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An Introduction: “Do You Have a Frog in your Pocket?”
Last week we published a blog in our Marketing to Military resource and the business owner was so military friendly we thought that we should share it today in our Military Family blog as well. It is a smooth read but what she says about the military community says a lot about her business. We like what she said about us too! So, read and enjoy! PS: If you know a military family owned, veteran owned or military friendly business share the blog with them too! “Do You Have a Frog in your Pocket?” Something caught my eye, increased the focus, sped up the senses a bit, made me look…
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My Very Exciting, Sorta Scary, Big Move
So you have orders. Your military-family is once again PCSing. The children have been told and there is excitement, worry, dare I even say some anger? A mixed ball of emotion from your grade-school children. Emotions they can’t quite vocalize. Feelings that are all jumbled up inside. Tension that you can see in their eyes, their shoulders, down to their toes. I know. I have been that child. I recently reached out to Lori Woodring, Ph.D., when I read she put together a workbook for children ages five to eleven titled, “My Very Exciting, Sorta Scary, Big Move“. (Pretty darn perfect title if I do say so myself.) Wow, there…
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Military Deployment: Waiting for Dad to Come Home
Books! You find a good one and you jump into it, lost in another world. A good book can teach you sympathy, empathy, show you that you are not alone or that the world is much bigger than you. Sometimes it is nice to know it’s not just you… and when a military child is missing his or her Mom or Dad a good book about other children coping with separation can be just what they need! I had the pleasure of reading a new book by author Kristin Ayyar. She is an Air Force wife, mom, author and so much more. The title is Countdown ‘Til Daddy Comes Home and shows how…
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New Friends, Motherhood and Growth
We are well into the autumn schedule. Boys are at school, my toddler and I are settling into a great routine, which includes some Disney Channel, Lego-time and lots of books. Plus lots of crock-pot time, a newly-painted bedroom and garden canning and storage for the winter months. It has been a great fall so far! But I’m taking on new adventures too. This year that includes MOMSNext. I’m a huge advocate for MOPS. That organization turned my life around from being a lonely mom with not many friends in a new area with a toddler and baby, to an involved mom part of a group; wanted, loved, befriended, needed. …
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Homework Help
From Kindergarten through High School, homework is a recurring theme through the school year, usually met with loud, obnoxious groans from around the world. If you struggle, like I do, with motivating, encouraging and helping your kids to ‘get the job done’ here are some great resources. What can Parents do to Help with Homework?As millions of children return to school, the burden of homework and new schedules can often lead to anxiety and almost certainly new amounts of stress. This is not only true for the children, but for their parents as well. Homework can be frustrating for students and for parents as well. Research shows that parents can play an…
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Summer Meals and Menu for Children of All Ages!
Camp Grandpa! It is July on our calendar and fireworks are getting to explode in my heart as the grands are getting ready to arrive. Activities are on Grandpa’s plate. Their hunger for adventure, outdoors, hammering, mud and total movement are insatiable. Therefore, Grandma is getting ready to find some ‘fuels’ that are kid appropriate: lunches and dinners. We have a bread lover, a meat on bone lover, a thick steak fan, and one who isn’t too certain what is the best… well ice cream is there, but not on my meal plan! The secret plan that Grandpa and I have is to keep them so active and involved that…
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Screen Time and Summer Time – Finding Balance
I am not an educator by degree but I am a mom by nature and I love to watch my boys flourish! But as a mom I grow concerned watching how much my 9 year old (in particular) /LOVES/ electronics. He could easily sit on my iPad, his DS, our computer for hours at a time playing games. I want him outside playing, splashing, running, laughing, kicking, riding, smiling, living. Making memories! I also have certain thoughts on summer-brain freeze as well as learning responsibility around the house. To keep our brains working we use Evan-Moor books titled ‘Daily Summer Activities‘. We used these workbooks last year for the first time and I highly…
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‘Muffins for Mom’ and the Super-Teacher
This morning I had the distinct pleasure of joining my 1st grader in his class room for ‘Muffins for Mom’. A Mother’s Day celebration with his classmates. What an honor! We walked down the hall hand in hand before the school day started. We enjoyed muffins and juice (my juice of choice was coffee), artwork and tic tac toe, smiles and hugs. A mother could not ask for a better way to start the day! Let me tell you about Mrs G, C’s first grade teacher, a beautiful example of a teacher there to help her students shine. Before the first grade year started an acquaintance and I were at the park talking. …
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Finding Your Rhythm as a Mom: Mom Connection
I remember sitting in a room full of friends and acquaintances.We were going around the room giving prayer praises & requests. My request was fairly simple. “My husband just found out he is deploying to Iraq. Pray for him. Pray for us.” That group of women was a room full of moms. They were an important part of my community: my rhythm. I was a mom of two boys, aged two and four. I knew these ladies through MOPS, Mothers of Preschoolers. They were there for me as I geered up for hub’s deployment, for the year he was gone and then rejoiced with me when he returned. They were a piece of my connection…
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Support Military Kids! Wear Purple Friday, April 13th
I am blessed to be the Mom of four extraordinary military-brats.J is a senior in high school this year and ready to take on the world. The college has been chosen, the degree has been picked. He is ready to go. go. go!E, 9 years old embodies adaptability. Books, video games, kickball, legos, friends, quiet-time; if it is available he wants to do it.C, celebrating his 7th birthday next week, loves riding his bike around our neighborhood whenever he gets the chance. He likes to feel the wind on his face. Give him activity and he is a happy boy.L is 20 months and full of SPUNK! He is already trying…
