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Month of the Military Child
Some articles related to our military children you might find of interest: Military Children Express Sacrifices Through Art, Writing Military Child Month Salutes Children’s Contributions Learning to Save is Key to Financial Responsibility Children Need Routine Environment During Moves, Official Says Helping Children Solve Problems Find more in our Reading Room We are sharing a “Resource of a Day” related to our youngest military-heroes, our military children, on our Facebook page throughout the month of April: http://www.facebook.com/MilitaryAvenue (Just a few examples: MilitaryKidsConnect, Military Youth on the Move, The National Military Family Association toolkit.) Find more resources on our ‘Ways to Support Military Children‘ board and lots of great images of…
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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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T-Shirt to Beach Bag
Over the years I have accumulated a few t-shirts. They are an easy souvenir, a great way to remember a great time. However, over the past 20 something years I have accumulated a drawer full of shirts I never wear. I hate the thought of parting with them. I refuse to throw them away. I know if I gave them away they would /never/ be appreciated like I appreciate them ;). So my interest was piqued when I saw this simple-idea on Pinterest, where by turning t shirts into shopping bags (great for the environment!). This is not hard and it a great re-use of shirts I never wear. I was really happy with the results and…
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A Reflection of my Own Stress
I was running a morning errand when I saw the car screaming in reverse down the driveway. I tapped my brakes not knowing if she saw me. She slammed on hers to avoid hitting me. I saw the 2nd grader in the back seat, her daughter. I could see the mom YELLING at her daughter. Hands were in motion, up in the air. Mom was flabbergasted over something. It was 8:05am and I knew that kids were considered tardy if they arrived after 8:10am and we live about 5 minutes from the school. It was easy to draw conclusions but I don’t know what was happening exactly in the car that followed…
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Supporting your Military Child
There is no doubt about it. Military children are strong, resilient, and adaptable. But it can be a very stressful lifestyle and when there are resources that can help transitions, PCSs or deployments just a little easier it is important to share them. Here are 10 of our favorite resources out there for your family. Military Family Support is what we are about! 5 great resources for your military child going through deployment: ‘We can be together when we are apart’: Some easy ways for babies and toddlers to stay connected from Zero to Three when a loved one is deployedIdeas for Children While your Loved One is Deployed: Here are some ways author…
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The Cost of the “Five Finger Discount”
It was a simple project: put on the new grill flame covers purchased at a big box store. The old ones had rusted and worn out and these replacements would “take a sec to put on ” and including time to wash and clean the grill … 15-20 minutes in a busy schedule. Sounded simple! Flame covers that were maximum protectedThen came the packaging material on each of the four flame covers – very tough garage scissors were required to cut through the plastic on each one. It was not a simple process and each one seemed to take an hour to open to just remove the product. Then the…
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Afghanistan: “Things are Good, not Great”. DoD Blogger Roundtable
He is what we would call a straight shooter! Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, met with the DoD Blogger Roundtable to discuss Afghanistan after returning from a year in command of U.S. Marines and allied forces in the Helmand and Nimroz provinces of Afghanistan. He provided a sobering but positive perspective of the situation next to the borders of Pakistan and Iran and the general was ready to share his thoughts on the current events in Afghanistan with the roundtable bloggers. Celebrating opening of new women’s centerSee Photo Credit BelowImagine a new cell phone network connecting villages, additional and improved roads laid down to make it…
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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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Earth Day, Everyday at MilitaryAvenue
My husband is the budget guy, I am the environmentally conscious one. I love hanging the laundry on an outdoor rack/line. I am using less electricity (“non-renewable resource”) and letting the sun and the wind do its job. My husband loves it because it helps keep our gas bill down during the summer. I love open windows in the spring, summer and autumn! For me, it’s all about the fresh air in the house using renewable resources. For my husband, it’s all about the lack of air conditioning to drive up the electric bill. There are other simple things we do to live in harmony. I make homemade yogurt. Not only is…
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Military Saves Week: Use that Thermos!
A big congratulations to Roxie Curtis. She was our winner in our Penny Saved. Penny Earned. Contest. We had a lot of GREAT ideas and I can’t wait to highlight a few of them! Roxie’s was a true winner in my book: Pack healthy snacks and drinks for the little ones in reusable containers and bpa free drink bottles. There’s nothing like hungry kids in the car to make you spend a lot of money for unhealthy, greasy drive-thru fast food out of desperation! Good for the environment, good for your kids, good for your wallet. 🙂 Sometimes you have to make an investment to save. We have invested in…
