Saturday, July 27, 2013

Saturday Funny: July 27/13

Helloooo people!! Well we did it we made it again. 

It's been a sad week for us as we lost one of our fur babies due to a senseless act of another. 

So we are in serious need of some laughter. 

So this is what I found funny on Facebook this week. 


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Quiz: If You Love Your Kids Should You Leave the Military?/SpouceBUZZ.com

So as many Mil Spouses we are constantly inundated with research and facts about what is good and bad for our future grunts.

When I happened about this article on SpouceBUZZ.com and I have to say I agree...

have a read and let me know what you think.

Research on military kids is meant to help those most affected by more than a decade of war. Yet sometimes it seems deliberately compounded to freak out military parents.

According to this latest doom and gloom report from Child Trends, an online nonprofit research center, the greatest threat to military children is their separation from one or both parents — a major factor of military life that will not change any time soon.

These researchers note that developmentally, young children don’t possess the skills to understand why their parent is deployed. That’s true. Tell an infant that the big guy with the hairy chest will be home by Christmas and that kid will give you a blank infant stare. And spit up.

These researchers point out that every time a parent deploys the relationship with a child has to be re-established. That’s pretty much right.  No toddler is going to have a meaningful relationship with their soldier even if they do have their own iPad and Skype account.

These researchers also mention that children are resilient. Millions of children have had their dads and/or moms deploy and return. They have PCSed a bunch of times. These crazy military kids learn to read and do long division and get their driver’s licenses and make out with appropriately attractive partners.

So how much should we parents really worry about raising our military brats? If we love our kids, should we get out right away because raising kids in this environment is insane? Should we ignore any troubling signs in our kids and hope they go away? Should we burn with a vague unease that something is really, really, terribly wrong?

I don’t think so.  I think the takeaway from the research is for parents to understand that it isn’t the presence of a single factor like parental absence that will affect our kids adversely. Your kid will probably not be traumatized because your Marine deployed on a ship for nine months and missed their birthday.

Instead, it is the combination of ongoing multiple serious factors that seems to push kids into the at risk category.

Take our quiz to find out how concerned you really need to be:

1. Are you depressed, anxious or angry? According to decades of research, military kids tend to mirror their at-home parent or caregiver.  If you are handling your distress well enough, your kids are likely to do the same. This really is the most important factor to keep in mind — which is why it is so important to get help when you need it.

2. Are you unable to respond to your child’s needs? If you are so depressed that you can’t get out of bed or so hungover that you can’t get your kids to school then kids do suffer. Children whose lives are conducted with a reliable routine do better than those who come from chaotic homes.

3. Did your service member die? Or was he or she seriously injured?  Trauma — real trauma like the kind that accompanies death — is a risk for all kids, not only those in the military.  It causes physiological effects to the child that can impact the health, academic achievement and behavioral adjustment. Awareness of this factor is essential.  Hopefully, that’s why this kind of research is being done — to fund programs and solutions.

4. Does your service member exhibit symptoms of PTSD?  If there is one thing we can learn from the accounts of children of Vietnam War vets, it is that living with untreated PTSD makes for a long hard childhood. The research shows that children who witness ongoing incidents of adults exhibiting symptoms of TBI or PTSD are especially at risk for negative behavioral and physical outcomes. Keep seeking a solution to the problem for the sake of your kids.

5. Is your service member abusing you or your child? Families whose service member is returning from a combat zone have a higher incidence of domestic abuse.  Here are some ways to get help.
So how many of these risk factors are you experiencing right now? Are these problems getting better or getting worse?  Clearly, the more factors your family experiences, the more concerned you should be. The military offers so many services to families because we all know that sometimes the demands of military life are more than people can actually handle alone.

I think it is equally important to note that the fewer risk factors you have, the less time you should spend worrying.  It isn’t having a parent in the military alone that puts kids at risk, it is the behavior of their distressed parents that affects them.

That is why we need to pay attention to the research. Consistently, research on military kids shows that children do best in a military family in which their needs are met, their parents have a strong relationship and their siblings provide support to each other.

Providing a consistent home-life and working on our relationships and getting help when we need help are all concrete things we can actually do to help our military children. So let’s move forward by doing all the things our kids need most.





Saturday, July 20, 2013

Saturday Funny: July 20/13

YAY!!! We made it to another Saturday!! Almost wasn't sure about that with all this crazy heat that's been going on the last week! 

We were all pretty grumpy from the heat so I thought we could end it on a high with what I found funny on Facebook this week.


Saturday, July 13, 2013

Saturday Funny: July 13/13

Wooooohooo it's the weekend!!! We made it here again. 

My sister & a few of our friends have been playing this game called "Candy Crush Saga." It has become quite addictive it seems so for this weeks funny I found a few things floating around Facebook about Candy Crush. 

Hope it makes you giggle!

Ok the next are not about Candy Crush but still funny:

Friday, July 12, 2013

No-Bake Chocolate Mint Bars



 
OH MY GOODNESS!!! That is the name that these new easy delectable goodness should be called! Now I will be honest and say I did NOT come up with these. One of my many Blog friends did. Her blog is called The spice of Life and you can find the original recipe Here. I have made these twice now and they have been a HIT! Now I may be a little bit bias just because chocolate and mint are my two favorite (besides chocolate and peanut butter of course) combinations.
 
On a little side note I have done this the way I am showing it below with the lined pan with Parchment paper as well as the pan lined with tin foil like I did in my Two-Layer Cookie Fudge it came out of the pan a lot easier with the foil. Probably because I could not figure out how to line the whole pan with parchment paper and have it stay that did not include needing an extra set of hands and lots of tape lol. BUT oh do give it a try!!
 
 
What You Need:
 

 1- 8 inch square pan lined with either part5chment paper or tin foil
1 cup (100 g) chocolate graham cracker crumbs (I used Oreo cookie crumbs)
¾ cup mini chocolate chips
 ¼ cup (20 g) Dutched cocoa powder
½ t coarse sea salt
 ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
4 oz (115 g) semisweet (60-62% cacao) chocolate, melted
½ – 1 t peppermint extract, to taste
 
Put it Together:
 
 Line Pan with your Parchment paper or tin foil
Take Chocolate and microwave it for 60 seconds on high giving it a stir. It may need another 30 seconds depending on your microwave.
In another bowl mix cookie crumbs, coco, salt together
Take melted chocolate add condensed milk and peppermint extract
 
Add to cooking mixture it will be stiff so don't worry!
Fold in mint chocolate chips
Put combined mixture into pan pressing it down with plastic wrap
Take mixture and chill for at least an hour in the fridge to set
Once set take out of pan cut up and plate
 
Serve and Enjoy!



Saturday, July 6, 2013

Saturday Funny: July 6/13

Happy weekend everyone!! We made it, it's Saturday!!! 

Which means it's time for this weeks installment of the Saturday funny, brought to you by what I found funny on Facebook this week:


Friday, July 5, 2013

Our new fur baby!!

I wish to announce our new addition to our large & very busy family....

We are all super excited & already totally in love with our new little fuzz ball..

So please welcome Mr. Jones!


Mr. Jones is a Main Coon mix who we have rescued. He's only 7 weeks old & today will already be his second visit to the vet. Yesterday when we brought him home was his first & I'm glad I insisted on taking him in before brining him home. 
He had mites! All I can say is YUK!! The vet showed me on the slide what that looks like. Icky! 

I'm kind of kicking myself for not going a head & having the little guy dewormed as well. Instead I opted to wait till I had a sample to bring in... Well I got one & he's got worms. So off we go this morning so that he & the rest of the Animals don't have to stay separated for too much longer.