-
Taking Life by the Reins
It was going to be a long week without my main squeeze. Hubs had JAG training at Fort Belvoir for a week and I knew for sure we would miss him. Truth is, it’s hard when your best friend leaves, even if only for a week. (And yes, I have done the year long deployment… but that’s not my point. Sometimes, I miss him when he is only sitting in the other room. Get it?) When he proposed that we tag along I admit I was a bit nervous at first. Tag along? Hang out in a hotel with the kids all week? Hit DC with just me and the kids, tackling…
-
40 Ways to Find Solace in a Storm
“I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” ― Oscar Wilde Call your dad Sip a hot cup of coffee Take 10 minutes to soak up some sun on a warm, sunny front porch Feet up & a good book Jump on your bike and take a ride Grab the music player, pop in the ear buds, play your favorite upbeat music and ask the vacuum to dance (Bonus you get some clean floors) Give a lingering hug with someone you love Look through old photos, create a collage of someone you love using Picasa or other photo editor…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Perfectly Sweet Healthy Birthday Snack
A very Happy Birthday to my middle-son today! 7 years old and I feel like he should be turning 3 or 4. How does time pass so quickly? Every child loves to bring in a sweet treat to school to celebrate their special day. Before Spring Break I sent in a note to his teacher asking if I could send in cupcakes, a sweet-tooth favorite for the birthday boy. The note that came home was a bit disappointing. “We would love a birthday treat, but please send in something healthy.” Humph… My thought, ‘Come on! It is a Birthday!’ But I polled Facebook friends for a healthy, yummy treat that would satisfy…
-
The Ultimate Military Road Trips
We just returned from a road trip of over 3,200 miles and it reminded us of a PCS except at the end I did not start a new job, there were not three kids in the backseat, the house was still there and we knew the way around our neighborhood! After 18 military moves we get frequent reminders of the military lifestyle and this time I thought about how we automatically do things to expedite our travels, find ways to save money and enjoy long trips. One of the most expensive items (this may change if the price of a gallon of gas keeps going up) for a family traveling…
-
Tasty Tuesday: Dried Fruit, a great on-the-go, money-saving, snack
On the go! That describes our family of six! From high-school wrestling meets, to work meetings through lunch; from putting together quick school lunches to grabbing a snack on the way out the door to play with friends, healthy options at our finger tips are a necessity. A few years ago we caught the ‘dehydrating’ bug. Hubs learned to make homemade beef jerky. Then we expanded and learned to dry fruit. Fruit at our fingertips. Since it is Military Saves week it seems appropriate too to mention that we buy fruit in bulk when it is in season. This makes it not only a tasty treat but a treat full…
-
10 Tips for a Healthy Marriage … on Facebook
A Very Happy Valentine’s Day to our military-families! I will honestly tell you hubs and I have no plans. I am a little sad about it but not terribly over-worked. It is hard with a young family to get out in the middle of the week as a couple. We certainly find time to ‘date’ each other but this Valentine’s Day does not entail a dinner out, fine dining and dancing. I am thinking it will involve a homemade pie, chocolate, wine, and most hopefully some candles, backrubs, lights down low … and a sleeping six-month old.. There is more to a healthy-marriage though then time alone. What about time…
-
Teen Time
Can you go back in time… in your head to revisit being a teen? Oh the world was not friendly. It is not that it was hard, scary or compressing or even too demanding. It was expanding, about as fast as the body does. That time before high school graduation is a time of growth. The tallest in the class… guy or girl or the shortest; the quietest person in the class, in the back of the classroom or the chattiest in the front row; allows a persona to develop all based on the physical. All out of the control of the teen.Out of control… it rather describes what is…
-
Tasty Tuesday: Rhubarb / Strawberry Crunch Reduced Sugar
It is getting to be close to Farmer’s Market time, a.k.a. rhubarb time. I am really believe that the snows are behind us. My proof of this is 1 May when the markets open. One can find asparagus and rhubarb. This is living. Both have long stalks that stick up out of the ground that announce “Hey! I made it! Your turn!” So, taking my turn with the rhubarb, I like to pair it with strawberries – totally sweet and sour. And I like my rhubarb to taste a tad sour… not overly sugared. Rhubarb / Strawberry Crunch welcomes the taste buds to do a spring dance right there in…
