Sorry to hear your DH deploying. DH left in Sept and will be back in Jan. This is our 1st holiday season away from each other. Time has gone by extremely fast for me which im so happy about! Holiday season helps a lot with time flying. I would rather have him deploy during holiday season and make time fly by then during the summer and time go SO VERY SLOW! This is our 2nd deployment. Last yr he was deployed from May to Sept, and the whole summer seem to drag and last forever. Hard to believe we've already pass our 1/2 way point. Only 58 days to go!
Anyways, just keep busy and time will go by hopefully quickly for you. Hopefully the deployment goes smoothly as well. Our 1st deployment everything that could go wrong here at home, went wrong. This time, everything has gone very smoothly! So hopefully yours goes just as smoothly as well. Write emails, regular letters. One thing DH and I do is we grab our webcams and make videos, throw them on a cd and mail it out. That way we can see each other and hear each other voices whenever we want. Unfortunatly we didnt get lucky this deployment. Last deployment we were able to use IM programs and webcams to talk to each other on his day off each week. This time, all we get is 15 mins phone calls every other day, emails daily and regular letters on a occasion. But then again, he went to a completely different base then last yr. If your DH is deployed to Balad, he will be able to use the computers and a webcam. I heard the communcation is still very good over there.
If you wanna make cookies, and send them, there a couple ways to do it. Clean out a pringle can and put the cookies in there. OR, the way I do it, is get a cheap plastic jar. You can get a 3 pack from walmart thats a pretty good decent size for a couple dollars and they work perfectly! Line the jar with Glad's Press ' N Seal, put the cookies in and then put press n seal on top of the cookies and then put the lid on, and then put more press n seal over the lid. Wrap the jar with bubble wrap. My DH got the cookies 2 weeks after I sent them out, and they werent broken and still tasted fresh like I just baked them a couple days ago.
Also if your DH didnt take a book of checks with him, send a book out to him. He will need it to pull money out. Also, if he needs or wants anything trust me when I say this. Let him pull the money out and let him buy it himself at the BX. It is SO much cheaper when you let him buy it. I saved so much more money this deployment then last. Last yr I sent a box out every other week, this time I think I've sent a total 2 boxes out so far, going on 3 this upcoming friday. This will prob be the last one I send out to, cuz he will be coming home in Jan. If you bought the stuff, then you have to pay the money to buy it and then pay money to send it. So if you let him buy it, not only will it save you money but he would be able to have it sooner as well.
The BXs over seas are huge. They carry everything including food. DH loves those easy macs that come in the little containers that you can buy seperatly or in a 4 pack, and they have them there. So that saves me for having to buy them and send them out. If he wants one, he can just go to the BX and get one.
Think of a fun way for you and the kids to count down the days. Since its just me, i mainly go off by count down the days with a countdown timer on my computer. It counts down days, months, weeks, years, hours, mins and seconds. You can get it at
http://www.nestersoft.com/timeleft/
I also have a HUGE bag of the mini chocolate candy bars, and I eat 1 piece a day. Not only is it heaven to eat 1 piece of chocolate a day but it also helps count down the days.
Hope this helps you out. Just hang in there and always remember, your not alone. There are thousands of families in the US that are going through the exact same thing you are right now.
Wendy
