MILITARY MOM SPECIAL DAY TO BE ESPECIALLY TOUGH.

Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY - Lisa Ruiz is used to her house being full of kids, but the stay-at-home mother of four faces new challenges since her husband's recent deployment to the Middle East.

``I've always been at home with the kids, so I'm pretty used to balancing it,'' said Ruiz, whose oldest is 10. ``But the emotional things are hard.'' She has seen the emotional strain on her children since their father left in February.

After 10 years of marriage, Army Reservist Eric Ruiz, a second-grade teacher, was called to active military duty, and he is expected to remain in Kuwait or Iraq for up to one year. In addition to birthdays and anniversaries, he will miss Mother's Day with his family on Sunday.

Ten-year-old Joey, 7-year-old Jasmine, 3-year-old Ricky and 1-year-old Racquel are still adjusting to their father's absence, their mom said, but the older children have taken on more responsibilities to help the family.

``I help take care of Racquel,'' said Joey, a fourth-grader who plays basketball and saxophone. ``I watch her for my mom.''

Jasmine, in third grade, helps with dinner, even if it's just heating soup.

``I used to do all the cooking,'' Ruiz said. ``Everything was home- cooked. But we've really had to simplify our night routine. Now I buy pre-made things like macaroni that they can just heat up.''

She and the children were able to visit her husband last month at an Army base in Seattle. He received his orders for Kuwait just days after his wife and children returned to their Canyon Country home. Since then, Ricky has cried for his father every night.

``The hardest thing is I just miss my husband. I read Ricky the same letter from his father every night. The older ones understand where their daddy is, but Ricky, he's too young. He uses these (photos) to look at his dad,'' Ruiz said. ``It's hard, yes, but I really can't complain.

``This is temporary, and I know there's an end to it. I think about moms who have no one, no money in the bank every two weeks,'' she said. ``I think about that, and I know I have plenty to be thankful for this Mother's Day.''

Ruiz said her husband, who graduated from Saugus High in 1985 and teaches in the Antelope Valley, is a positive person who helped her cope with the possibility that he would have to be away from his family.

Ruiz credits her own mother, Lorraine Grimaldo, who has been battling cancer for two years but helps with the children. On Sunday, Ruiz will take the children the short distance to her mother's house before paying a visit to her husband's mother.

Ruiz, a Canyon High alumna and herself one of four children, said a few months back she was considering expanding her brood but has since changed her mind.

``The less time I have alone, the more I think this is it,'' she said. ``The only free time I get is at night, and by then I just watch some mindless TV before I go to bed. Oh, I actually took a bath last week. It was the first time I'd done that in I don't know how long.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) With her husband away on active military duty in the Iraq war, parent-of-four Lisa Ruiz expects no rest on Mother's Day.

(2) Ricky Ruiz, 3, too young to grasp why his father, a teacher, was called away to active military duty, is cheered up by photos of his dad while his mom, Lisa, tends to year-old Racquel.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer