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Active Kids are Happy Kids – Summer Fun!
Summer Vacation is in full swing. It is a time of year I look forward to; time to spend with my kids; time to laugh and play. But with idle hands and minds comes “Mom, I’m bored”, “Mom, he hit me”, “MOMMMMMMM!” Then you will find Mom locked up in the bathroom, singing the “la la la la la, I can’t-HEAR-you” song, wondering when school starts again. I love Summer Vacation, and to keep up this high-maintenance love-relationship we stay fairly busy, in a fun relaxed way. Military OneSource’s article, “Keeping Your Kids Active This Summer” has some great ground-rules that we have always applied, like involve the kids in planning their day, setting rules for screen time, staying organized and creating…
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How Did I Miss this Great Information Resource? The USAA Educational Foundation
What do you know about the USAA Educational Foundation? I have been a USAA member for over 40 years and have to admit that I knew little about this non profit resource provider! They are totally separate from USAA since USAA donated a one time gift to establish the foundation and have completely separate missions, leadership and absolutely no ties for products or services, etc. With an opportunity to talk to Barbara Gentry, the President and Steve Finley, the Director of the USAA Educational Foundation, I thought I could tell others about another resource for your challenging military lifestyle! I spoke briefly to Barbara about the mission of the education…
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Week in Review: June 5 – June 11, 2011 (Military News) #MilitaryMon
Popular Military Family Articles for the week of June 5th – 11th on MilitaryAvenue.comWhat has your favorite assignment been and why?: We all have stories being military families… stories of places we LOVED living, stories of places we weren’t so fond of. Perhaps the dust-storms in Texas just aren’t your thing or perhaps you could have done without the humidity of South Carolina. Maybe you couldn’t get enough of the history of Charleston or the free museums and cherry-blossoms in DC. This is the life of the military. It’s more than an adventure, it is life-changing! You get to see the sites, opportunities to do things you wouldn’t have had…
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Just a Mom Without a Clue
I spent the wee-hours of the morning in the ER. Baby Boy *L* has been running a high fever for about 72 hours and last night he didn’t want to nurse, he didn’t want to be held, he didn’t want to be put down. He just wanted to cry and be miserable (and drag all of us down with him. Wait did I just say that?) His misery had made for a long day already and I realized that if this went all night again we both might drown in a puddle of tears together. It is am awful feeling to feel helpless. Especially when the ones you love, those that…
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“No Shame in Seeking Help” – Real Warriors Campaign DoD Blogger Roundtable
Staff Sgt. Meg KrauseStaff Sgt Meg Krause had her act together! Joining the Army in 2001 she served as a medical technician at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany and then found herself in Iraq. It was according to her a “life changing experience for me”. Something she did not expect! Leaving active duty in 2006 to attend college at Penn State she stayed part of the military with duty in the Army Reserve. Then the problems came: alcohol abuse, tardiness, poor class attendance, attitude changes, bad decisions and more! The unit leadership and peers noticed, family and friends too! But she failed to respond until her First Sergeant sat…
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Last Day of School and My Mixed Emotions
Storms were rolling into northeast Ohio as the bus was pulling up to the driveway this morning. Tumultuous. Kind of described how I was feeling. Feeling the tears fill up. Feeling the emotion of putting my child on the kindergarten bus for the last time. Feeling like I should be thrilled (I do LOVE summer vacation almost as much as the kids.) and yet for some reason I was lamenting my own boys growing up. Moments of reflection can hit me at the worst of times! Boy, I’m going to be a mess when these kids start graduating from high school! – Leanne from MilitaryAvenue.combyLeanne KocsisonTuesday, June 07, 2011Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to…
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“Too Sweet a Deal”? You Decide!
The military lifestyle is a tough road! No one can deny that but many civilians do not understand why it is tough either! Long deployments, extensive TDY/TADs, frequent relocations (PCS), and caring for our families despite these conditions are frequently misunderstood. Also largely misunderstood is the impact on the lives of Reserve Forces including the National Guard and Service Reservists. Yep, some civilians may even ignore these situations but I think the major issue is education. How do we tell our fellow citizens that we are stretched as a community and in some cases would like them to “cover our 6 o’clock” for us? Checking 6 is when another aircraft…
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Week in Review: May 29 – June 4, 2011 (Military News) #MilitaryMon
Popular Military Family Articles for the week of May 29th – June 4th on MilitaryAvenue.comArmed with a Battle Saint™: A military Mom, Cynthia LeMay, has launched a project to support the troops. She has a number of loved ones serving in the military, including a son with the 101st Airborne who is currently serving in northern Afghanistan. Many of her family members are in harms way and not a moment goes by when she doesn’t worry and wonder if she could do more to help. At a recent family reunion, she sat around a big bonfire listening to the stories of war told by family members’ home on leave. Some…
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“They Helped Me Up” Staff Sergeant Eddie Peoples – DoD Blogger’s Roundtable
Staff Sergeant Eddie PeoplesHow do I start? This story is about one of our own, a hero for wearing his country’s uniform, a “Defender” in his one words and certainly a model for caring! United States Army Staff Sergeant Eddie Peoples came home on leave from Vicenza, Italy with his family to care for and see his ill father who had had a stroke. Stopping in the branch of the Sarasota, Florida Bank of America, he saw a robbery “go down” and elected to get involved! More defending to do and children to protect (two of his own were with him), he described himself as on call 24 hours a…
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Final Days of the School Year
My boys are pumped! *E* and *C*’s last day of school is Tuesday and today is their final Friday in 2nd grade and kindergarten.Soon our routine will change. We’ll spend more time outdoors. more time at the library, more time doing ‘summer jobs’. more time staying up later than we should. more time with neighbors and friends, barbecues and sparklers. I love summer vacation just about as much as my boys do! Kindergarten has had an A-Z Countdown since the beginning of May. Each day has been a letter and a theme. For example, ‘H’ was hat day; ‘P’ was pajama day; today we are at ‘X’ and it…
