I think I’m going to call this the exhaustion edition! It isn’t so much the parent-of-newborn lack of sleep…I have three kids under five so…sleep? What’s that?
It is more that I bit off more than I could chew! I set aside time this summer so I could work on some personal projects and then I just took on too many other things. I have a Smart Summer Challenge over on my education blog and I am a community leader over at the Random House Kids Read …

Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend, celebrating America’s Birthday. Welcome to the July 11 linky!

Right now, I feel just like a slice of apple pie. We enjoyed a weekend out on the North Fork of Long Island with family. My mother-in-law, bless her energy, led the kids in a Fourth of July parade around the neighborhood. The kids rode their trikes and climbed trees and chased fireflies. We held an election and voted for our favorite ice cream flavor. We had a barbecue, finished off with S’mores, and followed by fireworks.

We watched the Fourth of July parade…

Here I go again, leading with my strengths…I figure the kids are cuter than I am witty.

I’m taking am Independence Day weekend break and figured many of you might do the same. So, I extended last week’s linky into this week. The linky is open, though, so feel free to add more posts this week and I’ll be back with a fresh linky next week!

Next Military Monday is July 4 so feel free to share links about Independence Day, even if you do not usually blog about Military Family Life!
While you are here, I hope you will enter this Trooppaws Giveaway I am hosting for this clever and compassionate entrepreneur who designed these stuffed animal dogs using military uniform fabric–a great gift for our young warriors who fight their own battles on the home front when a loved one deploys.
Here are a few great posts from last week’s linky:

Army Tanker’s Wife has some ideas …

I think I should just post cute pictures of my little Army Brats each week…because that’s going to be better than anything else I write! We’re adjusting well to our new little addition and looking forward to Captain Dad actually being home for an entire weekend (*fingers crossed*).

What are YOU doing for Father’s Day?

Here are some of the fun posts people shared last week…

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with your families. Ours finished with a real bang as we welcomed a new Army Brat to the world. I went into labor late Monday night and Conrad Ulysses joined us on May 31 at 5:18am. He weighed 9 lbs, 15 oz and measured 22.5 inches. Conrad’s first name is from my husband’s grandfather, an Army veteran of World War II.

We had a lot of outstanding links last week both from “regulars” and from some other bloggy friends who had relevant posts celebrating Memorial Day. Here are a few I would like to highlight…

What are you doing this Memorial Day? I hope you will join this Military Monday Family Blogger Linky.

Now that I am a part of the military family community, I feel like today is a day of ghosts. I can’t see them but I can sense them surrounding the men and women who have served. Even those who came back with their entire unit usually know others who made that ultimate sacrifice. And it is not just their brothers and sisters in arms but the other lives they have seen snuffed out during their tours of duty. The living carry these ghosts and a sense of loss–even, or perhaps especially, in times of great joy…

Welcome to the Military Monday blogger link-up for May 23!

Well, it is almost my due date (May 25) and it is almost Memorial Day (May 30).

What do you have planned for Memorial Day? Family time? Recognition of our troops? Remember those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice? Learning activities with the kids?

Welcome to the Military Monday blogger link-up for May 16!

If luck is with me, I’ve either given birth or will in the next week. My children like to pick the least convenient times to show up.

Since I’m due May 25, I am pre-scheduling the carnival and guest posts throughout this month and would LOVE if you would help spread the word on your blogs, twitter, and facebook and also help support one another by reading and commenting on each other’s posts.

Welcome to the Military Monday blogger link-up for May 9!

If you are a mom or have a living mom or grandmother, I hope you had a wonderful time celebrating motherhood this past Sunday! I am looking forward to bringing a third little one into this world, hopefully sometime this month…