The Pte. is being helicoptered out of the field at some point today in order to attend his best friend's wedding. Although I wish he could have the time off to spend with me and Elodie, I am pretty thankful that I get to spend my evening checking him out in a suit and tie. The Pte. looks damn good in a suit and tie.

- The Mrs.

Sacrifice

The Pte. and 3 other soldiers were asked who would like to volunteer to do the next portion of their training in a neighbouring province instead of at the base down the road. No one volunteered so the instructors were going to "voluntold" someone. When The Pte. called me last night and told me about this, he also told me that he explained to the instructors that he didn't volunteer because of me and Elodie and our current close proximity. The instructors seemed to understand this and The Pte. was under the impression that he would be finishing out his training locally.

I should be thrilled about this right? Well, I wasn't. Something just didn't sit right with me about this. As a brand-new Army Wife I know that I will be required to make many sacrifices so that my husband can pursue his career with the Canadian Forces. I am ready and willing to do this because I see how happy he is, how much he is excelling, and how proud he is of himself. Because of this, I think it is important to volunteer/accept any reasonable offer that comes his way. Elodie and I cannot become an excuse for him to not do everything he needs to do to excel at his chosen career.

So what did I do? I explained to him my train of thought and suggested he talk to the instructors today in order to volunteer to finish out his training on another base. The Pro's: He will get a new set of instructors, get to train on an amazing base, and get to spend some time with his brother who is stationned there. The Con's: We won't be able to see much of him (it's about a 6 hour drive one way). It's a sacrifice that I am willing to make though. Sad as it will be to be apart so long, I see it as an opportunity to acclimate ourselves to his being away before he (potentially) heads to Alberta for two months. Baby steps instead of cold turkey is the way that I see it.

I haven't had a chance to speak with him yet today so I'm not sure if the instructors took him up on that offer or voluntold someone else to go. Either way, he will have it in his mind that I support his decisions to improve his career - even if it means getting left behind.

-The Mrs.

Love.

Sunsets and cheeseburgers. Swimming with the babe and the dog. Walks on the beach. Mini golf. Stolen kisses. Holding hands. Mmm, loving every last bit of this weekend with The Pte.

- The Mrs.

Lazy Day at the Lake

I had to deliver some diapers to a loyal customer today. While we were down in that end of the Valley, we (my Mama, and Elodie, and I) decided to try and track down a friend at the lake. We knew she was on vacation but had no updated number for her so we kind of just showed up. Luckily Elodie is cute and makes niceties like calling ahead unnecessary. Anyway, we had SO much fun. Elodie bumped her head as she does often since hitting the climb-up-on-everything stage. To calm her down I decided to dunk her feet into the lake. Well, that was not enough for my water baby! She plunked herself down on her fluffy butt and splashed in the water.

Then, much to my surprise, a family of 11 ducks came swimming around. I'm talking within a foot of us:

They are the funniest/cutest/odd little animals. They look so calm and reserved above the water while their feet are paddling like mad underneath the surface! When they bob under the water in search of food, and their butts pop up into the air, I can't help but think about Donald Duck for some reason and it makes me chuckle. Funny, funny little things they are. Elodie, or course, couldn't care less about them. She was far more interested in seeing how many rocks she could get into her mouth before her Nan noticed and pulled them out again. Love that kid!

After we left, Elodie passed right out in her car seat which is amazing for a tired old mama like me. Especially since that kid has been too cool for naps and normal bedtimes for the past week and a half. My Mama and I even managed to sneak a trip through the Tim Horton's drive-thru for some much needed Iced Capp's while the babe slept peacefully in the back.

The Pte. and the rest of the people on his course took a late night trip to a larger military base in a neighbouring province Tuesday night. They arrived for some all day training with the big guns (C9's I believe but don't quote me on that one) and then took another late night bus trip back here last night. He must have arrived back to base around 2:30am because he started to send me text messages. I happened to still be up with a very cranky Elodie, pacing back and forth and trying to get her to go back to sleep. This was the photo that I sent The Pte:

This is one very tired Mama and very cranky baby!

The Pte. is due home tomorrow for the entire weekend which seems like such a luxury at this point. I am so overwhelmed with the one million things I would love to do while I have him to myself (camping, trip to the zoo, trip to the new adventure park, trip to the local-ish theme park, etc) but we will most likely do a whole lot of nothing. That's why I love him - he loves lazy, plan free days as much as I do!

- The Mrs.

The Pte.

My husband is amazing. Of course I would think so, or you'd think I wouldn't have been so inclined to marry him. But he really is a pretty amazing guy. He honestly excels at everything he does (except for Scrabble). Well, it turns out that Elodie, his mother, and I are not the only ones who find him so amazing. Turns out that the Canadian Forces does as well. So awesome that they're encouraging him to apply for a two month course being offered September 10th. Did I mention it's taking place in Alberta? Yeah. Being accepted into, and completing, this course will do amazing things for The Pte's military career (especially if her hopes to be deployed in the future). I am so very proud of him...

So proud in fact that I bit back my tears and told him that I absolutely would not allow him to decline this opportunity. It will mean two months with him training on the other side of the country. It will mean him missing his daughter's first birthday. It will mean him leaving less than two weeks after he finishes the course that he is currently on. It will mean so many things, good and bad...

But I am so proud of him. He is such an amazing husband, father, and now, infantry soldier. But damn I will miss him!

- The Mrs.

Army Wife Revelation # 1

While you're busy sending your sweet hubby photos of everything going on at home so he doesn't miss anything, he will be busy sending you photos of his gun. Thanks Pte.

-The Mrs.

Gimme A Break

Please someone tell me that I'm not a bad parent for needing a break from my kid?!?!?! I love my sweet little girl! Aside from meeting The Pte. (and all that came with that), she is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love her smiles, her silly faces, her snuggles, watching her sleep, and on and on and on. But sometimes, especially after a night where she was up 4 or 5 times, I just really need a break. Like, please oh please sweet child of mine, please just nap! And then she doesn't... She doesn't and I really just want to pull my hair out. She's cranky and screaming and aggressively rubbing her eyes because she is tired. I'm cranky and exhausted and overwhelmed because I didn't get to sleep last night either. It's a lethal combination. Okay, it's not a lethal combination at all. With The Pte. on base, my Mom is here to help me out (thankfully). But man, do I ever feel like a bad parent when I just sit at the computer letting her scream from her crib for an extra five minutes knowing full well that she is not going to nap. Eventually my Mom goes up and saves her and plays with her and gives her the love and affection that I would have gotten around to doing eventually. And I sit at the computer, dwelling over the latest example of my less-than-stellar parenting skills. Sigh...

-The Mrs.

Well, I did it. After hours of scouring through my 900+ pins, after a few failed attempts at creations that just weren't meant to be, and after a few half completed crafts that will be finished another day - I found the right pin for me to create!

If you are in the Pinterest world you may (or may not - it's a big realm) have noticed all the homemade white boards. You pretty much take a picture frame, put some cute paper inside of it, and VOILA you've got your very own dry erase/white board. Couldn't get much easier than that and so that is what I did. I created a menu planner for the kitchen with the days of the week filled in and a blank spot to write the main meal for that day. And maybe, just maybe, I will actually use it. And maybe, just maybe, it will help with our grocery budget like all those "frugal" websites say it will.

I plan to add a photo in the future. It is pretty darn cute and certainly worthy of a little recognition. But... I can't find my tape. And when you can't find your tape, you can't tape down all the letters used to spell the days of the week. And when you can't tape down all the letters used to spell the days of the week, they all fall willy nilly around inside the frame. And when they fall willy nilly around inside the frame, he's going to want a cookie to go with it. Sorry, a visit to the used bookstore lead to me coming home with an armload of books - one of them being "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie".

- The Mrs.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow I am going to create something that I have pinned on Pinterest. I will not go to sleep tomorrow until I have accomplished this task. Tomorrow.

-The Mrs.

Life without The Pte. is running quite smoothly so far. Not to say that I don't miss him and wish he were here - I do, and I do! It's just that I know I won't see him much for the next two months and so I'm living life day to day. I don't think about the numerous days that I won't be seeing him. I just wake up in the morning, complete my daily tasks, and await his evening phone calls. Oddly enough it's almost easier than when he was away for weekends because the day he was expected home was always so slow! And that day would torturously (sp?) happen every. single. week. Now, that day may not happen until August 29th whichissofarawayIcannotpossiblythinkaboutitrightnowwithoutgoingcrazy! Sigh.

In other news, I have been offered a job overseeing a children's craft table at a local farmer's market. It's a 4 hours/once a week gig that seems to be right up my alley. Guess it's about time that I put my Early Childhood Education degree to some use! I did a trial run on Wednesday - face painting/seashell painting. Pretty enjoyable stuff. Luckily I have my Mama around to save my sanity watch the little one while I'm busy with the shop/potentially working at the market. But how do you not love a face like this:

... even if she is a little rascal!

- The Mrs.

The Pte. is back to the base in T-minus 4 hours. Worst case scenario we won't see him for the next two months. Best case scenario they'll let him come home for weekends. With the Canadian Forces, no matter how many times you're told something and no matter the rank of the people telling you - you just never know til the time comes. It just may be a long, sad two months... But I'm trying to hold it together because I know the Pte. has got it worse. Our little miss is growing like a weed and he will miss so much of that over the next two months. Taking it one day at a time though, and gosh, we certainly could use the $$$!

-The Mrs.