contractions and where is that guy who got me into this mess in the first place? Stuck in airport traffic.

That’s probably a nightmare scenario for most first-time moms. The airport for me, though, was Baghdad International Airport.

On an early December morning, I watched the love of my life board a bus that would take him away for a year. Two days later, I found out I was pregnant. Eight months later, I was laboring to bring our daughter into this world. Two days after that, my soldier, our soldier made it home for a two-week leave.

Like so many military spouses, I gave birth to one of our children–our first child–during my husband’s deployment to Iraq. To fulfill his duty, he missed the pregnancy and the birth and later the first smile and the first giggle. We exchanged photographs and video chatted and recorded his rich baritone singing lullabies but you just never get those moments and milestones back. One of the things I’ve learned, though, is that there is never a perfect time. There is only now.

So we fill our hearts with every moment we get, like the first time a father holds his newborn child in his arms and her tiny eyes flutter open. Your spirit can survive a long time on a memory like that, especially when you have it recorded in all its unsnapped onesie, exposed diaper and umbilical stump, cluttered background glory. I dare any photography studio to top that!

What do you give Dad when he can’t spend time with his family? I think deployed dads want a connection with their children most of all.

Photo Gifts: You could make a cute “Daddy” photo montage where the kids each hold up a letter to spell “Daddy.” You can also print a photo on just about anything these days–so if Dad likes coffee, get him a mug with his kids’ smiling mugs on it!

Kids’ Artwork & Interviews: Older children can draw a picture of Daddy. Ask the kids to answer questions about their dad and write the answers on the back of the artwork: What does Daddy do at work? What does your Daddy enjoy? What is Daddy very good at? What do you like doing with Daddy? At least a few of the answers will make him laugh out loud.

Baked Goods: When my husband was deployed, he mostly wanted homemade goodies. We vacuum sealed them and dessert arrived in the desert fresh and yummy. Older kids can help with the baking.

Entertainment: Every deployment is different but most seem to consist of lots of dangerous work broken up by long periods of waiting. Gadgets, games, books, and movies or television series that help Dad pass the time are always a big hit. Bonus points if your older kids can play, read, or watch, too, and compare notes with Dad.

Our service members sacrifice so much–including births, birthdays, milestones, anniversaries, graduations, recitals, school plays, championship games, and, of course, Father’s Days.

That’s why it is so exciting that Dove Men + Care is partnering with Operation Homefront give 300 servicemembers (dads and moms) what they really want this Father’s Day: quality time with their families. Just look at this video (grab the tissues) to see what they are doing to make this a special Father’s Day.

I KNOW you want to help after watching that, right? Well you can! In addition to purchasing any Dove Men+Care products (perfect for any care package to Dad), you can also visit the Dove Mission: Care page and leave a message for the troops!

GIVEAWAY: THERE’S MORE! You can also enter to win a Dove Men+Care prize-pack giveaway (ARV $20).  To enter, just leave a message for the troops and then comment on this post to let me know what encouraging words you shared! Winner chosen at random. Giveaway ends June 19, 2013 at 11:59pm EST. Shipping to US + APO, only.

Earn a $10,000 Donation to Families of Fallen Soldiers #SOT #MilSpouse

May. 22 Charities, Featured no comments

It is every military family member’s nightmare–that knock on the door from the casualty notification officer. Lifetime has been spending time with some amazing military families, interviewing family members who have lost soldiers.

They are donating $1 for each video view from now through May 31st (up to $10,000) to Gold Star organizations. Just spend a few minutes honoring these stories with your attention and $1 will be donated to Gold Star Organizations:

Going It Alone: Gold Star Wife Nicki Bunting: Nicki Bunting found out she was pregnant four days after she received the devastating news that her husband, Capt. Brian “Bubba” Bunting was killed in action.

Remembering David: A Gold Star Mother’s Journey

I hope you will listen and watch and share these stories.

YesVideo Video Conversion Giveaway for Military Families

Jan. 07 Care Packages, Contests, Deployment, Featured, Sponsored no comments

When my husband was deployed, more than any supplies or even homemade goodies, he wanted messages from his family…photographs, videos, video-chats, recordings–seeing and hearing his loved ones. That connection to home is what helps soldiers keep going, during the most difficult conditions.

If you have vintage audio-visual material on almost any format, you can convert that into a special DVD and online digital video for your soldier. Here is a special sponsored message about how you can win a $300 gift certificate to turn your old family videos and other media into DVDs:

Military Families Can Share Favorite Vintage Videos with their Loved Ones Abroad, Thanks to YesVideo’s Holiday Gifting Program

YesVideo is dedicated to bringing joy to military personnel serving abroad through re-living favorite family memories

Santa Clara, CA – January 3, 2012 – YesVideo, the global leader in video and photo digitization, is announcing their Holiday Gifting Program for U.S. Military Families. In January, YesVideo will give away five $300 gift certificates to Military Families. The gift certificates can be used to have their family videos transferred to DVD, as well as online, and materials will be delivered to the winners by Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2013.

The contest is open to any U.S. military family who has a loved one serving abroad. Interested families can sign up on YesVideo’s Facebook page.

YesVideo can digitize the following forms of vintage media:

· 8mm film

· 16mm film

· Super8 film

· VHS

· Beta (NTSC)

· VHS-C

· MiniDV

· Photo Prints

· Photo Negatives

· Photo Slides

One $300 gift certificate will cover about 15 videotapes . Once YesVideo receives the footage, the company will transfer it to DVD and store the video in YesVideo’s free, unlimited cloud storage system. Since YesVideo uploads customers’ videos into personal, password-protected accounts, military personnel serving all over the world will be able to view their favorite home movies in time for Valentine’s Day. Links to the videos can be sent via email or shared on Facebook.

“We are incredily grateful to our military for their service to our country, and we want to say thank you to them by delivering special memories to them,” says Michael Chang, CEO of YesVideo. “We recognize that they are not home with their families to celebrate the holidays, and we want to give them the next-best thing – videos of their loved ones.”

The short entry form is located on YesVideo’s Facebook page. The contest will close January 10 at 12:00 midnight PST, and winners will be notified within one week. All media materials must be received at YesVideo by January31 in order to be processed and returned by February 14. Final deadline for winners to submit their videos is January 31, 2013.

To enter the contest, please visit http://www.facebook.com/yesvideo/app_201730886505500

About YesVideo

YesVideo is the global leader in video transferring and sharing. The company’s patented technology allows them to efficiently transfer personal videos at scale. Customers may then view, edit and share their videos in the cloud. YesVideo has unlocked billions of classic family video moments and life events for seven million customers already.

Consumers may drop off their personal film (8mm, 16mm, VHS, Beta, etc), prints, slides and photo albums at one of YesVideo’s 34,000 retail locations, or online at YesVideo.com. All material received by YesVideo go through either the East Coast production facility, located in Norcross, GA or the West Coast production facility, located in Santa Clara, CA.

Thankful for Our Heroes

Nov. 21 Featured, Sponsored no comments

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, for what blessings will you be giving gratitude?

I am thankful for my family, my home, my health, and the good food I will enjoy. And I am grateful for the freedoms and safety I enjoy, due in no small part to our veterans.

I want to thank my husband, his grandfather (may he rest in peace), and my own grandfather (who turned 96 this week) for their service to this country.

Many of us spend some time this season helping those who are less fortunate. Please do not forget the soldiers who spent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in a war zone giving service to our country. Too many of them have been poorly rewarded for their duty.

Our family spends Thanksgiving morning helping an organization prepare meals for people who are homeless or under-housed. Unfortunately, some of these people are veterans. According to Rosanne Haggerty, President of Community Solutions, “Right now, on any given night, roughly 68,000 veterans are homeless in the United States. Within that number, a group of at least 14,000 have been homeless for a year or more and suffer from at least one chronic — and costly to treat — health condition. These long-term, chronically homeless veterans typically don’t make it off the streets without specific, targeted help. Communities must commit to identifying them by name and making them a priority, along with veterans who have life-threatening health conditions, for housing assistance and access to an organized support system.”

Please, enjoy your blessings on Thanksgiving, then thank a veteran, and make a commitment to helping these men and women who gave so much to us.

I am partnering with Brawny® to spread the word about how you can help these Wounded Warriors. Brawny has made a donation of $500,000 to Wounded Warrior Project® to benefit Wounded Warriors and their families. You can join 516,648 people, and counting, who are grateful for our veterans and share your thanks for our nation’s heroes on the Brawny® Towels Facebook page.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Brawny® Towels. All opinions are my own.

Election Day #TroopVote and Soldier Voting During Hurricane Sandy Relief Missions AAR

Nov. 07 Featured, Politics 2 comments

The untimely arrival of Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast United States managed to coincide with both high tide, the full moon, and the U.S. Presidential Election. As many people were without gas, polling places were without electricity, and lots of displaced people were either living in shelters or with friends and relatives who had heat and lights, the storm disrupted voting all over the Tri-State area.

Of particular concern to me was the idea that our soldiers who were called up for emergency duty would be disenfranchised by their service.

In the end, New Jersey and New York patched together last minute fixes that would allow determined displaced people to vote. New Jersey governor, Christie, announced that all displaced New Jersey residents could vote via e-mail and fax. New York first extended the absentee ballot application to November 2, late on November 1 and failed to publicize this information or notify the New York National Guard leadership until it was too late for this information to help anyone vote.

Early on November 5, the application was again extended to November 5 but applicants had to go to their county board of elections in person–something impossible for people without gas and soldiers who cannot leave their duty station, which may be far from their home county.

Finally, late on November 5, New York governor, Cuomo, announced all New Yorkers could vote in state-wide and national elections at any polling place with a signed affidavit.

On my husband’s installation, he and other officers gave up sleep to work this issue after their duty shifts were over.

In my opinion, this was all too little, too late. Many people were still disenfranchised by the lack of timely and clear action by the states affected.

When it became clear the storm was going to hit, a clear plan should have been in place for allowing all citizens to vote. Along with information handed out during relief efforts, there should have been printed forms with the state board of elections contact information and how to vote. There is probably also an argument in here for a move to electronic voting so that all district ballots are available at any polling place but that is outside of the scope of this post.

What I do want to discuss is preparedness for future elections.

  • Register as a Military Voter: If you are a member of the National Guard, please, RIGHT NOW, before you forget, contact your state board of elections and see your options for registering as a military voter or permanent/perpetual absentee ballot voter. This should pre-register you to receive your absentee ballot just in case you are ever called up for duty during an election.
  • Deadline Extensions:All states should immediately extend registration and postmark deadlines to the maximum possible during a state of emergency, especially for military called up for emergency duty. Please write to your governor and state legislators to request that they propose this legislation, immediately.
  • Better Coordination with Military Leadership: This does not require legislative action–just better communication. Our state governments need to make sure the National Guard leadership is aware of all new information as soon as it becomes available.
  • Explore Alternatives to Traditional Polling Places: The governors of the affected states were clearly caught off guard by the timing of the storm. No one should be able to use that excuse in the future. All states should have emergency plans for displaced people to vote in ALL elections, including local ones.
  • Improved National Guard Communication with Soldiers: As soon as soldiers are called up, they should be presented with a packet detailing their options for casting their votes, all deadlines, and directions for how to use military facilities to meet the requirements. These men and women barely had time to secure their homes and make sure their own families were safe before heading out to help others. There should be no hurdles to them casting their votes.

You might think this a small matter when people lost their lives, their homes, and their livelihoods but isn’t this something for which so many have marched and fought and died? One of the missions of the soldiers has been to monitor generators and safety at polling places.  Should they guard others so civilians may vote while they themselves cannot? Relief efforts must absolutely continue but they do not have to and should not result in disenfranchising our soldiers.

(Photo: Pennsylvania National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Ted Nichols/Released)

Help Wounded Warrior Project

Nov. 06 Charities, Deployment, Featured, Resources, Sponsored, Support no comments

Living life to the fullest–despite traumatic brain injuries or loss of limb–that’s what Wounded Warrior Project is about. As of last fall, the Department of Defense reported 1,288 Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn servicemembers with major traumatic amputations. Harder to diagnose but perhaps more prevalent is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Also of great concern is the “invisible” injury of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Our wounded warriors return home and find it difficult to walk, to climb the stairs to their bedrooms, to hug their children. Those with less visible injuries may also suffer from crippling headaches, erratic behavior, depression, and lack of focus. These heroes may have difficulty returning to a normal home and work life.

That’s where Wounded Warrior Project steps in:

Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) takes a holistic approach when serving warriors and their families to nurture the mind and body, and encourage economic empowerment and engagement. Through a high-touch and interactive approach, WWP hopes to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history.

Read more about how Wounded Warrior Project succeeds in its mission.

I am partnering with Brawny® to spread the word about how you can help these Wounded Warriors. Brawny is making a direct donation of $250,000 to Wounded Warrior Project® to benefit Wounded Warriors and their families. From May 1 through December 31, 2012, the maker of Brawny® paper towels will also donate $1 up to an additional $250,000 for every individual who joins us and shares their thanks for our nation’s heroes on the Brawny® Towels Facebook page (www.facebook.com/brawnytowels).

Help Brawny® reach their goal of $500,000 for Wounded Warrior Project by Veterans Day — they are just 2,874 likes away!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Brawny® Towels. All opinions are my own.

Soldiers Disenfranchised by their Service?

Nov. 03 Featured, Politics 6 comments

Update 11/5: New York allows absentee ballets to be sent TODAY ONLY. http://www.elections.ny.gov/CountyBoards.html 

All absentee ballot applications must be made in person at your county board of elections by Monday, November 5th.

The State Board of Elections has approved an extension of the deadline for absentee ballots to be received and counted from 7 days after Election Day to 13 days after Election Day. Ballots must still be postmarked no later than Monday, November 5th, however they now have until November 19th to arrive at the local Board of Elections.

Get word to your soldiers in the area! Let them know! The access to news and information is limited so share the updated word via Twitter and Facebook to help get the message out there. 

Update 11/4: The focus is on NY now…Let Gov Cuomo know our the votes of soldiers called up for Sandy should count–like in Alabama and NJ. Please everyone, fill out this contact form and call on Monday morning–thank you! On Twitter, let @NYGovCuomo  know you want troops’ votes to count! Contact: http://ow.ly/1N8zEn or 518-474-8390 #TroopVote #SOT

11/3 11:25 PM: According to a 10:19 PM tweet from NJ Governor Christie, residents will be able to vote via fax or e-mail:

Governor Christie Governor ChristieVerified ‏@GovChristie

E-mail and fax voting will be available to New Jerseyans displaced by Hurricane #Sandy. For more information call 1-877-NJVOTER.

Please help so our NY servicemembers and soldiers in other affected states can vote, too!

UPDATE 11/3 8pm: Please use #troopvote and #SOT to spread the word on Twitter. You can also tweet @NYGovCuomo @GovChristie to let them know that you want our soldiers’ votes to be counted! I plan to call the governor’s office on Monday morning and hope you will, as well. Thank you Angela and Adrianna for helping to get the word out!

Most soldiers know they can vote using an absentee ballot. However, many of our National Guard and Reserve soldiers did not expect to be called up due to Hurricane Sandy.  Alabama has extended the application for an absentee ballot application to November 5 for military servicemembers deployed in response to Hurricane Sandy.

New York also extended the deadline but only to November 2 on November 1 and did not publicize this information. I haven’t found any information for New Jersey. For soldiers like my husband who were called up on November 2, or for those who have been fighting the flood waters and keeping peace in the shelters since October 29, this is not enough to prevent them from effectively being disenfranchised by their service.

There has been a lot of discussion about using National Guard and Reserve troops to ensure that civilians can vote. Isn’t it the least we can do to make sure these men and women, who sacrifice their safety and comfort for our own, are able to exercise their basic right to vote?

Please write your state board of elections and your governor and ask that they follow Alabama’s example and make sure that all soldiers have an opportunity to vote.

Photo credit.

Major Hunk

Oct. 26 Featured no comments

Captain Dad is now Major Dad so we bought the boys these cute shirts from Carter’s and gave them a promotion, too. I just wish they had gotten the rank right–Major or Sergeant Major would have worked.

Okay, so that was a thinly-veiled excuse to post a picture of the baby. Enjoy.

Purple Hearts Touched Mine

Oct. 10 Charities, Deployment, Featured, Sponsored 1 comment

At Fort Hood, I had the privilege of watching several soldiers receive their purple heart awards. I was there to receive an award for my service to the Family Readiness Group and did not even realize that I would also be witnessing such a testament to bravery and sacrifice.

I watched as each wounded warrior stepped forward with such dignity and as much military bearing as they could muster with their injuries. Several of the less catastrophically injured were heading back to Iraq, despite having the option to remain home for the rest of the deployment. They just could not rest easy until all of their comrades were home, safe.

I thought of my husband and the husbands of my friends, going out on daily missions, escorting convoys throughout the Baghdad area. I put myself in the boots of these soldiers and the shoes of their families–grateful that their lives were spared but also overwhelmed by all the details required for adapting to life with a severe injury. I was so incredibly grateful for their sacrifice and in awe of their strength.

The soldiers I know often say that aiming to be a hero gets people killed. These purple heart recipients were not trying to be heroes. They were doing their duty. Their duty, however, was 1000% beyond what most ordinary people are called upon to do. When it counted, these soldiers kept their calm, made good decisions, and even saved the lives of their fellow soldiers. No, these soldiers were not trying to be heroes. They just simply were heroes.

After watching them, I felt embarrassed getting up to receive my award. How could my work be mentioned in the same ceremony as their sacrifice? The applause from the heroes was so touching. When the soldiers came over at the end to thank us–these heroes were actually expressing gratitude for our small contributions!–I nearly lost it. The only way I kept the tears from spilling as I told them how grateful and proud of them we all were was to remember that these soldiers wanted to see a strong home front united behind them.

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I am partnering with Brawny® to spread the word about how you can help these Wounded Warriors. Brawny is making a direct donation of $250,000 to Wounded Warrior Project® to benefit Wounded Warriors and their families. From May 1 through December 31, 2012, the maker of Brawny® paper towels will also donate $1 up to an additional $250,000 for every individual who joins us and shares their thanks for our nation’s heroes on the Brawny® Towels Facebook page (www.facebook.com/brawnytowels). They are almost at their goal of $500,000. Will you help them reach it?

—

This post was sponsored by Brawny® Towels. All opinions are my own.


Image credit: Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Navy 1st Class Petty Officer Mollly A. Burgess

When the Soldier’s Away, the Gremlins Will Play

Sep. 29 Featured, Military Life, Sponsored Comments Off

Just after sunrise on a Sunday, my 90 year old grandfather knocked on the door and said, “You need to come down. We have a problem.”

Grandpa was staying with me while my husband was on a two-week National Guard drill.

I put the baby back in his co-sleeper and followed Grandpa down the stairs. He gestured to the closed dining room door. I opened the door, with a chill of dread.

Then, I saw them.

Wasps.

Hundreds of wasps.

Swarming all around my chandelier.

Before I slammed the door shut, I got a glimpse of a gaping six inch hole in my wall, where the wasps had broken through. I could hear the buzzing through the closed door.

My grandfather picked up a newspaper and rolled it up. “What are you doing with that?” I asked.

“I can swat them,” he replied.

After taking the newspaper away from him and making him promise to not try to deal with the wasps himself, I called every exterminator in the phone book. Since it was Sunday, at least half did not even pick up the phone.

Finally I got someone on the line who wanted to schedule an appointment…for Tuesday. A cat batted at a wasp that had escaped the confines of the dining room while my grandfather swatted at another.

“Please,” I begged, “I have a three and a one year old and my husband is on National Guard duty.”

They sent over what, I imagine, must have been someone’s cousin’s neighbor. The “exterminator” sprayed something all over the dining room, which killed the wasps but also killed all my plants and left a powdery substance, mixed with dead wasp carcasses, all over my dining room.

We ate take-out on the living room floor.

My grandfather cleaned most of it up, avowing that, at 95, he had little to fear from long-term toxin exposure. The next day, the company sent someone who knew what they were doing to clean up the rest of the mess.

When my husband finally called to check in from drill, I told him the story. His response: “Did you take pictures?”

Photo by Flickr user Brenbot.

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