Murphy's Laws for Moms

Children are happy people. For the most part, this statement is true.  My children smile, laugh, and enjoy playing with their friends and toys - or just running around behaving like kids.  They can tell you the "Interrupting Cow" knock-knock joke all day long and never find it less humorous (even when my 3-year-old doesn't quite get the joke's timing).  Yes, for the most part, this statement is true. But, there were many times - especially during Daddy's deployment - when this statement seemed like a wish.  My 5-year-old daughter would get angry at the tiniest of things...not getting the right cup at dinnertime, having no clean pink panties, and other such minuscule things.  The anger got so bad that, at times, I felt like a failure as a mom.  I wanted to give in to her demands or just do anything to make it all better.  But, I didn't know how or what to do.  My daughter would rage at me - hitting, kicking, biting, screaming until her face was...

Deployment is never fun. It's not fun for the person being deployed nor the loved ones they're leaving behind.  Deployment isn't better or worse depending on the branch of service, rank, location, nor if you're active duty, reserve or guard status.  It's not even better or worse depending on the length of the deployment - neither the length they tell you it's going to be nor the length it actually ends up being. Here's what deployment is... Deployment is going somewhere far away - somewhere that may or may not be classified.  It is time zones away from loved ones with sketchy Internet connections and even worse phone connections. Deployment is tears - both adult and kid.  It is anger.  It is fear.  It is worry.  It is sadness. Deployment is meals spent without loved ones - often times just scraped together because you don't have the energy or means to get a real meal.  It is figuring out how to change the batteries in your smoke detector a...

Many thought that I was crazy. They assumed I would end the nonsense and turn around.  They were certain, if I didn't, I would be committed, and I agreed with them.  But, I'm a stubborn mom and was determined to prove everyone wrong.  So, thus began a month-long journey, covering over 5100 miles (round trip) through the U.S. with just Mom and two kids, plus an SUV half-filled with food, DVDs, and busy boxes. The trip was planned not only for summer vacation but for sanity during a military deployment.  It was also planned to maximize the number of family members we could visit.  The route was planned but no hotels were booked due to the uncertainty of traveling with young children. I researched the best way to keep kids sane during road trips, buying books, craft projects, educational materials, and new DVDs.  I built a new Spotify playlist with songs that would be soothing to me as the driver, but also be something suitable for my children's listening ea...