Major Mom

My name is Patricia, but in the blogging world I became known as "Major Mom" thanks to a friend in the Air Force Reserves. As soon as he had said it, the David Bowie song "Space Oddity" went through my mind. I am a mother and wife first - an Air Force wife, that is. My husband proudly serves in the Air Force as a weather officer. I also continue to serve my country as a Major in the Air Force Reserves. It's a wonderful double-life I lead. It was a very difficult decision for me -- I had our second son in early 2005 just before the 10-year-point in my career. It was already tough having to turn my oldest son over to a child care center every duty day -- 50 hours per week. So in spring 2005 I took advantage of a Reserves job opening for which I was qualified in Norfolk, Virginia -- my hometown! It's truly wonderful getting to see my sons grow up, and be able to help out at their school, on their sports teams (I've coached soccer before) and as a Cub Scout den leader. I'm not sure I'd have had time for that if I had remained on active duty. We currently live in Navarre, Florida, while my wonderful husband is assigned to Hurlburt Field, Florida. We've also lived in the following locations since we graduated from Penn State University in 1995: Fort Polk, Louisiana, 1995-1998 Yongsan Army Installation, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 1998-2000 Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 2000-2002 Patrick AFB, Florida, 2002-2005 Raleigh, North Carolina (Dave was assigned to North Carolina State University), 2005-2008 Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 2008-2010 Hurlburt Field, Florida, 2010-present I started this blog in December 2007, thanks to suggestions from friends. We're in our third home since I started the blog. I used to send out captioned photo albums -- from AOL Pictures to Shutterfly albums to Picasaweb albums. Instead of flooding everyone with photos, now I can use this blog to send out the highlights. I'll talk about anything on here -- usually I'm talking about the kids, but I'll also delve into the local scene wherever we're living, and you'll also see some great posts about the two military moves (PCS: Permanent Changes of Station) we've had. Sometimes I talk about utter nonsense, such as finding a product called "Piggies in Pancakes" in a grocery store in South Carolina. In my spare time I write for the parenting blog GeekMom.com, I serve on the board of the Hurlburt Spouses' Club, and I'm a Cub Scout den leader. I also enjoy running and playing the violin.

Snow!

20 October 1320 October 13 by Major Mom

We were excited to wake up to snow on the ground this past Friday! The kids had no school, so they had the chance to play outside for a while. We had about 2 1/2″ total by about 9am, but it was all melted by lunchtime. From what I understand, this is typical in Colorado … Read more

Colorado Discoveries 15: The Georgetown Loop Railroad

12 October 13 by Major Mom

The Georgetown Loop Railroad is a nice short rail excursion that's great for kids. — The Georgetown Loop Railroad is a nice short rail excursion that’s great for kids. Love the conductor sticking his head out the window on the right, although we were warned multiple times to NOT do that.

A couple weekends ago our family took a trip up towards Denver to visit the Georgetown Loop Railroad. It was a beautiful early autumn day. I was hoping we’d see brighter aspen, but we were a couple weeks early for that.

The Georgetown Loop Railroad is a remnant of the Georgetown, Breckenridge, and Leadville Railroad from the late 1880s. The railroad was very busy during Colorado’s gold and silver rushes in late 1800s. The line was all but abandoned by the late 1930s. It was reopened in the 1980s for tourist excursions and is still very popular today, thanks to it being less than an hour west of Denver on I-70.

5 Movies that Make Me Cry — Every Time!

08 October 13 by Major Mom

I was flipping channels last night. Usually that’s Dave’s job, but he goes to bed pretty early ahead of his teaching days. He has to be at work with enough time to prepare for a 0730 class on teaching days.

There is a batch of movies that I will always stop on if it’s playing on a channel. Movies that include Julie and Julia, Eat, Pray, Love, and The Princess Bride. But those movies don’t make me cry. I even own The Princess Bride but I’ll still endure the commercials for the convenience of it being on.

But there are five movies that I will stop at every time and watch…and have my Kleenex ready!

Last night it was Steel Magnolias.

SPOILER ALERT! I will be describing the scenes that make me cry. If you don’t want to know what happens, please don’t read on! Here’s a picture of a movie poster to break things up for you.

Happy Star Wars Reads Day — With Shakespeare?

04 October 13 by Major Mom

October 5th is “Star Wars Reads Day“. This initiative partners with several publishing companies and involves events throughout the country celebrating Star Wars and literacy. My fellow GeekMom colleague Kay Moore is getting to attend an event at the San Diego Central Library where Ian Doescher’s William Shakespeare’s Star Wars will be read along with a … Read more

Colorado Discoveries 14: Farish Recreation Area near Woodland Park, CO

12 October 1304 October 13 by Major Mom

That is the WEST side of Pike's Peak behind us. We have a view of the east face from our house. — That is the WEST side of Pike’s Peak behind us. We have a view of the east face from our house. Cadet Rob took this nice picture of us.

I don’t know about you guys, but fall is officially here!

Heck, let’s just call it winter! We awoke this morning to rain while the temperature continued to fall below freezing. The water droplets FROZE to the car…which made getting the kids to school this morning difficult.

(Yes, I drove the kids to school, since it was raining).

This is going to be a COLD weekend, and I’m looking forward to doing INDOOR stuff. Sorry, it’s going to take a whle to shake the Florida thin blood out of my system. On Saturday the family is heading up to Loveland, Colorado for the Northern Colorado Mini Maker Faire (read more about it here). Sunday should be a day at home.

But last weekend was delightful! We spent Saturday hiking in the mountains, and Sunday up in Georgetown, Colorado visiting the tourist railroad there (which is for another post).

Colorado Discoveries 13: Mount Evans

28 September 13 by Major Mom

I wish I had gotten a picture when I was further away, and this isn't even the peak. The peak is just to the right of this, and we were probably at about 12,900' here so you aren't looking all that high up. — I wish I had gotten a picture when I was further away, and this isn’t even the peak. The peak is just to the right of this, and we were probably at about 12,900′ here so you aren’t looking all that high up.

Click here for a picture from Flickr user Kevin Bauman, which is a lovely view from Denver.

Mount Evans is one of Colorado’s 50+ Fourteeners and is one of the ones nearest to Denver. Mount Bierstadt is also nearby, and we could easily see it as we were ascending the mountain.

Last weekend my old college roommate Megan came into town from New England for my birthday. I invited our friend Adam down from Denver to spend some time with us. I had originally planned to drive Megan up Pike’s Peak via the auto road, but Adam had talked us into Mount Evans. He said the drive is much more scenic, and is free of charge. The Pike’s Peak road is a toll road.

Colorado Discoveries 12: The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum

27 September 13 by Major Mom

The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum is in the old city hall. This museum reminded me of the Old Florida State Capitol. — The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum is in the old El Paso County Courthouse. This museum reminded me of the Old Florida State Capitol.

For a Cub Scout field trip, in mid-September our family visited the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum in the heart of downtown. The museum is free of charge (donations are always welcome), and has numerous artifacts from Colorado Springs’ past and current histories.

The interior of the museum is beautifully maintained, and most of the courthouse rooms have been repurposed into individual exhibit spaces. A couple of the rooms are still in tact as courtrooms and are used as multi-purpose auditoriums. During our visit we saw exhibits about the Waldo Canyon Fire of June 2012, the city’s Native American heritage, the history of the Colorado Springs area being used as a popular location for sanatoria, as well as a history of the city as told through photographs taken at the time.

The museum is located at 215 South Tejon St. in downtown Colorado Springs. Museum admission is free, but you have to pay to park either at the parking meters immediately surrounding the property, or else at the public parking garages nearby. Enjoy a few pictures from our visit.

Walking to School

27 September 1327 September 13 by Major Mom

I’m about to embark on a topic and present an opinion that might make me very unpopular.

When the weather cooperates, I have my sons walk to and from school. It’s about 1/2 mile, gently uphill towards the school, gently downhill all the way home.

We are surrounded by houses with families who drive their kids to the same school every day. We walk past several houses where we see the kids loading up in the cars — to go to the same destination.

A New Job! In the Local Area!!!

26 September 13 by Major Mom

About two years ago I had written this soul-baring post about going back to school for a secondary math/science teacher certification. I’ve done no such thing. But last week I was hired to become a math instructor! I had been in communication with the US Air Force Academy math department since about January. I took a plunge … Read more

My New Gizmo ————–>>>>>>

17 September 13 by Major Mom

You folks know I’m a statistics girl. I have this horrible addiction to numbers, particularly when it comes to this blog. I use both Google Analytics and StatCounter to track and analyze behavior on the blog. But I wanted to share with you the trends we see here. To the right of this post you’ll … Read more