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.

3 Times in 26 Months!

14 October 10 by Major Mom

Okay, let’s all sing along (to the tune of Gene Autry’s “Back in the Saddle Again”): I’m back in the O.R. again Out under anesthesia, which I dread…. Where doctors take their knives On what remains of my G.I. Back in the O.R. again I’m writing this corny little song from the surgery waiting room … Read more

So Far…So Good

11 October 10 by Major Mom

I still need to fit the side buttons and hem the legs, but here’s the first set of overalls.

Nebraska Discoveries 20: Runza

20 May 1207 October 10 by Major Mom

Tonight for dinner, we went out. It tends to be a necessity 1-2 times per week in the fall while the boys are in soccer 5-days per week (Jacob 3 days, Timmy 2). I do what I can to cook but it’s rather aggressive; when I do cook I try to get the dinner on … Read more

Look What Was in Today’s Mail!

06 October 10 by Major Mom

Let the sewing begin!!!

Halloween 2010: Anything But That Polyester Unitard!

04 October 10 by Major Mom

Halloween is coming! Whoo hoo! I’ve been a bit lazy about the decorations, in part because of the move coming up, in part because I have a couple weeks of work right now and my hours are pretty crazy. Next week I’ll probably put up our ghost decorations…I sold most of our pumpkin stuff at … Read more

Let The Games Begin — Vollmer PCS* 2010

27 September 10 by Major Mom

*Glossary: PCS: Permanant Change of Station Don’t fret, we still have a few weeks. Eight, to be exact. Almost exact: 8 weeks from Tuesday the 28th. Yep. My brain has officially shifted into “Prepare to Move” mode. This is becoming old hat for me. Let me set the stage here. I grew up a military … Read more

Jacob’s Birthday Cake

14 September 10 by Major Mom

This past weekend my oldest son turned 8. I had a great time working on his birthday cake. Since his 4th birthday, I’ve always taken on his cakes as a challenge each year, and this year was no exception. Jacob’s first soccer game was this past weekend also, so I thought it would be fun … Read more

Bovril Beef Gravy

12 August 1510 September 10 by Major Mom

I have to introduce this to the masses. I just have to! When Dave and I were visiting Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, we enjoyed visiting the little grocery store up the street from our hotel. With the continental breakfast being $13.50 CD per person, per day, just picking up a loaf of bread, a block of butter … Read more

My Blog Before the Blog: Some Memories of the Apex Chlorine Fire…

07 September 10 by Major Mom

Today I was uploading recipes to the Pioneer Woman’s public cooking website: Tasty Kitchen. A pretty neat website — like a Facebook for amateur cooks. Or Ravelry.com, which is a community for yarn craftsmen. Anyway, one of the recipes I had uploaded was the Linguini Salad that I make for pot lucks and picnic. I … Read more

Timmy’s Flower Pot — Repurposed!

06 September 10 by Major Mom

To follow up on yesterday’s panicked posting… I went to the Apple Store today and came out of there with a new replacement iPhone. Apple has a program where wet iPhones can be replaced for $199. This is FAR cheaper than walking into the store in the middle of a two-year contract and buying a … Read more