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.

A New Blogosphere Friend

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Hi again! Eventually I’ll get around to writing about what’s REALLY going on in my life: keeping the boys happy, planning our trip to Nebraska, and keeping all of the contractors working on our house straight. Today should be a relatively relaxing day — the termite treatment is done, the remnants of our home inspection … Read more

Off We Go…Into the Wild Green Yonder!

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I subscribe to an e-mail US Air Force news service called “AIM Points” which comes from the Secretary of the Air Force’s Public Affairs office. It collects AF-related news articles from throughout the media and consolidates them into one reader. It also pushes messages from our Air Force leaders. For example, this week they’re pushing … Read more

My First "Cupcake" Cake — a Penguin!

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This week, I was inspired — in part by Christina’s post — to attempt a pull-apart cake for Jake’s graduation pot-luck. Unlike Christina’s son’s school, homemade foods are welcome! Last year, Maryann gave me a Penguin-shaped silicone pull-apart cake pan, since Jake was in the Penguin class and all. I only remembered to take two … Read more

My Baby’s Growing Up!

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This week was graduation week at my boys’ preschool. I attended Timmy’s end-of-year picnic on Tuesday by myself, as Jake was in class and Dave was in Nebraska getting us a house. I didn’t get many good pictures of Timmy, he was being too crazy. Jacob’s ceremony, on the other hand, was way more emotional. … Read more

Bat Droppings

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Wow — I was nervous about posting the wooden bat thing, but I guess I might have spoken out on something that may have been on many of our minds in the first place.I thought I might have been the only one seeming so heartless. Not that this holds a candle to the New Jersey … Read more

It’s a Major Award!*

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*Come on — those who know me KNOW that’s where I’d go! Anyway, my new blog friend, Christina, has payed forward her “Excellent Blog Award” to none other than me…I am sincerely humbled by this, especially after yesterday’s somewhat-controversial post! Thank you Christina — I’ll do my best to keep up with the high standards … Read more