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The ‘busy-ness’ of Spring
Ah… Spring. A perfect adjective would be refreshing. We get out of the house. We start the garden. We clean off the deck. We pull out our soccer cleats, baseball gloves and running shorts. We pump up our bike tires, clean out our cars and hose off the outdoor dump trucks, bubble wands and kiddie pools. We open windows, smell the flowers, take long hikes. We start to fill the family calendar with all sorts of events. As military families we also might be looking at orders. We clean out our closets, get rid of the ‘extras’, plan for the future. We make last ditch moments to see the town we called home…
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“I did it!”
This is the face of a boy who survived, thrived and cannot wait till next year’s week at summer camp! What have you done that took you out of your comfort zone? It can be a wonderful sense of accomplishment, a small boost of self confidnce, a great feeling of “YES! I can do it” “Dodgeball Happens” – That about sums up theweek in his opinion and that makes a boy of nine-years old very happy! – Leanne from MilitaryAvenue.com Join Us Leanne is a military spouse, mother of four boys and Military Brat, once a brat always a brat. She writes for MilitaryAvenue as a show of support for our…
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Summer Camp
I had NO IDEA it would be this hard to let go. This past Sunday Hubs and I dropped *E*, 9 years old, off at his first week-long, without his Mom, Summer Camp. EGADS! (That’s me biting at my nails, my belly doing flip-flops everytime I think about what he might be doing at that very moment.) *E* was a little nervous on the way there, a three hour drive from home. But he popped in his favorite DVD and multi-tasked with a game on the iPad for the 200 miles we were on the road. It was a great attention diverter. When we got there the camp was ALIVE with youth. Youth workers…
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Operation Purple Camp and your Military Child
Flashlights, extra socks, money for the Canteen, shoes that can get dirty, a bar of soap (that may or may not ever get used), a sleeping bag… all the makings of great memories, new friends, growing older. My nine-year old is registered for a week long summer camp. His first time away for an entire week, away from home, away from family, away from /mom/. (Emphasis made my mom herself) Can I tell you how excited he is? He is pumped!Operation Purple Camp is accepting applications. If you have a military-brat between ages 7 and 17 jump at this chance. They are accepting applications from now through April 19th. This is a great chance…
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Getting a Grip on the Spring Sports Schedule
Holy Smokes! I feel like I have been thrown into the lion’s pit. The lion’s pit of an over-scheduled-family! How did this happen? Just this weekend we had three birthday parties, one soccer game, two baseball practices and running up to the elementary school twice for baseball-team pictures. I can almost breath a sigh of relief that the weekend is over! Almost… This week we have three soccer practices, two soccer games, and four baseball practices, if I’m counting right. And if I thought this last weekend was crazy… wait till next weekend when Hubs is out of town for a JAG conference. I’m not a “soccer mom”. I don’t have cute…
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Staying Healthy: Spend time outdoors
Spring Weather! Today it is supposed to be almost 80 in NE Ohio. Beautiful words to my soul. After a long winter a day like today is a perfect opportunity to break routine and get outdoors! Being outdoors has many health benefits, from breathing fresh air to taking in the sun. A little sunshine feels great, can help lift feelings of depression, and is a great source of Vitamin D, so long as you protect yourself with sunscreen. Being outdoors in good weather also encourages physical activity. Try to spend time outdoors as often as you can. Read a book or newspaper outdoors on your lunch break. Or take a…
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Preparing for your Summer Vacation – Military-family style
Summer is approaching and thoughts of family vacations quickly follow! My family of five is taking full advantage of our military-discounts this summer as we travel down to Disney World. But not all vacations are BIG (this is our first big one in 5 years), sometimes a simple camping trip, or visit across country to see family is what you need. Whatever your plans are with some research & creativity you can find the perfect summer-plans for your family! Here are some great tips from Military OneSource’s Blog, http://www.blog-brigade.org/: Itching to cruise? Andrea Rotondo, editor of LuxuryCruiseBible.com, tells me that a ton of cruise lines offer military discounts. These include…
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Pack it in, or up.. but Save the Cardboard
Life, we meet it as it comes. And when it comes with a set of orders, save the cardboard boxes. I know, you will read that you should not put them in the attic – fire hazard. You should not put them in the basement – bug camping ground. You cannot store them in the closets…. ha ha who ever had that kind of room? Boxes were the highlight of a PCS. When all the chatter about how wonderful the next place was going to be… all the build up for the kids about museums, parks, beaches, or side trips filled their minds. When they were left only to their…
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Some Days Just Were Not Meant to Be
Yesterday started kind of normal; I went to church and came home to a snack (more of a snack than dinner since I was fixing and eating it while my bride was out of town). Then I decided to mow the grass which has grown a bit with all the rain we are getting. I started mowing and the tractor made some loud noises and I looked back and realized I was plowing versus mowing! One side of the mower deck was digging this neat trench in the grass. Pulled the tractor into the garage and realized I needed a new spindle on the left side of the mower (just…
