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.

It’s Never Too Early….

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…to start planning for… (drumroll please!) BLACK FRIDAY! I don’t know if it’s the thrill of the hunt or what? Or perhaps seeing America at it’s gluttonous worst (I’ve seen outright FIGHTS over $250 laptops at Walmart at 5 in the morning!) But I enjoy the early-morning Black Friday shopping experience. I don’t do it … Read more

How John Deere Brought My Sons Closer Together….

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I’ve quite a queue of potential blog posts in my mind…mainly things that have been happening in our lives, and every once in a while something happens about which I think “That would be a fun/funny/silly/insightful blog post.” I think I’ll be improving in the next week or so, as the boys’ soccer seasons wrap … Read more

Happy Halloween!

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I stole this idea from an NCO I worked with in South Carolina (thanks MSgt B!). She has 5 kids so her 5 pairs of pants across the lawn generated so much buzz last year, it was featured on the front page of the Sumter, SC newspaper Halloween week. I was inspired when I was … Read more

More Toilet Talk

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I haven’t done one of these irreverent blogs in a while. This is an accumulation of about 6 months of frustration with automatic flushing toilets when I’m in uniform. So here is the new Air Force “Airman Battle Uniform”. We call them “ABUs” for short. In fact, let’s get up close and personal with that … Read more

Worm Update

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Well, it’s been 10 days and this has been very fascinating! This is a great project for kids, my boys are getting a kick out of it. I’ve been checking up on the worms every day or so, most days just opening the lid to make sure I don’t have any more mass evacuation attempts. … Read more

Being Sick Sucks…

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I’m just wrapping up a pretty nasty cold, upper respiratory infection, whatever you call it. Whatever it’s called, it sucks. I don’t get sick often. I last got quite sick the last week of February 2008. Yes, you read right: 2008. It was a horrible case of the flu, actually. Once I came home from … Read more

The Worms Are Here!

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I’m actually following through with this cockamamie idea! From 2009 08 26 Red Wiggler Worms in Bin Yes, that’s my hand holding those worms, and no, I’m not squeamish about it in the least. I had ordered my 2 lbs. of red wiggler worms from Gardener’s Supply last week, and they arrived this afternoon! It … Read more