Going Away........

So last night my husband got the official call that instead of leaving in December, he leaves in two weeks for training. For the record let me say this BLOWS!!! I must say that this should not be a shock to me. After all, being a military wife we know these this are coming but that doesnt make it easier. I want to go into a closet and cry, but instead i have to be a support system for my husband and family. I just wish i got to have my husband to my self atleast for a year!
Now dont get me wrong i love the fact that my husband is in the military. He is going out to fight for our rights and freedom. Forgive me if i sound selfish but i believe his son needs him more. I guess im just sad that im going to miss my husband. Keep us in your prayers!!!

Happy Born Day!!!

One of our featured moms, Tamara McGregor, just gave birth to a healthy 6lbs 5oz baby boy!!! Welcome to the world Marcus Rashad Brooks Jr. Your mommy and daddy waited nine WHOLE months to meet you! Congrats Marcus and Tamara!

Mighty Mom!!!

I applaud single mothers; they are some of the strongest women in the world. Since becoming a mother I understand that we make sacrifices for our children but these women pay the ultimate price. These women sacrifice so much for their children, going to school to make a better life for them. Sometimes working multiple jobs to make sure their children are taken care of.  Although i am not a single parent my mother was, and i watched how trying it can be. My mother would miss Piano recitals, Harmony concerts and honors day programs, It's not that she didn’t want to be there but she had to work to support us. I could not imagine missing ANY part of my son’s life. I appreciate what my mother did for me and I hope children of single parents appreciate it too. This next mom is the example of pushing forward through adversity, everyone meet Shanteria.

Hello everyone my name is Shanteria Scrutchins. I am a single 23 year old proud parent of a 3yr old daughter named Zy’Khia. I am a full time student, parent, and I work a full time job. The purpose of writing this column is to give some encouragement to young, single mothers and married women my age. Anything is possible when u believe in yourself. If you have a good support system, and strive for nothing but the best you can accomplish anything. My daughter was my motivation to better myself. I wanted to set a good example for her and show her that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. As of September 23^rd 2011, my hard work has paid off. I am now a young successful Registered Pharmacy Technician.

G.I. MOM!!!

Happy Belated birthday to our next super mom. Aminah is a Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force and a soon to be mommy of a little boy. She makes ABU's look good!!!

 A little over six years ago I never would have thought that I would be in the military, and pregnant no less. After I joined the military I would see all these pregnant women wearing their maternity BDUs and ABUs (Battle Dress Uniform & Airman Battle Uniform) and I would think to myself that I wouldn’t be one of those women whom I felt were weak and simple, that I’d do my time and have my babies after I got out. Now that I’m pregnant and still in the military I see things so much differently. Yes, there are a handful of women who get pregnant for the wrong reasons (mainly to avoid deployments and to separate), but there are the women who feel like it’s their time to become mothers and/or want to grow their families. The women who do everything they can for their unborn children are the strongest women in my opinion. We are working women who have to make choices and difficult decisions, we have to make wills as 20 & 30-somethings just in case something happens to us when we get deployed, we still have to wake up at the crack of dawn and work 8-12 hours a day. The thing that keeps me going, though, is this tiny little person inside of me who is going to depend on me for his every need for the next 18 years. Sitting at my desk at work is exhausting; sometimes I find it hard to keep my eyes open, but when I feel those kicks and punches and weird little flips I somehow become energized.

I don’t know if how I feel differs from a non-military mother-to-be, but I know my experiences are definitely different. I still PT 3-5 times a week (I have mandatory PT at least 3 times), maybe not as intense as I used to PT, but I still want to keep my baby and myself healthy. I still work weekend duty. Oh, and the first trimester was ridiculous. I was always tired and nauseous and I had to sit at that desk for 8 hours a day and deal with it (although my supervisors were very understanding when things got really bad and I had to go home early). Not only did I usually have to deal with the symptoms, but also I was running a training program while writing the materials for it, so I had to be at work all the time. Luckily the program tapered off along with my first trimester symptoms.

The biggest thing I’m dealing with right now is the fear of the future of my career in conjunction with being a mother. We only get 6 months with our babies before we start getting tasked with deployments again and sometimes we already know what’s going to happen as soon as we return to work. That’s not something to look forward to. Things like that can really ruin plans we have for our little ones, such as breast feeding and getting them acclimated with us without any physical interruptions and disappearances. That’s probably the biggest thing any military mom has to deal with. All in all, military mothers have to be strong women to deal with some of the things that pop up, but military mothers also have the strongest network of military as well as non-military women to rely on, which is beyond necessary when raising a military child.