...And the Adventure Continues

2012-02-15T03:20:00.000-05:00

Well people... I made it all Facebook official today.

I was waiting until I got the guts to tell my parents. If Mat doesn't get orders to PCS next May like I'm hoping, but gets orders to deploy instead, I'm heading home. I know that this is planning way far in advance but I'm just done with being here.

After the issues that we had when my add was here and having Harley, I made the initial decision to move to Oklahoma, where my in-laws are. My mom was highly pissed and said I was going to Texas. I told her Harley comes too. No questions asked. And I won't make him be a permanent outside dog. Harley comes with and is inside. If you can't meet my simple demands then I'm not moving to Texas.

Now to just get through this year and figure out what's happening. I don't like living and not knowing what is going to happen. There are so many different outcomes that could happen that my head is spinning. I really despise how the military works. I mean, I get it, I really do, but it just sucks. Our DEROS is May, the deployment is after that, just let him go. But again, I get it.

I have run into several people lately who's husbands are retiring or just getting out and I get this little tinge of jealousy. Reading "so glad my husband will never deploy again" just makes me want to punch them in the face in a fit of jealous rage.

Ok, so I'm only kidding. I just keep telling myself... 9 more years. Just 9. That's it. Totally do-able. 11 done, 9 is a breeze.

Completely Thrown Off

2012-02-12T17:00:00.003-05:00

Is anyone else having a completely insane month of February? My days are running away from me and I have completely failed on my photo challenge. I was trying to find something to do to get me in the blogging spirit again and I disappointed myself!

I guess I could update you on life, love and everything in between.

Where to start?

Let's start with the kids.

They are now almost 15 months old (I'm assuming pictures would be good? I will work on that!) This to me is completely crazy. How has 15 months gone by since I was squishing little newborn baby cheeks? Sigh... Hayley is walking! She very rarely crawls and is constantly moving. I'm exhausted just watching her. But there is no rest for me! I still have Jaxon :) As I have said many times, Jaxon is delayed. We have been having appointments with Jane who is with EDIS (Early Development Intervention Services) on a semi-monthly basis. In December they decided to evaluate him and see if he qualifies and he did. So now he gets seen by a really cute woman named Megan who comes to visit twice a month for an hour to help coach him along. Our problem right now is that when Jaxon walks with assistance, he kind of drags his right leg and his foot is turned way out. Also, he doesn't bend his knees very far. We had their 12 month appointment in December and the pediatrician wanted to follow up in 2 months because they didn't show any growth from their 9 month appointment. At the follow up appointment, I showed her how he walks and she referred us to an orthopedic surgeon. Earlier this week we had his appointment and the surgeon thinks that, with time, his foot and knees will work as they should but still wanted to follow up in a few weeks so we go back in March. At Jaxon's previous EDIS appointment last week, they decided to bring in their physical therapist so we will be seeing her on the 24th.

I posted about a few issues I was having with one of the organizations that I volunteer with. I let the organization know that I am stepping down either in May or when my replacement is found, whichever comes first. I'm not going to leave them without my position filled but I think that at this time, it is best for us to go our separate ways. Another organization that I volunteer with wants to know if I will be running for "re-election." I haven't decided on that either. I am thinking that even though I absolutely LOVE the spouses club, I need to put my focus elsewhere (I will get to that!) but my heart is still with this club. Also, my term with Girl Scouts will be coming to an end soon and no one seems to want to step up and take my chair. If no one does, then I will stay on. Again, I can't leave them without someone and I have had so much fun with them this past year.

I think that I would really like to leave all 3 organizations and put my focus on school. I have been struggling with grades and juggling everything that I was given a warning that if I didn't pull up my grades, I would be placed on academic probation. So at this point, everything is up in the air but obviously school (and my kids!) are my main priority.

The D word is coming up, again. Not until sometime next year and it happens after we are supposed to leave. They can hold Mat back and not let us PCS if they decide to slot him. Mat and I have talked a lot about it already even though it is still more than a year away. I've decided that if they do deploy him, I am ERODing (early return of dependents) back to Oklahoma to live with my inlaws. We have all talked about it and agree. I am just so ready to go back to the states. I will live there for the 9 months that he is gone and save up the BAH. It's more than we get in COLA and I would be back in the land where I can go somewhere and everything is in English!

I just want to make 1 thing perfectly clear, I am not going back because I need help. I am just tired of being in Germany but I refuse to leave my husband :) I can take care of my family on my own. I would get us a house of our own but I would rather save up the money so I can fly back to Germany for the welcome home ceremony!

For fun updates: I got a new camera lens, you may know it as the "Nifty Fifty" and I LOVE it! I am so happy to finally upgrade my kit lens and move up with a real lens! I just got it earlier this week and I think my kids are about tired of the camera. I've started graphic design work again! I've made two logos (will share!) and I'm working on a blog for my friend's photography business. The new layout of blogger completely threw me off last year and I lost interest in designing blogs (and apparently writing them) pretty quick! I went on a massive shopping trip (I mentioned this already in another post, I think!) and I still need to share those pictures. I bought things that were needed to help organize and make my house feel less clausterphobic. It's nice. I just need 1 more dresser for my bedroom because our dresser has runneth over. I can't even close the drawers anymore.

I know I'm forgetting things but I think I have remembered most of the important stuff. :) Anyone else ready for March yet?

Day 6 - 10am

2012-02-06T04:18:00.000-05:00

1 degrees at 10am with no hope of it warming up much more than that. Pretty safe to say that after having a very mild Nov/Dec/Jan, February is kicking ass and taking names.

Day 3 & Day 4

2012-02-05T14:53:00.001-05:00

This weekend was insane. I think that this is the first time that I have been able to sit down for longer than a few minutes and actually do something. I will update later :)

Day 3 is hands and since I spent most of the day away, I wanted to share this picture.

My left hand in this photo represents everything. It's my engagement/wedding rings and my most recent anniversary present. Without my engagement/wedding rings, I wouldn't have all that I have now. And my engraved ring reminds me of my husband and how happy he makes me every day. I wear both rings proudly.

Day 4 is stranger.

Had I known, I would have taken my camera with me on my adventures recently but I am going to share this picture from over a year ago.

Back in July/August of 2010, some friends and I went on a cruise in Heidelberg. This was our "terrorist." I don't want to go through all of my posts and find the original post but here is the blurb underneath the photo on Facebook

"Our "terrorist" Right before we boarded the boat, some people in front of us said this guy had to be a terrorist because he was carrying a briefcase and dark colored. The guy ended up just being a little "special" and enjoyed his evening but the people were just so rude to him. I just wanted to give him a hug. But the people who said he was a terrorist, still boarded the boat (if you're really that worried... I mean.. seriously. Don't get on it) and proceeded to ruin their evening by following him around the boat all night.

Stupid people I swear"

Day 2- Words

2012-02-02T10:02:00.000-05:00

This one is going to be more of a photo, but it's going to include some words as well. Here is the photo and then I will explain why I am using it.

Today, someone on FB (I'm sure you know where this is going!) posted a status and it read (and I quote!")

"What is better in a sippy cup, milk or Gatorade."

Knowing that her child is a couple of months younger than Hayley and Jaxon, I answered milk.

And the drama started.

Apparently, by the end of the conversation I was left being told that I was a bad parent because I don't give my 14 month old twins soda or Gatorade.

So I posted my status which had no intentions of going as far as it did (you can see by the comment count that it probably went further than it should) but I will not budge. Children of that age should not have Gatorade or soda.

And then someone had the audacity to "laugh" (LOL) when I said if you give it to them this young and they prefer the taste of it over what they should be drinking (milk or juice) then it could lead to child obesity.

SERIOUSLY!

Anywho, I am going to leave it at that. Have your fun with it! I like comments.

Day 1-Your View Today

2012-02-01T11:27:00.003-05:00

My loves! (And my daredevil daughter who likes to slide off the couch head first! I promise this was purely intentional as she is a nut like that!)

February Challenge

2012-01-31T04:34:00.003-05:00

Link

New Computer

2012-01-30T03:28:00.001-05:00

My computer had been dying a slow, painful death. Early last week, it finally bit the dust. Yesterday we went out and bought a brand new one! I love it. The screen is huge, it's lightweight and the memory is twice as much as what I had before. It was definitely love. It's also an LED screen (I don't know if that's cool or not! haha)

Hopefully having a computer that cooperates the way that it's supposed to will help with my blogging funk. We will see.

Dun dun

2012-01-19T15:17:00.002-05:00

With Mat being in an infantry unit, the back to back deployments are expected. Originally, they unit was scheduled to deploy early next year and anyone who hadn't PCS'd by December of this year would be slotted for the upcoming deployment.

Then they cancelled it.

Now it's back but a few months later.

Which is fine but our date to leave Germany is 2 months before the deployment and I just know that Mat will get slotted and I will be stuck in Germany for another year.

I am not whining about the deployment because Mat will be leaving. After 4 of these, I have become quite accustomed to Mat being gone and even have moments where I feel it would be nice to have him gone (usually when he's annoying or frustrating me!) In our 6 years of togetherness, it almost feels weird to have him home.

I just don't want people telling me to suck it up because that's what soldiers do. They deploy.

I know this.

If we were in the states, I would just start preparing myself mentally for it by doing my usual routine

But this deployment would put us here longer than we had planned (and a lot longer than I care to be here)

I always tell everyone that Germany is a great place to come during their time in the military. It has amazing opportunities to experience things that you may not be able to any other way. But all it takes is about 3 years and you are aching to get home to the familiar, the land of fast food on every corner and WalMart.

And English!

I have toyed with the idea of ERODing (early return of dependents) if we don't PCS before the deployment. I haven't decided yet. That would require me to fly back to Germany with the twins for the welcome home ceremony and have a place to stay and that could get pricey. I refuse to not be there for the ceremony, it would just be unacceptable.

I didn't think I would even have to start planning for the next deployment less than a year after the last one ended but such is life I suppose.

But if he does deploy, the Army is making it a lot easier to prepare spouses for the guys leaving. Mat will be in the field for some time at the end of the month and Croatia for a month in the spring, plus who knows however many field problems he will have to attend. He brought up that he is "on alert" for a deployment to another country as well. I'm not sure of the specifics (I know what country!) or even why they would send soldiers to this country but it's been mentioned. He said it's highly unlikely but still that chance.

Too much talk about deployments! :)

A Refreshing Change

2012-01-14T16:22:00.002-05:00

First. Thank you SO much for your words on my last post. You have helped me make a decision that I think, in the end, I will be ok with. My decision to leave the foundation will be made final soon. I missed another meeting because they always have them during nap time and my sitter now works full time. They sent out a few things that needed a vote and before I voted, I wanted to get more information on each one. This was several days ago and I have yet to receive an answer. Maybe I should have been here but I honestly feel that they are taking things in the wrong direction and I have a feeling that I made them think more than they did.

oh well.

2nd! Mat and I have been going back and forth for a year now trying to decide on a new car to buy. This length of time is actually normal for us when it comes to making large purchases. Our first car took over a year to choose as well. Being in Germany, your choices of vehicles are limited unless you special order a car and have it shipped. We didn't want to do that. So imagine my surprise when Mat and I agreed on a car one night, a Honda Pilot, and the next day I found it sitting on a car lot in Graf.

US specs too!

I knew that we had to scoop up this car before anyone else took it. It was the only Honda Pilot in Germany that I could find for sale. So then we looked at financing. We were upside down on our Xterra by $3500. We put $1100 towards it so it left us $2,400 short. The car company is eating that cost. No, I'm not kidding. We got a great deal on this car. Our salesperson did not try to pressure us into buying the car. I found the car on the website, emailed the dealership, worked out the financing, he called to tell us that he got the financial part figured out, lowered our payments almost $100 a month, we went to look at it, fell in love with everything except the color and leather seats but for the deal we got, we will live. We went to the bank, picked up our check, dropped it off and will pick up the car up on Tuesday after I deal with customs and the vehicle processing center (yay for living in Germany NOT!).

This is seriously a huge weight that has been lifted off my shoulders. Zaria and Dameon are coming out this summer and our little 5 seater wasn't going to fit my family of 6. The Pilot seats 8 so we have plenty of room. Also, we are claiming Zaria and Dameon on the taxes this year. The deal is that their mom has to pay half the price of the tickets but she's going to just let us claim them to make it easier (and actually, I think we get the better end of the deal!)

Life has been so awesome to me lately. It's like everything I want is being handed to me and I'm just waiting for someone to realize how lucky I have been and take it from me.

Those bastards!

Decisions

2012-01-08T08:50:00.001-05:00

Almost a year ago, I made the decision that I wanted to start doing something more. I missed working but there was no way that I could afford childcare for 2 kids and work full time. Jobs here in Vilseck and Graf are limited and while they say they give spouses preference, local nationals or Americans who live in Germany permanently usually have first pick on the jobs. Unless I wanted to work at Burger King, I really didn't have much to choose from.

So I decided to volunteer.

It started with Mat's squadron foundation. I handle the publicity for the foundation and it doesn't take up a whole lot of my time. I really don't mesh with any of the other girls and we definitely aren't friends outside of the foundation.

Then I moved on to the spouses club. I also handle the publicity for this group as well. It's a great bunch of women. I love all of them and we are friendly outside of events.

Then, I volunteered with Girl Scouts. I love working with GS. My position is the Overseas Committee Chair. I, along with me co-OCC, run Girl Scouts. We manage the leaders, events, cookie sales and so on. Girl Scouts takes up a lot of my time, especially now that it is cookie season.

I think I have pretty much decided that I plan to leave the squadron level foundation. I don't feel that I make a difference and honestly, when I state my ideas, they get dismissed. Actually, the foundation wanted to do a membership drive and wanted something to encourage spouses to sign up. I suggested a spa package as an incentive. It was quickly shot down and a catered lunch to the next FRG meeting was decided upon. Fine. That's great. THEN, I miss a meeting and when I get the minutes, it says that another member suggested a spa package and it was approved! I was more than pissed.

Then, Girl Scouts. I love this organization and I love my leaders and board members. I love what I do. But, the time it involves and some of the issues that I have had to deal with make me less than interested in running next year.

Then I start to think... What about other places to volunteer? Should I dedicate my time to other organizations. I spent my 1 year with these groups so why I don't see where else I can dedicate time.

I'm at a total loss on when it comes to deciding what to do. Sigh...

My Confession

2012-01-01T07:20:00.003-05:00

I have a confession to make. This is really hard for me to put into words so just bear with me. As soon as I get it out, it will be a lot easier to explain. I don't want to say I am ashamed or embarrassed but it's just something that I never thought I would ever have to do in my life.

I. Amy. Am on a very strict diet.

Not one of those fake diets where I always said I was going to work out and eat right and then it only last for 3 days.

I am on a strict, low calorie, high fiber, 40 minute cardio workouts daily, diet.

And I have to follow up with my doctor in 6 weeks.

As well as await results of my bloodwork.

Wonder what happened?

Starting right before Mat got back from deployment (around March/April) I was in a meeting and I starting burping and it smelled horrible. I didn't think much of it and it went way.

After I had Jaxon and Hayley, I dropped my pregnancy weight quickly. I only gained 30lbs and basically left the hospital wearing pre-pregnancy clothes (yes, you can hate me, many people do). I also never got full. I could eat and eat and not gain a pound, my metabolism rocked.

Fast forward back to March/April when the weird burps started, and I noticed that I would get full.

And then the numbers on the scale started to slowly rise. So I started to watch what I ate.

Mat came home and we were busy traveling to the states, traveling to Germany, traveling to Italy. And even with being in a constant movement, the scale was still rising. It just wasn't making sense to me.

I knew I should see a doctor but in true Amy fashion, I put it off.

Fast forward a little more, and the burps returned for a few days and then disappeared.

And the scale continued to rise.

I got my hair colored recently and the person who did my hair mentioned that I should get my thyroid checked. Before I got pregnant, I lost hair. It was usually a lot on a daily basis but I had my thyroid checked then and it was normal. While I was pregnant, I never lost hair and then, as soon as I had Jaxon and Hayley, my hair started falling out again so I just kind of compared it to life before having kids and went about my way.

The gross stinky burps were coming more frequently now and they were making me sick (so sick that it actually screwed up Christmas eve because I spent it asleep in bed trying really hard not to puke). I decided to Google (big mistake!) what the cause could be.

Apparently, they are caused by eating a bacteria and the only way to fix it is to "flush" your body of toxins.

I started to picture a pretty ugly, think black eel-like, creature floating around in my intestines creating havoc on my body.

At this point, I had enough and called and made an appointment with my PCM (who I hadn't even seen yet since I was pregnant and never had any issues that would make me need to see him) and luckily, they had an appointment for the next day.

My PCM, who I now love, said that my issue could be my thryroid. If my thryoid is off, it could create problems in my GI tract so I was ordered to eat nothing but fresh fruits, veggies, wheat pasta, wheat bread, and little meat. I was also told that I needed to work out at least 5 days a week and over 40 minutes (because if you just do 40 minutes, that's just maintenance). And follow up in 6 weeks.

So here I am, I have completed week 1.

And so far, I kicked it's ass.

With the holidays, I made it to the gym 3 days. The first day was good, I walked but I did a fast pace walk. The 2nd day, I farted around, did a slow pace and then on the third day, I decided that I really needed to take this seriously so I added running. For 30 minutes, I walked 2 minutes and ran 1, repeat. I wanted to go the full hour but the treadmill was boring me so I tried the bike. Let's just say... Too much ass, not enough seat, so I went back to the treadmill and walked for a bit.

I followed the diet for a few days and was just miserable. I made wheat pasta 3 different ways and was over it. I added turkey to a meal and since then, we have had turkey. Last night, I made these awesome turkey meatballs cooked in a bell pepper gravy. Delicious!

I think we have decided to just so a low calorie diet. I like my meat but will just eat in moderation. Other than last night and for lunch today, I have kept to the diet without junk food (OK. Fine. You caught me, I snuck 1 Starburst yesterday). Last night, I had Dr. Pepper and snack food and today for lunch I had a corndog because I completely forgot that stores were closed. BUT, I usually eat 2 or 3 and I just had 1 so, for me, that was ok. Tonight we are having biscuits and gravy. Again, we completely spaced on the holidays.

I weighed myself on day 5 and had lost 2lbs according to my scale against the health clinic scale. When I was weighed about my appointment I weighed in at 212 (did I really just post that?) And on day 5, I was at 210. I don't know how our scales compare because I know some are different than others, but I will take it.

Starting tomorrow, I will be back on track.

My body feels different since switching to wheat foods and water. It's a positive change. I miss my little snacks and this has been a huge adjustment for me but I have to do it. And I think this is the first time that I am actually dead set on doing this diet. I don't really look at it as a diet but a healthy lifestyle change. I look forward to finding healthy meals to cook and going to the gym. I think that before, going to the gym was boring but I now look forward to being out of the house for an hour with nothing else to do except think. There are no kids, no husband. Just me, myself and I.

For you.

2011-12-21T15:59:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas, from my family to yours :)

Santa Fail

2011-12-11T11:12:00.001-05:00

Hayley hated Santa and Jaxon was too concerned with all of the shiny Christmas decorations around him.

Give her a sippy and she's good to go!

I liked it so I put a pin on it! - DIY Canvas

2011-11-30T09:19:00.001-05:00

I have always wanted to order canvas photos but let's face it, they are expensive! While perusing Pinterest one day, I stumbled across a way to make my own. I thought... Surely this can't be real. They look real.

So I read the how-to, actually found Modge Podge (of all kinds!) at the craft store on post (it never has anything I am looking for), found inexpensive canvases (18x24cm) at the local euro store (think dollar store but European!, tissue paper at the PX and I already knew what photos I wanted to use.

I took it all home and got to work.

What do you think?

They aren't perfect and at the time, I didn't have anything to finish them with. I plan to try again and do a few more things to make them "finished." :)

He's Home!

2011-11-28T15:22:00.001-05:00

After being tied to a bed since having surgery Thursday morning, Jaxon is home and free to roam!

And roam he has. The kid didn't stop crawling, rolling and playing until it was time for bed. He is in great spirits! The doctor said the surgery shouldn't cause any pain and we just have to keep pressure off of his little pen!s for 6 weeks.

I got to see it for the first time today. It's pretty! Haha

I am glad we decided to do the surgery. It definitely was optional but highly suggested.

He slept the whole way home so he could be well rested to play when he got home!

My little chunka baby looking all chunk and stuff. Hello double chin!

My poor Jaxon

2011-11-24T14:46:00.001-05:00

While everyone was preparing for their big Thanksgiving dinner, Mat and I were sitting at the hospital, waiting to hear that our little boy made it through surgery.

Our day started at around 6am. We got out of bed, I ran Hayley next door and off we went to Regensburg, about an hour-hour and a half away depending on weather. When we got to the hospital, I sent Mat up to get Jaxon settled into his room and I went to handle the insurance paperwork. I have become an expert in handling Tricare!

I met them back in their room where we waited, for a surprisingly very short time. A nurse brought in a sedative and told us that they would take him back in about 30 minutes.

Let me tell you, a sedated 1 year old is quite entertaining!

They brought us down to the operating area, showed us where the recovery room was, handed us a phone and told us they would call us when he was out of surgery and in recovery.

Two of the longest hours of my life went by. We went to the cafeteria, grabbed some breakfast and headed back up to the room to nap.

When the phone finally rang, it was the best sound EVER!

It took Jaxon a short bit to come out of his sleepy state and when he did, he was pissed. He started pulling cords and flipping out. He drifted in and out of sleep until I left around 5 to get home to Hayley.

The surgery had a hiccup. During the surgery, Jaxon had a bronchial spasm (basically an asthma attack). They had to wake him up, give him an inhaler, calm him down, put him back under and finish the surgery.

I guess I should explain what the surgery was. I know I talked about it but just a reminder. Jaxon was born with a deformed pen!s. Not really deformed, but when erect, it curved. He also has a hypospadius (his uretha is not in the right spot) and hydroceles (his scrotum is full of water). These were diagnosed at birth, confirmed in July and by his pre-op yesterday, the hydroceles were healing themselves (which is what we expected them to do) and his hypospadius was not as big of a concern as they first thought so they decided to just fix his curve. The surgery consisted of them opening his pen!s and straightening it out. They sewed it back up and a stitch was sewn at the back of the curve to make it stay straight as it grows. In doing this, they also made it longer. I told Mat that our son will be the envy of the playground!

He will be in the hospital until Monday and is expected to make a full recovery. It is still supposed to work they way it was intended which gives me hope that one day, he will get married and move out! :) Just kidding... (or am I?)

Happy 1st Birthday

2011-11-17T17:31:00.001-05:00

Today has come.

Today, 1 year ago, my Twinkies, Jaxon and Hayley, made their appearance after 37 weeks!

My life has changed so much over the past year. If you have followed my blog, you would know that my life hasn't been the easiest. As a matter of fact we struggled. We had bed rest during the last 17 weeks of my pregnancy, a 10 month deployment leaving me to raise them by myself for 6 months, 3 months of week long hospital stays, many hospital visits. It was crazy.

But here we are. They are happy, healthy and incredibly amazing.

I am going to do a year recap post soon. I just don't have the energy right now to put one together. But I want one. So that years down the road, I can look back and see how much they changed during their first year. It will come.

Until then, happy first birthday to my loves!

It's a Dr. Seuss Birthday!

2011-11-15T06:55:00.001-05:00

Can you believe that this was me just 1 year ago?

Who knew that on the day I took this picture (It's technically one year tomorrow that this picture was taken) I would go to the doctor and be told that my babies would be born the next day, not a week later like we had originally planned? I don't think I realized how much my life was about to change. I was freaked out and nervous. I was having twins! Not just 1 baby, but 2. Normal freak out when they have their first kid. I was terrified.

But here we are, 2 days away from them turning 1. They are happy, healthy, and alive. They have brought so much love and happiness to our home. They are amazing. I brag about how well behaved they are. We very rarely have any issues out in public, they don't cry unless they are hungry or tired. They are such easy children.

We celebrated their first birthday this past weekend. I have an event next weekend so we decided to do it this past weekend. We chose a Thing 1 Thing 2 theme. I had so many ideas of what I wanted to do but it turns out we had to drop almost $400 on tires so a lot my plans had to be dropped.

In the end, our closest friends celebrated with us. Other than family and friends in the states, there was no one else I could have imagined being here. It was perfect. A small group of people to celebrate the life of my little miracles!

The cakes! The smash cakes were confetti cakes and the big cake was blue velvet and confetti layered. All 3 were covered in marshmallow fondant and the figurines were made of modeling chocolate.

The presents! I wrapped them in tissue paper in hopes that it would be easier to open.

Jaxon tore into the cake. Hayley needed a little convincing. Which is really odd considering that when they eat food, it's usually Hayley who makes the mess.

Even Harley got to celebrate!

So there you go! The first birthday was a huge success! Good people, good fun. :)

He's such a trooper.

2011-11-09T07:02:00.001-05:00

I can't lie. I have some of the most behaved 1 year olds I have ever seen. And I swear I am not saying that because they are my own. From the start, I always said I wouldn't lie. If I thought my kids were terrors, I would admit. But they aren't. As a matter of fact, I get many compliments about how well they do in public. I'm a proud mommy.

Today, we took Jaxon to the health clinic to get some blood work done for his surgery. They needed to see how his blood clots to make sure there won't be any issues. Mat got to go with me and he held Jaxon during the whole thing. Not because I didn't want to. Hayley had some massive boogers and since I am an international booger picker, I had switched babies and was performing my duties. They got called back and I went back as well. The whole time they were messing with him and the tourniquet was tied around his arm, they were poking trying to find a vain. Then they switched to the next arm, same thing. The kid sat there with a smile on his face. He loved the attention. I thought that for sure as soon as the needle went into his arm, he would flip out. Nope. The kid smiled, like it was no big deal. I'm not even kidding. During the years I was trying to get pregnant, I would get blood drawn and I know it hurts even though it's only for a second but this kid was awesome.

I made a comment that he did better than most adult and both the nurse and the Phlebotomist agreed. The Phlebotomist even said that she had a grown man pass out just earlier this morning!

He's rocking that bandage like a champ!

I Put A Pin On It: Tulle Wreath

2011-11-06T13:26:00.001-05:00

If you haven't lost many hours scouring Pintrest instead of cleaning your house, then you have no idea what you're missing. My obsession started right around the time my love for blogging dissipated. I would stare at Pintrest drooling over everything, DIY, decor, recipes... You name it, I drooled. I finally got a couple of crafts done that I will slowly get posted.

First up: The one I drooled over the most, aka, tulle wreath.

For those that know me, know that I love working with tulle. It's an inexpensive material that can be used in many projects.

When I stumbled across this photo:

I knew I had to make my own. I had none of those colors BUT I did have colors for a Halloween wreath. I pulled them out: black, lime green, purple, yellow, orange and electric blue. I also had a pumpkin on a hanging that I bought last year for Halloween decor but I wanted something that stood out more so it got a facelift. THEN, I found a lime green flower that Hayley sometimes wears in her hair and voila!

Instant tulle wreath:

(The pumpkin is slightly damaged from use last year but I needed something. It works. It will eventually be replaced. Eventually!)

What do you think? I posted this on Facebook and got 4 immediate orders.

I kinda love it.

Cactch Up

2011-11-03T04:26:00.001-04:00

I guess I should catch everyone up on what has been happening around our casa lately. My desire to read blogs is gone. I think I need to go find the ones that I love and save those and just read those for now. I really should just clean up my Google Reader so that all of the blogs that now just right advertising posts are gone. That's why I lost my motivation to blog anyway. I get that people use blogging as a way to make money and I would love to as well but I have standards. I won't blog a product that I wouldn't use in every day life.

Anyway, as I said, there is a lot to catch everyone up on. Where should we begin? I guess I should start out by saying that on this day, 1 year ago, I was two weeks away from having the Twinkies. Pretty crazy huh? I made their 1 year well baby appointments today and it made me sad. Not sad like it would probably make most. I love watching my babies grow and learn. I honestly don't think I will miss the baby stage too much. Is that horrible of me? They are cute and adorable. I know I will miss that part.

This is me, exactly 1 year ago today.

I was 35 weeks pregnant and I was done. My MIL had just gotten to Germany a few days earlier and we issued their eviction notice. They didn't listen, just like they don't listen now. I knew then that my hands would be full!

Also happening around la Casa, Jaxon will be having surgery on Thanksgiving to fix a birth defect that he was born with. Germans don't celebrate Thanksgiving (obviously as it's an American holiday celebrating stuff in America) therefore they still work that day. And with that being a 4 day weekend, Mat will be off work for the surgery and his recovery in the hospital. It's why we did it that way. The twins won' know that they aren't celebrating a holiday so it's not a big deal. Mat will be in the field for a few days prior to his surgery so I get to do the pre-op by myself. Joy! He actually gets out of the field the day before Thanksgiving. They then threatened to send him to Croatia for a month the Monday after Thanksgiving. They ended up changing the dates for that mission until May. Mat's the platoon leader and is in charge of planning this mission and it's really wearing him down. It's not his job, he's just the temp so he has to do his job and the platoon leader position as well as plan a spur ride. He's just done. Poor guy. Anyway. So, yea, Jaxon has surgery on Thanksgiving and Mat leaves for Croatia next year.

Mat did say something to me that got me a little excited. He was talking about Halloween and he said "If we are here for Halloween next year..." Wait. Rewind? You mean, we might be gone by next Halloween?!? I would be ok with this. Our actual DEROS date isn't until May of 2013. But with the plans Mat has to further his education for his career, it would require him to go back to school. I think I have talked about this before. While he was deployed, he talked to his retention recruiter and they said it would be best if he wait and apply for the school next summer. If he were to apply now it would be up to the unit to decide if they send him and the unit would 99% say no due to the fact that they would have to pay to send him and they wouldn't pay that much for a soldier that will end up PCSing elsewhere. They won't benefit from that soldier's education. But if he waits until next year, then it will be up to the Army and they can send him TDY enroute to his next duty station. Don't get me wrong, I like Germany. I don't love it. Mat would live here forever if he could but he grew up here. I'm American. I am set in my American ways. I would come back for another 3 years in about 8-10 years or so, when the Twinkies can enjoy it and I don't have to visit castles carrying 20+lb babies. It's not my idea of a fun adventure. If you know what I mean.

What else... Oh yea, Halloween... I made the costumes and they did not turn out how I expected. At all. I blame it on the cheap iron-ons that our lovely PX carries. The idea was great, the follow through, not so much. Keeping up with the theme of their birthday AND their first birthday party... Let me introduce to you

Thing 1

Thing 2

Don't mind Hayley's hair. It looks like that most days. If you try to fix it, she throws herself backwards because she wants to see what you're doing. I've learned to pick my battles and her hair just isn't worth it.

And with her, there are lots of battles. I see so much of myself in her. She is very stubborn. I am so stubborn. She is very independent, she wants to do what she wants regardless. Her new thing is climbing. They have a play table that she will push over to whatever she wants to climb on, then she climb on the table and then onto whatever she pushed it up against. This morning it was the couch. Yesterday, the entertainment center. She is also very independent. For me, this is not a bad trait. I am independent and I am so happy that she is too. And hard-headed. Another trait that she gets from me. We butt heads. Constantly. She is my challenge child but I wouldn't change her. I think I turned out damn well and I know she will too. And she is a momma's girl. When she doesn't feel good or she hurt herself, she wants me and not her daddy. I'm ok with this :)

Now Jaxon. Where to begin with Jaxon. His development is progressing amazingly. He can wave and blow kisses. He is crawling. Thank you baby jeebus, the kid is finally crawling. He has been for about a month now. I thought this kid would never crawl. He can rock himself back on his knees and go from sitting to crawling (these were both just perfected within the past week and a half). He is not pulling himself up yet but he will be soon. The poor kid gets so frustrated that he can't do simple things like pull himself up. He screams. A lot. Because he is so pissed off that he can't do it. But he's getting there. I worry that his surgery will regress his accomplishments but we will see. His motor skills are perfect. We had a hearing test done because he had failed one at one of his previous appointments but he passed this one perfectly so he's not hearing impaired, which is great! He's getting there. Slowly but surely.

They have both been off baby food since they 10 months old. Once we started introducing them to real food, they would spit out baby food so finally we just decided to take them off of it completely. It's been great. They very rarely get formula (they take iron, don't yell at me!) and the bottles will definitely be gone by a year. I don't think they have had a bottle in days. We started introducing whole milk last week and so far, their little tummies handle it just fine.

Also during my hiatus, Mat and I celebrated 4 years of wedded bliss. We celebrated by eating at Gasthof Schuettersmuehle. It would be known to American's as Steak on a Stone. They bring out raw meat that you cook on this molten hot stone. It was amazing. The meat was so tender and juicy. I stuck with normal meats, chicken, pork, filet mignon and beef steak. Mat was a little more brave. He had kangaroo, ostrich, buffalo and beef.

I also got a little present:

When I came across it, it was love at first sight!

I guess I will just share some random photos. I think I have caught you up on everything!

Hayley decided that she would help herself the Halloween candy that was left on the couch by accident. The child is a mess.

First taste of whole milk. If that face doesn't scream that he loves it, I don't know what will!

Oh, remember Athena, our husky/sheltie mix?

(Great picture right? Shows off her exact personality!)

We recently rehomed her. We were having issues with her not being careful around the babies and she also started becoming very bossy of Harley. It got to the point where she would guard the food and not let Harley eat. She also would poop on the floor every night and when Mat and I left. She went to live with a friend of ours who has a 5 month old baby. She is the only dog too. The last message I got a few days ago is that she has fit in just perfectly. They don't have any issues with her. When they took her, we warned them of our issues. We told them that if she doesn't fit in or they continue to have the same issues, we would take her back. But she said that their daughter just laughs anytime Athena comes into the room. I think Athena just needed to be an only dog. And so did Harley.

I think that is all for now. If I think of anything else, I might think about posting another blog. I am slowly getting my blogging fever back :)

Twinkies Bathroom Reveal

2011-11-02T17:04:00.001-04:00

I really need to iron the shower curtain but other than that, the bathroom came out just the way I wanted it too. We did what we could with military housing which meant we couldn't get rid of the awful lighting or sliding glass medicine cabinet. We also lacked the desire to paint (which I would have totally done a red and white striped wall) because we knew we would have to paint over. I'm not a fan of painting. We painted our living room this dark green color in our previous house. The only reason I got out of painting is because I was pregnant. I won't have that excuse this time.

Anyway, without further ado...

The bathroom!

Shower curtain, handmade by my MIL. Definitely needs to be ironed and evened out. I had it tied up for a bit so that's why it's wrinkled. When I went to take the picture, I didn't even think there would be wrinkles. Duh me.

Ordered our Thing 1 & Thing 2 decal off ebay! $20. Definitely affordable enough that when we move, I can order another one for their next bathroom.

Tulle puffs I made. Quick, easy and adorable. (And cheap!)

I chose 3 of my favorite pictures out of Cat in the Hat and framed them. I eventually want to find an actual shelf for these.

Towels my MIL made as well. She took a white towel, some fabric we picked out and voila!

Close up of the tulle poofs! Again, simple, easy, cheap... The best kind of DIY craft.

Looking in from the door.

My MIL made these baskets as well. When we were in the states, we came across the baskets on sale at Hobby Lobby. With some leftover fabric, she replaced the ugly liner with matching Thing 1 & Thing 2 material!

So.. That's the bathroom! What do you think?

Re-Construction

2011-10-13T05:18:00.001-04:00

After my last post, I am reminded of how much I love blogging and why I do it. I need/want to make this blog into something that makes me want to blog again. I think I have an idea of how I plan to do that. I am restructuring, "redecorating", and re-planning. I hope that once I have the changes in place, you like them and stay around for awhile. I started this blog many years ago. It was called "The Undomestic Army Wife" and it was intended to be a blog about tips, tricks, crafts and such. I want to take it back to what it was. I liked those days. A lot. There is a new name, a Facebook page that will go along with it and more.

I will be back soon.

A bribe in return for your patience.

There will be more of this:

Just a little vent

2011-10-10T03:13:00.002-04:00

Let me start by saying that I am still technically not blogging. Sorry. This is not my comeback post. Sorry.

I do have a vent that I must let out though. Mat is on 24 hour CQ, again. Just an update on him. He recently "received a promotion!" He's now a platoon leader. Instead of just having 4-5 soldiers to lead, he leads 46. It's not anything really exciting. It will look great that he is doing the job of an officer when he's only an NCO but there is no pay increase. Just late hours and more responsibility. But for them to give him that position is a huge deal.

Anyway. On to my vent.

For those that don't know, the twins will turn 1 in just over a month. (Insert mommy's sad face here!) Mat's parents are coming out next year for the summer. They are saving, cutting costs, budgeting, etc to make sure they can fly out. I posted the twins invitation to their birthday on Facebook and my commented with "This is killing me!" Yesterday she sent me a message letting me know that the birthday presents are on their way and how this isn't fair.

This would be totally understandable and I would actually have feelings of guilt if it weren't for the fact that she is going to Italy next year, they bought a new truck AND RV.

Ummm....

It's not like I pulled a date out of my ass and said "Hey, let's do a birthday party for our kids in November." They were born Nov 17, 2010. We are celebrating their first birthday Nov 12, 2011. They have had a year to plan and prepare for this.

I know that flying to Germany is expensive. I know that when we went back to the states, we spent nearly $10,000 between plane tickets, things we needed for the trip, gas to go from Texas to Oklahoma back to Texas (because they just had to see everyone one last time! We ended up driving several hours out of our way the day before we were supposed to fly just for my parents). I could be totally understanding if the fact that they simply couldn't afford the trip.

If I know that I have somewhere I want to be in a year, I'm going to plan for it. I'm not going to go out and buy a new truck (especially when there was nothing wrong with the one they had!) or a brand new RV. I'm going to take the money and save it to put towards my trip.

And I'm definitely not going to plan a vacation to Italy. I'm would plan my trip to Germany.

Just saying.

So don't come complain to me that you can't make it to Germany for your grandchildren's first birthday because you are going to Italy. Especially after it was too much of an inconvenience for you to come to Germany when they were born because of my "vicious" dogs. So funny, a year ago they were vicious. This year you say Harley is the perfect dog.

I give up.

Facebook Me

2011-09-14T03:07:00.002-04:00

I had a few people comment and tell me not to leave the blogging world. Trust me, this decision absolutely kills me. I am sure I will blog again when I A) have more time or B) I have something to post about that is of interest. Until then, I haven't changed my mind. My blogging days, for now, will be few and far between. If you want to keep up with me, add me on Facebook by clicking here...

Thank you to everyone who I have met along the way. My bloggy/online friends have been the best.

This isn't technically goodbye...

This is... Until we meet again!

Tchuss!

I think I'm done

2011-09-11T14:09:00.001-04:00

I have been playing around with this idea for awhile. I love blogging. I just don't feel that the blogging community is what it once was. When I look at my Google Reader, most of the posts are people reviewing some stupid product that they will never use, just to earn a buck. It used to take me hours to read all of my subscribed blogs and now.... I can finish my reader in about 20 minutes.

This is still obviously not a done deal yet. But for now, I think I'm done.

My First Vlog - Accent

2011-09-09T03:29:00.000-04:00

So, apparently there is a blog thing going around where bloggers record themselves saying certain words and answering certain questions. I don't know where it started but figured it would be a good first vlog!

The instructions are to say these words:
Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught
And answer these questions:
What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you use to change the TV channel?

If you are wondering, I am sitting on the floor with the computer on our ottoman. Hayley was on the side of the ottoman. She is still a little video shy :)

Maybe I Should Clean?

2011-09-08T11:02:00.001-04:00

If I haven't made it apparent yet, I am quite busy.

My week has looked something like this:

Sunday: My boss from Girl Scouts came in from Italy and we had dinner Sunday night. I got home at 9pm.
Monday: We did training for my position for other Committees who couldn't attend the training in Italy in July. This was 9-5. Then I went to training at 530 for the Vilseck Community Spouses Club. I hold the Publicity chair and that requires me to update the website. Then, I ran home, took Mat dinner, kissed my babies and ran out to dinner with my boss. Got home at 9.
Tuesday: I met at my house with my boss with my co-chair. We ran to the Vilseck Girl Scout hut so I could show off all of the hard work one of my leaders has put into it. Then I came home, did a little work, hung out with my babies. I had to be back in Graf at 6 for leader training for all of our new leaders. Got home around 9.
Wednesday: I worked on stuff from home. Then, when Mat got off work, we ran to Netzaberg and got a rug that is the size of our living room. With the babies crawling and moving, they are hitting their head and these hard fake wooden floors don't feel good. I was supposed to have a welcome dinner with the Commanders wife but cancelled.
Today: My babysitter bailed on me so I took the babies to my spouses club meeting. That took 2 hours, came home and then my friend Sarah stopped by. After she left, I went to pick up Mat and that brings us to the present and the point of this post.

Sarah come into my house, looked around and said "Wow, you're house looks like mine."

They are in the middle of PCSing. Her house has an excuse to be a wreck. Mine does not.

(also, I didn't find her comment rude. She's German. And for her to see my house the way it was is very rare. I think she was in shock)

After she left I got a text message from Mat letting me know he was ready to be picked up from work. My house is still a mess. It will stay that way until I get my paper written.

However, it will be clean this weekend!

A Photographer I am Not

2011-09-07T06:48:00.002-04:00

But I take some damn good pictures :)

I haven't been home before 9 since Sunday night. I was supposed to be out late again tonight but I cancelled. I cancelled dinner with the Commanders wife because I want to be at home with my family.

This past week and this current week are insane for me. I have been so busy, most days, I can't tell up from down. I have a big paper due Sunday that I swore wasn't due for another 2 weeks so I have to find time to get that done while doing everything else that I have to get done.

After this week, I hope to continue my normal blogging schedule :)

The Future of Education

2011-08-31T07:43:00.001-04:00

A few days ago, my former junior high and high school principal was arrested for indecent exposure. He also admitted to having sexual relations with teenage boys.

I have always said my kids will attend public school. But after this, I am seriously rethinking that decision. It just goes to show that you don't always know a person. Even trusted school officials. This is a man whose office I spent some time in (not always in trouble! I was his aide my senior year of high school).

I am sickened and disturbed with this news. As a matter of fact, I am getting sick just thinking about it as I type this so I am going to move on to the point of this post.

Since this has happened, I have seriously considered homeschooling Jaxon and Hayley. I don't want to. I don't feel that it is something that I can do. I am hoping that some of you who do homeschool or plan to, can give me some advice.

I know that when we get back to the states, I will have to work full time. Thanks to living overseas, we make a few extra hundred a month that we wouldn't make if we lived stateside. I also worry that I may not be intelligent enough to teach my kids what they need to know. I can do the basics but once it comes time for junior high, that's when I start to struggle. And really, it's math and science that I have an issue with.

I know that what my former principal did does not devalue the education that I received. I know that public school teachers are more qualified to teach Jaxon and Hayley and I am not ashamed to admit it. But it just shows that you don't know who you are subjecting your children to.

I don't want to be the mom that keeps my kids locked up in fear of the kidnappers or rapists. I want them to be able to live their life but know what to look out for.

But just as in the case of my principal, sometimes people can be deceiving.

What would you do? Would you let something like this stop you from sending your child to public school? If you homeschool, why do you do it and what is some advice you can give to someone else who is struggling with that decision themselves?

Cabinet Makeover & Playroom Sneak Peek!

2011-08-29T07:01:00.000-04:00

This

Became this:

Which became awesome when we did this

A long, long time ago, I posted the fabrics that we bought for the playroom. I wanted something that would be both feminine and masculine but for the room built for babies.

I didn't want pink, too girly, and I didnt want just blue because it was too manly (you guys think I have it so easy having boy and girl twins but do you see what I have to deal with!) but it also needed to be kid friendly since they are only 9 months old!

So, we picked out this.

Not quite the mix of Jaxon vs Hayley that I wanted but I thought the paisley brought out the feminine side so we went with it.

Here are the curtains! The actually hang down almost to the floor but the radiator is there and I just have them up right now so little hands don't come pull them. They are hung up the German way. With little clips. You can see little white specs on the top of the curtains. Those are a pain in the butt! The more the stay up, the better!

The fabrics together! Not bad for my first time picking fabric and paint colors!

Before I show you the picture, I want to give you an idea of how the design for this room came about. We have always called Hayley "ChunkyMonkey" because let's face, shes a whopping 2 pounds fatter than her brother and she has fat rolls on fat rolls.

Case in point:

NOM NOM NOM Mom! These cinnamon twists are the bomb!

So... ChunkyMonkey it is. I know one day she will probably have a complex but for, it's cute.

Jaxon on the other hand has become HunkyMonkey. Because let's face it... With a face like this...

Ok. So I am obviously kidding but he is adorable. You can't deny it.

(Someone told me that my kids are always happy and smiling in pictures and 99.9% of the time, they are. But I took photo proof that every once in awhile, there is that awesome temper tantrum.

So. We had Chunky and Hunky and Monkey.

So, we picked....

Monkeys! Duh! (I obviously can't count. Otherwise, we would have the missing 2 fabric drawers!)

And with monkeys comes jungle which brings us to the reason we chose the color palette!

Don't judge my playroom. My kids played in here today. And they will play in there tomorrow. Because well... We live in our house. When it's ready, I will stage it and make it pretty. And it will last all of about 5 minutes!

What do you think?

Just a day in the pool!

2011-08-26T01:20:00.000-04:00

Germany has been on fire lately!

Ok, not fire like flames and smoke. But fire as in H-O-T!

Today we saw highs of 90 degrees with 90% humidity. Before you flame and say "You should be so lucky, we have seen nothing but 100 degree days for almost two months now... blah... blah... blah..." I have heard it all already.

Most of you have something we don't have.

It's called air conditioning.

And with 90 degrees outside, it's 90 degrees inside.

Don't get me wrong, I am totally enjoying the sun since it isn't exactly something you see a whole lot of here in gorgeous Bavaria. But a little cooler weather would be nice. Thankfully, it's only supposed to be about 60 on Saturday.

Since it's been so warm, we have let the babies have some pool time. I don't know if I have ever mentioned how much our kids L.O.V.E. water. Seriously, you should see Jaxon spazz out every time he sees a pool or bath tub. They love it so much, I had to pull Hayley out of the dog water bowl 7 times today. She was either having a blast or just really thirsty.

I'm going to go with having a blast.

Of course, having 2 babies in nothing but swim diapers in a cute little blue pool makes for some adorable pictures.

Yes, that means I'm going to share these pictures.

Try not to go into a cuteness coma ok? I can't be held responsible if you do.

Everyone still with me?

Good.

While we have enjoyed the warm weather, I'm ready for some cooler weather!

31 Days to a Better Photo Series

2011-08-25T03:27:00.000-04:00

I stumbled across the 31 Days to a Better Photo Series on the blog, Life With My 3 Boybarians. I have been trying to learn how to use my DSLR better and with everything I have that goes on in my life in a daily basis, I find it hard to sit down and play with it. I thought this would help. I can do it at my own pace (but I am going to try and least do a day every day. We will see how that actually works out!)

Day 1: Day 1 to a better photo – take the photo. Always, always take the photo. You will never get a second chance at that moment. It’s a simple one, clearly. But how many times have you meant to bring the camera but didn’t? When did you realize how much you loved photos? What motivates you to love your images?

Thankfully, with today's technology, I always have a camera with me. My iPhone! But we all know the great quality of photos that camera phones have. I know that they are getting better but after purchasing the big fancy camera, I have no desire to spend bookoos of money on a fancy phone with a big fancy camera. There have been many times where we are out and I kick myself for not bringing the camera thanks to a missed opportunity on a GREAT photo!

I have always loved photos. It started with an obsession of myself. I was the young teenager/early 20's girl that took pictures of herself. But I also loved taking pictures anytime anything was happening. We would have random little photo shoots with my point and shoot (which I thought at the time, was a pretty epic camera almost 10 years ago!)

I only take photos of what I love. My kids. Places I visit. Anything that peaks my interests! And since I only take pictures of things that I love, I want them to look as best as possible. That is where my motivation stems from.

Twinkie Bathroom Update

2011-08-24T04:17:00.002-04:00

Remember how months ago I told you I was working on decorating the babies bathroom? I wanted to keep it a surprise because I was SO excited about it?

And then... Well... You haven't heard about it sense?

After ~~living on~~ spending an hour or two on Pintrest, I finally found my motivation to finish it. I started the tulle balls MONTHS ago and I got 1 done and didn't like it. I scoured Pintrest and Googled the how-to's and completed all 3 within an hour last night!

I am pretty happy with how they turned out!

My MIL also mailed me the shower curtain she made!

(Just a sneak is all you get right now!)

Can anyone figure out the theme we are going with yet? And before you guess circus, you would be way off! The theme that I wanted, I didn't want it to be in your face, so I made the small details in the actual theme and everything else just compliments it.

The bathroom was almost finished and I was about ready to reveal it, but last night while I couldn't sleep, (it's really because my mind wouldn't stop!) I came up with a few more ideas so you will have to wait a little longer.

Dot Matrix Paper

2011-08-22T05:47:00.001-04:00

I love almost everything about my husband. The one thing I do love about him is that he is into saving money. If I was put in charge of our finances, we would be broke.

I sent my husband out to the store to buy printer paper. I had a few things to print for one of the organizations that I volunteer with and would be reimbursed for the paper. He comes back later with this big white box.

I didn't open for a bit because I ended up needing printer ink. When I did open it up, I realized that it was dot matrix paper. Don't know what dot matrix paper is? Let me refresh your memory.

It's the continuous paper with the annoying "dots" on each side. I asked Mat about it and he didn't know it was dot matrix paper. I mean, what are the odds that our PX would carry dot matrix paper!

He said it was $9 for 500 sheets of name brand paper and thought $13 for 1000 sheets was the better deal since he thought it was real printer paper.

Of course, instead of returning it (I hate returning things to the PX) I decided to take nap time yesterday and separate the sheets and remove the dots on the side.

THREE HOURS LATER! I was done.

So... What did you do during nap time?

Let's do this!

2011-08-16T04:11:00.001-04:00

I did so good while Mat was gone. I got back to my pre-pregnancy weight the same day I left the hospital and I kept the weight steady. I never gained nor lost weight. Now that Mat is home, I have gained 20 lbs! I was already overweight thanks to infertility drugs, stress and more so now you can only imagine what this 20lbs has done to my already pleasantly plump body.

So I am now going to blog my weight loss journey so that I can be held accountable for my actions. If I gain weight one week, feel free to let me have it.

Here is my starting weight:

My toes are totally covered. I need a manicure STAT!

My goals are:

To at least lose 20 lbs.

I would be happy to lose 40

But my ultimate goal is to lose 60

A Very Rare Occurence

2011-08-09T07:44:00.002-04:00

Want to see something very rare that happens in my house?

You might want to sit down. When you see this, you might pass out.

Yes, it is that rare.

Ready?

Here it comes!

I am warning you :)

What is this you are looking at?

My CLEAN laundry.

A clean laundry room is very rare in this house. Between me, the twins and my husband, you can imagine that laundry is constantly going in the washer and dryer.

When my laundry room is in chaos, it makes it hard for me to want to even think about doing laundry. I finally had enough and ended up cleaning it. At 2am.

I let Mat have a guys night and I thought I was going to have to pick the guys up from the train station so I had stayed up. What better time to clean then when your kids are in bed and you are bored!

My laundry room is kind of a catch all. Which would explain the welcome home sign, license plate, patrol cap, blow up swimming pool, sewing machine, cork board and any other weird and out of place things you see in the next few pictures. If it doesn't have a place, it finds a place in this room.

More random stuff. A laundry sign, Hayley's bows, another welcome home sign (this one was in our front window!), a belt thumbtacked to the wall and an outfit that Jaxon never wore.

It may look unorganized or have no sense of direction to most people, but for me, this works.

What is the most unorganized room in your house?

Garmisch/Edelweiss

2011-08-07T10:24:00.003-04:00

A long... LONG time ago, it was a just a few days after we got back from our trip to the states... So, about a month ago, we took a family trip to Garmisch. We stayed in Edelweiss Lodge and it was amazing. The lodge is located right smack dab in the middle of the Alps. You have mountains surrounding you and when you turn out of the lodge, you are instantly in the town of Garmisch. Everywhere we went, I spent most of the time with my jaw dropped and I believe I only uttered "Amazing" while thinking about how lucky I was to be able to see everything I was seeing. It is definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. But because I was completely awestruck, not whole lot of pictures were taken. But over the course of a few posts, I will tell you all about our trip!

Before I get to the room though, we stopped in Munich to meet up with our neighbors. They checked out the same day we checked in so we decided to meet at a Hofbräuhaus. We also chose the same weekend as Gay Pride weekend. This is funny because on our way back to the car we took a wrong turn and ended up being stuck in the middle of the Gay Pride parade.

But while we were at the Hofbräuhaus, we ate some delicious pretzels.

After stopping in Munich, we headed to the lodge.

The room...

Do you notice Jaxon on the floor pantsless? Both Jaxon and Hayley were so happy to finally get out of the car. I changed their diapers and his favorite spot was playing with the bed skirts. I actually have several other photos of him under the bed but figured I didn't want to be known as the mean mom who throws her kids under the bed.

The view from the room:

The first day we arrived, we decided to just relax in the room. We went to the buffet restaurant in the hotel for dinner and hung out in our room. We woke up the next morning really early to start our day. We went to the shopette and put $70 worth of gas in our car. When I went to go pay, our card declined. There is no way it was declining because there was no money. Trust me, we had plenty. We went to an ATM and our card declined there as well. We couldn't even pull our balance to make sure we hadn't been robbed. We went to an ATM at the bank we bank at and that ATM was down. We went back to the shopette, explained to the clerk what was going on and I remembered I had credit cards. Mat went to pay and they declined because DUH! They expire and since we don't use credit cards anymore, we never even noticed. I called the bank, explained the situation and was told "I am so sorry but our system is down and won't be back up for another 5-6 hours). YOU HAVE GOT TO BE EFFING KIDDING ME!!! I of course asked what could be done seeing as how I had to literally pull $70 out of my butt. She said she could wire me the money but it was a Sunday and the place where you did Western Union was closed so that was no help. To say I was angry is an understatement. I said a few choice words and hung up the phone. I ended up finding $50 in my pants and the clerk covered the rest and we went back to our room. We had no access to money so there was no point in going anywhere. With the luck we were having, we would break down and not be able to pay for anything since the system was down.

At Edelweiss, you can rent bicycles and ride them around. I brought up this great idea so we went and rented a couple of bikes, strapped the babies to the back and took off! (PS, the babies screamed the entire time. They hated it!)

Not even 10 minutes later I got a flat tire and had to walk the bike all the way back to the lodge. Because the walk too so long, we were only refunded half of our money even though it was their bike that was flat.

We went back to our room and Mat decided to charge a trip to the Zugspitze to the room. $140 for the 2 of us to go up a big mountain. Sounds fun right?

You can't even see the top of the mountain because A) It's so high and B) it was storming up there and we had no idea.

We took one of those cable lifts to the top. I was scared to death! I don't always have a fear of heights but when I have Jaxon and Hayley with me, I usually turn into a freaked out momma.

We got to the top and as soon as we stepped outside it was cold and wet. We couldn't do anything up there. You couldn't even see the view because you covered in clouds. We decided to take the train back down.

We got to the train station and the storm knocked the power out. We had to wait for over an hour for the train to get back up and running. When they finally let us board the train, the power went out again.

We eventually made it down. But during the train ride, the babies were tired and frustrated and it was not a comfortable ride.

The only thing that made Jaxon happy was being able to play with the condensation on the window.

See! Happy Jaxon.

Not so happy Jaxon! (The two pictures that are dark are because we were inside the mountain and the light one, I had never been so happy to see daylight. I had no idea the train took us THROUGH the mountain.)

After we landed safely back on solid ground (and I say solid because what you can't see in the picture is that we are going down and because I am sitting on the other side, I am literally rolling off the seat. I couldn't stay on because we were at an angle), I ran for the car and decided that we should just take a rain check for the day.

We got back to the lodge and because the day just sucked, we decided to stay an extra day!

We woke up the next morning ready to go. We had our fingers crossed that we wouldn't have any issues. We stopped by the ATM, made sure it was working and pulled out Euro. We weren't taking any chances.

Our first stop was the Neuschwanstein castle.

We took a horse and carriage ride almost the hole way up the castle

(Our actual horse and carriage!)

Then we had to hike the rest of the way up the castle. This is not easy when you have a 20lb baby strapped to your chest!

We got to the castle and, as I could imagine, the view was spectacular!

We waited patiently for our tour to start

(Hayley has this new obsession with sucking on your face)

We started our tour but unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures inside the castle.

And in case you're wondering, I did the entire tour with a sleeping baby!

After the castle, we then had to hike back up the hill to catch the bus back down. The one piece of advice I can give if you ever decide to visit this castle, take the bus up to the castle (you walk downhill to the castle from the bus and uphill to the castle if you take the carriage) and take the carriage back down (you walk down the carriage from the castle and up the hill to the bus from the castle!)

After the castle, we decided to visit Linderhoff Palace.

We had discussed heading to the Gorge but after carrying Jaxon around all day, my back and feet had had it. We ended up going back to the room, passing out and leaving early the next morning.

We grabbed our coffee

And we were on our way!

(Please pardon the lack of pictures of the places we visited. I will actually be doing full posts with more pictures of them in the future! This post was just a general idea of how an almost sucky weekend turned awesome!)

It doesn't get much cuter

2011-08-06T14:36:00.002-04:00

O.Em.Gee

2011-08-05T16:44:00.000-04:00

My computer charger died.

Like flat out. Screw you. You are no longer my BFF. Died.

Thanks to my "adopted son" (whom I still need to tell you about), he brought me a charger from a laptop he is not using and after almost a week without my precious (said in the creepy Lord of the Rings style...) laptop, I am back up and running.

I have done so much in the past week that I can't wait to share with you. Changes to the house. After 2 months, our new dining room table is here! We got a piece of furniture painted for the playroom. And a few other things.

Hayley got her first tooth.

Jaxon is finally rolling everywhere.

Mat leaves for 2 weeks on Monday.

You know. Normal life over here.

Never ending. Always going. As soon as I can find a moment to breathe, I will update on all of the exciting life changes.

Hayley Vs. The Butt Cream

2011-07-26T07:24:00.001-04:00

Cooking in Tuscany

2011-07-25T10:25:00.000-04:00

One of the things that I did while in Italy for training was head to a quaint little hotel/restaurant in the middle of Tuscany. For 6 hours, a group of girls and I spent the day learning how to cook an Italian meal with Chef Paolo Monti. Seriously. Who can say they have done that? That experience ranks way up there with the most incredible things I have done in my life.

For more on my trip to Italy, you can add me on Facebook. I do my best to make the albums that involve traveling public so that my stepkids can see them but of course, you are more than welcome to add me, just let me know you are a blogger.

And also while in Italy, I went to the Tower of Pisa. I had planned to make the Tower it's own post but to be 100% completely honest, there ain't a whole lot to write about. Pisa, to be completely blunt, sucks. It was hard to enjoy being there because the area was filled with people trying to sale their knock off bags and watches. They would come up to you and basically shove it in your face. Oh. And they smelled. Really bad. Needless to say, we went, took our pictures, had dinner at La Buca and left.

Without buying knockoff bags and watches :)

Not Feeling It

2011-07-21T15:39:00.000-04:00

I sat down earlier to write another post about my trip home, a post about our amazing trip to Eidelweiss and of course, my fabulous trip to Italy sans kids and husband but sigh... I have no motivation. I lack the desire to blog. Even reading blogs feels like a chore to me.

I hate this. I hate not wanting to blog. I blame it on the fact that I haven't had much of an ability to read or write since the beginning of June.

I am not going to not blog. I am hoping this is just a funk that I get out of soon. It's not the first time this has happened :)

Home. Yet Again

2011-07-19T09:49:00.002-04:00

You want me to pee where?

I am home from Italy! I did the math, I have been home about 5 days since June 5. I am exhausted from traveling and I have so much to update on but so much to do. :)

Why I might be considered a hypocrite

2011-07-13T18:03:00.004-04:00

A few posts ago, I wrote about a couple of people who call themselves "photographers." Remember the one who considers herself a photographer with her point and shoot?

I own a DSLR and I promised myself that I would not be one of those people who buys a fancy schmancy camera and suddenly calls myself a photographer.

Today I made a Facebook page. It basically begs people to ask me to take photos of them solely for the purpose of practicing what I have learned. I refuse to take payment because for me, I am not a photographer.

This might make me a hypocrite but I am not selling a service. I can take 100's of pictures of my kids but what I want is to try different styles that my two 8 month olds just can't give me (hello boudoir!)

We will see where this goes. If it fails, I have 3 shoots lined up already and a possible fourth. They all know that I am an amateur only looking for trial and error.

And with that being said, I have to leave my house in 5 hours for Italy. I should probably think about sleep!

50th Wedding Anniversary

2011-07-13T05:09:00.002-04:00

While we were in the states, we were able to celebrate my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. It is such a change to see a married couple together for 50 years. It is definitely not something you see these days anymore.

50 years later and still very much in love.

My family. My dad, brother, mom, grandpa, grandma, sister and me.

There was cake!

My family is extremely musical. Our family (and friends that are like family) is made up of world famous fiddle and guitar players. My uncle has actually played for famous musicians and even married a famous musicians daughter :) Every time we have a get-together, a huge shindig follows!

Sitting on the porch enjoying the music

The guy playing the fiddle is Randy Elmore. World champion fiddle player several times over. And he played my wedding :) Who can say they walked down the aisle to two world champion fiddle players? Oh yea, that would be me

My grandpa is an amazing guitar player. He has won many contests but a few months ago he lost 3 fingers in an accident. He can still play but since he is still healing, it hurt too much. That's ok. He had no problem hanging out with Little Miss Hayley and listening to the music.

Jaxon liked it too :) He's hanging out with my dad

You can barely see my uncle Wes in this picture. He is playing the fiddle in the white cap. He is another world champion fiddle player who played at my wedding as well. Both Randy and Wes are extremely talented.

Zaria was sneaking some leftovers :)

The entertainment lasted way into the late night.

My mom, my aunt and Hayley!

The party was great. I have an amazing family who have given me so many great memories. My grandparents house is where everyone gathers. Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving. It's all there. If you want to know more about who I am, just look at those pictures. It gives a great idea of how I grew up :)

And we're home!

2011-07-12T08:42:00.000-04:00

We decided to stay one more day after a slight issue (will explain later!) we had but we are home and resting now. I have just enough time to unpack, wash clothes and re-pack before heading to Italy on Thursday. I will catch up on all posting soon! It will take awhile. I am still posting about our trip home :)

Life should hopefully slow down after this weekend :)

Raspberries

2011-07-08T18:24:00.001-04:00

She might be slightly adorable!

We are off to Edelweiss. See you in a few days :)

Changes!

2011-07-07T12:30:00.000-04:00

I figured I would take a break from the vacation recap posts to update you a little bit on life around here.

July is a crazy business month for us. There are tons of re-deployment activities going on, most of which I am required to make appearances at due to the different foundations that I hold a chair position with. I am very active in the two foundations (one is a unit level and one is a post wide spouses foundation as well as a Regimental one that I help out with). I have also taken on a full time position with the Girl Scouts as the leader for our area. Not the leader of just one group, but of everyone. I actually leave for training in Italy for 5 days next week!

This weekend we are headed to Eidelweiss. It is located in the Alps and I can not wait to go. We were hoping to have someone keep the kids for the time while we are gone but we have decided to make it a family trip. I am hoping we don't have the same issues that we did when we went to Heidelberg. We shouldn't. We have made a few purchases and learned a few things from that trip so hopefully we can sight-see a little easier.

I have also started back as a full time student. I have enrolled with AMU to hopefully graduate with my Bachelors in Family and Child Development. I always thought about being a teacher and the older I got, the more I felt it just wasn't my calling. I knew that I still wanted to work with and help children and after everything happened with my stepdaughter, I felt like my place should be in social work. I know that it is not an easy career. As a matter of fact, it will be downright hard and even depressing, but I feel this is where I need to be.

AND our house is taking on some changes. If you remember, I was in the process of decorating the spare bathroom. We are still in the process of decorating it. I have a couple of DIY projects to finish and I am waiting on the shower curtain and a few other things from my MIL and that room will be ready to show off. I am really excited!

We have moved the kids playroom into the dining room and the dining room into the living room where the playroom used to be! Both rooms are getting a makeover.

This is going to become my table runner!

And that fabric is for the playroom!

I have also begun working on the blog layouts for the 3 winners that have emailed me back.

So... That is life. Crazy. Busy. But I love it.

Our Trip Home. Part 4

2011-07-05T14:44:00.000-04:00

Remember a few posts back where I told you to remember that we denied the $600 insurance from the rental company? We pay $100/month for full coverage overseas for our SUV. $600 just sounded like a scam to me so we declined it. I mean really... What could happen in a month?

What happened? Well... That's a good question.

MAT.KILLED.BAMBI

Thankfully, since we have full coverage insurance through USAA, they cover rental car accidents as well. So we just have to pay our deductible. If the deductible had been $1000, we would have kicked ourselves in the butt for not getting the $600 insurance but since our deductible is only $500, it ended up not being too bad.

Don't worry, we ended up picking up dead Bambi and letting Mat eat his first kill.

Only kidding.

But we did have dear meat for dinner one night!

Our Trip Home. Part 3

2011-07-05T11:34:00.000-04:00

***The winners of the blog makeover have been emailed directly. :)***

While in Texas:

went to Texas State Aquarium where we saw a bird show

pet sting rays

played in the water park

held some pretty ugly sea creatures

and watched the dolphins

We also went aboard the USS Lexington where we

made more silly faces!

We played in the gulf of Mexico

got bucked by a goat (this is true. The goat bucked Dameon!)

And took it back to its owner :)

And we got some pretty awesome zebra striped nails :)

More coming soon!

Contest is closed!

2011-07-04T23:10:00.002-04:00

Thank you to everyone who participated! We had a total of 381 votes! I will be emailing the winners and can't wait to work with each and every one of you :)

Our Trip Home. Part 2.

2011-07-04T19:38:00.000-04:00

We landed at DFW and took another bus to the car rental companies. My dad had rented and paid for us to have a minivan so we had to pick it up. Issue? Well of course there was an issue. This is my life. I left all of the information for the rental company at home. In Germany. I made a quick call on a payphone (those things really still exist?) to my dad and he didn't remember as well and he was on his way to San Antonio and of course the information was a t his work. He did offer to meet us in Killeen to drive us home since we were going to be traveling for almost 24 hours without sleep.

With that, we took off to the company we thought the car was rented with and of course, that wasn't it. So we tried the next one and thankfully, that was it!

We picked out a silver minivan because it didn't look so "soccer mom-ish" as the white one, denied the $600 insurance (remember that part, you will need to know it for the next post) and we were on our way!

Mat driving the swagger wagon!

Me, being bored in the swagger wagon!

We stopped at a Target and picked up a pre-paid cell phone and we called to make arrangements with Mat's ex-wife to pick up my stepkids and my parents to arrange where to meet so they can drive us home. We said WalMart in Killeen.

Well, Mat's ex-wife got the right WalMart! My parents went to the Harker Heights WalMart so after picking up Zaria and Dameon, we headed to Harker Heights! There we met my parents and decided we needed food.

WHATABURGER! HELLS.TO.THE.YA!

My mom and Jaxon

I was worried that Zaria and Dameon wouldn't take to Jaxon and Hayley but those worries were gone once I saw them within the first few minutes. We have worked hard to do things with and without the babies so that Zaria and Dameon never felt left out.

In Texas we:

Ate pizza

wore some retro sunglasses

played with Jughead, the dog

hung out with Papa

Ate lots of #1's with mayo, hold the tomato and drank my weight in cherry limeades

spent more time with papa

took naps

relived old memories

played on the slip and slide

threw a tantrum or two or three...

made silly faces

drank my weight in Big Red (I peed. Alot.)

Ate more pizza

Hung out with the Big Pa

And made even more funny faces

Part 3 coming soon!

Our Trip Home. Part 1.

2011-06-29T12:11:00.000-04:00

The night before we left, I was having a hard time falling asleep. I knew we had to be awake at 3am because we our flight left at 6am. Thankfully, we only had an hour drive to the airport. We paid more to fly out of Nurnberg so that we didn't have to drive almost 3 hours to Munich and over 3 hours to Frankfurt. I ended up getting about 2 hours of horrible sleep. Our friend Dan ended up taking us to the airport (Um. He is a saint. Who else would take us to the airport at 330am and then have to go to work at 8am?)

Mom... It is way too early....

Always in a good mood. No matter what!

We checked in, went to our gate and when it came time to board the plane, the plane was nowhere to be found. That is when a bus pulled up and we were bussed (yes, a bus) to our plane. And now, this wasn't any plane. It was a teeny tiny puddle jumper plane.

Can I just say that I HATE flying. With a passion. And to be put on this Barbie sized plane, just about made me lose my mind.

The flight from Nurnberg to Heidelberg was only an hour and the babies did AMAZING. It was like they had flown 100 times before. They even fell asleep at the end of the flight but woke up when we were trying to get to our next gate.

Thanks for your breakfast mom!

A seat all to my self! (on the puddle jumper flight, they don't let babies sit next to other babies so we each got our own seat with an empty seat next to us.)

Our layover in Amsterdam wasn't too bad. I think it was about an hour and a half. The babies again did well and actually fell asleep right before we boarded so boarding the plane woke them up.

We had bulkhead seating and I couldn't have been happier with it. It was a row of 4 seats and we had the 2 in the middle. We had the wall from the bathrooms in front of us with the attachable bassinets! You can only imagine how easy this made our life. Especially when it is a 9 hour plane ride.

This plane ride went just as well as the first one. The babies didn't sleep much on the plane but they were still in great moods. They kept trying to get the attention of the people sitting next to us and they would talk and flirt with whoever would walk by. At the end of the flight, a lot of people actually complimented us on how they handled the flight. I know when we walked up with 2-6 month old, everyone around us had the same thought I always did. "Oh great, this is going to be fun, 2 screaming babies for 9 hours!"

Nom nom nom... I'm a happy flier.

I had never been happier to land. I am 100% a Texan and to land in Texas and know that I was "home" almost made me tear up a little bit. It had been a long time since we had been in the states and even longer since I had seen my family!

Part 2 coming soon!

Let's talk photography.

2011-06-26T14:07:00.000-04:00

I am now the proud owner of a DSLR camera. There are so many things about this camera that I have still to learn before I even *think* about using it to take pictures of others (if that is the route I decide to take.) Right now, I love experimenting with the camera to take pictures of my kids. That's why I got it. I was tired of taking pictures of Hayley and Jaxon and only half of them turning out decent. Either the color was bad, or they were blurred or both. With my Nikon, that doesn't happen anymore. Which is why I was ok breaking the bank to pay for it because the end results are completely worth the empty wallet.

If you follow me on Twitter, I have made a few comments recently regarding a few people on my Facebook about their "photography."

Can I just say, just because you have a DSLR camera does not mean you are a photographer!

I posted a status on Facebook yesterday to test out these so called photographers and none of them passed. My status said something about how I had fun playing with aperture and not a single person commented or liked. It wouldn't surprise me if any of them even knew what it was. I had no idea what the point of it was until about a week ago. But now that I know how it works, I haven't shot in auto since.

One of the people I am talking about just opened a photography business using a point and shoot. No, I'm not kidding. And yes, she is expecting people to pay for it. And yes, she even has a couple people who have made an appointment.

It just cracks me up.

My favorite picture from yesterday.

Now I'm off to set up my photography business :)

Just kidding.

Contest Closedx - Vote Now!

2011-06-23T21:36:00.000-04:00

How it works: Read each entry and then vote to the sidebar on the right for the blogger that you think should win a new blog layout. :)

1-Lisa: I redid my blog awhile ago, but I'm ready for a change, I think! We'll be getting married this fall and moving to a new post. I think I'd like to take our faces off the header and go to something simple and colorful.

2- Amanda 1 I would LOVE a blog makeover! I have no idea how to manipulate images for my blog header. I can only insert a cropped photo. My blog is a place for happy and sad venting. I love sharing my little piece of Guam on it but I think it could definitely reflect me a little better.

3-Jennie I would love a new blog makeover because I can never find one that I like that is pre made, and I wouldnt even know where to begin to do my own!:)

4- Amanda 2 I would really love a new blog layout because my blog is currently using a free pre-made layout and I would really like something more personalized. My blog has been gaining in popularity lately and I would love to give my readers something that portrays me and my life!

5- Mandie My blog needs some serious design help! Plus I'm a busy busy Mommy with a 2 year old and one on the way - not to mention Army wife :)

6- Jamie I started to blog because i need a place to vent while our new little family navigated our way threw the army life. Honestly i didn't think i'd keep my blog but its became apart of my family. I never excepted to find a supportive community who have either been threw it all before or were as green as our family. Now When we go somewhere new hubs always ask if i'm going to blog about it later. I feel like my blog should grow and change as my family does, and its been a little while since i've changed anything. We are no longer newbie's going threw BCT & AIT we are now stationed in Japan facing our first deployment. Its time for a change.

7-Kristen As an OpLove photographer, I use my blog to feature the families that I photograph. I haven't been able to find a design that isn't cheesy. I'd love to have a gorgeous design to highlight reunion photos :)

8-Monica I'm just tired of having generic blog layouts with no pictures or anything that showcase my life/blog/personality! Simple enough, right?!

9-Neidy I've had my blog layout for QUITE sometime now. My husband has seen how much I love blogging and how much it actually means to me. Honestly, I don't know very much about HTML coding and that fun stuff. It would mean alot to me, my sweet husband, and our little adventure. This will also give me a nice little space to blog especially since he's leaving in November again for his second deployment!

10-Sierra I need it! Do you see what I'm doing? I try to update when I have the chance but my skills, I think, are lacking. I want something original.

11- Noel I've tried to design a layout myself so many times I've run out of fingers (and toes!), and failed miserably each time. I just can NOT for the life of me figure out how to do it! I want a new one badly, but right now it is simply not in our budget to pay for one. We have too many other expenses (planned and unexpected) that MUST come first :( I love my blog, and honestly, I'd probably blog more if I was happy with the way it looked. I just finally got a domain name as a gift from a friend, and I'd really like her to get her moneys worth :)

12-Misty I LOVE blogging but my poor lil blog needs some serious help! I have tried and tried and end up just jacking it up more! With a 18 mo old, a 6 mo old and a baby on the way while going through our first deployment I dont have a lot of time to keep attempting to redo it and end up staying up until all hours of the night trying to fix my blunders! It needs serious professional help!!! :)

13-Jessa I've been blogging since 2007 and have yet to have a concrete design for my blog. As it grows I would like to have something that every reader will be able to come back to and always recognize. As I can't design one myself, I find myself changing the layout and colors constantly trying to make it 'perfect'. Which I will never achieve using free backgrounds and Picnik.

Momma's New Toy (and a little vacation tease!)

2011-06-21T14:35:00.000-04:00

For months I had been begging Mat to let me upgrade my Fujifilm Finepix S1800 camera for a DSLR camera. Begging and pleading had been met with big fat NO's until finally, one day, Mat got tired of listening to me (after 4 years of marriage, I have learned that by constantly bugging him, he eventually gives into my demands!) and bought me one!

My new toy.

Nikon D3000

I am in love. :)

The following pictures were taken with my camera and also a little insight to what our vacation has been like so far. We traveled from Germany to San Antonio for 2 weeks and now we are in Oklahoma before heading back to Germany next week sometime :( I promise a full recap later but for now, enjoy the pictures!

This is just to embarrass my sister!

My brother, Jaxon and Zaria

Mackenzie & Hayley

Dameon

Blue Angels (with the Gulf of Mexico in the background! I was in heaven!)

Zaria

Dameon

Hayley and my grandpa enjoying our families long time tradition, a country jam fest during life events!

Colton, my brother, and Zaria

My grandpa and Hayley

I could use a pedicure!

This says it all

Sea creatures!

We got medi-pedis! (that will be explained later)

Meeting her grandson for the first time!

Hello From Texas

2011-06-13T12:57:00.000-04:00

I am loving this whole being home thing. I have missed my family and just the comfort that home brings. Last night we had my grandparents 50th anniversary party and it didn't disappoint!

The Internet at my parents house is sketchy and it is so slow at my grandparents so I won't be able to post again until probably next week when we get to Oklahoma. The Internet at my in-laws is awesome. Haha

I will be closing the free blog giveaway then as well. No, I haven't forgotten it!

I got a new camera and I probably have taken over 1000 pictures. I can't wait to share some with you!

Less than 24 hours!

2011-06-05T04:41:00.000-04:00

And we will be on a long plane ride to the states where we will spend 2 weeks in Texas with my family and 2 weeks in Oklahoma with Mat's family. With the issues that I had with my family while pregnant, I am trying really hard to look forward to our visit with them. I am really looking forward to seeing my grandpa the most. I can't wait to see him with Jaxon and Hayley. This trip alone is worth it because he is still alive and we don't know really know how much longer he will have.

I know my trip to Oklahoma will be awesome. I love Mat's parents to death. After everything happened with my parents, there was no hesitation on my mother in law's mind when I asked her to come to Germany to be with my when Jaxon and Hayley were born. That is something we will always share and I will always be grateful for. I can't wait to see her face when she sees how much my little 4 & 5 lbs babies have grown!

I also can't wait to see Zaria and Dameon. I miss those little kids like crazy. It has been forever since I have squeezed their cheeks!

I am not looking forward to flying with 2 6 month old babies though. We have been told many tips and tricks and we plan to use them until we find what works. Hopefully they aren't a screaming mess the whole 11 hours we are on the plane. Oh yea, and I'm not looking forward to being on a plane for 11 hours either. In coach. Last time I flew this long I was 10 weeks pregnant and had to pee every hour. I am hoping this trip has less bathroom trips and happy babies. After we land, we still have a long drive from DFW to my parents house.

I will need a nice glass of wine after tomorrow.

Heidelberg Pictures

2011-05-31T16:04:00.000-04:00

As promised

The day Mat nearly lost his head... AKA... Our trip to Heidelberg

2011-05-31T05:25:00.000-04:00

I may have only been a mom for 6 months but that was a long 6 months where I learned a ton of lessons. Especially when being a parent of twins. I have learned when it will be a good day or a bad day. I have learned when to make plans and when to cancel them. Mat is still learning these lessons and yesterday was one of them.

The first sign that yesterday wasn't going to be a good day was when a couple of guys decided to come visit the BBQ we were hosting with our neighbors. They go by the name of Johnnie Walker (green label!) and Jose. The next sign that we should have just stayed home is when we wanted to leave the house at 10 and at 945, we were just waking up. We woke up to Hayley screaming bloody murder after her short morning nap. But Mat still insisted on going even after I told him that was just way too many signs against the trip but he insisted on going.

We got the kids ready, loaded into the car and off to the shopette we went to get gas. After gas, Mat grabbed the GPS and started to put in Heidelberg. He didn't know if it was Heidelberg, Heidelberg... Heidelberg, some German name or Heidelberg, another German name. That's when I really started to think we just shouldn't drive out the gate. I got my phone and Googled the address and put it in. Our arrival time was 2:30pm. Fabulous. This was a 3 1/2 hour drive when Mat said it was only 2 hours. But I had already learned this morning that no matter what I said, it wasn't going to matter.

Off we went.

About 20 minutes into the trip, I Googled the castle again. It closes at 5. That leaves us with only 2 1/2 hours to get there, find parking, walk up the hill, tour the castle and actually enjoy ourselves. I brought this point up to Mat and now I was just making him mad. And i was just pissed so I let it go.

Then we got lost. There was a detour and Mat kept making the wrong turn making us do circles. We were no longer on speaking terms at this point. (Did I mention that Jaxon and Hayley hate car rides so I spent most of the trip in the backseat trying to keep them from screaming? Oh yea. It happened)

We finally get back on the main road and get to the castle. We ended up finding parking high enough that we didn't have to walk up the hill to the castle, but downhill. Not too bad. The first entrance we come to is a ton of stairs. I ask Mat how he planned to do this. He said we both carry a baby in one hand and carry the stroller down with the other. HAHAHAHA He is a funny human being. He then said he saw another entrance a little further down the road so we kept going and found a place that had a few stairs. Not too bad, we made it down the stairs and to the castle!

The next guided tour started about 15 minutes after we got there so Mat decided we will do that. We go find a bathroom. I get all the way to the bathroom (It's down a flight of stairs) only to realize I need 50 Euro cents to pee. (In Germany, it is not uncommon to pay a small fee to use the public restrooms) I go back up the stairs and we don't have change so Mat goes to the ticket office to make change. I happily go pee, and then wait for him to go. By this time, it's about time for the tour to start so we head to the room where we are supposed to wait.

Mat then says "maybe we should carry Jaxon and Hayley because there will be stairs." I look at him like he is crazy and then ask him if he is. He tells me there will be lots of stairs and it just won't be easy taking the stroller. I then tell him that carrying around almost 20lbs for over an hour just isn't going to work for me. He argues (yes, by this point, we're arguing) back that "fine, I will just carry both of them." Insert my "you have got to have the most stupidest idea ever" face. He takes Jaxon out of the stroller and asks me to hold him while he grabs Hayley. Then, once he has her he sticks out his arm for Jaxon. Not taking a chance of him dropping one or both on this tour so I decide to just humor him and carry Jaxon.

Not even 15 minutes into the tour, Mat tells the tour guide that this just wasn't working for him and we left the tour early. On our way to the stroller he apologized and told me that he is still learning and to be patient. He said from now on, he will listen to me (yea right).

We ended up just walking the courtyard and enjoying conversation. Jaxon and Hayley ended up falling asleep during the walk and we would have stayed longer but it was just too hot to have them out much longer. We went back to the car (walked UPHILL!) and decided to find a place to eat that I ate at last time I went to Heidelberg. He handed me the GPS and told me to see if any of the names of eateries sounded familiar. None of them did so I chose one that took us right downtown. We decided to drive around and just see what we could find. We ended up finding the housing area Mat used to live in for the 7 years he lived in Heidelberg while his dad was in the army. Turns out, they are abandoned and pretty much condemned now.

After a little more driving, something looked familiar to me and the next thing I knew, we drove by the place I had eaten before. I was in heaven! We ate, the babies did great while we ate. Then they had their bottles and we headed 3 1/2 hours back home.

Hayley and Jaxon screamed the whole way. Not even kidding.

Even though the day started out horrible, it did end up being an overall good day. Mat admitted I was right and he was wrong and that is enough to make a bad day good :)

I am working on the pictures so I will post those tomorrow.

I hope everyone had a great Memorial day filled with remembering those who were brave enough to risk their lives to make yours better.

Can't you just be thankful?

2011-05-27T19:36:00.002-04:00

There has been a whole lot of drama (don't you just love it) lately about a few things our regiment is doing to get our soldiers home as quickly as possible. The problem that has come up is that flight #14 is coming in before flight #13 as well as some flights getting pushed back (ours was pushed back 4 days). If something like this comes as a shock to you, this is obviously your first deployment. OR you didn't learn your lesson the times before.

I can't believe half of the things that I am reading. I get that people are upset but to be down right nasty is just wrong. I feel like a record on repeat but every time someone complains about about their spouse being delayed, I have to remind them that at least their spouse is coming home. There are 21 families that wish they could be seating in the bleachers, waving their flags, holding their signs, and waiting for their son or husband to come home but instead, their homecoming consisted of their loved one coming home in a box (a soldier that MY husband had to prepare to send to his final resting place. We will get to that rant in a minute)

I wish, I WISH that the posts were still up so I could copy and paste them for you to read so you could see what I'm talking about. One of the posts was about how "paper pushers" are coming in before the "guys that did the real work." Everyone who is deployed has an important role in Afghanistan. A paper pusher is just as important as an infantry person and just as important as the medics and the engineers and so on and so on. Is the infantry soldier put more at risk than a "paper pusher?" Yes. But does that make their job any less important and deserve any less respect? No.

I posted a few days ago with a little bit of information about what Mat did. For the first half of his deployment he handled mortuary affairs. When a soldier was KIA near his FOB, the body of the fallen was sent to him and he prepared the soldier to be reunited with their loved ones. In a box. He told me the story of one soldier in particular and I have debated back and forth on whether or not to share this story that Mat shared with me. I have decided to write about it but I won't reveal the name of the soldier for privacy reasons for the family.

A young PFC was on a foot patrol with his unit when he stepped on a land mine. You can now imagine what exactly became of his body. The pieces of this soldiers body were gathered up and sent to my husband. Mat then had to put the pieces in plastic bags and put them in the casket. After the body had been prepared and shipped, they realized that a few pieces had been forgotten and it was Mat's job to put them in a bio-hazard bag and burn them.

Can you imagine?

And you want to say that your husbands job is more important or harder than mine? I could never compare the job of one to another. But some people are like that. They have to feel that they are more important and special than others and that is just not the case.

Every surviving soldier will come home when it is their turn. Not one soldier (except for 1 that I heard of today and that will be my next rant!) is more deserving to come home before another NO MATTER WHAT (except for my next rant :)... I promise I'm getting to it) Every soldier deployed and did their job as they were trained to do. Every soldier enlisted into the Army and was given a job that at the end of the day, has the same mission as every other soldier. To protect the United States from terrorists. One soldier can't do their job without another. End of story.

Now to my next rant. A soldier down range got a phone call today saying that his wife had her water break and NOT ONE SOLDIER WOULD GIVE UP THEIR SPOT ON TODAY'S FLIGHT SO THAT HE COULD BE WITH HER. NOT ONE! I would personally make my husband give up his spot because that soldier deserved to come before mine. This completely blew my mind when I heard it. I get that every one wants to come home as soon as possible. A lot of people today disgust me.

I am so irritated with most of the people from this Regiment on my Facebook. I complain quite a bit on Twitter and I guess I am just a glutton for punishment because for whatever reason, I keep them there. They are like a train wreck. I just can't look away.

So that is my rant for the night. I can't wait for my vacation. Maybe after I get back from a visit to the states I will be less negative and not so many rants. I'm just ready for everyone to be home because I am so tired of the constant complaining. It has been non-stop. Their spouse didn't get online or they didn't get a phone call. It's been "X" number of days. Their messenger had a bad connection, the internet dropped out. Again. I'm over it. My very first deployment, I was lucky to even hear from my boyfriend at the time. The wives going through their first deployment have no idea how lucky they have it. It has taken what? 10 years to get the technology the way that it is now. You really think you can expect DSL from a country like Afghanistan? You have got to be kidding me. Your call dropped? Your husband is in the land of sand storms.

Anyway, that's my rant. I'm done. Its 130am. I'm off to bed!

Just to prove you are an idiot once again

2011-05-26T17:22:00.003-04:00

***So I went to edit the text of this post because I saw that some was black and some was white... I ended up changing the background color and I'm too busy to figure out how to get rid of the background color. Please ignore the look of this post!***

I love when the anonymous people start commenting their BS on here. I know that a lot of bloggers probably feel the way I do and I know I have seen it with the more successful blogs. The more readers you get, the more anonymous comments you get. The more you open your life up to the online public, the more you get criticized. I take it with a grain of salt but sometimes, I like to take those comments and make the commenter feel like an idiot.

So here go.

The first thing I have to say is when Mat and I make a decision about raising our kids, we do it based on what the pediatrician recommends to us. The pediatrician recommended we start introducing certain things to them so we did. We felt comfortable enough with it. They are our kids. Remember?

So the comment said this:

Do not give those babies juice, it's terrible for them. It has NO NUTRIONAL value, give them real fruit vs extra calories with sugar that is in the juice. Cereal is empty calories as well and they are not old enough for Gerber Graduates, either of them. Go to the local German grocery store, but some German baby food, it's all natural and has nothing added to it. Who cares if you can't get it with your WIC voutures, your babies health is far more important, because I'm guessing you're too lazy to actually make their food yourself.

So, let's break this down with commentary.

Do not give those babies juice, it's terrible for them. It has NO NUTRIONAL value, give them real fruit vs extra calories with sugar that is in the juice.

One thing you didn't know is that BOTH of my children have been on juice for awhile now. It is in small doses every day. Because I was anemic while pregnant, it was passed on to them so I have to give them iron. You can't put it in the formula and juice is the only way that they will take it. So. Kiss my ass.

Secondly. Learn how to spell. Especially on words you use that are all capitals. Its NUTRITIONAL. Dumbass.

Cereal is empty calories as well.

The best first food is usually an iron-fortified rice cereal. It will provide the iron that is now necessary in his diet, and is a grain least likely to precipitate an allergic reaction. Initially, starting solids is just for the practice of eating and swallowing. Link

Did you read the part about IRON FORTIFIED? And do you remember me mentioning that BOTH Jaxon and Hayley are anemic which means they need more iron than normal?

they are not old enough for Gerber Graduates

They are. There is no age on Gerber Graduates. It is ok to start giving it to them once they can sit and since Hayley can sit, we tried them. She didn't like them. We will try again in a few weeks. :)

either of them

No shit Sherlock. They are the same age. Do I need to define the word TWINS for you?

Go to the local German grocery store, but some German baby food, it's all natural and has nothing added to it.

Neither does the American baby food I am giving them. Except for water. Oh. And Vitamin C. Check your shit before you judge.

Who cares if you can't get it with your WIC voutures, your babies health is far more important

Really? You had to go there? Pretty sure someone is a little jealous that they don't benefit from WIC. Sucks to be you. And PS. I spent $100 on formula today. Out of my own pocket. I don't abuse WIC. I am thankful to have it. Especially when you have twins but had only planned on having 1 child. Ever.

And again. Spelling. It's VOUCHERS.

because I'm guessing you're too lazy to actually make their food yourself.

Some people really have no idea what my life consists of on a daily basis. Lazy? Really?

So there you have it. One of these days I hope to get an anonymous comment where I actually listen to what they have to say instead of laughing at that their ignorance. I am going to raise my kids how I want. I will feed them what I want, punish them how I want, and I vaccinate. I am not a baby wearing, cloth diapering, organic feeding mom. And never would I push my beliefs on how I raise my kids on someone else and I would definitely NEVER think of criticizing a parent for the way they raise their children whether I agree with it or not. Each parent is different and they believe different things are better for their kids. Just because you don't agree with me doesn't mean that you have the right to throw your "better way of parenting" in my face.

6 Months

2011-05-26T04:26:00.000-04:00

The twins turned 6 months old about a week ago. I know! I know! I am so far behind. I can't believe my babies are half way to a year already. Time definitely does fly. Today we bought them sippy cups and juice and the little Gerber Graduate cereal thingys that come in different flavors. They are also on cereal and baby food. Sigh. I knew it was bound to happen but I guess I didn't realize that they would grow this fast :)

Yesterday they had their 6 month well baby appointments. Hayley as always is perfect, weight in at almost 18 lbs :) Jaxon weighed in at almost 17. They are exactly 1lb 2 oz apart but since I don't have the paper with the information in front of me, I don't have the exact weights. They are both 25 inch though!

Hayley is developing right on schedule. She rolls all over the place, she can almost sit up, she's crawling (although she crawls backwards!). She's perfect. If you remember, there was some concern with Jaxon's development. We have been seeing a development specialist monthly just to observe him. She came to visit this past Monday and if there is no improvement after our trip to the states then he will be admitted into the program to have an actual therapist come out and work with him.

Another concern that she had was that Jaxon doesn't respond to normal sounds. He jumps at loud noises but normal day to day noises, such as just saying his name to get his attention, he doesn't respond. The doctor as well saw this at his appointment yesterday and we went back in for a hearing test this morning. He failed. He isn't deaf but he could be hearing impaired. He will have an appointment with a local ENT when we get back from vacation as well.

Also, if you remember, when he was born, he was born with a slightly deformed part of the male anatomy. He was supposed to have that appointment last week but Mat was still in re-integration and wouldn't be able to go. We rescheduled that appointment for after our trip as well.

So let's recap:

*Developmentally delayed
*Could be deaf
*Deformed penis.

The poor kid! Seriously! After everything he went through with his breathing issues at the beginning of the year, this definitely doesn't come as a surprise.

I am definitely kept on my toes. I am just so happy that Mat is now home to help me. What he is going through now is nothing compared to the breathing issues we had but at least I'm not alone.

New Layout & Contest

2011-05-23T15:10:00.000-04:00

If you are in Google Reader get out and look at my new layout! I love it! Do you? I designed it myself. For those that have been following for awhile, you know that I used to do blog layouts. Now that Mat is home and I have a little bit of extra time (and hands!) I have decided to start layouts again. I have been practicing my blog layout and design skills and I think I am ready to throw myself back out there :) Before I design my actual website, I want to have a few designs I can put in my portfolio. Therefore, I am offering up 5 free blog designs.

The contest will work like this.

See that form down there? Fill it out. It will be emailed directly to my email andtheadventurecontinues@zoho.com. I will then take each submission and post the reasons why each person would love a new design. Each submission will remain anonymous on the day of voting and the 5 with the most votes wins!

Each winner will receive:

Background
Header
Favicon
Signature
Sidebar Buttons
Navigation Bar
Custom Post Divider

Pretty simple huh?

So... Fill out the form! I can't wait to read each one.

1 Week

2011-05-18T04:00:00.000-04:00

We have been a whole family for a week! And it has been great. I know we are still in our "honeymoon phase" but to be completely honest, we have never had an issue adjusting with each other. This time though we had kids and I was worried but Mat has been so awesome. He has pretty much taken over the entire role of parenting when he's home. I still play with them and love them and snuggle them (that will never change!) but he changes diapers, does the feedings, gives them baths, puts them to bed and so on. He actually got up with them this morning when they decided that 415am was a good wake up time even though he had to be at work at 830 for re-integration!

As for us, we're doing great. The same things that annoyed me before he left he still does and it still annoys me! The toilet seat being left up, dirty clothes on the bathroom floor or on his side of the bed, shoes by the couch, his root beer can sitting in the living room. He is definitely the same man that left us last July.

Since he has been home I learned just what he did downrange. Most wives don't ask and I told him that I didn't want to know while he was deployed but now that he's home if he wanted to let me know, I would listen. I wish I hadn't said that. Mat is a combat medic. I would joke during the deployment that he handed out band-aids for boo boos. That was a part of his job. The other part was mortuary duty. Yes. You read that right. When a KIA (killed in action) came in, it was a part of Mat's job to prepare the body, put it in the casket and get it ready to be taken back to the family. I heard details of one KIA in particular. This soldier was on foot and stepped on a land mine. There obviously wasn't much left of this soldier and I will leave the rest to your imagination as to what actually had to happen in order to get the body ready to go home. My first thought was that poor soldier. He was so young, his first deployment. Then his family. How would I react if I knew that is how my son had died. And then my thought went to Mat. He was sitting there telling me that story like it was no big deal but he had to see that! I can't ever imagine having to do or see half the things that he did.

I asked some other questions.

Did you ever get shot at? Once.
Did you ever fire your weapon? No.
Did you ever think you were going to die? Yes. About 3 times.
Did you ever have to pee in a hole? No.

Ok, so that last question was just to break the mood after he told me everything else. I won't tell you how he had to go #2 sometimes though :)

Having him home is great. We went to re-integration together yesterday. It was family day and the class was basically suicide prevention, substance and alcohol abuse and financial readiness. Not something I really needed to attend but I could tell that he really wanted me to go so we put the kids in the CDC and I went. It wasn't horrible but it was nice to just be the 2 of us, even if we just sat there.

Since Mat has been home, we also bought plane tickets. Originally my stepkids were supposed to be coming out to Germany to visit. Back in March I sent his ex-wife $210 and Mat had sent me POAs (power of attorneys) so that his ex-wife could get his kids passports. She never got it done. She had some stupid excuse after excuse. This doesn't surprise me and if you have been following for a long time, you know the problems we have had with her. So, the plane tickets we bought are for us to go back to the United States! We will be gone for a month and I will be able to go to my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. I saw pictures from Easter and it made me miss my family so much and I would have killed to be at their anniversary. Now it looks like I won't have to kill because I will be there. And I'm so excited. we leave in a few weeks. While I hate Mats ex-wife for ruining the summer we had planned, it did end up working out in the end :)

Life is normal. Mat goes to work, works half a day, comes home and we hang out as a family. I think one of the best things you can do when your spouse comes home from a deployment is get back into the routine you were in before they left as best as possible. And our routine is right back to the way it was before he left except we have thrown in 2 kids. Life is good. I'm glad he's home and so are Jaxon & Hayley :)

First sight of Daddy

2011-05-16T06:23:00.000-04:00

The person taking my pictures got the most amazing shot.

She got a picture at the exact moment Hayley saw her daddy for the first time since December.

It was perfect.

It was like she knew who he was. And after that, she wasn't able to stop looking at him.

Even when he was trying to give Jaxon attention, she couldn't take her eyes off of him.

And he's been pretty much wrapped around her little finger ever since :)

Full post on how life has been since Mat has come home coming soon.

He's Home! Photo Heavy

2011-05-12T09:23:00.000-04:00

Mat made it in around 1930 (7:30pm) Germany time last night :)

And we're thisclose

2011-05-10T06:42:00.000-04:00

The next time you hear from me, I will have hugged my husband for the first time since Dec 14, 2010. The next time you hear from me, Jaxon and Hayley will have "met their daddy" since they were 4 weeks old when they saw him last. The next time you hear from me, I will be the happiest person on the planet :)

Until you hear from me again, enjoy my cuties! :)

She might just kill me when she's older...

Yes, he really is that handsome in person too :)

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T15:43:00.000-04:00

First, a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my own mommy!

My mom and me circa 1987 or 88

Pretty sure she is more beautiful now than she was then

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my favorite MIL ever :)

And to my grandma!

And of course... to myself. This year is extremely bittersweet. It is my first mother's day. It is the first time in years that I do not have to wish to have a child to share this day with. I have 2! I feel very blessed to be given the gifts of Jaxon and Hayley. Now that I have them, I can't imagine them never being in my life. Every doctor's appointment, every tear, the baby I lost, the medicine, the ultrasounds, the patience, the hurt, everything has been worth it to have what I have today. And for that, I am one happy momma today.

(sorry for the crappy webcam photo!)

(sorry for the even crappier webcam photo!)

Like I tell them "Momma loves these babies."

What's happening around the casa

2011-05-05T02:32:00.000-04:00

With homecoming around the corner (doesn't it sound like I have been saying that for awhile? Truth is, it just got pushed back a few days so I will be saying it for a few more days!), you can only imagine how crazy busy it has been around here. There is the cleaning, the grocery shopping, the cleaning, the decorating, the cleaning, making posters, the cleaning, planning outfits, the cleaning.... You get my drift. It's been no different around here.

I have cleaned the downstairs and I need to focus on the upstairs, I've cleaned out the fridge and pantry, I need to re-arrange 3 of the cabinets to accommodate the baby food we will soon by starting as soon as daddy gets home and I need to decorate the front of the house but I am waiting on my neighbor to mow what little front yard I have before I stick the flags in the ground. I also need to give the car one last good wash, I took care of it a couple of weeks ago but the pollen has been so bad my now almost black car is yellow! I thought I left the pollen back in Georgia. I was mistaken!

If you follow me on Twitter or on my Facebook, you may have seen these pictures already.

Homecoming outfits. I think you can figure out which Twinkie will wear which outfit :)

Homecoming sign. I like it but I used a clear glue and it kept bubbling so the glitter looks like crap-ola. It gets the point across though! (I told Mat about that I finished and he told me he can't wait to see it SOON! Soon. I miss him.)

I posted a few weeks ago about suggestions to hang a HUGE banner. We started to put it up and the first side went amazing. Then as we turned the corner of the tennis courts, the wind picked up and started ripping it. One of the Majors walked by with his wife and suggested we hang it in the gym. It went up yesterday and the best part? We didn't have to hang it! The maintenance people (aka DPW) hung it. I haven't seen it yet in the gym but as soon as I do, I will upload some pictures.

This is everyone holding it down as we try to find a way to secure it so that it wouldn't blow up in the air. Total fail.

And our square :) My mother in law actually made it.

The grand total of squares? 4,871! Every soldier in the Regiment had a square to welcome them home. Once all of the troops have returned it will displayed in the new museum that is being dedicated in July. There is even a special section for the KIAs.

Speaking of KIAs. I also posted a design that I did for t-shirts for the upcoming 5K Walk/Run for the Fallen this Saturday. I finished them! I took the design and just printed it on an iron transfer and put it on the shirts. Then everyone can decorate the shirt how they want.

The shirts lists everyone that we have lost during this deployment. This is hopefully not a jinx and no other lives are lost. We have lost way too many (and by that, we lost way too many when we lost the first one but this is war and it is inevitable. Just remember and never forget!)

I am quite happy with how everything is coming together. Id love to have a little more motivation to work on the upstairs and fold the laundry but Mat did tell me that he won't mind if he comes home to a house that is a complete disaster. He is just happy to be coming home and I can clean while he takes care of the kids. He is such a sweetheart.

Must go for now, Hayley is touching Jaxon and he's not happy about it. Only 5 months old and they are already fighting.

Shame on you

2011-05-02T05:25:00.000-04:00

I do NOT discuss politics on this blog very often. In fact, I don't believe that I have at all. Politics makes grown adults turn into fighting, bickering and down right rude children. No matter what you, Person A, thinks, you will never make Person B agree with you. We are all set in our political ways. For those wondering my political stance, I am neither a Republican or Democrat. I do not hate nor love Obama and I did not hate nor love Bush. I'm very anti-politics, I really could care less. During presidential elections, I choose who I vote for based on how I feel about the candidate, and what issues they address and how they address them. I don't let one particular party sway my vote.

I am telling you all of this so you don't think that my blog post is because I am Pro-Obama or a Bush hating wench. It is simply so you know that I don't care either way.

With that said, as you all know by now, Osama Bin Laden is dead. This is a huge victory for the United States and like most people, I am so proud and humbled by my country (I would say that I live in but right now, that's not the case! haha). It may have taken almost 10 years to accomplish the mission but we did it. Rome wasn't built in a day.

I woke up this morning to a text from my neighbor asking how many phone calls I got about the news. Seeing as how it was really early in the morning and I hadn't even crawled out of bed yet, I was slightly confused. After a quick phone call, he told me he would have to call me back. In the meantime, I decided to get on Facebook where the news he was going to share was splashed all over. 100s of statuses posted about how Osama Bin Laden was dead. I should have known better than to stay on Facebook and continue reading. I get frustrated so easy with some people on Facebook and if it wasn't for Facebook being my main way to stay in contact with family and friends, I would have deleted it a long time ago. But I digress.

I continued to read and some of the statuses, to put it bluntly, pissed me the fuck off. I was steaming! Regardless of how you feel about Obama, something as huge as the death of Osama bin Laden should never EVER be thought of as a lie that Obama came up with to get re-elected. This is a HUGE victory for the United States and other countries and it shows that some people are completely ignorant and stupid. And by being this ignorant, you forget the thousands of men and women that are in Afghanistan (and Iraq!) fighting for your continued freedom and rights to be that stupid. You forget the many men and women who have lost their lives and many MANY others who have lost arms, legs or sustained other injuries that now has changed their lives forever so that you remain living in the home of the free because they were brave.

Brave because you weren't. Because you didn't have the balls to enlist in our great country's military and serve your country. Unless you have stood in a soldier's shoes, how DARE you belittle and try to throw under the bus the hard work that these men and women and have done to get us where we are today.

And you did it all because you have a personal issue with our president.

Well, I have an issue with you and I'm calling you out. You have insulted the hard work of my husband, my friends husbands and wives, many other brave individuals who have sworn their life to protect you.

And just like Toby Keith says "We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way." I'm pretty sure when he wrote those lyrics, he wasn't just thinking of the idiots that had the not so bright idea of attacking America, but the idiots who have no clue the hard work and dedication that these men and women do on a daily basis. I hope one day that they get what they deserve.

What our troops needed to read was everyone's statues saying "thank you for all that you do. Thank you for risking your lives, leaving your family for months at a time. Thank you for doing what I didn't have the balls to do because I'm chickenshit." Instead they read your bullshit. But they don't let it get to them. Oh no. They continue to serve and protect.

But just remember, next time you decide to insult or question our military (that does include our president regardless of how you feel about him) just remember they are trained in many different ways to kill. With weapons and without.

Have a great day.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

2011-04-29T03:41:00.000-04:00

Have you and your spouse agreed to live in separate locations (a geographical bachelor tour) knowing that the short-term inconvenience would have long-term benefits for your family? How did it work for you? submitted by When Good People Get Together
We actually did this already before we were married. Mat went to Korea in 2006 and we spent the entire year apart. I didn't fly to Korea and he didn't come home. He left just a few weeks after we met and to be completely honest, if he hadn't left, I don't know if we would have stayed together. That year gave us a year to really get to know each other on a more communicative level. We learned that it takes talking to make things work and to this day, we don't really fight. If we have a problem, we talk it out.
What is your favorite thing about being a MilSpouse? submitted by Sarah Ruth Today Moving.
I know that sounds crazy but I love moving.
If you could still have your spouse/significant other and your family, but take the military life out of it…would you? submitted by Trust. Love. Believe. Bake.
Absolutely. I love being a military spouse but I have times where I miss being a civilian.
What have your homecoming experiences been like after a year long tour of separation? submitted by Army Soldier, Army Wife
Ours have been awesome. Everyone talks about the adjustment period and we just don't have that. Everything still flows as if he never left. I guess sometime this week we will find out if that still rings true :)
If you have a child(ren) why you chose their name(s)? If not, why you would name your child something? submitted by Tiara’s & ACU’s
Hayley was a name we liked and Anne flowed with it but it is also the middle name of my stepmom and is a family name on her side so we stuck with it. Jaxon was a name I liked and Mat was ok with it but he agreed only if we spelled it the way he wanted but the deal was he got to pick the middle name, Troy, after Troy Palamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-27T05:36:00.000-04:00

I made this for t-shirts for our upcoming 5k Walk/Run to Remember. After I finished it, I realized how many soldiers we have actually lost this deployment. It really puts it in perspective. It makes to never take life for granted because you never know when you will lose someone you love.

10 Years Down... 10 more to go!

2011-04-25T07:49:00.000-04:00

10 years ago Mat shipped off to boot camp at Fort Benning followed by AIT at Ft. Gordon. He has had an incredible 10 year experience. He spent 2 years in Iraq in separate deployments, a year in Korea and now, a year in Afghanistan. He has lived in Texas, Georgia and Germany. We like to say he is well traveled. Out of 4 kids, he left for boot camp right after his first daughter was born and missed the birth of his 3 other kids. He has missed out on so many firsts, memories, and more.

Right now, Mat plans to retire at 20 years so hitting this 10 year mark is a HUGE deal for us. It means he is half way to retirement. And I know he is looking forward to it. I know I am! I have been along for the ride for the last 5 years. It's been wild and crazy and I love every minute of it but I do miss "civilian life."

So to celebrate his 10 years, I thought I would share a few pictures :)

Graduation after re-classing, circa 2006 (and a very young (ahem... 22) Amy! Oh to be young again)

Our first goodbye. San Antonio airport circa 2006

Welcome home after a year in Korea, circa 2007

Sometime during his time in Korea

Spiffy in those greens!

Our wedding day 9.29.2007

He works so hard.

This is just for giggles.

I can rock the ACUs too though! Oh baby... And those dogtags!

Promotion, 2010

Big pimpin in those PINK scrubs! (He swears they are maroon. I think not!)

His enlistment photo. (I think... Pretty sure. I took this with my camera. It's on my fridge!)

I dusted off his old Myspace for this one. Someone tagged him in it. It's the only photo I have from one of his deployments to Iraq. I had a hard copy of a really funny picture but I can't find it. Boo! I will of course share if I find it.

So there you have it. 10 years. 4 kids. 2 marriages. And a ton of memories. I can't wait to see how the next 10 years turn out :)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T13:57:00.002-04:00

Ugh. It's Dragging.

2011-04-23T02:37:00.000-04:00

I always forget how slow the last couple of weeks are. Dear Lord. I feel like this week has taken forever to end. AND, It's only Saturday. It's never going to end. I just so know it!

I think what made this week drag is that A) I spent the entire week sick and B) it was Spring Break and I had my neighbors kids all day, Monday-Friday. They are good kids. But like most kids, they have their issues and the past couple of days it got bad. On Thursday I told them they had to play outside while the Twinkies napped. I told them I would come get them as soon as both of them woke up. A couple of hours later the Twinkies woke up and I opened my front door. My patio furniture was everywhere. All over the front yard. The water hose (which that part I didn't care too much about because it was warm) had sprayed everything. The person who lives across the street told me they were behind her house so I went to get them. I told them to get it cleaned up. A little bit later I went back outside to check on them and they had gotten a big box that I needed to take to the recycling center and turned it on its side. One of them was in the box and they both had sticks and were beating them with them. Yesterday I needed to run a few errands. I needed to go to Clothing and Sales, the CMR (Where we pick up our mail), the Commissary and the PX. By the time I made it to the PX I had enough. As soon as I walked in they started acting up and I turned right out and walked directly to the car.

I can not wait to go back to just having them for 2 hours starting on Monday.

Because I have been ~~dying~~ sick I haven't gotten anything done, my house is a wreck and I'm freaking out.

But that's ok. I have 2 little cuties to use an excuse if I don't get everything done :)

A look back at 26!

2011-04-19T10:33:00.000-04:00

Today is my birthday and I turn the big 2-7. I have to say that the 26th year of my life was the most amazing. At this time last year I was eating inner at my favorite place in Augusta, GA called Fujiyamas with good friends, I had just found out I was pregnant with twins and I was loving life. Oh, and I was in the middle of moving across the big pond to Germany.

In the past year I have seen and experienced things that I would have never imagined I would. Living in Germany has been amazing.

And of course, my babies. Jaxon and Hayley have made me a much better person. I am so thankful that I was blessed with the ability to have children after trying for over 2 years.

I also got to spend another year with my amazing husband. Mat and I celebrated 3 whole years of marriage. For anyone who knows me, like.... Really, REALLY knows me knows that this is an accomplishment. I can't imagine life without him.

26 was good to me. I have a feeling that 27 will be too since in not too long (EEK!) Mat will be coming home, I don't think any year will ever compare to this past year. Except maybe when I have grandkids. In 50 years.

Conversation with the Husband

2011-04-18T06:54:00.000-04:00

I was talking to Mat about all the things that I had done yesterday, all of the projects I started (and of course, didn't finish!), the cleaning and the taking care of the kids.

Mat: When I get home and I'm on leave, you won't have to worry about doing anything since you have been doing it by yourself for 10 months, 6 of that with the Twinkies.

Me: You're at war. I'm pretty sure that makes us even.

And so it begins!

2011-04-16T11:41:00.000-04:00

WELCOME HOME 2SCR!!!

The first homecoming ceremony was today!

Our boys are coming home!!!!

I'll Be Around

2011-04-13T16:32:00.000-04:00

See that donut?

Yea, that means we are in the homestretch of this deployment.

And like most of you, the last couple of weeks is turning out to be the busiest. I'm trying to spend as much time socializing with my friends and getting in that last little bit of "girly freedom" before I have to consider Mat's work schedule when I make plans. I'm cleaning house, getting everything ready for homecoming, running around like a mad woman, and I just started watching my neighbors 2 boys after school. All of this while caring for 2 almost 5 month olds! This pretty much also makes my life sound so boring and in all honesty, it is. :)

I'm not making excuses but I know how I am, if I go to a blog and see that they rarely post and that their posts are a lame picture and talk about their child's first boobs (ok, so I am using myself as an example) I am more than likely going to think they are a loser and move on.

So, on that note, I will be around, not on hiatus. I will post when I can. I am still reading, I'm still here.

You can't get rid of me that easily!

Firsts

2011-04-13T02:53:00.000-04:00

When you have kids, you always get excited for their "firsts". First smile, first steps, first tooth, first bath, first taste of food, and of course, many other firsts. In our house, these include but are not limited to, first burp, first fart and first massively exploded diaper (which I am happy to report, the diaper, we are still waiting on. I know it's coming)

Yesterday Hayley experienced another first.

First ~~boobs~~ ponytail

Looking for Suggestions

2011-04-10T04:43:00.000-04:00

I am working with a lady here who is making an 8'x700' banner for homecoming. People have made and sent in 12"12" squares, one represents each deployed soldier. They are made just on a piece of fabric. We are trying to figure out how to A) waterproof it because it rains like its Hawaii here and B) how to hang it. It's being done in 8'x50' sections and right now the plan is to sew loops at the top and string rope through it and drape it in plastic but we are worried about condensation.

If anyone has any ideas or how done something like this, maybe on a not as large scale, please let me know. You're help would be greatly appreciated!

Green is good.

2011-04-07T12:29:00.000-04:00

Were no long counting down months people! We are counting down weeks! Just a few weeks before deployment #4 is over :) This one has been nothing but hell-o but we are in the final stretch. The time I like to call, the insanity before the storm. Everyone is finishing up welcome home signs and banners, completing their outfits, scrubbing their houses so people can eat off the toilets if they wanted to (thanks Danielle!). We are here. At the end. Almost.

4 Month Well Baby

2011-04-06T09:28:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we had the 4 month well baby check-up for the Twinkies. They are growing and quite healthy. Their iron is low but that's nothing new. Now that they are healthy, we can resume giving them iron and hope it gets better. I'm anemic and passed it along to them while I was pregnant.

Hayley is perfect, developmentally. She can hold her head up, stand with help, roll over. She's perfect.

Jaxon is delayed. He can barely hold his head up, no rolling over, and refuses to stand. He also likes to keep his right hand in a fist most of the time. BUT, if you put him on his back, he will scoot across the floor. This has our pediatrician concerned and we will be meeting with an Education and Developmental Intervention Service specialist next week. The pediatrician thinks that it is because he spent the first 3 months of his life on his back in a hospital room so she isn't too concerned but still enough concern to have him checked out.

I knew going into the appointment that he was delayed. When he gets put on his stomach for tummy time, he immediately throws his head to the ground and starts screaming. He hates it. If you put him on your chest, he can lift his head. He's a crazy baby for sure.

Jaxon also has what is called a hypospadias, which is a birth (congenital) defect in which the opening of the urethra is on the underside, rather than at the end, of the penis. He also has what is called hydrocele. During normal development, the testicles descend down a tube from the abdomen into the scrotum. Hydroceles result when this tube fails to close. Fluid drains from the abdomen through the open tube. The fluid builds up in the scrotum, where it becomes trapped. This causes the scrotum to become swollen. In order to fix both conditions, Jaxon will have to have surgery when he is a year old. The doctor put in a referral to meet with the surgeon so we can do all the pre-op appointments to get him fixed!

That is what is going on here. Not a whole lot of excitement but enough to keep me busy. The Twinkies are also on a nap strike. They refuse to sleep during the day and going to bed at night is a nightmare.

The adventure continues :)

***Edited to Add***

Stats:

Hayley: 15lbs 7oz, 24 1/2" long
Jaxon: 14lbs 10z, 24" long

Party Over Here!

2011-04-02T09:46:00.000-04:00

Welcome to "...And the Adventure Continues"

My name is Amy, and this is my blog. I talk about life, love and everything in between (and trust me, there is a lot of in-between!)

Oh, this is me!

I am a 20-something (closer to 30 than 20!) wife and mom. I am a jack of all trades but never accomplish anything I start. I like to think I'm crafty and if I could ever finish a project, then I might just be able to say that I am.

I am the wife to this guy.

That's Mat. He's my husband and yes, he is in the Army making me an Army wife. He is currently on his 4th deployment, first to Afghanistan. He will be back home with us next month :)

Us not only includes me and him but these guys!

Hayley

Jaxon.

Yes, I am part of the elite MOT (mother of twins) club. I am a statistic in more than 1 way. I suffer from infertility and by using fertility drugs I produced twins. I am living proof that they can work and you can be blessed with just more than 1 :) They are now 4 1/2 months old. Everyone always asks me if they have met daddy. Yes. they have. Daddy met them at 11 days old and we spent 2 amazing weeks together while he was home on R&R.

Yea, theres a Kodak moment for ya!

The Army has us living here...

Good luck on finding something as gorgeous as that in the United States. We reside in Germany for the next 2 years :)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you continue to come visit.

So Close

2011-03-31T18:28:00.000-04:00

This deployment is so close to being over. I can now officially say that my husband will be home next month :)

I swear that this deployment has been the hardest I have been through. Murphy tried to kick me in my ass this time. But I can now say that I am 110% stronger than I could have ever imagined being.

But now I am seeing the light at the end of this dark tunnel. We are almost done. My babies will have their father home for longer than 2 weeks and I will have my husband home to give me a few extra hands when I need them.

But the most amazing thing is that I will have my best friend home. The person that I go to for everything. My shoulder, my ear. He is always there when I need it the most.

And for that, these next 30ish days need to fly. I need him. I want him.

And have I ever told you that I lack patience?

Question

2011-03-29T03:57:00.000-04:00

If your child did this...

to someone's (my) car, wouldn't you offer to clean it. And if you did offer, actually do it?

The sad thing is I cleaned this up after being promised "Oh, I will help you clean it" for a month and a month later, it looks like this again.

I finally learned my lesson. I don't allow this person (because trust me, the passenger seat is just as bad) in my car anymore.

I just don't understand how some people can be this disrespectful of someone elses belongings. But I guess once you look at how they treat their stuff, then it all makes sense.

Off to vacuum my car!

Let's talk dogs...

2011-03-27T05:24:00.000-04:00

If you have been a follower of this blog for awhile, you know there are 2 furry creatures around here that used to be on here ALL.THE.TIME. And now they have disappeared and I don't write about them much. I actually received a comment asking about them so I figured I would update you.

But first, a reminder of who they are.

This is actually a really tough subject. We still have Athena and Harley. But we're having issues. For whatever reason, they are choosing to poop in the house. Three or 4 times a day and it's usually at night while I'm sleeping. And yes, they even go outside. It started out in the nursery before the babies were born so now there is a baby gate into their room. Then it was outside their door. Now it's on the rug that they play on. It's been going on for awhile and my husband keeps telling me to just please deal with it until he comes home and he will work with them and if that doesn't work we will have to adopt them to someone else.

My loving husband. It puts a lot on me to deal with constantly cleaning up dog poop, vacuuming and then shampooing wherever they went. All on top of taking care of 2 babies. We have a kennel right now that they spend most of their day in because I can't turn around and pick up poop all the time.

And if I'm not picking up poop, I'm picking up the latest poop diaper they have dug out of the trash. It's constant. Seriously.

I'm to the point where I do love them, but I'm not real sure what to do anymore with them. I have a fence, they go outside and play, they even poop out there! But I can't take much more. But since there is only a month left in this deployment, I will deal with losing my sanity for a little longer until my husband gets home. If it doesn't stop when he gets home, he knows that I can't take it and we will have to find them another home.

I'm Sorry

2011-03-26T20:37:00.000-04:00

But it just doesn't get much cuter than this.

And this is where we have been. Enjoying the gorgeous weather that we have been blessed with here in Bavaria. And a few other things that I will explain more on later :)

Until then, the sunshine rocks.

So... I might be a little buried

2011-03-23T06:07:00.002-04:00

I may or may not have been a little busy the past few days which would explain why I haven't posted in what feels like forever.

It's ok.

I'll be back real soon.

Until then, please pray that I find myself out of this..

And that's just Twinkie laundry.

4 Months

2011-03-18T04:59:00.000-04:00

The Twinkies turned 4 months old yesterday. They are growing so fast and sometimes, it's hard to keep up. The doctor told me that he is very impressed with how they can hold things and the tightness of their grip. He is also impressed with how much they "talk" and he was definitely impressed with how much hair Hayley has. We took a few pictures yesterday so I thought I would share :)

(I have no idea why some turned out sideways.)

As of last Monday Hayley weighed 14lbs and Jaxon weighed 12lbs 9oz. That explains why it looks like I'm struggling to hold the chunky butt!)

Happy 4 months babies! Mommy has enjoyed watching you grow and your personalities develop every day.

My favorite time of day

2011-03-16T10:43:00.002-04:00

NAPTIME!

What is your favorite time of day?

Twinkies bathroom

2011-03-14T13:16:00.000-04:00

A few days ago I told you that I was starting to work on the bathroom for the Twinkies. I have a little bit of a tease for you today that doesn't quite the whole theme away!

I got started today!

I laid down the rug!

I think we have decided on this shower curtain because I can't find what I want

And I am going to make some of these

But of course in matching colors...

Any ideas?

And for those of you on Facebook, your guess doesn't count!

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