Blue Star Museums

I apologize for not putting this up sooner but life has been pretty busy of late but here it is:

Blue Star Museums

Blue Star Museums is a program that offers free admission to museums for all active duty, National Guard and Reserve military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

If you click the link above it will take you to the web page where you can find a participating museum near you!

Sent to me by my cousin Kristi

Supporting Soldiers

I know there are a lot of people out there who want to help a soldier who is over seas but either have no friends or family currently deployed or don't know any soldiers at all so here are a few sites who can help you make a deployed soldiers day!

Operation Love box
Good looking care packages.

Operation Shoebox
These guys are currently in need of travel sized hygiene products for their care packages and Softball equipment for a bunch of guys in Kuwait!


Any Soldier Inc
This site has soldiers who have signed up with them who would like to receive mail or packages and they give you all the rules and guidelines you need to know. You can read through their front page or go to the home tab and click the "Let's get started" link to find out how they work! They also have links to Any Marine/Sailor/Airman/Cost Guard at the top of their page.


Giddy Giftbox
This is one you can send to your soldier or to a soldier you don't know! Just read the directions.


Give 2 The Troops
These guys seem to be in need of money donations cover the postage of their care packages. They have impressive numbers though.


Remember this long weekend while you lay by the pool, BBQ, and enjoy your family, friends, and freedom that there are still troops over seas fighting for your freedom, safety, and way of life. Take a moment to thank a soldier or a vet this weekend, write a letter, or just a moment of silence for those who have fallen in battle and for their surviving families.

Awesome Memorial Day Finds!

HAPPY EARLY MEMORIAL DAY!

My cousin found some awesome give a ways and here are there links! PLEASE SHARE!!!

1. Photo album for Deployed military members. 
     Just upload up to 60 photos and they will ship the completed cargo pocket sized photo album to any APO, FPO, or MPO address! So send this off to your friends and family with men and women over seas!

2. Free Huggies Diapers! (and they're camo, blue camo, but very cute!) 
     In San Diego, Camp Pendleton, and Fort Leonard Wood, they are giving away free CAMO diapers! click the heading above to get all the info so pass it on to those military mommies! TODAY in San Diego and Camp Pendleton and June 7th on Leonard Wood!!!

So my Military readers please pass this info onto your friends! Click on the headings and it will take you to the links!

P.S. Just brought to my attention:  Additionally, Armed Services YMCA branches at Fort Bragg |Camp Lejeune, NC, Camp Pendleton, 29 Palms, and San Diego, CA, in addition to Fort Campbell, KY and Fort Leonard Wood, MO, will also receive diapers, with a total donation of 4 million diapers, valued at $400,000, to the Armed Services YMCA. I updated my link to show the calendar page. This gives their various places and dates and sounds like an on going thing so you mommies out there please check back often on that link to see if your base has been added to the list!

Happy Military Spouse Day!

Hey Everyone! Guess what I found out Today is!?!?!?!?

HAPPY MILITARY SPOUSE APPRECIATION DAY!

Some history via Wikipedia:

Military Spouse Day or Military Spouse Appreciation Day is celebrated on the Friday before Mother’s Day in the United States. United States citizens take this day to acknowledge the significant contributions, support, and sacrifices of spouses of their Armed Forces.
Military Spouse Day has been observed since May 23, 1984, when a proclamation by President Ronald Reagan recognized the profound importance of spouse commitment to the readiness and well-being of military members. The US Secretary of Defense standardized the date by declaring the Friday preceding Mother’s Day as Military Spouse Day.
Each year, the US President normally commemorates this day with a ceremonial speech and proclamation.

Isn't that neat,  a whole day to recognize those of us both men and women who stay home while our husbands and wives fight for our country. So Awesome and so glad to know it exists every year! So to all you married stay at home moms and dads who stand by their spouse through deployments and everything else that goes with the military, HAPPY MILITARY SPOUSE DAY!

Valentine's day

Tomorrow is Valentine's day and I thought it might be nice to see if any one can take this challenge. Tomorrow many current and past military members will be taking their sweet hearts out on the town. I want to challenge all who read this to find one of those men or women and tell them thank you for their service or go the extra mile and pay for their meal or movie, or even just a desert they can take home with them. They may be hard to spot but if you look close for real dog tags of a shirt or hat that may give them away as a soldier or veteran I know you can find them! GOOD LUCK!

Cooper and Me and the Military

I was contacted and asked if I wanted to review this children's book, I got really excited about this opportunity and couldn't wait for it to come in the mail!
Well today it came! Bryn (my daughter) and I went to check the mail and there along with the bills was the package containing the book. Once inside Bryn and I sat together, opened the package, and read the book together! As I came upstairs to write my review my 2 1/2 year old daughter told me "That's my favorite book!" It is also the first book she has ever let me read to her from beginning to end without trying to grab it from me or turn the pages before I could finish reading what was on it.

As for the book it nearly brought me to tears (in a good way). As a spouse to a military member I know all too well how it feels to have your loved one deployed. This book like a lot of things brought some of those feelings I had while my husband was deployed to the surface again.

The book series is about a girl and her dog Cooper. In this book we are introduced to Cooper's friend Trooper, a retired military dog who stays at home with a brother and sister while their mother and father are deployed. It shows one way that the siblings coped while their parent's where away, by sending their parents a package.

Both my 2 1/2 year old and I really enjoyed this book. It also has questions at the end to help your child connect and learn from the story. I think this book is great for any child but especially any child with a deployed loved one or a child who may be having trouble understanding why their friend's mother or father is over seas while their child is at home and missing them. It is hard to explain to a child why a loved one has to leave and go to a dangerous place to protect people that the child may never know. This book can help you start the discussion, and maybe help your child understand the feelings they are having and help them understand that it is okay to feel sad and miss whoever is gone. It may also help you understand how your child is really feeling.

If you would like to find out more about the 'Cooper and Me' series or order this book just click here.