My wife called me about 30 minutes before my lunch break asking me if there was gas and oil in the lawn mower that Sears gave us to review. I told her yes and that was it, now when she asked I thought she was going to let one of our neighbors borrow it. As I was driving up to my house I couldn’t believe my freaking eyes. My wife was cutting the freaking grass!!!! I was in shock, I could not believe that after seven years of marriage my wife finally did some yard work. Anyone who knows my wife will tell you that her idea of doing any kind of yard work is her sitting in a chair and pointing out what she wanted done while I did the work.

So if you happen to notice a little piggy flying around don’t be alarmed, “My wife just finished cutting the grass”…

It seems like once you hit that 90 day mark something happens, were it was ” YAY MY SPOUSE IS HOME!!!!” ,to “uuhhhhmmmm my spouse is home”. Not to mention the little spats over topics that are really small. The truth is spouses by the time that 90 day mark comes, all the days off, or getting off early are over and its back to business as usual, which include all the lovely and stressful games that the Army loves to play. So after about 2 weeks of playing these awesome games we begin to seem distant and want a little more time alone. Trust me and I can speak for most married Soldiers “ It has nothing to do with you, It is not your fault.” Try to understand that there are some things we do not want to talk about,  just because we want to forget about that day at work.

Remember there are aspects of a soldiers work life that are just too complicated to try to explain or understand. It can be a little hard to talk about it with someone who hasn’t experienced what it is like just being a soldier, not to mention being a married soldier with kids. The best solution that I have found that helps is to keep communicating with your spouse, and let them have that little extra time to unwind. Eventually the silly games will stop for a while and your soldier will be all happy again and the two of you can go back to being “Fat and Crunchy”.

That’s my weakness, I’m always trying to get some game time in and since I’m off leave and back on a regular work schedule that as been limited. Fishing is what she uses when all the above fails, she knows that I love to fish but rarely have the opportunity  to do so because it is so expensive here in Hawaii. Any time she decides to let me spend some money to go fishing I’m jumping on it. Now I know what some of the guys are saying, “If I work hard to make this money I’m going to do what I want when I want”. All I have to say in response to that is I like to have a happy wife, the happier she is the happier my life is.

By being in the military I get to hear all the “My Wife Stories”, so I know that I’m not the only one who’s wife knows how to trick her man into doing something he don’t want to do. So please leave a commit describing some of the techniques that your wife uses to trick you.

It’s hard enough having to leave your family behind when deployment time comes. The hardest thing for me is having to walk away from my kids especially when your 5 yr old is crying and asking mom why does daddy have to leave again. That kills me every time, what can you really say to a child that young to help him/her understand. I know I speak for every dad in the military when I say …That day is the hardest and most stressful day ever.

Fathering long distance really blows, trying to  discipline your kids over the phone really doesn’t work well. “You better listen to your mother or else I’m going to get you” …really; What kid is really going to take you seriously when they know that it will be at least another 3-6 months before you come home for R&R. Then there is the 11 yr old daughter who has discovered  boys and she wants them to notice her. At this point you are ready to pull your hair out, but in my case I’m bald so I can’t pull any hair.

Finally!!! Deployment is over and Dad is back home, by this time the kids are use to doing what mom says and it’s like dad is invisible… aaggghhh!!! So, After about 2 weeks everything  smooths out and back to normal, well as normal as it is going to get cause the next year will be spent trying to make up for the missed birthdays, holidays, and yeah all the missed just hanging with dad days….

Trust me dads I remember all to well having to get up in the middle of the night just to go to Mc Donald’s 24 hr drive thru to get my wife a Mc Flurry and a large order of fries. Finally the day comes and it seems to always happen at the most inopportune time my wife calls me and says she is having contractions and I need to come home. After arriving at the hospital and a nice nurse sticks me in a corner for about 30 mins they finally let me see my wife and it’s time to let her abuse you and call you every name in the book during each contraction. After what seems to be forever (5 days to be exact) it’s time to play coach and cheerleader, and it happens the baby is out and all of what I just went through just fades away because I am now holding the most precious  thing that I have ever seen in my life.

You bring the baby over to your wife and let her hold him or her, and for that moment it seems like time stops just for minute. Then you realize, “I’m a dad” its my job to do everything I can for this little bundle of joy.

Even though these briefs are a little on the pricy side, I believe they are worth every penny.  Here’s a brief description.

• breathable mesh panels provide extra airflow
• ultra-light and smooth microfiber fabric
• plush back waistband adds comfort to your waistline
• boxer brief sits lower on your waist and extends to top of thigh
• available in blue, orange, white, and black

Disclaimer: Just to let everyone know I was not paid to do this review, just wanted to share this great product with my readers and to anyone who ever suffered with “Swamp Ass”!!

At first glance, I thought it was just another push lawnmower but after I added a little oil, gas, and primed  it, let me tell you it started on the first pull. I have used a few lawnmowers right out of the box before but I never had one start on the first pull. I really like the power of this mower, even though it is not a self propelled mower it pushes like one. The only drawback that I can see after using this mower is that the bag fills up pretty quickly, I recommend not using the bag on any yards that are larger than a half acre. This lawnmower is pretty light, light enough that my 11 year old daughter can handle it without any issues.

All and all, this is a really good lawnmower. I have to thank “The Sears Outlet Store” for allowing ArmyWife101 a chance to review such a great product.

Well it’s time for the update on cleaning the garage, for those of you who might be lost in the sauce here’s the link to catch you up on the garage, “Post Deployment Woe’s“.

Just to let you all know I did not tackle the garage on the 29th of August, I decided to knock out the smaller items on my Wife’s list.  Today was my first day back at work and well it was very uneventful to say the least, since we got off early I decided that it was time to conquer the garage. Everything was going as planned and moving smoothly until I moved two boxes that were stacked in a corner…. Now my wife will tell you that I am not afraid of anything, well… that is as long it doesn’t jump out at me, let’s just say that lurking in the darkness behind those boxes was the mother of all nurseries, “A NEST OF FREAKING SPIDERS”!!!!

For the first time in my “Man Hood” I squealed like a little girl. There had to have been at least a Hundred baby spiders and a few Big Mama spiders too. I could not believe it, so I ran and grabbed the “Ortho Home Defense” and reclaimed my garage. After the smoke cleared and the Ortho had settled there were spiders everywhere, so that took another 30 minutes to clean up and ensure that I have gotten them all. I believe I now have PTSSD (Post Traumatic Spider Syndrome), at least the garage is safe and I have earned one hour of PS3…..

Bellow's Beach, Oahu Hawaii