Happy New Year to us all

December 31, 2008 · Filed Under LAW, Military Parents, National Guard Parents, This & That · 3 Comments 

This has been our first year here at ParentsZone.. We’ve done  a lot, but not everything we set out to do. I’m happy that we have a core of readers (but I really wish you’d SAY something!) As our family heads into a deployment (my husband’s second to the same place)  I want to wish all of my military family a safe, prosperous, peaceful and calm 2009.  If your family member is deployed, I hope the tour passes swiftly and safely; if they are preparing for deployment, I hope the transition isn’t too bumpy, the time passes slowly; and if they are sitting with you tonight – hug them.  If you are just starting on the Military Family road – welcome to the family – the One Percent of the nation that have a family connection to the presently serving military. We are a large family – we have members of all colors, creeds, branches of service, age, family size – but we are proud to be Parents (and family )of Serving Military.

Happy New Year.

LAW

Thanks for coming back to visit! If you would like to write for Parents Zone - please let LAW or TechMama know!

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Can you help out??

December 29, 2008 · Filed Under Household6, deployment · Comment 

Happy Monday All! PZ Techmama here… I saw this on Facebook and I thought I’d pass it along. I’ll also be posting it over at HASMO

Soldiers’ Angels is calling all Mary Kay Beauty Consultants

Selected independent Mary Kay distributors have teamed up with Soldiers’ Angels to get our troops the skin protection they need. Some distributors donate a duplicate of each product sold, while others give a percentage of their profits. Check with your Mary Kay distributor to see if she is participating in this project!

The Tax ID# for Soldiers’ Angels (so you can claim the donation) is 20-0583415. The donated sets are being sent directly from Mary Kay Cosmetics to Soldiers’ Angels, who will then distribute it to the soldiers.

Mary Kay items for our male and female troops are needed:

  • After Shave
  • Facial Cleansing Bar
  • Facial Moisturizer
  • Body Cleansing Gels
  • Body Lotions
  • Sunburn Soothing Gel
  • Facial Cleansing Cloths (Dry-just add water)
  • Lip Balm
  • Acne Treatment
  • Gel Energizing Lotion for Feet and Legs
  • Satin Hands Treatment for Dry cracked hands
  • Black waterproof mascara
  • Nail polish

Any makeup you have to donate is also now being accepted as well. We are putting these into our Female Vet packs that are being distributed to the VA hospitals.

If you are a consultant that wants to get involved, please send your product to one of the following warehouses

If west of the Mississippi, ship to:
Soldiers’ Angels
914 Tourmaline Dr
Newbury Park, CA 91320

If east of the Mississippi, ship to:
Soldiers’ Angels
112 Greenhill Rd.
Ramseur, NC 27316

Thanks to the generosity of Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants from all over the United States who have donated product to Soldiers’ Angels, www.angelsstore.org now has Pretty in Pink kits available for $29 (which includes shipping).

Each kit contains at least seven Mary Kay products, plus 10 feminine wipes, 10 women’s deodorant towelettes, two boxes of tampons, and a mini fingernail file and clipper.

Soldiers’ Angels understands that females are instrumental in the current war, and makes special efforts to support them. “Our female warfighters are so strong and courageous, and we’re so grateful for their service,” says Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldiers’ Angels. “We’re excited to be able to show them some extra love and help them remember that they’re still ladies.” With this in mind, the Pretty in Pink kit provides female service members with health and hygiene products, and items for a few pampering moments to allow ladies to rejuvenate and ‘be good to themselves.’

Pretty in Pink kits must be sent to an APO/FPO (no residential addresses). They can be sent to a specific soldier, or supporters can request their purchased kit be sent to “Any (Female) Soldier” anonymously or in the supporter’s name.

Well, what are you waiting for? It is time to pamper a deployed service member- https://www.angelsstore.org/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MINprettypink

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Camp Mamaw – a Christmas present for the DIL…

December 22, 2008 · Filed Under Mamaw, Military Parents, National Guard Parents, Parents News, This & That · 2 Comments 
Well, the word is official, Camp Mamaw wilI be open right after Christmas when I will be taking care of my granddaughters for a few days while their Mom gets some much needed R&R.  I remember when I was younger with 3 little boys at home, I loved having a few days without my husband and kids around too.  However, they were few and far between as there was usually one baby at home when the others came of age to go hunting with Dad. Maybe thats why my Mom would take one or two when they got a little older for a shopping trip or a McDonalds run.  Maybe my hair wouldn’t have been so whacked out looking at times and I wouldn’t have hidden in my office when everyone was asleep if I had gotten a spa weekend or something similar when the boys were small!
This is one of the things that you can do for your daughter/son-in-law while their spouse is deployed.  Take their child/children for at least a full 24 hours and have some fun.  When my granddaughters come over and spend the night sometimes we have themed nights.  It’s easier for me to plan when I have a theme, that habit was formed when my sons were little and we had to have Power Ranger Birthdays, or Cowboy Birthdays, etc.  When the girls come over, we might have a movie night. I’ll make plenty of  popcorn and we pretend that the couch is the car and we’re at the drive-in (they don’t really know what one of those are since they’re not too common anymore), but we cuddle on the couch, I ”drive” us to the theater and we watch the movie together.  We have a bakers day to make cookies, the icing is easy to make too for them to use, just powdered sugar and a little water.  We’ve also had “beauty salon night” painting nails and using the footbaths.  They love to use the scented lotions, it makes them feel so grown up.  The most fun was taking out the tea cups for apple juice, crystal bowls for fruit and yogurt and the special girly flower plates for breakfast.  I was their waitress and they were the pricesses.  They ate everything the “hate” to eat at home and they talked about it for days!
We’ve made blanket fortresses in the bedroom just like I did when I was little and then taught my boys how to do as well.  We use all the blankets from the hall closet and drape them from the bunkbed down to a chair, hold it in place with books and then get the flashlights and read or tell ghost stories.  The boys loved this, they would even take the dog (our black lab) in there and sleep all night, cuddled with her.
My point is that as a parent of a deployed soldier, I know it’s hard to have your child out facing danger on a daily basis.  To have your spouse away from home any length of time is hard enough if they are gone on a business trip, but knowing that you won’t have them at home for months at a time, and having to deal with the bills, kids, work and everyday life decisions can be taxing enough, but knowing in the back of your mind that he/she is thousands of miles away, sleeping with a gun by their side instead of you must be terrifying.  I had actually thought about this before and have offered to watch the girls when I can, but it was brought home to me about a week ago when I took my daughter-in-law and my granddaughters to see an area in our hometown where there is a neighborhood that decorates for Christmas.  Each home has painted, wooden cutouts of different storybook/movie figures and each house is strung with lights.  I used to take my sons every year to this neighborhood when they were little and they would be in awe of the beauty and shout out each characters name, just like my granddaughters did that evening.
Since it was dark, the truck was cloaked in that magical time when you can tell a secret, feeling that without the harshness of daylight showing every worry line that your face is wearing, that it’s fine to share.  That’s when my daughter-in-law told me how she cries at night, missing my son.  She sleeps with their girls in one big bed to keep them close every night.  She told me about a song on the local country music station that makes her cry every time she hears it.  Now, I’m not ignorant of the fact that she misses him, I know they both miss each other immensely.  I just never heard her speak it out loud, in this way, to any one.  She told me about the arguments they have some times when he calls, about the little things, and how sometimes she feels like she does nothing right.  All of it came to the surface, and when I looked over at her I saw a little girl in a womans body crying out for some reassurance that he would be okay and that what she was doing was right.
We talked all the way home about being a parent, how hard it is to know if what you are doing is the right thing.  We talked about love, marriage and hope for the future.  I reminded her that he was stressed too, that he worrys about his family, if the girls are okay and that he misses her more then he may actually say in the words she might want to hear.  He had called me when he first deployed and asked me to check in on her, which I have done since he has been gone, to keep his mind at ease.  Heck, I used to visit them all the time when they lived downstairs from me so of course I was going to call or text her when she moved in with her parents!  We had a really good time that evening, sharing our thoughts, feelings and yes, our fears.  We spoke woman-to-woman about the man that we share a love for, my son-her husband.  I used to put bandaids on his little cuts and kiss his bruises, I held his little hand through the years, and wiped away his tears of childhood disappointments.  She holds his hand and his heart now in a way that no one else can.  They argue and make up, they call me to tell me and I offer support, never taking sides but letting them know I am listening.  They’re young and have the trials and tribulations that every married couple has, with a twist, like so many other military families. Neither one of them may be aware of it, but I knew that when I handed him over that he was in good hands.
So Camp Mamaw will be up and running again in a few days and I’m making sure that we have plenty of air-drying clay, crayons, colorbooks and fingerpaints.  Their dad is finally coming home after being gone for a year and we need to get busy making the welcome home signs and showing him that we all have missed him more then he will ever know.

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Arlington

December 16, 2008 · Filed Under This & That · 3 Comments 

It was amazing. hundreds of people and thousands of wreaths! the traffic was s-l-oooooo-w, and the DH finally agreed with me that we should have taken the Metro and SemperFiWife, who was also stuck in that long crawl, is on board with that too. We never did meet up!  {click on the title – picture will appear!}

We chose “our” headstones carefully – a Warrant officer for my husband, and a WW2 Coastie for my dad. The Holiday smell of pine, the definitely brisk wind “nipping at my nose” – and honouring those men and women, now THERE was a great start to our holiday. I cannot write about going to Section 60 yet, that is the area that our recent casualties are laid to rest in. There were families there, the graves were decorated – small tokens left with love. I overheard a mom asking someone from either the Cemetary or the Park Service about what happens to those, because they heard that they were being thrown away.  That is NOT true, they are being saved and catalogued, something like what is being done with the articles left at the Vietnam Wall.

LAW

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Wreaths at Arlington

December 12, 2008 · Filed Under This & That · Comment 

SemperFi Wife, her husband, my husband and I will be at Arlington tomorrow, to lay wreaths on the gravestones – together with hundreds of others.  This is a wonderful event – Wreaths Across America – this site will show you other areas that are doing this project.  If you are in the DC area – and want to join us – email me at parentszone@gmail.com – we’ll try to meet up!  But wrap up warm, it’s going to be brisk out there!

LAW

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I’ll have a Blue Christmas without you

December 8, 2008 · Filed Under Care Packages, Mamaw, Military Parents, deployment · 6 Comments 

Well, here we go, having to plan another Holiday without my son being here to join in. I know that I am not the only one who is going/gone through this but you see, he is my oldest and well, this time of year brings a lot of memories flooding back.  When he was born there were a lot of complications and he was in intensive care for 10 days. After that, there were years of hearing tests, eye sight tests, and he grew up just fine with no problems besides the occasional cold and other childhood dilemmas that we all go through.  But I think back to the times when we were so relieved that he was okay.  All of the prayers we prayed, and all of the times we were up all night worrying about him.  And now that he’s not going to be here for me to hug and see in person, well, I’m sending out the prayers every morning and every night and worry just like I did in the beginning.

So, of course, I finished my shopping early because I hate the dreaded malls at this time of year anyway and I had to send over his Christmas Stocking to make sure he got it in time.  In fact, I sent over two, one for him and one with the specific instructions that he was to pass it along to someone who does not receive a lot of mail or goodies.  We also sent over a box of decorations.  I found a small silver tree at the Dollar Store and took it out of it’s box and stuffed it into a box along with ornaments, garland, bows and such.  I figured at the very least he could decorate his bunk and maybe all the guys would get a kick out of the small tree.  We mostly sent over food items that he won’t be able to buy as easily like large bags of sunflower seeds (salt is good for you in the desert heat), and breath mints (enough said about that!) as well as candy canes, etc.   I took mine over on the 2nd and mailed it out to be sure it would get to him in time if not early so that they could enjoy those decorations.
Besides, I had to get it mailed before my Mom got hers sent out.  You see, we have a little competition going on here at home.  It’s not spoken of between us but we both know it’s here, lurking about in the shadows.  My boys are my boys but, well, it’s Grandma and we all know that no matter what Mom cooks/says/does Grandmas always tastes/sounds/seems just a little more special.  That’s why my granddaughters love my cookies and cakes so much, it’s from Mamaw!
Well, at Thanksgiving, when I showed my Mom the two stockings that I had gotten together she looked up from her turkey and stuffing and just sorta studied them, her eyes narrowed, she nodded and I knew the game was on!  She ate quitely and I put the stockings away, it was like a Clint Eastwood movie with the two gunfighters sizing each other up outside of the local saloon.  I knew she couldn’t go shopping on Thanksgiving, ho, ho, so I was at least a day ahead of her.  Little did I know that I would end up being sick over the entire Holiday and my 4 days off with that darned flu which would be to her advantage!  My six shooter was empty and she had extra ammo because her check is automatically deposited on the 1st of every month!  (Let me point out, my mother is very spry and quick thinking, this is a 78 year old woman who volunteers at the local hospital’s ER 3 days a week and the county courthouse because she misses the chaos of having all of her sons and their friends around.)
Well, I knew jig was up, I saw that twinkle in her eyes!  I am not one to shy away from a little friendly competition so dragging myself off to the post office two days later when my fever started to subside, I picked up those free priority mail boxes and hurried home constantly glancing in the rearview mirror of my pickup truck for her little economy car to sneak up on me!  I actually had to repack those boxes about 3 times to fit everything in them but it all fit.  Oh yeah, it all fit in, every nook and crannie was filled up.  I figured I would take them to the post office the next day, her pay day, to mail them off and beat the rush of the 4th and well before the actual final drop dead mailing deadline of the 11th.  I wanted to make sure my son got his packages in time.  I knew she was going to be out shopping so I had to mail them quick!  As luck would have it, I felt awful that morning but I got up and went to work.  Totally forgetting to take the packages with me when I rushed out of the house!  Karma is such a bugger some times!
I got the phone call the next afternoon; “she” had gone to the infamous Dollar Store as well, and, oh my goodness, how did this happen, ended up purchasing THREE stockings and filled them as well!!!  Clint, you sneaky devil…you ain’t got a thing on Grandma!  Of course Grandma didn’t know how that happened, how she ended up with just one more then I did, hmmmm.  Now, how to pack all those goodies and make sure they got to him in time?  Asking me “oh, did you mail yours yet?” in her sweetest Grandma voice.  I got chills on my spine and goosebumps on my arms, the hair stood up on the back of my neck.  Then I smiled, that satisfied, half-cocked Elvis smile.  Oh yeah, I mailed mine already.  I knew the deadline, I knew the perfect post office to take them to with no lines and knew the exact time they would be empty with no waiting.  I didn’t forget them at home this time. I mailed them at lunch on the 2nd, two days before the deadline. Oh yeah, baby, they’re gone.
Tha’s when guilt reared it’s ugly head and wiped that smile right off of my face!  Being the good daughter and loving mother that I am, I let her know that the post office offered free priority mail boxes, told her how to fill out the customs forms and even asked if she needed me to help her pack them.  She knew she had won, I even heard the bell ding-ding on the side of the ring, the round was over.  She had me, she knew it, I could hear it in her voice.  Sigh.  She mailed them out on the 3rd and they should reach their destination in time as well.  The bottom line is, my son and at least a few of his buddies are going to receive those stockings, cards and love that was sent over by us never knowing how close a call was had getting them to the post office on time.  Enjoy fellas!  Wait a minute-the drop dead date is the 11th so that means…….Oh and Valentine’s Day is coming …..
Mamaw

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Christmas – in November?

December 7, 2008 · Filed Under LAW, Military Parents · 1 Comment 

I remember – back in 2003-4 when my son was in the Sand.  Way back then (it’s a lifetime ago!) the mail to Iraq was taking 4 – 6 weeks to arrive, even sent Priority.  So.. In November, right after his birthday, I started shopping.  I didn’t get much for him, just the underwear I was sure he needed (underwear in your stocking is a tradition too… don’t ask…) , and socks, and candy.  I baked cookies – his great grandmother’s Butterblatzen, my shortbread, macaroons – before Thanksgiving.  We have schedules in my family – all Christmas baking is done in December.. my mother is German and schedules are her lifeblood!  Christmas is HUGE – big trees with tons of white little lights, ornaments that we inherited, or he made in school or scouts.. opening presents on Christmas Eve, and the stockings on Christmas Day.

Then I remembered.

Before he enlisted, his dad and I, with his help and many others, built our own house, a dome house and it took a long time, with all of us working regular jobs and doing it at night and weekends.  The first Christmas on the property – we were in a terrible trailer and had no room for anything at all, much less a big tree.  So we found a tiny table top fake tree, little ornaments and popped popcorn to swag it in (and feed the mice that were having a field day in there too!).  And we laughed, and celebrated and joy filled that trailer.   The second Christmas, we were living in the house, with just a few rooms done – and we found that little tree, put it under the rolling scaffolding in the main room and decorated it. The lights – well that year, they draped the scaffolding!  And it was a great Christmas!

and I remembered.

The next few – he was either living on his own, but came to our house for Christmas, with the latest girlfriend -  or the wonderful one when they got leave from Basic and he came, all skinny and polite and NEAT – The tree that year was huge, a Fraser Fir that smelled like the holiday, the banisters were draped in lights,  the house smelled of goose and pie and there was such joy in the house.

The year he was deployed, his dad was deployed, and I couldn’t face Christmas at all.  But I wanted him to have it – out in the cold damp desert.  So I found the little tree, and the little ornaments and even some “lights” that looked real, but didn’t need to be plugged in.  I decorated it, and packed it oh so carefully.  and mailed it in November.   He told me later that he loved it, the platoon he was with was camping  in one of Saddams family palaces, and they set up that little tree and everyone opened packages from home.  My husband was in Bosnia, they had a great tree on their base, and food and packages from home.  I couldn’t do it, just couldn’t.  I had great friends who invited me for the day, which was sweet.  And all of us tried to remember those other Christmases, the ones we were together, when the kid was little and woke us up at 5 to open the presents from Santa, when he was older and we sat in our PJs all day and watched goofy movies while the house smelled of goose with stuffing and mincemeat pies…

This year – the husband is packing for deployment,  I’m baking for other troops who aren’t home, and my son, daughter in law and our beautiful, smart, sassy and perfect granddaughter are out West where they live.  And I’ll remember that little boy with the footy jamies, racing to see what’s in the package – sitting with the new toy in the living room and grinning over the chocolate Santa for breakfast.  and I’ll remember..

LAW

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Scrooge strikes a Soldier’s Angel

December 6, 2008 · Filed Under Mamaw, Military Parents, Military Resource, National Guard Parents, One of our own, This & That · 4 Comments 

Hat/tip to Mamaw – who sent me this.   This just makes me so ANGRY! PZ readers – let’s get on this – we did a great job with PFC Levine – Soldier’s Angels is one of the best groups/supporters of the military that I know.   I’m a very proud Angel myself, as is Mamaw, Tech Mama, SemperFiWife, Some Soldier’s Mom and so many other friends. (click on the title of the post to open)

Blankets of Hope for the troops stolen: Please help!

By Michelle Malkin  •  December 5, 2008 09:08 AM
This story has me cursing in my coffee this morning: Linda Ferrara, a California mother of a soldier killed in Afghanistan with three other sons in the military, organizes charity blanket drives for the troops. She and other volunteers hand-sewed patriotic blankets and other items worth an estimated $8,000. Ferrara had stored them in her RV while preparing to send them off. Over the weekend, some asshole(s) (pardon my language) broke into the vehicle and stole all the goods.
The story is here at Soldier’s Angels and at the Daily Breeze.
After her son died fighting country, Linda Ferrara wanted to do something for soldiers like him who sacrifice their safety for others.
So in the year since Army Capt. Matthew Ferrara was killed in Afghanistan, his mother has dedicated hours collecting clothes and crafting handmade blankets for wounded soldiers overseas. The Torrance resident had planned to ship the goods Wednesday to an Army hospital in Germany. Instead, she’s despondent over the weekend theft of hundreds of socks, sweat shirts, pajama pants, boxers, blankets and other items. “I don’t want to let them down,” Ferrara said. “This wasn’t just stuff, this was going to wounded soldiers.”
…Soldiers’ Angels is an organization through which people can send care packages to soldiers overseas. In Germany, Phillips supports wounded and sick troops undergoing treatment at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
Many of them are transferred there directly from the front lines and have nothing more than the clothes on their backs, Ferrara said.
Already involved with the West Point Parents Club of Orange County, Ferrara recruited support from other parents and volunteers to collect items for the wounded soldiers.
Her RV was packed with boxes, and the Parents Club had printed thank-you letters to the “wounded warriors” to be distributed with the clothes.. On Sunday morning, Ferrara first realized something was amiss when she found empty boxes outside the RV and her inventory lists on the ground. Inside, she discovered almost all the collected items missing. Also, some of the letters were torn to shreds.
Compton sheriff’s deputies took a report and fingerprints, she said.
Her insurance company has told her not to expect help. Because she planned to give the items away, they technically didn’t belong to her and aren’t covered by her policy.
You can help:
Anyone who is interested in donating items for wounded soldiers can email Linda Ferrara at or visit the West Point Parent Club of Orange County web site.
Ferrara says the organization can accept cash donations or brand new items because the Military hospital does not allow used goods.

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Military Mailing deadlines – coming up fast!

December 5, 2008 · Filed Under Care Packages, LAW, Military Parents, National Guard Parents, This & That · 1 Comment 

The Post Office dates are HERE. So…. off to bake this weekend?  We are!

( You will need to click on the Title first to get the link to work – why? I don’t know!  Tech Mama could explain… but she’s in the midst of boxes and trying to find the important stuff in her new home!)

LAW

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While we rush around – Remember Rob Yllescas

December 2, 2008 · Filed Under LAW, One of our own, Parents News · 1 Comment 

You all may remember that our own TechMama Tammy has started another site to help coordinate and organize those who want to contribute or help the wounded or those in need of assistance.  She has been following Dena Yllescas blog while her husband, Captain Rob Yllescas fought to recover from his very severe wounds.

Tammy called me from “on the road” in Colorado yesterday with the very sad news that Rob lost that final battle.  While we prepare for family and search for that perfect gift, please take a minute and remember this family, who are starting on a very long and hard journey.  Dena is a strong woman, of deep faith and love – and I hope it will help her to know that she has the love and support of all the readers of ParentsZone.

LAW

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