How to Tell if You are Raising a Brat

Since discipline and child-rearing and schedules and the perfect amount of chores to give your child at any given age are hot topics for blogs and books alike, I thought I'd weigh in.  I might not be an expert, but with three children, I think I've learned a few things over the years, and I can tell you right now that I am raising a brat.  Three of them, to be exact. Three military brats! And while many experiences in raising children are pretty universal, there are some that are unique to military families.

As a regular-old civilian growing up, of course I was familiar with my mom doing field trips and parties at school for my brother and me, coaching and leading activities, and just being helpful and involved in our lives.  I planned on doing the same for the girls, of course, and was active in volunteering in Baby Girl's classroom and extracurricular activities.  But, in completeing volunteer requirements for a field trip recently, I've discovered some of those marked differences in raising children in a strictly civilian environment and raising children on or near a military installation.  Here are some of my revelations; you MIGHT be raising a Military Brat if......

1. Part of the requirement for chaperoning a school-sponsored study trip is completing Anti-Terrorism training.

2.  Not only does your child needs a specific costume for the spring concert, she needs a set of child-sized ACUs.  And this is not a problem because you OWN some!

3.  When the gate guard hands you back your ID and says, "All the Way, Ma'am" your two-year-old pipes up with, "AIRBORNE!"

4.  Your kids refer to any store that sells food items as the Commissary. And if YOU mistakenly refer to the actual Commissary as the "grocery store," said children correct you.

5.  Humvees, tank crossings, and C-130s are not novel or awe-inspiring sights.

6.  Your children sing marching cadences under their breath while bathing, playing, eating, etc.  And they know more of them than they do nursery rhymes!

7.  You are constantly tripping over "Daddy Dolls" and "Flat Daddy."

8.  Your kids don't have a childhood best friend....they have an Ohio best friend, a Ft. Bragg best friend, another Ft. Bragg best friend (because the first one moved away).....

9.  You planned your pregnancies and children's births around TDYs, schools, deployments, and PCSs.

10.  The resiliency of the children in your home never cease to amaze you. They can be sad because a good friend moved away last week, but it won't stop them from being excited about the new neighbor across the street.  They may shed a few tears when you pull out of the drive for the second time in one year, but after an hour in the car, they're looking forward to a larger backyard and a home with a snowy winter.

New Year's Resolutions!

Happy New Year everyone, and yes, I do realize I am a bit late!  But, I wanted to choose some meaningful, helpful, and, most importantly, DO-able resolutions for 2014, so I took my time!

1.  My biggest resolution this year is to work on this blog.  You see, I am a terrible correspondent, even in this instantaneous digital age, and I do not send pictures, news, and fun to those far away nearly as often as I should!  SO......My goal this year is to post several times a week for those of you who are far away and want to keep up with the family news.  An added bonus:  This will give me a chance to sit back and reflect on the week, take pictures, and appreciate the little things in life.

2. In 2014, it seems like so many moms are denouncing being "Pinterest moms" with perfectly clean, organized houses, perfect children, perfect schedules, perfect birthday cupcakes, perfect school lunches, perfect marriages, perfect finances, perfect vacations, and perfect craft and learning projects, I'm going the opposite way and embracing all that Pinterest has to offer!  Haha!  Actually, I've spent so much time on Pinterest and found so many great projects, tips, and ideas, that I feel the need to start DOING some of them!  Now, my house is not going to be perfectly clean and organized (if you know me at all, you will understand this!), my children will not be perfect or have perfect cupcakes or school lunches, and I will not have perfect finances or a perfect marriage.  However, I'm hoping my kids WILL have some perfectly lovely memories of craft projects, learning multiplication facts, and doing the Phonics Dance!  And, with the help of Dave Ramsey, I'm hoping our finances will be on their way to perfection. So, look for some great Pinterest ideas here each week. I'll try them and let you know how they turned out!

I'm looking forward to a year of learning, laughing, loving, and living every minute!  Here's to good health and good fortune in 2014!