Q's about jumping back into nursing!!!

I am applying to some jobs after almost 2 1/2 years of being a stay at home mom......My husband was active duty military and our constant relocating coupled with having a daughter made it to troublesome to keep moving from hospital to hospital ( only gained 1 1/2 experience post graduation). Now that my hubby is getting out I am prepareing my resume and cover letter and I wondered if I should address the 2 1/2 break in my career in my cover letter? How would I go about addressing it in a professional way? Also I am running into problems about references........I have my old references from 3 or 4 years ago but thats it. What should I do?
THANKS for any helpful suggestions!