NUKE moms

One more with the whole family!

Hello Everyone!!

Happy Weddings, engagements, babies and Holidays.  I still lurk and read the posts, but not as active in here as I had hoped I would be.

My nuke got his orders for the George Washington and soon to be Japan for 54 months.  Graduation is coming up and I'm still trying to figure out where to stay and for how long.  He isn't big on long visits, so I don't want to overstay.  But I also don't want to just pop in and then leave in case he needs me.  My momma heart is heavy.  I am super excited that he got his dream station, but I'm not excited for the lack of communication that is going to follow.  He is already not the best communicator.  I am aware that this is just the part that is what it is.  Still doesn't make me look forward to it. I'm not even sure if he will get to come home before he has to report due to a few things going on, and that will break my heart.  Always looking to connect with other moms and families. 

Hope everyone is doing well and continues with blessings and health.  

JNMnavymomOH - thanks for checking in!  Japan!  Everyone who I know of that is stationed there loves it.  Hopefully you can manage a visit there at some point.  

If you haven't already joined the Japan group - here's the link:

Japan Moms

There are some moms on there that have been on the site for years - they can give you some good info....

Hang in there!

(B actually picked Japan over Norfolk but ended up in Norfolk, lol)

JNMnavymomOH - my son is on the GW also heading to Japan! He has been in Norfolk for the past two years helping get ready to deploy and is very excited to ship out. I'm excited for him but sad to think how far away he'll be. We rarely hear from him though so it really won't be much different I suppose... not to mention a great reason for our family to visit Japan! 

B'sNukeMoM - thanks for letting us know about the Japan Moms group! I didn't even think to look for that. There is also a Norfolk group but that may not be much use at this point.

Great family picture B'sNukeMom !!

All the best to those heading out on deployements. 

I have been seeing pictures of Japan recently, through the visit of some friends and it is beautiful !

Thanks Chipmunk! And we all cleaned up quite nice lol!

I can't believe lil Oli is going to be a year old next month!  I booked my flight to MI for his 1st birthday ;-D

A YEAR OLD!! That is not possible!! It seems like just the other day we were praying through with her labor and delivery!

Chipmunk, I know, right?!?  It's sure crazy how the older we get the faster time flies......ugh

I often wish I could slow time down, especially when it comes to the little ones growing up so quickly!

If you have a sailor in Norfolk there is a BBQ on Thursday...see flyer below.

My picture of the eclipse - looking through my homemade cereal box eclipse watcher lol!

We only got partial here in SoCal. Click on the picture to make it bigger - then you can see the crescent better.

97% here. Everyone sold out of the glasses. My high school junior son is watching at school. 

MoMom - wow!  That would be cool. Even though we were only partial I still enjoyed it.  My coworkers think I'm crazy lol!

Monday I was driving home from an appointment across town during the primary peaking of the eclipse in our area. I did not have any viewing apparatus prepared beforehand, so I was frustrated with myself. But my husband said they suggested a colander. I had a collapsible one that was flat, and I could see it a little bit through that. We also had some cloud cover as well. 

The interesting thing though was driving and noticing the light intensity difference. When I got home and came into my kitchen right at the primary peak it was eerie. My kitchen was so dark, I have north and west facing windows, that I had to turn the light on. But it was still bright outside, unlike when we have a storm or a regular cloudy day. Seeing the light intensity change without looking through glasses or other options will have to be my satisfaction for this solar eclipse viewing. 

MoMom - I am glad that your son had an opportunity to see the eclipse. My husband was able to go outside at work and another person had some glasses they let him look through. 

Chipmunk - C took Oli outside and did the colander trick too!  If you zoom in on the picture you can see it better.

If you have a sailor in Norfolk:

Also, BBQ moved to 4/17 due to possible rain today (also in Norfolk).

B'sNukeMom - That is such a neat picture. I don't know if the sky cleared up well enough for my older granddaughter to be able to experience the eclipse or not. I didn't know about the colander trick until it was too late to let her know. 

I think her colander worked better than my cereal box lol!

Hers looks like it had a flatter bottom than my initial colander that I tried. So, I went back into the house and brought out my collapsible one with larger holes. Since it was flat I could just hold it out and see the crescent shape, but I missed the prime time for our fullest coverage. 

Chimpmunk - agreed - seeing so many crescent shapes was cool!  My cereal box only gave me one - but it was a good one!

I added a discussion with the info for the NPTU Ombudsmen Team (4/2024).  If you click on the picture it will open up larger so it's easier to read.

I also added it to the Pages at the right.  Click on "View All" and it will bring it up.

My cousin's house near Cleveland was very close to the center of totality. We went up there for a family get-together. No way to lose with that, but the weather cooperated enough that we got a pretty amazing view of the eclipse through some thin high clouds. I got to meet my cousin's grandson; my cousin twice removed. (I met a 3-times-removed on the other side a few years ago.)

WLH - that was definitely a win-win! 

My goal is be around for the next total solar eclipse in 2044!  I'll have to head to either Montana, North Dakota or South Dakota, but I'm going to do it! 

Happy Monday!

The car seat safety check is in Charleston.

The Military Child Appreciation Month Meal is in Norfolk.

Lancertrackmom - Congratulations to your sailor!!

Lancertrackmom - Wonderful news! Congrats to you and your sailor. We'll be at the May graduation also.