A Great Opportunity

Dear Readers,
We have been remiss in the past few weeks with posting the issues that are important to us as military families. The only excuse I can offer is that Shevaun is in the process of preparing for her husband's orders to Hawaii. She has been in limbo and moving around like a true gypsy since shortly before July and will not be in her own home until some time in October. Because of this, it has been difficult for her to post on our blog. For myself, as many of you know, for the past month I have been battling mysterious issues in my health. I finally realized that all of the issues I had been having were a cause of the steroid "entocourt" that I was placed on to help heal the inflammation in my GI tract. I have since taken myself off of them and feel much improved.
So today, I wanted to share some really exciting information with all of you about furthering your education. I don't how many of you have heard of the DOD's program MyCAA. It will be re-enacted this coming October on the 25th, so if you are interested in what you read below, make sure you fill out an application soon.
You may be asking what is MyCAA? It is a financial assisting program for spouses of active duty military. If you fill this role, there are some other guidelines to look at. Your spouse has to be E1-E5, W1-W2, or O1-O2. If your spouse fits in this category, read on. If he doesn't, its okay, mine just missed the mark! How crushing reality is! (assume I am laughing at my poor luck with that last comment).
The program offers a maximum of $4,000 of assistance. You can only use $2,000 of it per year. This can be used toward an associate's degree, licensure or certification and is provided through a waiver. They will not give you cash or reimburse you for already paid course work. So make sure you apply first for the program before signing up for your course work. The program also requires you to finish your course work within 3 years of beginning. You do not have to use up all of the money, or even all $2,000 per year. Those are just the guidelines for the program.
The website for MyCAA is: http://aiportal.acc.af.mil/mycaa/
Also, please visit militaryonesource.com as well and look up MyCAA! There is a link that would be beneficial for finding optional financial aid from Federal grants. The website is: www.militaryonesource.com/MOS/FindInformation/Category/MilitarySpouseCareerAdvancementAccounts/MilitarySpouseFinancialAidResourceList.aspx
I hope that this helps all of you. Please pass the word to all of those other military spouses male or female that want to build a portable career but cannot finance it themselves!

Planning a Vacation "Part 1" Disney World

I was originally going to post today how to go about finding great deals for awesome vacations; but like any family, we had a health crisis ensue within our home that had to be coped with. So, in lieu of that post, which I will post next Friday, I wanted to share some great travel deals that are running for military families.

If you are near or plan to head to Walt Disney World this summer, plan to purchase your tickets at your on base ITT office. Walt Disney World is continuing their Military salute by extending their discount tickets until August 31st of this year. 4-Day base tickets are $99 when compared to $239 at the gate. 4-Day park hopper tickets are $120 compared to the gate price of $295. 4-Day hopper with water park access is $145 compared to $350 at the gate. You can see where you are getting a real steal with this deal! They are also offering 1 4-Day pass for the active duty member for free. I usually look for hotel accommodations off park that offers continental breakfast and shuttle ride to the park. Hotels are really making some good deals. One website to visit is hotels.com.

Visit your local ITT office for local venues. Each area will be different with what is offered. Plan ahead and have a great time!

Surviving Summer

I love the summer. It really is my favorite season. My daughter is not old enough to go to school, but I have two sisters with elementary age children. Every summer I hear them talking about their plans on how to survive having their kids home during the summer. So I thought I would write down a few suggestions for my blog readers :)

Contact your local community center; almost every community center that I have lived near has had plenty of free or inexpensive activities for kids.

The movie theatre near one of my sister's has a free movie on the same day every week. Check with your local theatre about that, and if they don't do it, make a suggestion! They make a lot of money off of the snacks that all the parents buy.

There is also a plethora of resources online of fun activities that you can print off. I know Disney has quite a few.

Swimming! That is by far my favorite thing to do cause I can work on my tan at the same time :)

If there is not a pool near you, slip 'n slides are a fabulous investment. Even my 2 year old had a blast on them.

The other day was my sister-in-law's 18th birthday and we made ice cream in ziploc baggies.

here is a link with instructions: http://crafts.kaboose.com/ice-cream-in-a-bag.html

it was a lot of fun, and I'm pretty sure I burned off most of the calories from the finished product just by making it.

I could go on and on with more ideas, but I thought I would open it up to you. Feel free leave comments of other great things or traditions that you like to do during the summer.

4th of July Message

As the holiday draws near, I begin to think about why we celebrate this day and how America has come so far off the beaten path in the soon to be 234 years that our country has been in existence. Yes, 234 years! On our nation's day of birth, she will be 234 years old. Quite young if you think about all of the countries that have had their own sovereignty for many more hundreds of years. We are actually a very young governing body.

Our country began in simple beginnings with the colonists developing the eastern shores of what they called the New World over 400 years ago. 1587 saw the first group of actual colonists come to these great shores though many all male explorations had taken place here before then. The first colony was located in my own state of North Carolina. You may have even heard a blurb about it in your history books while growing up. Roanoke Island and the mystery of the Lost Colony. Yes, the Lost Colony and the birth of Virginia Dare, the first child to be born on these shores (other than the natives of course). No one knows what happened to this colony when hardships came upon it, though that is a completely different story.

Many other colonies were developed after the first, thirteen to be exact, and they thrived through the hardships that came upon them. Families grew, towns grew, and people flocked from England to come here for a chance at a better life than the one they had in the "Mother Land". We grew, and for 100 and some odd years, the people of the colonies thrived as best they could under the oppressive weight of England.

And then, people began to be unhappy with the excessive taxation that was pressed upon them over the years by the English government that did not even know what America was really like. As the colonists began to think, the government was a whole ocean away and had no idea of the realities of America. Eventually after many issues (which I will refrain from naming all!) such as the "Boston Massacre" and the "Boston Tea Party", the colonists gathered together many prestigious persons from each colony and developed the Declaration of Independence. This document was considered treasonous and, if we had lost the war that waged after this document was sent to King George III, those brave men would have been given the death penalty.

We waged a war on our own turf, the Revolution, and won our Independence; that same independence that we celebrate each 4th of July. The Constitution was developed and America became a sovereign government in her own right. Peoples from around the world of many nations and languages flocked to this land because of the bright beacon of hope.

That hope, begins at the hearth. That hope, begins with the children of our homes understanding what it means to be American. To be American isn't just to wear a title or speak a certain language. It is be the beacon of hope to those around the world who live under the same oppression most of our original founding families (my ancestors did not come to these shores until after the Revolutionary War but before the Civil War) lived under when their "Mother Land" told them what to do. I have hope in my heart that we can become the country our founding fathers envisioned when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and put their lives at risk. I have hope that we can be the country they envisioned when writing our Constitution. No one governing body should have more power than the other- words written by men over 200 years ago. Hope is what America is. And I dearly hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July as well as a safe one. Remember all of those men and women who put their lives at risk to help create and shape our country and honor those today who continue to serve.

Taps

If any of you have heard Taps, the military trumpet played notes at military funerals, then you have heard a truly moving piece of music in its true simplicity. I learned to play Taps when I was in school by pure chance on my trumpet. I have always had a good ear and tried to match the notes until I had the melody perfect. I was unaware until recently the true beauty if this music. So here is a small tale for you to all hear about how Taps came to being. Melding music, history, and poetry all in one.

We have all heard Taps at one point in our lives whether in person or in the movies. It brings tears to our eyes and lumps to our throats with it's haunting sound that moves us.

The Myth:

It all began in 1862, during the Civil War. The Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his troops near Harris Landing in Virginia. They waited to enter battle with the Confederate army who also waited on another side of the small strip of land that separated the two combatants.

During the night, he heard the moans of a wounded soldier on the field of battle and risking his own life, went to retrieve the wounded man not knowing if he was comrade or enemy. It was so dark that he could not see the man he rescued until he had returned to his camp. By then, the man was dead.

Light illuminated the face of his own son who had been fighting with the Confederate soldiers against his own father. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war had broken out and had not told his father that he had joined in the Confederate Army.

Even though he was an enemy soldier, the Captain asked if he could be buried with military honors and a band. His wish was only partially granted. He was only granted one instrument from the band to play at the funeral. The Captain chose a bugler (trumpet player) to play the music that he had found in his son's pocket.

The Truth:

The tune is a variation of an earlier tune called the Scott Tattoo used from 1835-1860. It was arranged in its present form by Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield while at Harris's Landing in Virgina, July 1862. His main objective was to replace the Scott Tattoo, used for "lights out" which was a French created tune. Butterfield's bugler, Oliver W. Norton, was the first bugler to play the newly arranged tune. Within months, both North and South forces had fully adopted the Taps tune.

Today, Taps is used to culminate military funerals around the United States as well as memorial services held within Arlington National Cemetery. When sounded, it is customary for military personnel to salute. The corresponding civilian response to Taps is to put their hand over their heart (much like the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem).

It is also sounded at each of the 2,500 wreath ceremonies held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every year, including the ones held on Memorial day. These ceremonies are viewed by thousands of people each year. Taps continues to be sounded at non-deployed military locations to indicate "lights out".

The Lyrics to the music:

Fading light dims the sight

And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright

From afar drawing nigh,

Falls the night.

Day is done, gone the sun

From the lakes, from the hills, from the skies

All is well, safely rest;

God is nigh.

Then goodnight, peaceful night;
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright.

God is near, do not fear;

Friend, goodnight.

Imagine those lyrics being sung to what I hear as the most beautifully haunting tune in America.

Learning to Live With an Infamatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

As some of you know, I have been suffering from an often debilitating illness that has been a mystery to me. My illness came on rather suddenly about two and a half years ago after catching a 24 hour flu like virus. The reason I am sharing my story with you readers today, is because the path that I have taken to get to where I am today (finally on the road to recovery) has been a very difficult one.

It began with a trip to my mother's home for Thanksgiving almost three years ago. My husband was deployed and I had just given birth to my second child a few months earlier. Only a few days after our arrival, my two small children (who were 2 years old and 3 months old respectively) and I, contracted a 24 hour flu like virus. After a horrible night of cleaning up after toddler, infant, and myself, I asked my mom to take us to the emergency room as she was on the way to work at the hospital anyway. The doctors proclaimed that I had contracted a gastro-intestinal flu and that it would pass very soon. Their major concern was hydration since I happened to be nursing at the time. At this point, I had no knowledge of the nightmare my life would become.

While most of my symptoms went away over time, one of the major ones did not. I continued to have issues with my lower GI tract (the small and large colons) and was often times consumed with debilitating pain. It began to slowly rule my life. I became very self-conscious of my body and what was going on with it which led to depression. My family would joke about my issues never realizing how deeply it cut into my heart. Often times, I would be so consumed with the pain and just breathing through it that I could not be the best mom that I wanted to be. I had also begun to notice itchy bumps that would pop up on my knees and elbows for weeks at a time with no rhyme or reason to them.

About ten months after contracting that first virus, my problems had become so bad that I finally sought help. I saw doctor after doctor until my Primary Care Manager at the Naval Hospital sent me to a Gastro-Interologist directly in my area. He did a few tests and performed an endoctopy (when they send a scope down your throat to look at your stomach and gallbladder) and proclaimed that I only had IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). No treatment was given and I just suffered in silence for several more months. The bumps continued to come back to my knees and elbows so I asked to see an allergy specialist thinking maybe I had developed an allergy and that was causing my GI problems.

After both skin and blood allergy tests, the specialist that I saw proclaimed that I definitely did not have any allergies to foods and that my blood tests had shown inflammation. His diagnosis was to go back to the GI doctor. So... as you may have guessed, I went back to my PCM to request another referral since my last one was no good. It was at that time that I asked to be sent to a specialist out of our area. This was the best thing I could have requested for it finally led me down a path to answers.

The new GI doctor was thorough and ran all of the tests needed on the first visit with the intent to do a colonoscopy right away. What we weren't expecting to find was the salmonella I had contracted some time between my visit at the Allergist office and my visit to this GI doctor. My symptoms had become so severe by this time that I had a visit to the ER for fear of lost blood. I was treated and asked to recuperate from the anti-biotics before proceeding with the colonoscopy.

A week ago, I had my procedure, and already the answers are falling into place. I have been diagnosed with an IBD (inflamatory Bowel Disease) which is definitely not IBS. One thing about having an IBD is that it is not curable; only treatable. I will live with this disease and its flare ups for the rest of my life. I am still coming to terms with this and some days are better than others. With this disease, comes the importance of nutrition and well-being as well as being pro-active in taking care of myself. The medication I am required to take is an immuno-suppressant which in layman's terms makes the immune system take a breather. The down side to this is that I will be more open to catch colds and other illnesses so must take care. My small and large colons also impede proper nutrition because of the inflammation of the cellular tissues.

Because of these issues, I find it is even more important for me to remember to take my vitamins and other supplements in order to be proactive with my disease. Finding the best vitamins for this may have been difficult, but I am a firm believer that I was brought to the 5000moms team for a reason. Not only do I have a wealth of cellular level nutritionals at my fingertips, but I also have a team to fall back on for support as I learn to cope and live with my disease. Although I often feel like an island out in the middle of a lake, the water that surrounds me is not nothingness; it's the other women and mothers on the 5000mom team that flow around me. I am never alone; and for that I am grateful.

I share my story with you all today because I know that there are others out there like me who have dealt or are dealing with health issues. I believe that traditional medicine is important, but I also believe that good nutrition is just as important, especially for those who are ill. I also want to give hope to those of you out there who have a problem that has been undiagnosed. Don't be afraid to question. Listen to your body. Most importantly, love your body both physically and nutritionally, for the more love you give it, the longer it will hold up for you.

Finding Those Bargains!!

Hello everyone. This week's post is going to discuss ways to find bargains for all of our everyday needs.

In today's economy, every penny counts. Here are some ideas that my family follows when making purchases.

1. Major purchases (i.e. furniture, expensive electronics, etc.): try to make these purchases on a holiday weekend. Holiday weekend sales can be extraordinary and you can get great pieces for your home for a fraction of the price!


2. Clothes: I recently lost quite a bit of weight and none of my clothing fit- in fact, I had to deplete my wardrobe by over half of what I had. In order to make up for this loss, I looked for sales. I always shop for my needs last, so had been putting off getting new clothing. Old Navy had a 30% off everything sale and I was able to purchase- 2 new jeans, 2 jean Bermuda shorts, 4 t-shirts, jean skirt, 3 jean toddler shorts for my son, and a pair of flip flops for him and spent about$140. I also surfed my favorite local site www.lejeuneyardsales.com (you can go to this site and look for if you have a local site in your area) and purchased 2 new dress skirts for church for $7 total.


3. Online shopping: you can shop on sites like e-bay for items that are a fraction of the cost or major stores like Walmart when they have their free shipping promos!


4. Don't be afraid to go garage sale hopping! You can find great clothes for the whole family, accessories, and sometimes some great furniture and appliances! You may have to look through a lot of junk to find the jewels, but they are there! I like to go to garage sales in higher end neighborhoods! You never know what you will find!


5. Sometimes, we will open a store card to get the 10-15% off our total amount and then pay it off immediately in order to pay a lesser amount on larger purchases. If you do this, make sure your credit is good and make sure you do not leave a balance on it after the first month. It will accrue interest after the first month which will add that discount you earned when you opened the card back on (then there is no point).


6. Make sure you shop those sales! We just pre-purchased for the school year all of the shoes for my two children about a week and a half ago when Payless Shoes was doing their buy one, get one half off promotion. My daughter came home with 4 shoes plus her dance shoes for this fall (so 6 pairs) and my son came home with 5 pairs and I came home with 1 pair. We spent about $120 on all of these shoes!! (12 pairs of shoes!!!). Kids don't need expensive shoes when they are still growing, so if you are able, look for them at garage sales or purchase at discount shoe places. They have cute shoes for inexpensive prices!

If you have a great way that you save money when making purchases, let us know in the comments section! This is a great forum to share our ideas and every mom needs ways to save every penny!