April is the Month of the Military Child...Taken from Soldiers Angels

April marks a very special month in the lives of the military members. Soldiers' Angels joins the US Department of Defense in recognizing April as the Month of the Military Child, a time to applaud military families and their children for the daily sacrifices they make and challenges they overcome. Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger, established April as the Month of the Military Child in 1986, underscoring the importance of military children and their role in military families.These children make sacrifices and serve their country as much as anyone in uniform does, quietly shouldering part of the burden, making their mom or dad understand that what they are doing is important. Military parents often have to miss holidays and special occasions, and children are left home to worry while parents go on difficult missions. Active duty military families also have to move every two or three years, making the children uproot, change schools and say goodbye to friends. Because military children have to transition and adapt a lot, they gain great life experience and maturity at a young age. April serves as a reminder for military families that there is support available to them with resources to help.Soldiers' Angels encourages the nation to stand up and support the military families in their surrounding area by getting involved in a variety of ways. Please contact Soldiers' Angels (ShelleMichaels@SoldiersAngels.org) or your local military facility to see how you can best utilize your time and talent to show your appreciation during the Month of the Military Child. To all of the military children in our nation- thank you for your service to our country, you are a very important part of our freedom.

SOLDIERS' ANGELS PROCLAMATION

Whereas, Thousands of brave Americans have demonstrated their courage and commitment to freedom by serving the armed forces of the United States of America in active duty posts around the world; and,

Whereas, More than 40 percent of these soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines have left families with children behind; and,

Whereas, More than one million of America's children have at least one parent currently serving active military duty; and

Whereas, These children are a source of pride and honor to us all, and it is only fitting that we take time to recognize their contributions, celebrate their spirit, and let our men and women in uniform know that while they're taking care of us, we're taking care of their children; and,

Whereas, The recognition of the "Month of the Military Child" will allow us to pay tribute to military children for their commitment, their struggles and their unconditional support of our troops, because when parents serve in the military, their Kids Serve Too; and,

Whereas, A month-long salute to military children will encourage support for "Kids Serve Too" and other organizations and campaigns established to provide direct support to military children and families; and now therefore be it, Resolved, That I, Patti Patton - Bader, founder of Soldiers’ Angels, do hereby proclaim April 2009, as The Month of the Military Child within the Soldiers’ Angels organization. I encourage all Angels to observe the month with appropriate ceremonies and activities that honor, support and thank military children.

Patti Patton-BaderSoldiers' Angels Founder
Shelle MichaelsSoldiers' Angels National Communication Officer

New blog name...for the moment!

So I have decided to change the name of the blog. At least for right now. It seems a little more fitting and appropriate.
This week has been slightly stressful. Well, I shouldn't say the whole week. Wednesday specifically. It was one of those days when you just want to climb back into bed and pull the covers over your head.
It started out very early, and accumulated into a day of broken cars, a busted knee, two cups of black coffee on my living room carpet, a parking ticket and a muddy back patio. TRUE STORY!!
I couldn't believe my horrible luck. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse...well, you know the rest.
Luckily, there are only 24 hours in a day and I was able to go to bed early...with a little help from a much deserved bottle of wine and some Yo Yo Ma. Yo Yo Ma is great for days like these. Nothing like the melancholy ache of a cello, to really set a soundtrack to wallow in.
Today is Friday and things are definitely looking up. Corey is home for the weekend. Yay!! ( Insert silly dance!), we have a family day planned for the beach tomorrow, and the kids have had a busy day and will most definitely be hitting the sack early tonight!
Hopefully I will have several months..longer if I'm lucky, before I have another day like Black Wednesday.

Onto other things..
Emily had her Spring dance performance at Preschool today. Each class did a performance to a 50's tune. It was very cute and preschool-Esq. Emily's class did Rockin' Robin. The girls wore black pants and white shirts and the had glittery red tail feathers. High pony tails and big satin ribbons. The boys wore jeans and white tees with black Converse. They all had beaks! It was adorable. Emily was very excited about it until it was time to perform...Of course. She froze as soon as the music started. She strategically turned her back to the audience in a "if I cant see them, they cant see me" move. Oh well. At least it was better then the Christmas program in which she started wailing the moment she walked on stage. It only get better from here, right?

I must admit, that I haven't started my reading yet. Things are busy. I'm sorry. I will get started as soon as Corey leaves. I just cant justify stuffing my face into a book when I could be spending time with the hubby. I will let you know when I am officially starting.

Hope this post finds everyone in good health. Thanks for taking the time to read!
Till next time,
Allison

Coming up for some air..

Yes its been awhile. No I haven't died. Things have been incredibly busy at the Novotny House these past few weeks. We are getting ready for Corey's long trip along with keeping up with everything else life hands us. I promise that once things settle down, I will start with my regular posts again.
Everyone is doing well. Emily had a laser treatment this week. They really hit her hard, but I must say that I have seen some amazing results already. They also started collapsing some veins in her chest. Her doctor noticed last month that she had an extensive network of veins on her chest. Nothing harmful, but as he so eloquently put it, "We haven't worked this hard on this pretty lady, just to leave ugly veins that she will hate us for later." I love our doctors! So, they used a different type of laser then the one they use on her face, to collapse a few veins. They are only going to be able to do a few at a time due to the fact that they have to keep her under for so long. Emily was out for over an hour this time. She is usually only under for about 30 minutes. She is famously grumpy when she wakes up from typical treatments, but this time she was even worse. Usually her grumps wear off by the time we leave the hospital. Tuesday, they lasted all day. Who can blame the kid though. I would be pretty pissed off if people kept doing that to me too. The only thing that gets me through it is the fact that I know she will thank me for it later. No pain no gain, right?
Samantha is doing great as well. She is getting so big so very fast. She is talking up a storm and bugging her sister as frequently as possible. I love to sit back and watch them scream at each other! They are great at working things out so I very rarely have to intervene!
The reading list is going on as scheduled, but after several complaints from several different people, I have decided to change our first read from Ulysses to The great Gatsby. This is an amazing book so I know everyone should be able to get through it and enjoy it. Since it seems that Ulysses isn't at the top of anyone's "want to read" list, I will also be reading Ulysses. I will consider this a freebie. If you are up for the challenge however, please join me.
I'm going to have to close for now. I will keep you posted on everything as best I can in the next few weeks.
Remember to keep Corey in your thoughts and prayers.
Allison