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Self Esteem vs Self Respect
Last weekend was cold. Cold and rainy. The kind of weather that makes you want to curl up in front of a fire with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. Instead I was at a soccer tournament for my ten-year old. Three games over Saturday and Sunday 90 minutes from home. Three games of pure determination on our boys’ parts. Three games of ‘Go, Avon, Go!’ … Three losses. Continue Reading about how to turn the loss into a win, Self Esteem vs Self Respect But that doesn’t necessarily make this mom sad: * The relationships that those boys are making out there on the field, the friendships…
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Pride in the Military Child
What has been your proudest moment as the parent of a military child? We will draw a random winner from a military-family that comments with their proud moment. The winner will receive a $60 Character Basket from Nickelodeon Suites! Just a little Housekeeping:* Please leave your email address in your comment, or send and email to leanne@militaryavenue.com with your email address and which comment is yours so we can notify you if you are the winner. One entry per giveaway per email address. * We will randomly select one winner (using Random.org) from all our military-families that enter on Monday, April 16th at 10am EST. We must hear back from you…
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Roots and Wings
We have an interesting phenomena going on in my house. We have an 18-month old and an 18 year old (and two other brothers in between). My husband and I often laugh with each other over the fact that we are the “young parents” with *J* (at sporting events, parent-teacher conferences etc etc) and we are going to be the “old wiser-parents” with *L*. There are times when I just want my 18-month old to grow up. I want him to communicate (although this can be hard even for an 18 year old); tell me his favorite things; share his deepest wishes; form an opinion that doesn’t involve whining; meet friends;…
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Bullying and our Military Children
I am a mom. Mom of a senior in high school, a 3rd grader, a 1st grader, and a toddler. My 3rd grader is a bit on the small side. He’s never been on the ‘charts’ and we have even been to a specialist just to be sure all is well. All is well, medically, and his stature has been chalked up to genetics and that is a-ok with me. However, already at 9 years old I have witnessed a few instances of the ‘bigger kids’ picking on the smaller (same age but some twice his size). One instance of apparent bullying was a fellow soccer player, church friend and school mate pushed my…
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Grandma’s Thunder Cake
Tomorrow is Grandparent day in my 1st graders class. Can you tell we aren’t near a military base? Clearly, this isn’t something I grew up with when I was in 1st grade, stationed at Sheppard AFB thousands of miles from either of my grandparents. My first grader is fortunate. His Grandpa and Grandma Kocsis live close enough that they are going to join him in his class for the morning. I am filled with a sense of love. Then at the same time I have a sense of some sadness. My parents (his Grandpa and Grandma Kissinger) don’t live close. They don’t get to see each other often enough in my…
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Fun on Veteran’s Day with my Grandson and His Class
What a great opportunity to tell the kindergarten class about veterans and share some experiences! Thank you so much for the Parent Teacher Organization at Pine Ridge Elementary School in Ada, Michigan for making this a special day for veterans! I had the chance to speak with my grandson’s class about what it meant to be a veteran, tell them where Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo ++ were located and had some great laughs. I learned that one child’s cat had died, one child’s dog had been sprayed by a skunk but for 15 minutes I held their attention! They were well behaved, sat and listened, raised their hands, made calls…
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Does the Army have a Problem with Warrior Transition Units? – DoD Roundtable
I think this was one of the most interesting DoD Roundtables in which I have participated as I met with Lt General Eric Schoomaker, the Army Surgeon General and Brigadier General Gary Cheek, Commander, Warrior Transition Command to talk about the Warrior Transition care. The care of wounded warriors (physically, spiritually or emotionally) is always a hot button issue for Americans. The super efforts of the Army to care for their own can sometimes fall victim to easy criticism and of course, some care may need attention to make it even better. It appeared that these two leaders wanted to insure that the care being given was right for the…
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Commitments and Parenting
No one said being a parent would be easy. But does it really need to be this hard? What might seem like a small trivial decision is holding a great weight over my shoulders. Our teenage-son was asked to a attend the big Homecoming dance by a friend from another school district. We were excited for him getting to know new friends and spending time with a gal whose family we happen to really like. I had seen pictures of the dress, we had discussed corsages, permission forms had been signed, and dinner plans were made. So the news, five days before homecoming, that he wasn’t going to go with…
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Mrs Obama’s Visit to Fort Bragg
I realize I’m preaching to the choir on this one … but I was reading an article this morning about Michelle Obamas visit to Fort Bragg and it struck a chord with me. “I encourage everyone out there, within the sound of my voice, to reach out on your own — through schools, PTA, Little Leagues, churches, workplaces — and find out if there’s a soldier or a soldier’s family right there in the community who needs a little extra support,” Mrs. Obama said in her speech. “They’re there. Something as simple as offering help with car pool duty can make the world of difference to a parent who’s trying…
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A Breath of Fresh, Unhurried Air
I almost didn’t go this morning. I have felt *very* overwhelmed the last 10 days and the thought of sitting around with friends and fellow-moms at a MOPS meeting wasn’t appealing. After all, it is Monday. I lost an hour of time this weekend (thanks to Daylight Savings Time). Getting the boys out of bed, dressed, lunches packed and the kindergartner on the bus was a little tougher than usual this morning. Plus, I have had a few job responsibilities shifted onto my plate while my fellow bloggers are on a well deserved vacation… and to top it all of my *Hubby* returned back to the sand-box about 10 days…
