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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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Birds and Military Kids – the Split S Acrobatics and “Winged Adventures”
“… the tiny bird executed a perfect “Split S” acrobatic maneuver and dove between the railing posts.” Our military kids are located all over this great nation thanks to their parents service in the National Guard, Reserves or Recruiting Services. Some have parents that are retired with 20+ years of service or are disabled medical retirees that settled down in a new area for employment or returned to their roots. Others have a parent or parents that are deployed and they headed out to be near grandparents, etc. They come in all sizes and shapes; backgrounds and dispositions but all know when they are loved. Military kids are so vulnerable…
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Operation Stay Young
So we are a month in to our New Years Resolutions or Goals. How are you doing? I’m feeling pretty good. Hubs bought me a pedometer, a basic Fit-Bit, for Christmas and it has been a wonderful motivator for me. It reminds me if I want to meet my goal by the end of the day I need to move. That may mean doing a little running in place while I fold laundry, having a mid-afternoon dance party in the kitchen with the kids (making sure I move my feet to keep those steps going) or just a couple extra jogs up and down our steps. For me it’s the…
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Simple Ways to Keep Household Chores Organized
I am not a clean freak. A clean bathroom is such a good feeling. Dumping the dirty water in the utility sink after washing the kitchen floors makes me smile. Crawling into bed at night with newly washed sheets is heavenly. But getting it all done. Such. A. Pain! Enter the power of Google Calendar (my preferred family-calendar). I use their simple Task interface to list the necessities. Then my must-dos are integrated with the family calendar as well as my weekly meal plan and it is all simple and easy to stay organized. Some things are done every 10 days, some things once a month and then some things even…
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Home for the Holidays #HickoryTradition
Home for the Holidays. It can mean so much to the mobile, military family. Sometimes it means having your spouse beside you as you celebrate a quiet Christmas, just the two of you. It can mean jumping in the car and travelling thousands of miles to be home with Mom, Dad, brothers and sisters. Then there are the holidays when your kids surround you as the anticipation mounts for such a fun day all the while talking with their mom or dad on Skype while they serve over seas and in foreign lands.Pin this image for an additional chance to win a Gift Basketfrom Hickory Farms. Further details belowSo tell us: What does…
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The Gold Star Family & Our American Flag
This past weekend was out of this world. Boating, Bike Riding, Ga-Ga Ball, Campfire & S’mores, and much more, all wrapped in time spent as a family. A huge thank you to Ohio’s Operation Military Kids and the USO for supporting programs like Military Family Camp. This was top-notch support! I desperately want to share more about the weekend but need to take the time to share this solemn moment and give it its due “time in the spotlight”. In our group of about 50 there were three Gold-star families, enjoying the weekend just like the rest of us. On Sunday morning a Gold-Star Dad and his three grandsons, one being a Gold-Star…
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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…
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The Magic House & the Magic of Family
It is amazing how time flies.30 years ago we were stationed at Scott AFB, Illinois. Going to ‘The Magic House’ in the mid 80s was a big deal, a lot of fun. It meant it was a great day to be a kid! This weekend I took my own kids for the first time. As we traveled from Fort Leonard Wood to home (NE Ohio) I wanted to show them the sites, give them a glimpse of where I lived for a few years, let them soak up some of the things I did and saw when I was their age. I had a little bit of fear. I wondered if…
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Our Summer Routine
The Summer Routine has started in Ohio. School is out, the kids’ schedules have relaxed, thoughts of fun and sun have been churning in the minds of my boys. However, this mom has other plans besides lazy days of summer all vacation long. Usually, they are all up by 9am but once in awhile I get the joy of poking, prodding and maybe even some singing making a joyful noise. That rallies the troops right up! We get some breakfast, pour some (more) coffee and pull out summer-workbooks. The (now) 3rd and 5th grader have some workbooks we bought through school (like we have done in years past – learn more) and I also…
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The Joy of Giving: Memorial Day Parade
This weekend I heard TAPS. It had been a few months since I last heard it and I had no idea the emotion would flow. (TAPS: Wordless-Wednesday) But Memorial Day is a day to celebrate the memory of our war veterans and that we did! Getting ready to march in our Community Parade The joy of givingOur decorated ‘Float’ for the parade Two of my boys and their own hero, their dad The Kocsis-crew marched (or strolled) in a parade, showed the boys the joy of giving over receiving (you can’t catch candy in a parade if you are the one throwing it), talked about what Memorial Day is really about with the kids, had…
