Because pregnancy brain is hitting me HARD today

I can't come up with more than these half-ass answers to a questionnaire.

The MilSpouse Quiz (taken from Amanda)

1. How did you and your spouse meet?

Steve and I met because Steve was a friend of my little brother's friend, and our paths eventually crossed. I have no recollection of the first time we ACTUALLY met (which, I know, is terrible), but I'm sure I was thinking that he was the most smokin-hot guy I'd ever seen and that life with him would be super-fun. 

2. How old were you when you two met?

I had just turned 22 and Steve was about to turn 21. One memory I DO have is that Steve came home from a drill weekend and attended my 22nd birthday dinner. We didn't sit next to each other, but I believe that that was the first encounter I had with Steve and his digestive system's extreme displeasure with eating MRE's. He farted, and it was SO BAD that a waitress dropped an entire tray of food. I kid you not. I vividly remember thinking that he was one of the stinkiest people I'd ever met. I also go to GREAT LENGTHS now to prepare lots of snacks and meals for him to take out into the field for training so that he does not have to eat a single MRE. Because I do not want to face that wrath again. Especially now that I share a bed with him and because he finds Dutch-ovening me hilarious. (It is not.)

Auburn game 09

3. How long have you been together?

Since December 2008, so a little over three years. We've been married for two and a half, so as you can see, we didn't waste any time.

4. Where are you and your spouse originally from?

Steve used to tell me he was from "the rough streets of Philly." I actually sort of believed him for a little while....UNTIL I went and visited his hometown (a SUBURB of Philadelphia) and saw that it was the furthest thing from rough. So cute with the little things he would say to impress me.

I'm from south Alabama and I think the first time Steve came down, he probably thought I was taking him as far into the wilderness as possible so I could kill him and easily dispose of his body. But I didn't kill him! I married him!

NYC Spring Break 09

5. How did you feel about him joining the military?

He was already in the military when we met, so I guess I didn't think too much about it. 

6. Where did your spouse go to Basic Training?

Fort Benning, GA. Poor baby. It was his first summer in the South and he spent it doing basic training. I didn't know him then, but it still hurts my heart to think about how red he must have been that summer. (And some guy, somewhere, has some sort of PTSD from sleeping so close to Steve after he ate all of that chow-hall military food. Bless his heart.)

 Military Ball- 09

7. Has your spouse ever been deployed?

Not yet. That's coming this year. <gulp>

8. Ever been to his promotion ceremony?

Yup. I put those sweet little butterbars on his shoulders (incorrectly, of course) and look forward to one day attending a promotion ceremony of his where I am not grotesquely pregnant. (Will promote to 1LT in March- I will again be super-duper-pregnant. No doubt someone will take a picture to document that.)

Commissioning- August 09

9. How long have you been a military wife?

Ever since I got married, so approximately two and a half years.  

10. Did you marry him before or after he joined?

After. Is it me or are these questions getting a little redundant?

11. How did your husband propose?

On the beach, the day before I graduated college.

12. Where did you get married?

We got married at my childhood church in Alabama.  

8-8-09

13. How old were you two when you got married?

I was still 23 (what a great year for meeee) and Steve was 21.

14. Did he wear his uniform on his wedding day?

Nope. Steve was definitely NOT into that idea. I think it's sweet though, and would love to have pictures of him in his uniform and me in my wedding dress. But HAHAHA that will never ever happen because I don't think my new, uh, "curves" will ever fit back into that wedding dress.

15. Where are you and your spouse currently stationed?

We are currently stationed at Ft Campbell, KY. 

16. Do you live on post?

Yep! Sure do. It's light-years better than living off-post. 

before we moved in- circa July 2010

17. How long were you married when you had to go through your first separation?

Ummmm.... Besides random drill weekends, I think the most time we spent apart was when Steve had to go to field training with ROTC. There wasn't much separation at BOLC (except that one week where I sleep-trained my little nugget while Steve was out in the field! Score one for the mama!), so Ft Campbell training has kept us apart the most since being married. More training, JRTC in Louisiana, and a deployment are waiting for us this year though, so the separations are fixin' to get a lot more frequent.

18. What is your favorite base so far?

I would definitely say Ft Lee. It's the only other place we've been stationed besides Campbell, and while I couldn't see the forest for the trees while we were there (no-sleeping newborn mania had taken over our lives, as well as Tricare fiascos and mean ol' stick-in-the-mud instructors at BOLC), Steve and I both agree that going back to Ft Lee would be a welcome change. I guess we didn't know how bad it COULD be til we saw something different.
 

19. Do you think your spouse looks good in his uniform?

I would prefer he wear it nonstop. It is the epitome of HOT.

In uniform AND holding a cute baby?! Almost too much to handle. Pathfinder gradutation- April 2011

20. Do you think military life is more advanced than civilian life?

Sounds like someone is trying for a snotty answer here! I would never say it is "more advanced" but it is very different. Some of those differences are good, some of them aren't so good. I have a feeling it's like that for everyone in life.

21. Do you like the benefits you receive as a military dependent?

I do. I enjoy shopping at the commissary (you know, when it's NOT a payday and when people shop for their families alone instead of bringing all 57 kids, cousins, aunts, and uncles with them to cram the aisles). I like knowing that our health insurance is stable. I love our house and living on-post. 

(Just deleted entire soapbox rant about sacrifices vs benefits- you're welcome!) 

22. Do you have a lot of military wife friends?

I am striving more for quality instead of quantity when it comes to military wife friends. That said, I think that I have a great little network of friends here at Campbell and look forward to making more. 

23. What is the hardest part of the military life?

I'm sure that later on this year, my answer will be "deployments and separations." But right now, it is the inconsistent schedule. I want Steve to be able to spend time with Sam at least once during the day, and having all of these "super-important" things pop up at the end of the day does not allow that to happen. Bad scheduling does not a happy wife make.

September 2011

24. Do you own military wife stuff?

I do not. But Steve and I get a real kick out of the cars that have military wife stickers on the back, only to see that the husband is stuck driving the car around town. 

25. Do you support your spouse as a member of the military?

Well this one is a big fat DUH. Of course I support him. I'm very proud of what he's doing (whether he sees his job as important or not right now) and will continue to support him wherever the Army happens to take him (and us. Don't forget about us. We're going to tag along too.).

October 2011

PS. My (or should I say Sam's) cloth diapers are arriving today! Stay tuned!