Mommy, I Miss Daddy

Luckily for me, my children are still young enough to not feel the "full effects" of a deployment.
My oldest of course, takes it the hardest when he leaves.
My middle child (and only boy)doesn't really have any issues for a couple of months typically.
But then, there's the baby. My 3 year old, who has convinced herself she is without a doubt a princess, and now requests to be called "your Majesty".

Now "the princess" lives in her own little world. I'm convinced that she will be that child in little league playing with her toes or chasing butterflies in right field. When Daddy first deployed it took her nearly 4 months to realize he was gone. I'm not saying she didn't love her Daddy in the least. Just that she is oblivious to her surroundings.
She came to me one afternoon, and said "mommy, is daddy still at work?" like he was working late. So after, my attempt to set her straight, she made up her own story to tell everyone she met. "Daddy's shooting Leprechauns in Assganstan".
We just left that story alone. So when Daddy came home on R&R, you can imagine the questions she had.

So 2 weeks go by, and "the princess", has Daddy's nearly full undivided attention. Which really doesn't help curb her delusions of grandeur. It didn't take her long to figure out who was the soft touch within the parental unit.

When Daddy left, I knew we'd have small issues of course, thats to be expected. But after nearly 3 weeks, I still hear "mommy I miss daddy" several times a day. We keep distracted as much as possible, but we still have down time. She's become quite adept at playing the "my daddys gone" card.
Why did you write on the floor? "I miss Daddy"
Did you hit your brother? "I miss Daddy"
Its time for bed. "I miss Daddy"

It never fails, bedtime is when Daddy is missed most. Can I stay up and watch TV? No. Call daddy! Your daddy won't let you stay up either. Uh huh, daddy let me do what I want! Well sorry Cupcake, Daddy's not here, momma rules. Uhhhh, I'm going to bed. But I miss daddy!