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.

South Facing FAIL

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It didn’t take long to realize that pointing the webcam south would be a big mistake.  For starters, the best windows to use were set in some by a front porch — so the view was competing with a soffitt, plus the neighbors’ houses.  Dave pointed out to me that we weren’t showing much of … Read more

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Webcam is Back!

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We haven’t completely worked out where we’re going to put it yet, but we have our webcam back running. Like last time, we’re pointing it out the front of the house, through the window. It’s pointing SOUTH, so we should be able to see systems coming in from off the Gulf. It won’t work at … Read more

Ninja!!!!

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“So — first Yoshi?  Now Ninja???  What’s next?  Ginsu?” Yep — this will be a more positive commentary than the Yoshi review, I promise! Dave and I got a nice generous Bed, Bath and Beyond gift card from Dave’s brother for Christmas.  Earlier this week we took a trip to Pensacola to run some errands … Read more

The Yoshi Truth…

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Opened up my Yoshi Blade…seemed to cut up an apple well enough.  But then I read the care instructions, which I’ve transcribed here for your reading pleasure.  Remember, this is NOT a metal blade, but a ceramic one.  Still, some of these warnings are a bit extreme…I’m kind of miffed about not using it to … Read more

Yoshi!

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This Yoshi? No, this one: Today I ran up to Publix, our local grocery store, for some last-minute items for chicken parmasean. While there, I came across a section with a bunch of those “As Seen on TV” gadgets…all marked down! I very very rarely succumb to the “As Seen on TV” craze. I got … Read more

It’s a GREAT DAY in the Vollmer House

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After some 3 years of trying, Jacob finally got the hang of riding his bike! He said that the hills in Nebraska made it really hard, and to be honest, he simply wasn’t as interested. But with only about 2 minutes of holding on, he took off with ease this morning! We are SO PROUD … Read more

Florida Discoveries 1: Where are the Reindeer? Reindeer Lichen

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Prepare yourselves, this is going to be one of my most bewildering blog posts yet.  More so than vermicomposting, toilet odors and pumpkin reproduction. This morning I enjoyed another run through my new neighborhood.  I’ve been mapping out my runs on this website (so I know the distances I’m covering) and this is the one … Read more

Our Weather Station is BACK!

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We re-assembled our weather station in our backyard over the weekend. We have plenty of fenceline to choose from, and you can’t see the equipment from the street (always a bonus in a deed-restricted neighborhood). You can see current conditions on the right-hand column of the blog now, or you can click on the “sticker” … Read more

Getting Settled In….

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Howdy!  It’s been a few days.  I’m sure you’ve ALL been at the edge of your seat, spending all your time wondering, “How has Major Mom been with the move?” I’m sure you’ve been up all night worrying about me, right? Of course you have 😉 So we had our stuff delivered on Wednesday, December … Read more