In The Military and On the Move

Christmas in London....Cheers!

2011-12-31T10:28:00.000+01:00

So our trip to London was fabuloso!!! We spent 4 days taking in all that London had to offer. I have to say the biggest thing I learned from being there at Christmas time is that we as Americans expect a lot more from retailers then any European country gives. All the stores closed on us early Christmas Eve and almost nothing was open Christmas day. I guess they think we are nuts with our store hours. It was hard to get kicked out of the Hamleys toy store Christmas Eve before our girls were able to pick what they wanted but we ended up having a really great time in spite of all the closings.

Across from St. Paul's Cathedral. On the back side was a button that the girls were dying to push. What they thought it did I had no idea but they pushed it and DD2 was covered in water and we had to find a close by restroom to dry her off before continuing for the day. Kids!! lol

View of St. Paul's Cathedral from the Milennium bridge.

The London Eye. Very cool to ride on and the views were fantastic from the top.

Parliment and Big Ben.

Buckingham Palace...we arrived there just in time to watch the changing of the guard. Really cool to see!

Of course we had to go to Harrods on Christmas Eve...busy and fabulous!!

Don't all tourists take pics of the red phone booths?!?!

Westminster Abbey..simply gorgeous!!

Mr. M and the girls couldn't stop laughing as the horse would not stop biting Mr. M's arm so we could get a pic!! Awww memories from London!!

If any of you have the chance to go to London I highly reccomend going to Hard Rock cafe for a meal, Hamleys toy store on Regent if you have kids and you must go to Harrods to look around, shop and grab some yummy goodies from their food court.

Christmas miracles through the eyes of a child (you will need tissues for this one)

2011-12-21T16:23:00.000+01:00

So lately I keep having these mom moments with my kids that make me laugh or cry or smile or even question where they go that from. I love those moments where your kids do stuff that amaze you or make you so proud it brings you to tears. It seems lately though my kids have been on this roll with the mom moments and I have come to the realization that my kids rule! Yeah yeah I know I am totally prejudice but I do have proof and here it goes.

Moment number 1: child: Mom can I have some money to play video games?
Me: yes here (handing her $20)
child: That's too much! (gets change and bring me back $15)
Me: (open mouthed) Thanks!

Moment number 2: child: Mom I would like to buy some presents for people but I don't have enough money.
Me: How much do you need?
child: I think $20 is a lot for someone with nothing.
Me: what do you mean?
child: I saw a girl on the other aisle who told her mom she wanted something and her mom said "sorry I can't get you that" So I thought maybe since I have a lot of money and I don't need that toy I can give her what she wants instead.
Me: show me the toy (it was a littlest pet shop house for $39) now where is the girl (she is sitting on the floor looking at more toys and her mom is frantically going through her wallet trying to see how much money she has)
child: excuse me but here (handing the mom the toy and the money to pay for it) I would like to get this for her (pointing at the little girl).
Me: please this was all her idea and she really wants to do this for you and your daughter
The mom: Starts tearing up and hugs my child and runs off to pay for the gift.
child:mom that was the best christmas present ever! (hugs me)
Me: sweety you are the kindest person I know and I am so glad you asked me for the money.

Now if that didn't make you tear up just now then maybe this will...
As we are walking out of the store we see the mom and child waiting at the bus stop to catch the bus. We stop and ask where they are going and if we can offer them a ride. The mom says "yes that would be wonderful thank you" and they both get in. The little girl spends the whole ride telling my child how her mommy said they are going to have the best christmas ever thanks to an angel she ran into at the store. I about lost it right there but held it together and just smiled at the woman. When we dropped them off we both wished each other a Merry Christmas and the mom once again said to me "I can't thank you enough and I hope you know that you are our angel"
Yes I pulled over at the next street just to cry and to tell my child that she was special.

So have you had any mommy moments lately that not only made you proud of your kid but let you know just how much they actually listen to you when you talk?!

I will never forget this Christmas and the special moment my daughter gave me and that other little girl!

Does Santa come to hotels?!?!

2011-12-19T16:59:00.000+01:00

So later in the Summer we decided we wanted to go away this year for Christmas. Honestly, since we have been here in Europe we have lost so many family members and they all seem to be right around the holidays that we have started talking about making other plans to get away from the whole family Christmas thing. Ok I know that probably sounds like a bah humbug moment but really we have lived away from family for so long that it has really never been a part of our lives. However, it was always in the cards that one day we would be close to family and be able to have a big family Christmas again.
This is just not looking like an option seeing as Mr. M is so close to retirement and yet our family seems to be dwindling smaller and smaller every year. Yes it's sad and yes we are crushed but more then anything we are really trying to figure out a way to make the holidays really special for the girls despite all the their family being gone by the time they are able to enjoy it.
So the plans to go away began and the plane tickets were purchased and the hotel reserved. The questions to anyone who has been there began to find out the best things to do while there. We were actually doing this and we were so excited. The closer it gets to us leaving the more I think how this is the best thing we have done in years. I was always one of those people who said "I want my kids to wake up in their own home on Christmas morning and be able to play all day with their toys and be left alone" and yet I am not the person that says "where can we go so we don't have to have another day filled with cooking and cleaning and picking up trash all day". Nice right?!?!
Ok so everything planned out and reserved and mapped and then it hit me......Does Santa go to hotels?!?! O.M.G.!!!! How are we going to explain this to our youngest and how in the world will we fit all these presents into our bags without her seeing. Oh well this is just great on my part!! Duhhh!!
So anywho, I began talking with friends and actually had a very dear friend offer to play Santa while were gone and so the plans began. She would "watch the cats" for us and we would leave a note for Santa telling him that we were on vacation and sorry we missed him.
My only worry right now is that something will go wrong and we will come home to an empty house because maybe the weather was too bad for my friend to come and put all the presents out. Maybe the cookies and milk will be accidentally left on the table. I'm really really dying here and fear that Christmas secrets may have to be broken if this doesn't work out.
Sooooooooooooooooooooooo what I really am saying folks is......any ideas on how to make sure that we don't burst the bubble for our little one?!?!
Also, I am thinking about maybe letting the girls have one present each from us while we are gone. It wouldn't be too hard to pack just one present each.
Why is it that I always freak out right before a trip like I haven't spent hours figuring it out and thinking and planning and mapping. Oyyyy I am not sure why I do but I need some help ya'll so please any ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!
If I don't speak to you before Christmas then I want to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and I will update with pics of London when we get back. Ohhh yeahhh duhhh I forgot to tell you where we were going. We are headed to London and super psyched about it.

Cheers!

Window shopping and European living

2011-11-16T12:43:00.000+01:00

Believe it or not I actually had some time to myself today. By that I mean all emails were answered and returned early this morning, the house was picked up and dishes done early this morning and my errands were super fast since I wasn't able to find a dang thing I was looking for anyway.

So by 11am today I was home and bored. What to do...what to do....OMG I am going to window shop. It's a bit chilly here so going outside or downtown is not going to happen so I go online to window shop. How do you window shop online you say?! Well let me tell you. It is much more fun then window shopping in real life with the one exception of there is no coffee stop on the way..bummer!! Oh well, so you go to random shopping sites and check out what they have and add anything you want to the cart...don't hold back ladies add it ALL!! Then when you are done you go check out your cart, marvel at the insane total of everything you really want and then you start deciding what you really want and what you can do without. Once you have deleted enough that you actually think you could buy it without feeling too guilty then comes my favorite part....close the browser!! Yupp you heard me right! Close. That. Browser! That is how you window shop online. It's not as much fun as real life but I have found the older I get and the busier I get window shopping just haven't have the same luster as it used to. Sighhhhh that means I am losing some of my shopping gene.....EEEEEKSSS!!!

The one thing I absolutely hate about living overseas is having a great big American suv....ohhh the things I have to deal with because of it. Aside from Mr. M making several dents and dings in my baby so that I have to wait to get back to the States to get those fixed because here they woud charge me an arm and a leg just because for some reason they see big American suv and think big money..haha they are NOT funny!! I recently found out that my old rims had ruined my front suspension and I needed 2 new wheel bearings...oh joy to the world for me..NOT!! So as I go online to try to order the parts...have you ever gone into a German parts store and tried to ask if they happen to carry a part for your big American suv?!?! Not fun ladies..not fun at ALL!!! So yes I had to go online and of course I have no idea what I am doing so I am finding stuff and emailing the site to my mechanic who probably thinks I am nuts but that's a whole other story to find out yes I finally found the right part. Yay me!! Then the wait begins. Wait for the email saying they got your order. Wait for the email saying they shipped your order. Then wait for the post office to email you and say you have a package only to go and realize it is something from someone else and then keep waiting for yet another email. If I don't get my truck fixed by this weekend I am not going to be happy. Not happy at all!!

Did I mention my mom is coming next Monday for a few weeks visit?!?! I need my truck!!!!! Pray for me people...seriously pray for me!!!!

Final orders, busy, planning, excited and terrified at the same time!

2011-11-03T07:12:00.000+01:00

Well it actually happened the other day.....Mr. M got orders!! We are so excited and yet at the same time as we realized this will be our last set of orders it's a little scarey as well. Once we leave Europe then we will have one last duty station before he takes the plunge and slams those papers down on someone's desk saying " I want to retire!" Ohhhhhh lord I am so nervous, excited, terrified and at the same time I am so far ahead of myself it's not even funny.

Before we even get to the whole getting out, retiring stuff we have to first plan our move and get set up at the next, last, final duty station!! OMG I am terrified I tell ya!!! Excited as heck to be going to some place we wanted to go and have been before and especially since our first born was born there and hasn't been there since she was 3 months old it's really super exciting. However, as I have been planning and googling and trying to find anything I need it is very hard. Why is it so hard to get the info I need online or to get someone to help me. Facebook is my best friend right now! I found tons of groups and people who will tell me just about anything including where not to live because it's a dump. You can't get that from a booklet folks!!
Now we just have to get ourselves set up with where we are going to live and we should be good. We have so much going on right now and the thought of packing everything is just not in the cards right now. I have holidays to plan, organizations to run and people and places to see way before we go anywhere. I only hope that when the day comes to start packing that I have done it all and seen it all and nothing will stand in our way.
Oh and btw in case any of you were wondering we are headed to Ft. Riley!! So anyone with any great info please send it my way. :)

Man I do remember that sign!!

Our new....temporary home when we arrive!!

Post it note Tuesday...fractures, crutches, broken elevators and pumpkins!

2011-10-25T21:15:00.000+02:00

Ok so she doesn't look so thrilled here but she had a blast!

My favorite!! Isn't that just the cutest thing you have ever seen?!?!

The girls favorite one!

Facebook: Fabulous or Evil?!?!

2011-10-14T21:12:00.000+02:00

Since I got into using Facebook I have always thought that it was a great way to keep up with good friends, find old friends and especially being military keep up with friends after you or they move away.

Sometimes though I really think it is used for pure evil and I can not stand it when others choose to use it as a pawn as a way of them getting to someone. I have no idea why some people just can't seem to grow up after high school or college even but I am so disappointed in so many people it's just ridiculous!

If you have Facebook would you ever allow someone to bash someone else on your page? In my opinion it's highschool and I have no room for it in my life.

Would you ever use the unfriend button just to try and make someone feel bad? Again, highschool and I could care less. Go ahead and unfriend me to your hearts content and no matter what you think you are getting at by keeping my hubby on your page again I DON'T CARE!!

I am over 18, out of highschool and college for that matter, married with kids and way too old to play drama queen y'all!! So what do you do if someone decides to use facebook as a weapon on you? Do you ignore them and laugh it off as I do or do you take it to heart? Is facebook that big of a deal in your life that it would crush you to be unfriended by someone? How old do you think is old enough to have facebook?

I used to just think of it as a great way to keep in touch but lately I have begun to think of it as another way for the bullies in our lives to feel they have control over us whether they are dimeaning us or unfriending us. So what do you think?

Pumkins and corn and flea markets oh my....

2011-09-26T15:18:00.000+02:00

This past weekend we went to an amazing festival with tons of pumpkins,some you could sit your family on and still have room for more, and an incredible corn maze. I have heard so many people talk about how they have seen bigger or better mazes but I had no problem whatsoever getting lost in this one thank you very much!! Along with great food and some fabulous booths they also had a flea market with tons of different foods and trinkets to buy. We left with a new wine rack, full stomachs, aching feet and a large bag of the most delicous cookies I have ever tasted.

This one I wanted to take home but they wouldn't sell it..party poopers!!

flea market

more of the flea market

there were pumpkins everywhere..no really...EVERYWHERE!!

this was the biggest we saw and again they would not sell it..dang it!!

inside the corn maze....before I got lost

the pumpkin patch across the street...

DD2 wanted to pick some flowers so we let her. I think she did a very good job with her selections and I loved them!!

Autothechnik museum, Guttenberg castle and an award....

2011-09-17T07:14:00.000+02:00

Wow so much has gone on the past few weeks and I know, I know I am the worstest blogger ever!! Yes I know worstest is not a word but it seems quite fitting right now so go with it, k?!

We have been doing a few outings but mostly we have been busy busy busy. I think once school started someone opened up the busy gate and apparently it is not closing anytime soon. There is a bazaar this weekend in Ramstein and yet it seems that we will not be going due to Mr. M having to work the weekend and getting prepared for our bazaar at the same time. I love the bazaars and think that they are fantastic for the community as well as giving some people who do not travel an opportunity to pick up a few things from other places around Europe.

Being on the bazaar committee this year has been a whole other job in itself and one that I have to say has opened up my eyes to just how much work goes into these things. So let's get to what I have been doing. The few things I have done were fantastic and things that I am glad we had the opportunity to do while we were here.

We went to the Autotechnik museum in Sinsheim, Germany and it was a blast!! There is also one in Speyer but not as big as this one. To say that I climbed into a French concorde plane that was bolted to the ceiling and hanging over the side of the building would be an example of all the fabulous things we were able to do and see. Scarey yes but fabulous!!!!

A few pics from our trip....

the concorde we climbed into on the roof..

ain't she a beauty?!?!

one of the many organs they have. You put a coin in and it plays music. Soo neat!!

the slide that comes out of an airplane. DD2 went up and down it atleast 20 times!

DD1 prefered laying around in the spinning disc.

my poor attempt to take a picture from inside the plane to show how high we were.

this was a polizei bike hung from the ceiling. It was so funny looking with 10 seats and lights and sirens on the front. Can you imagine being chased down by this?!?!

The next trip we took was to Guttenberg castle to see the flight show. It was amazing to see these giant birds they have and to have them fly directly over your head almost touching you. The wind from their wings was incredible...

the view from the flight show area

the birds waiting their turn for the show..

See what I mean by right over your head!?!

all the birds were just gorgeous..

I will admit I ducked quite a few times when they flew over..

these birds were so funny..they waddle when they walk and the man kept throwing them off the edge so they would fly around and come waddling back..

beautiful door to the castle..

what Guttenberg castle used to look like...

So that would just about take us up to today where hopefully we will get to go to the Ramstein bazaar and I can show you a lot more pictures. One thing I would like to tell you though is that I was given an award and had my blog listed as one of the top 100 military blogs by Veterans benefits page. I was really surprised to get the email but apparently they haven't noticed how much of a slacker I have been lately....whoopsie!!!!

So thanks to them you can click on the award on my page and check out some of the other great blogs who also received the award along with all the info that the page gives out. Interested in the GI bill then click that button and go check it out!!

5 Question Friday!!!

2011-09-09T08:16:00.001+02:00

1. What ringtone do you have on your cell phone?

I keep changing it because I never seem to hear it when it rings. I finally found the one that not only do I hear every time it rings but it is annoying enough that everyone else lets me know it's ringing as well. The only bad part is that Mr. M has the exact same ring..ughhhh!! So when one of our phones ring neither of us get up to answer it because we assume it is the other's phone! So basically I am back to not answering my phone...whhooops!! The ringtone is the infamous old school rotary phone ring.

2. What is your favorite memory from this summer?

I would have to say our cruise to Greece!! Greece was gorgeous and something I will never forget and the cruising part was just as fabulous as I thought it would be.

3. Paper books or ebooks?

I am all about digital stuff now adays and don't know what I would do without my ipad(btw I am so used to my ipad correcting my spelling and punctuation mistakes you may have to overlook huge errors from now on) but I have to say an actual book just feels better to me.

4. If you could have one home upgrade what would it be and why?

Well considering that I live in a government apartment that is about 1000 sq ft and we have one bathroom I would say my one upgrade would be an actual house with all the normal amenities!!

5. When was your first serious boyfriend/girlfriend?

My first serious boyfriend was sophmore year of highschool. He was a Senior and boy I had no idea what I was getting myself into with him. He was trouble with a capital T! I had fun and then pushed him aside and moved on to bigger and better though so don't worry about me!!

Ok now go on over to Mama M's page and get your questions on! You know you want to and stop saying to yourself "I don't want to be like the crowd" because you know you do!!

Now GO!!!!

Post it note Tuesday!!

2011-08-30T08:43:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow I will give a review of our trip to the auto technik museum with pics!! Hey so it seems when I have more mommy time I have more time to blog...how awesome is that?!?!

Woohooooo!!!! You all are SOOO lucky!!! :)

5 Question Friday!!!

2011-08-26T07:55:00.000+02:00

Well I made it to Friday and not only that but how sad is it that I just remembered today is my birthday....duhhhh!!! We have a very busy weekend planned and when I say we of course I mean myself and the girls because Mr. M will be getting on a plane to go to another school. I am glad that he is trying to beef up his resume with all these schools but what a crappy weekend to have to go away.

Oh well we will still have fun without him and take tons of pics to show him when he returns some time next week.

Ok so now let's join Mama M for some questions and get this weekend started...

1. Did you make any fun purchases this week?

All week I have been getting ready for a community event tomorrow and getting the girls ready for school. Fun purchases..hmmmm. I did buy a new set of colored sharpies!! Does that count?!?! I loooove sharpies!!

2. If you could go to any musical concert, what would it be?

Oh this one is so super easy for me...Josh Groban!!!! I would just die to see him in person!!! sighhhh...swooon**

3. What is your least fav/ most fav house chore?

My least favorite house chore is definitely dishes...yuuuuuuck!!!

My favorite house chore would have to be organizing. I love love love to organize and do it so often that Mr. M said I am OCD with it. I am not one of those people who lives in an emaculately clean house, clean yes but not emaculate so don't flip out on me and call social services ya'll!! I do however feel so much better when everything is in it's place and organized.

4. Would you prefer new appliances or clothes?

Well that one is tough for me right now simply because we are living in Europe and so although there are tons of new appliances I need or want right now I will not buy anything until we return stateside because I don't want to run them down by running them on transformed outlets. So for right now I would have to say clothes even though I would much rather have new appliances.

5. Miracle Whip or Mayo?

OMG Mayo all the way!!! When I first met Mr. M he was a miracle whip man and I pretty much told him not in my house buddy. He was sad for a little while but then decided that I was right and mayo is better!! Haha I love it when he admits I am right!! :)

Ok now jump on over to Mama M's and get your Friday started with fabulous questions!!!

Have a grand weekend everyone and see you all after the weekend is over and I have time to think..er type...er concentrate on anything else!! Yeah yeah that works!!

Ciao!!

5 Question Friday!!!

2011-08-19T07:06:00.000+02:00

I am soooooooooo happy it's Friday once again!! It was a great week with our little vacay and spending a ton of time with Mr. M while he is on leave and today it all comes to an end...wait it's a 4 day weekend so technically he is still off until Tuesday...yippeeeeeeee more time!!! Here are the questions that I live each week to fill out and I know you all live to read my corny answers...don't say anything it's my fantasy just let me have it!!! Thanks!!

1. Do you close the bathroom door when you are home alone?

Haha wow am I about to get totally exposed. Ok you see we have these 2 cats and they are very territorial and you see since we live in a teeny tiny apartment we have our cat litter box in the bathroom. Now if you go to the bathroom and shut the door they get very upset and will scratch and cry the ENTIRE time you are in there. Soooo we just leave the door cracked enough so they can come in and we all get along just fine!!

2. You have to walk around with a word on your forehead. That word describes you. One word. What is it?

FABULOUS!!! What?!! That is my word..I.am.fabulous!!

3. What store do you refuse to shop at and why?

Ummmmm I don't have a store I refuse to shop at. You see my biggest problem is that I love to shop pretty much anywhere and get me anywhere near an outlet...lookout!!! Ok now I am totally craving a shopping trip...great!!

4. If you participated in arranged marriages for your child(ren), who would you choose for your child(ren)?

Well I would have to say right now that there is no one I would pick for either of my girls. I have not met anyone where we get along so well with the parents that it would be cool nor have I found anyone that either of my girls would go gaga over. If I had to arrange their marriages then it would definitely be to someone well matched, successful and a total gentleman!

5. If you could pick how and when you would die, would you?

Ok this question is just way too morbid for a Friday let alone 7am in the morning!!!! I have way too much death in my life the past few years and it has made me cherish every moment individually, live for the moment, stop being so critical, don't sweat the small stuff, holding a grudge just wastes your time and drama is for tv shows!! I want to live a happy, healthy, full, loving and fabulous life! I don't and won't think about death or dying until I have to and only hope that it comes quick and many many years down the road!!

Ok ok close your mouth..yes I am ACTUALLY here!! :)

2011-08-17T15:07:00.000+02:00

I have so much to catch up with and I am sorry I have been a little absent lately. In the past few weeks I have been to an American Rodeo here in Germany, been through the loss of friends due to stupidity, super busy trying to figure out to work a website that I am clueless on but have to say in my defense I am doing pretty good for a newbie, and traveling to Garmisch and Austria.

So hopefully you will understand why I have been absent but let's start out with some really cool pics....

My first rodeo and it was in a foreign country..haha!!

The bull riding was soooo cool!!

Even though it poured down rain on us for the most part we had a blast!! Great music and horses who could wrong with that right?!?!

So then we had a long busy week filled with tons of work, drama and stuff I am really just trying to forget....so sorry no details because I am SOOO over it!!!

We then got ready to leave on our fabulous little get away. All packed and Mr. M on leave we headed to Munich...

Oh come on...did you not see that one coming?!?! Of course we went to Hard Rock Cafe!!

Who would pass up good food in a different city ever?!?! Not me!!

Our total luck that it was right on the walkplatz and across the street from the Hoffbrauhaus...yippeeeee!!!!

Good food and shopping...hells yeahhhh!!!!!

So then once we were full and had sufficiently decreased our Euro we headed out to Garmisch..

The gorgeous view from our hotel room balcony. Let me tell you it just got more and more beautiful each day whether it was day or night!

Of course I had to bet Mr. M that he could not drink a whole yard-o-beer by himself and being the competetive man he is he took the bet....ok I thought he would chicken out...MY BAD!!!

Fortunate for me he was not able to finish it all..he says he was too full. This is the fail picture!! Tisk tisk Mr. M!!!

The next day we headed to Austria to the Swarovski crystal museum. It was pretty cool and cheap to get in. I made Mr. M very happy by not buying anything in the shop though..he is so lucky!! :)

Taj Mahal made out of crystal..very cool!!

We then headed back to Garmisch and decided to stroll around town. It was so pretty and everyone was so happy and nice!

Love this building!!!

The next day we woke up to rain and so we took some chill time and watched movies in the hotel room and then once the rain stopped we headed out to show DD2 some castles. Here is Hohenschwangua..then Neuschwanstein..

Views from the Mary bridge

I just love this castle and was so happy to be able to show both my girls. What girl doesn't want to see a real princess castle right?!?! They were thrilled and I was beaming from ear to ear.. such a proud mama!!

So now I am off again to get a whole lot of work done and deal with some things that need to just be dealt with. Wish me luck and I will be back as soon as I can I promise!!

Not MY kid!!!! Help needed with this one!!!

2011-08-07T15:24:00.000+02:00

I am about to touch a very touchy subject with all mothers and more then anything I am looking forward to views, advice and any opinions whether good or bad. Please don't hold back as I am really interested in how this situation is taken by others and what you would do.

So here is the line up:
Girl A: 5 yrs old, only child, known to be sassy and have a potty mouth
Girl B: 5 yrs old, youngest of 3 and only girl, sweet and sassy at times
Girl C: 7 yrs old, youngest of 2 girls, sweet and sassy at times.

So now picture all 3 with their families at an outdoor bbq. It begins raining at the bbq and girl C's family has brought 4 umbrellas(enough for their whole family) and girl B's family has no umbrellas and girl A's family has 2 umbrellas. Family C has decided to be kind enough to share their umbrellas and have squeezed themselves under 2 umbrellas to share the other 2 they have with the other families. Girl C gets upset that she can not use her umbrella because girl A and B are both using it. Parents of C tell her to stop being selfish and that she did a nice thing sharing. She stops pouting and the day moves on. After several more hours of girl C playing with girl B's brothers we head home thinking we had a lovely time and all was great.

24 hours later: Mom B writes an email to Mom C and explains how painfull it is to her to even write the email but she felt she just had to. Mom B went on to talk about how she did not want to have to choose friends over this and is hoping it can be resolved. She then goes on to say that she personally heard girl C tell girl A word for word "you are mean and nasty and you can't be friends with girl B and I" and then went on to say that girl A's father claimed he heard girl C say to girl A "I don't like you because your fat". As Mom C is reading this she is getting more and more upset at the fact that her daughter might have said such horrible things and at the same time she can't shake the feeling that the girl they are talking about said these horrible things is also the same girl who refuses to say the word "stupid" because she has been taught it is a bad word. Mom C confronts girl C and asks her what happened and girl C says " I told girl A I didn't want to be her friend" Now this is very believable to Mom C because she caught her saying it once before and read her the riot act over it and hadn't heard it since. Now Mom C is not an idiot and knows it is very possible that her dear little angel has heard these words from other kids and very well may have used them in a way she heard them but has this nagging feeling about the whole thing.
First of all, if Mom B heard girl C say something so horrible why would she not have said something righ then and there to Mom C since she was sitting a few feet away from her?
Second, when Mom C asked girl C if she said "I don't like you because your fat?" girl C looked at her very puzzled and said "why would I say that?" to which Mom C said " do you understand what fat means" and girl C said " well yeah we learned in school like bacon is fat but why would you say that to a person not food" So now Mom C is confused as to why her child would even say someting to someone else that she didn't even understand.
Third, Mom C is left with this nagging feeling that no parent heard anything and all of this crap is coming from Girl A because she does not like the fact that girl B is friends with both of them and not just hers. This is totally believable to Mom C because she has been through 2 5 yr old girls herself and could totally see a 5 yr old saying this especially one that is known to have a potty mouth and be sassy and get upset with other kids when they don't play with her or do things she wants them to do.

So now Mom C is left with this nagging feeling of who is telling the truth and who is not. Does she keep the other kids away from hers to keep this ever from happening? Does she confront the other moms and ask who actually heard it and risk them lying to her face anyway? Does she just give up on the friendships and count as their loss and move on?

Please give me your answers...good, bad or ugly I want them all!!!

5 Question Friday!!!

2011-08-05T11:51:00.000+02:00

Yayyy it's Friday and all is well!!! I am so ready for the weekend and it all starts tonight with the American Rodeo in Germany!! Odd right?!?! Haha I can't wait!!

1. Do you have siblings and are you close with them?

Ok this one is difficult for me...you see I have 2 brothers. One is older and one is younger, however, it will be 2 years this October that my younger brother passed away from a brain tumor. It's still very fresh in my heart and October is a very hard month for me because of that. I was always extremely close with both my brothers but my younger brother was the one I talked to every day on messenger and I still find myself sometimes going to messenger to talk to him before I realize he is not there anymore.

2. Would you rather be slightly UNDER weight or slightly OVER weight?

Well duhhhh I would of course rather be slightly under weight!!! I can eat my way to normal but I can not stand dieting. I do like exercise but I am right now in a funk and have to find something new to try and get myself out of it before I out grow all my clothes!! sighhhhhhhhhhh

3. What's your favorite State Fair food to splurge on?

O.M.G. That would have to be funnel cakes...yummm yummmy yummm yummm I adore them!!!!

4. What are your thoughts on your kid(s) going to school in a few weeks?

My kids don't start school until the 29th so I have a little time and honestly I am ready for them to go back. I think they have reached that time in the summer where they are bored with nothing to do and so they drive me nuts thinking I need to entertain them. Somehow my asking them to clean or run errands with me is just entertaining enough...go figure!! haha

5. Pool or Ocean?

If you are talking about my body being in one of those it would have to be pool! You do know that there are crazy things in oceans that can and will eat you right?!?! Forget that mess!!! uh uh no way ocean for me!!

Ohhh those were fun no go click that button up there and get your own questions on!!! Have a fabulous weekend and I will take a ton of pics at the rodeo tonight!! Yippee yippee yeeehaaawwwwwwww

I like Thursday because it's only a day away from Friday!!!

2011-08-04T07:55:00.000+02:00

So I made it to Thursday and all is well...so far!!! We now have 4 brand new tires on my truck and our claim was quickly approved...good for them!! I was ready and fully prepared to fight to the money..haha get it instead of fight to the death I said money...oh give me my cheap laughs ya'll!! :)

So no more tire tumors, ripped tires or dealing with tire people. Now I have been concentrating all of my time on working on the website for our club. It's a lot of work and it has taken me a while to get used to the program but I have to say...I am actually enjoying it! It has been a long time since I have worked on a website and I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Too bad I just found someone else to take it over for me and so now I get to train her to take over so I can go back to my normal duties and be done with the website...sighhhh. Oh well I guess it is for the best. It was taking up a lot of my time..sniff sniff so why do I think I am going to miss it so much?!?!

For now I am working on a lot of things and one is trying to plan our trip next weekend to Garmisch. This is supposed to be my birthday trip since we can't go anywhere that weekend so Mr. M told me to plan whatever I wanted..even shopping...and they will do whatever I want to do!! O.M.G. For reals!!!! So far I have that we are going to Munich to see the castle and go to Hard Rock Cafe..duhh right?!?! Then I want to go see the Eagle's nest, the Swarovski factory, go up the zugspitze and walk around the town of Garmisch and just shop til we drop!! Yayyyyy for trips I get to plan according to only what I want to do...yeeeehaaaaaaawwwww!!!!

Oh yeah did I mention that we are going to an American rodeo this weekend?!! I am totally stoked and can't wait to see what the Germans will consider American bbq as it is advertised. I always get tickled when I go shopping on the economy and see their "americana" products. Too funny I tell ya!! So hopefully it is good food and a good time and I will definitely take pics and share them with you.

For now I will just have to leave you with this....Christmas in London includes Christmas Eve service at Wesminster Abbey!!! Did I tell ya that already?!?! I am so excited sorry if I am telling you a bazilion times but I'm stoked!!!!!!

Ok have a fabulous day and I will talk to you more tomorrow!!!

Post it note Tuesday and a few updates!!

2011-08-02T07:20:00.000+02:00

5 Question Friday and pics!!!

2011-07-29T09:00:00.000+02:00

Yayyyyyyy it's Friday, it's Friday, hallelujah it's Friday!! This week has been crazy, frustrating, annoying, long and extremely draining and I am so so so so sooooo glad that Friday is finally here. So I know I said like a few days ago I would get you pics but thanks to a ~~catastrophicly horrible~~ minor computer glitch I had to retake all the pics and I did them today...see how much I love you guys?!?!??!!!

So first the questions that make you go hmmmmmm.....

1. Vow renewal ceremonies-yay or nay?

Totally yay!!! Mr. M and I were supposed to renew our vows at 10 yrs but seeing as I had just had a baby and we were miles away from any family we decided to wait and do it at 20 yrs. I am really excited for it because by then we will be back in Oklahoma with our families and friends and our kids with both be old enough to be there and witness it. Oh and if you are curious I want to do it in Vegas with Elvis Presley as our minister!! Wooohoooooo!!!

2. What sound/s annoy you the most?

Hmmmmm well I can NOT stand whining of any kind!!! Oooooooohhh dear it makes me want to lose my mind completely. I do have to say though that my biggest noise annoyance would be any kind of noise when I am driving. Let a drink be bouncing around in a cup holder, Mr. M's shoe squeeking from being on the dash, a coin sliding around in the door panel....oommgggg it drives me flipping nuts!!!

3. If you had to pick, would you have only all boys, or only all girls for kids?

Well I didn't get a choice and I got all girls. I love my girls and I have to say having the second girl was much easier with an older one to go off of. They do get along and they like the same things so I would have to say same sex is a total plus!!

4. Do you believe in alternative medicine?

Absolutely!! Let me tell you that the next time you get a migraine...cut the peel off of a lemon big as possible and put it on your forehead inside on your skin and tie a bandana or headband around it to hold it on and give it about 2 minutes...it's amazing!! Drug free and the best medicine for headaches I have ever tried!!

5. Would you take a family members children and raise them if they needed it?

Of course I would!! Mr. M and I talk about this all the time about when our parents get older we will take them in. He is not so happy about it really mainly because he is one of those people who really likes his own space but that is jut the way it is going to be and so we have both agreed we will do whatever is best for our parents. Now our siblings and their kids would be a total different story. Hopefully we never have to deal with that EVER!!! Seriously!!!

The beautiful platter I bought in Greece. I have never seen these colors and I just had to have it.

Can you just see the hand painted details? I love this piece!!

This is our Greece shelf. You see with the new shelves we bought I made a shelf for every country or place we went. You can see the bottle of olive oil in the back and the post card of Mykonos.

The plate is hand painted from Corfu. I love the scene on it and it means so much more that we actually stood there and saw that scene in person. You can also see the little marble egg. In case you don't follow me on a regular basis I am obsessed with eggs. I think they are beautiful and amazing and I collect them from every place I find them.

Two mini statues from Olympia. The jugs are both hand made from Greece. Soo cute!

The mini church from Santorini, Greece.

Aaaaah Venice, how I loved thee!! I had to have this mask. It took us all day to find one Mr. M and I both really liked. Of course, we went to hard rock...tradition!

The top of the shelves I had to use too. Right now it is a little crowded because we realized we actually need more shelves but that will have to wait until I can reorganize our house to make room for them. So here is our hard rock glasses from Koln, Germany and Heidelberg, Germany along with chocolate beer from Koln, the Heidelberg towers from the bridge and a bottle of wine.

Also on the top of the shelves is our portfolio from the cruise.

Here are the shelves with our stuff all set up. It just makes me happy to have it all out and not stuffed in the curio or on the china hutch so no one could really see it.

I decided touse this little corner shelf to hold all of my old books from every country we have been. Every time we go to a different country I look for old books in whatever language that country speaks to have as keepsakes.

Here is the Pisa and Milan shelf. There is also the bottle of Swiss rocks from Switzerland.

This is the Amsterdam and Belgium shelf.

This is the France shelf. Of course Paris and the little house in front is from Strausborg Christmas market.

This is our Berlin shelf. That was one of my most favorite trips. There is so much to do and see there I could spend a week and still feel like I missed out.

Ok so you have seen some pics and sorry about it taking so long. I hope all of you have a fabulous weekend and I will be back next week for more bloggidy blog fun!!

The tire saga continues..dum dum dum dummmmm

2011-07-26T16:10:00.000+02:00

Ok so for those of you who follow me on a pretty regular basis then you will remember my tire story. If not go back and read it..NOW!!!! No really...go!!

So for those who know it well let me continue with what happened today. As you will recall I was due to go and pick up the new tire today from the Exchange and then go back to the repair shop to have it put on. I was already worried that I was going to have to pay again to have it put on but figured it was worth it if it just worked and I could be done with this whole ordeal. Wowwww what I wrong!!! As I took the tire up to the store the first thing the lady says to me is "your tire is not here yet". What do you mean not here..go get it?!?!! Ok so then the manager comes out to look at the bad tire and immediately tells me "no this is not a bad tire it was damaged in mounting" Ummmmm ok what the heck does that mean? As the manager starts to tell me I have to go back to the tire center and tell them they messed up the tire and that he will not give me a new tire because it is their issue I say very calmly "Please can you call them and tell them what you just said because the going back and forth is killing me" He picks up the phone and speaks with a manager who then tells him to bring in the tire when I come back and they will see what they can do. In the mean time he explains to me that I have to pay for yet another tire and then hope that I get my money back from them. Ummm and again...say what?!?!
So now not only have we moved into the worst customer service ever from anywhere in the entire world but now......I yupp that's right...I get to pay for another new tire, then pay to have that one mounted and then fight with the tire company and the government to get my money back. Ok by now I am just laughing because really I want to scream and cry and I am just to frustrated to do either one.
I go over to the claims office to ask them what I have to do and their first response was "well what does the tire guys say?" Well the tire guy said it was a bad tire and the tire store said it was mounting that broke the tire so I have no idea what to say except that I am about to be out another $187 for nothing that I did wrong!!!
So now we go with the 15 pages of paperwork that I have to fill out and try to make a claim so that they can investigate it and see if they will give me my money back or if I have to fight the Exchange over my money....are you following this?!?! Honestly I am a bit lost and all I know right now is that I still have a bad tire in the back of my truck taking up space and when the new tire finally gets here I will have to pay for it. Then take it over to the man whom they are accusing of ruining a tire and ask him to put it on. Seriously?!??!
In my honest opinion I like the tire guy. He has never been anything but nice to me and I do not believe that he would have damaged the tire and then put it on my truck knowing that myself and my kids were going to get into the truck and drive away on it. Does that change the fact that no one wants to pay for the damage and so atleast for now I am the one screwed...NOPE!!!!

So I will be back later with an update which will probably go something like this....the tire guys are now mad at me for claiming against them and all their helpfulness that they once had towards me is gone. I have a bad tire in my truck and a new tire in my truck and no one to put it on!! Yay me!!!!

Post it note Tuesday!!

2011-07-26T08:41:00.000+02:00

5 Question Friday and the truck, the tire and customer service!!

2011-07-22T15:49:00.000+02:00

1. If your husband had the BIG V and you got pregnant what would your first reaction be? For the dudes, what would your first reaction be if your wife told you she was pregnant after the Big V?

Well since Mr. M had the big V and I can talk from that perspective then...someone would be getting an in person law suit sent to them!! Every now and then I will be late and I always tell Mr. M if your blanks are active again I am shooting a doctor!! So I guess that answers that!!

2. Best memory about this summer so far.

Oh well obviously it has to be our cruise to Greece!! It was the BEST time I have ever had on a vacay so far and we have been to Paris...my old favorite but still totally in love with it and want to go back.

3. How often do you change your sheets? Your kids sheets?

The master sheets get changed every week and the girls sheets get changed at the same time. Unless there are things that come up..sick kid,aunt flo issues or really hot weather and we sweat like banchees then we always go with that.

4. Having just gone through TSA, would you rather have a full-body scan or a pat-down?

I would rather do the machine thingy..I can NOT stand when someone touches me whether it is there job or not I always feel violated!!

5. Since it is fair time...what's your favorite fair (county or state) memory?

OMG I love fairs and especially the one in Oklahoma. Mr. M actually drove down from Kansas when we were dating just to take me to the fair...isn't he a doll?!?!?!

Ok so there goes the questions for today! Now I know I have been promising you all pictures and I swear they are loaded and all but I have had quite a few issues this week. Let me explain...

A few weeks ago I had a flat tire and went to the tire repair shop to be told it would take me a week to get an appointment to get it looked at. So I drove around with a spare tire for over a week. Then when I finally get into the shop he tells me that my stupid stupid 20 in rims that Mr. M just HAD to have on my truck are corroded and worthless and need to be replaced. Well I sure as heck wasn't going to get more stupid stupid rims so I bought the more truck like 17 in rims and the big honkin' tire truck tires....ruff ruff prrrrrr!!! Sexy!!!

So of course being overseas it took me 2 weeks to get the rims in since no one around here carries them and then we had to order the tires. So the last 2 rims came in Monday and I ordered the tires and they came in Wednesday. I called up the tire shop and got an appointment for today..yay it didn't take a month this time!!! So today I was all excited to not only get the new..and in my opinion prettier tires...put on my truck but to have all of it out of my truck and have my truck back to normal. So the girls and I loaded up this morning and headed to the tire repair shop to get my baby all did up!! Yes I meant to say did ya'll chill out!

It took a little over an hour and the guys there are always so nice to me. I went and got into my truck with my beautiful girls and headed out to go to the recycle center to dump the old rims and tires. Mr. M was going to meet us there to help unload until...... Once we got to the gate of the other kaserne we heard a loud pop and air gushing from my truck...oh yeah we had a flat tire!!!! Ok pick up your jaw now and keep reading it gets sooo much better from here.

I pulled off the side of the road as soon as I could to get out and watch my brand new tire on my brand new rim go flat faster then I have ever seen a tire go flat in my life!!! The girls jumped out of the truck just as I was getting Mr. M on the phone to let him know we were down the street from his work with new tires and new rims and flat tire. He freaked and came running over to us. As we both just stood there looking at it like seriously we thought it was going to dance for us or something saying over and over "are you freaking kidding me?!?!" Mr. M began getting the jack out to change the tire and put one of the old ones on so I could go back to the tire shop and find out what the deal was. He had all the lug nuts off the tire and truck up on the jack when all of a sudden my worst fears came true...the truck began to roll right towards Mr. M. Now I know any of you who have been in a situation where you see something bad going to happen and are determined to do whatever you can to stop it will understand me when I say this....I tried to grab the truck and yelled at Mr. M to move his ass!! Thank goodness he moved really fast when I yelled and unfortunately I was not able to hold the truck like I SOOO swore I could!! Just an FYI for all of you...trucks are really really heavy k?!?!

So we put the tire braces under the tires and started again..haha yeah he didn't tell me we had those..sheeesh!!! So tire off and old tire on the girls and I headed back to the repair shop to find out what the problem was. As we got to the repair shop one guys said "hey you still here?" and I said "nope I am back with a flat tire" He laughed until he realized I wasn't kidding and went to get the manager. Once the guy who had just fixed my truck saw me he came right out and took the tire to see what was wrong with it. After testing it and putting air back in it he explained to me that the tire was defective and had a bubble in it. He showed the bubble to me so I could show the tire shop people and told me that normally a bubble in the tire wall means you hit something but since it is obviously a brand new tire and he can tell it was not hit in any way they might need to see the bubble to believe me. So off we went to the tire shop where we bought it.

Now for those of you who are military then you will understand when I say we bought the tire at AAFES, exchange, whatever they are calling themselves these days. I have always called them an injustice and ripoffville but we will go with exchange for now. I walked in and told the nice lady who had helped me order the tires that I just came from the tire shop and one of the tires has a defect and I need to get another tire. A man standing there wanted to know what was wrong so I explained it and he then went to get his manager. The manager asked me what happend and I explained what it was and he began to tell me that a bubble in the tire wall is from impact and that I ruined the tire and I was going to have to pay for it....hold on ya'll this gets really good about now..I looked at him and gave him a chance to say his say and call me a liar and then I opened my mouth and every hateful thing that anyone has done or said to me this year came rushing out of my mouth at this man...errrrrr sorry dude!! I told him I did not appreciate being called a liar and that there was no way that I could have hit anything in the 2 meters I drove before this stupid defective tire blew and my girls are screaming terrified that something is really wrong. I told him that I had already been to the tire shop and they told me it was defective and that if he asked me to pay for another tire we were going to have a serious issue on our hands. He then looked at me, looked at the nice lady who was helping me and told her "order a new tire for her". Hmmmmmm do you think that if I had been some mousey little meak woman whom this man obviously thought he was talking to that I would have gotten it fixed or gotten screwed?!?!

I left there pissed off, with 3 new tires and 1 old one on my truck and all I could think was....are you freaking kidding me?!?! It has been devastating enough for not just me but my girls and a whole lot of running around and he had the nerve to call me a liar??!!?!?!??!?! Can you say Ice complaint anyone!!!!?!??!??!?!

So I still have a truck full of tires and rims and wierd looking set on my truck at the moment and I will have to wait until next week to get any of it fixed which means no big traveling for us this weekend and definitely no fun for the exchange manager when I finish my complaint!! :)

So yes I will get to the pictures I SWEAR I WILL!!!! Just give me a little time to get stuff back to normal around here first....thanks!!!

Post it note Tuesday...did ya miss me?!?!

2011-07-19T10:04:00.000+02:00

5 Question Friday!!!

2011-07-15T16:40:00.000+02:00

Ohhh how I looooove Fridays!!!! I wish they came twice a week..how fabulous would that be!! Ok ok so I am totally busy right now and I swear every time I think I am almost done for the day I go and do something stupid like check my emails...ughhhhh!!! So I am taking an email and phone break to do questions. I love these questions and I think I love even more that they come on Friday the most beautiful day of the week!!

1. If you knew your best friend's spouse was cheating on her or him, would you tell her (him)?

Ohhhh what a wonderful question...NOT!!!! Ok so just so you know I have been through this and it sucks no matter how you go about it. First of all if you tell your friend and she is not convinced you will lose that friend even after she does finally realize you were right because she will just be too humiliated to admit you were right and she was mean. Secondly, if you tell her and it turns out that she already knew and has decided to stay with her husband and work it out then for a while your friendship will tear apart day by day until you are just cordial with each other because you just feel like you know secret information and she will feel like she has to explain herself which she shouldn't have to. Soooo with all of that said....did I tell my friend?! Well...turns out that her husband actually cheated with another dear friend of mine and so all I had to do was ask them both to dinner one night with their(yes I mean hers and his) spouses and you could NOT cut the tension with a knife if you wanted to. Bottom line it all came out and no one was the wiser that I set it up!! Ok well now I might be busted but no no I don't think they read my blog..hmmmmm rut roh!!!

2. Soda in a can or a bottle?

I don't drink soda. I used to live for the stuff but then about 4 years ago we began the whole eat healthier thing in our house to be a better example for our kids and ever since then even when I crave a soda it just isn't the same to me.

3. What do you wash first, hair or body? That is sooo easy. You see I have naturally curly hair that is completely dry, unmanagable and course. I am so lucky...hahahhahahaha!!! So I wash my hair first then slather on half a bottle of conditioner and let that sit in my hair while I finish my shower. Wow why did this feel so intimate?!?!

4. What advice would you give to any new mama?

Always count to 10 before picking up a crying baby!! Always!! No matter how calm of a person you think you are when you are holding a baby who is screaming bloody murder it will test every patience button you have. Counting seemed to ground me so that I was calm, relaxed and ready to deal with anything. Ok ok don't get me wrong when DD2 was born from 2 months to 10 months she cried nonstop from 5pm until midnight and Mr. M and I both thought we were going to go deaf before she ever would stop. We both would take turns holding her and walking in laps around the house..it never worked but for some reason it helped us....and would give the warning "count to 10 it's almost your turn" and it worked. We may it through those months and didn't go deaf or lose it not once!

5. What is your best hangover remedy?

Hangover?!?! I would never get a hangover!! Ok I have no idea what a hangover feels like. I know I got them when I was younger and would drink like an idiot because I thought I was cool but now I know better. I enjoy a drink or two but never go far enough to have a hangover in the morning....besides everyone knows to take a pain reliever before you go to sleep after drinking to help!! haha

Ok I loooooooved the questions today even if you now think I am wierdo..oh well that's me deal with it!!! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!!

I hope that everyone has a fabulous weekend and I will be back to update you on all the madness that is my life very soon I promise!! For reals ya'll!!!!

Graham crackers and milk....mmmm mmmm good!!

2011-07-14T16:01:00.000+02:00

So yes I have been busy as you all have probably figured out by my oohhhh so poor blogger qualities...MY BAD!!!!

I just have enough to tell you that the travel plans are still coming along and we even added a short 3 day trip as well for my bday!! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

As I took a break though from cleaning, organizing and planning I wanted a snack. I rarely eat snacks and if I do it's usually a piece of fruit or something fast I can grab and go with. Today though I ventured out of my way to look through the cabinets. Ok so now I have to clean out my cabinets because I had no idea how much junk was in them...but off subject sorry....so I found a box of graham crackers and the first thing that came to my mind was a memory of being in mommy's day out and the snack I loved the most was graham crackers and milk. I don't know if I loved it more because it was so good or because it made the teachers mad that I always dipped my crackers in the milk before eating them and then would finish off my milk...what's the big deal anyway with that?!?!?!

So I grabbed me out 2 crackers and poured a small glass of milk and then was swarmed by two evil cracker snatchers...oops I mean my girls....who then wanted some for themselves. As we all three sat there eating our graham crackers with milk I looked around and just though "this is nice!" Isn't it funny how something so little can make a family moment you cherish?!

Has anything like this ever happened to you where you just realize something from your childhood you loved you have no introduced to your kids?

Trips, trip and.....more trips!!

2011-07-13T07:50:00.000+02:00

So Mr. M and I have realized that we have less then a year left overseas and are trying to take full advantage of it in any way we possibly can. So we have started looking up places to visit and planning our trips to the best of our abilities. Of course with the military there is always that little issue of "will they give us the leave for those dates?" but I think we have a pretty good handle on it now and we are moving ahead with any and all plans.

So far we have a nice weekend trip to Garmisch planned in August, a trip to Octoberfest in October, a cruise from Barcelona for next April, Christmas in London, and Carnivale in Venice. I am working on a day trip for just Mr. M and myself to Paris. I ADORE Paris!!!!! We went a while ago but in case you didn't follow me back then or have forgotten we lost ALL of our pics from the entire trip!! For some reason my old camera...we call her the devil...decided to format herself sometime between the last picture we took and when we got back home. We arrived home and I hooked her up to the laptop and all it would say was "no images"!! O.M.G. I was devastated to say the least!! So we have been talking about a repeat trip ever since. Finally I just decided it would be so nice to do a couples day just Mr. M and I in Paris and so I am planning it..shhhh he doesn't know!! I love to surprise him....even though it is really hard since he has to put in for leave or pass to go that far but I will get it all planned and speak with his people at work and make sure my dates are good and then tell him last minute to turn in the paperwork...taaaadaaaaa!!! Yupp I am that good ya'll!!!

So other then those little trips we are making some small weekend trips to get out and see more of Europe before we have to leave it. I really really want to go to Copenhagen, Denmark but not sure if that will come to life or not. Cross your fingers that all we have planned go through and that we are able to find more things to do to take full advantage of our time here.

I want to share a few pics with you that I took the other day...well.....just because I think they are beautiful...

Nothing can make you smile more then a rainbow..am I right?!?!

It was a double one and I had a hard time getting pics because the clouds were moving really fast but it's still gorgeous!

Ok happy hump day everyone and I will see you when I see you!!

5 Question Friday!!!

2011-07-08T16:51:00.000+02:00

Woohooo OMG it has been sooooooooo long since I have remembered to do 5 Question Friday!! I have been super dee duper busy and I have to say part of it has been my new lover.....I mean Ipad...and I am barely able to put it down long enough for it to charge so I can play more with it. I just know my life is going to be soo much easier now that I have him...oh yeah it's a him and I have named him....wait for it......wait for it......Romeo!!! Haha yes I said Romeo..he was my ultimate dream want for a while now and finally Mr. M just went out and got him for me...what a man what a man what a man what a mighty good man!! OOps sorry that song always comes into my head when Mr. M does something incredibly sweet for me. So let me get to these questions so I can go back to playing with Romeo ok?!?! Don't judge me he's really HOT!!!!

1. Do you think cursive writing is overrated? (Schools in Indiana have now voted to take teaching cursive writing out of their curriculum.)

How can any kind of an education be considered overrated?!?! Seriously ya'll the world today is becoming more and more about the money and less and less about trying to make better people. One day we will all wake up and realize that our kids really are our future and unless we want to be put into run down nursing homes by them we better start making better, well educated and loving people out of them! Just my opinion though!!

2. Do you still use a pocket calendar or notepad or do you keep your info on your smart phone?

Ok so I am one of those people who has like 5 different things. I have a pocket calendar I keep in my purse along with my ipod touch that has cozi on it and now of course my ipad had cozi on it as well. I also have a busy body book which I totally swear by and adore it immensely!! So the answer is I have it all and will not be giving any of it up anytime soon!! It works for me.

3. What 3 things would you save if your house was burning down? (family & pets are already safe)

The folder of all of our important documents, my external hard drive, photo albums.

Mr. M and I have already said when we finally get our forever home then we will have a basement with one of those giant fireproof safes in it. That way all the really important stuff will be safe from fire, flood, tornados and all that other junk that seems to happen to people like us who have the absolute worst luck ever!!

4. Country Mouse or City Mouse, err Person?

HUH?!?! I am really not so sure about this question. If you are asking am I a country or a city girl then I have to say I am absolutely 120% a city girl!! I love my big cities and if I can not go to a store at 2am when I wake up and am craving something we never have in the house then I do NOT want to live there!! Got it!! :)

5. If you could pick ANY reality show to go on, which would you pick?

OMG OMG OMG for reals?!??!! I would absolutely, positively choose to be on real housewives..any of them!!! Of course if I were on there then it would have to be because Mr. M was a filthy rich businessman with a keen eye for great things well I mean of course he would have me right?!?! duhhh!!! haha!!

Ok so now that I got to have that fun I will let you all know that Mr. M and I have been busily planning our next year. You see we have a year left here overseas and we want to be sure to see as much as we possibly can before we have to leave. So far we have plans to go to Octoberfest, Christmas in London, Barcelona, another cruise to the canary islands and that is just the start. I still need to figure something out for our anniversary and something for Valentines day. Sooo anyone have any ideas for any of those occasions?!?! I am always up for any advice or ideas.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone and I will be back soon with more pics and updates on all our goings on around here!!

Greek cruise..part 8 in Venice, Italy

2011-07-06T07:49:00.000+02:00

We were so sad that the cruise was coming to an end and we had such a great time. It was very sad to pack our bags and know that we had to leave the ship and would not be stopping at any more fabulous places. I do have to say though that cruising has definitely become our new way to travel. We love it!! In fact we just booked our next cruise for spring break next year. We will be going to see Spain, Portugal and the canary islands and we could not be more excited!!

Once we got off the ship and headed to the truck..ohhhh yeah the truck...eeeshhh!!! We got to the truck to actually take the time to look at the damage. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was and we were able to reattach the back light panel without damaging it any more then it already was. We knew we had our work cut out for us when we got home but for now we were in the beautiful city of Venice and we were going to enjoy it. After checking it at our hotel and googling a few addresses and grabbing the gps we were headed out to catch the bus back to Venice main city and start enjoying our day.

We checked on taking a water taxi....uhhh let me advise all of you not to ask how much a water taxi costs...we then thanked the nice man and walked away very quickly!!

We instead found the nearest vaperetto line and paid our smaller fee and went out to explore Venice.

It is kind of hard to take good pictures on a moving vaperetto with 50 other people pushing and shoving you at the same time..

We eventually got off the vaperetto and started exploring on foot. We saw so many amazing buildings, churches and the best smells ever!!!

This was one of my favorite buildings and we were able to go inside it and see all the beautiful carvings and paintings.

There was a man trying to tell us about this bell tower but sadly he could only speak Italian and so I understood nothing!! sighhhhhhhhhhh

A trip to Venice is not complete without seeing the gondolas going down the canals. We waited in line for a very long time to try to ride a gondola but sadly it took too long and we had to head back to the bus before we missed the last bus back to our hotel.

I just adore this building. Isn't it gorgeous?!?!

We have already said we want to go back to Venice another time and hopefully ride a gondolla and see more of Venice. It is a rather large city and it is hard to get around to seeing it all in one day. Maybe we will go back next year for Carnivale and get to see the costumes and the parades. One thing we made sure we did before leaving of course....

We bought a mask of course but....

Duhhhhh we went to Hard Rock cafe!!! My hurricane glass collection is getting rather large..hehe!!!

So that was our cruise to Greece and our day in Venice. I have so much more to share with you and of course pictures of the beautiful things we picked up on our little vacay but don't worry I won't forget to show you all of it. I hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday and I will see back here tomorrow for more goodies and pics!!!

Greek cruise...part 7

2011-07-03T08:37:00.000+02:00

I know you all are probably wondering what happened and why I was not on here like clock work putting out the rest of our cruise and the trip and let me begin by saying I am sorry but there is a good reason. You see on Friday I had a dental appointment and it turned out to be more then I anticipated it to be and let's just say I have been on heavy drugs since Friday morning and not feeling well at all. Honestly I will be so grateful when I can actually eat food that doesn't have to be something I don't have to chew and can just swallow...owwwww!!!! So yes I am a little late with my posts but my mouth was kind of being the boss for a few days. I just hope I fell well enough tomorrow to join in on the festivities like we always do..cross your fingers for me that my mouth will let me have a good day please!!!!

So on the cruise we are at the second day at sea and of course like the first we enjoyed the pool, great food, another great show, some casino time. family game time and even better was the buffet they made...yupp I am talking about the chocoholic buffet that ran from 7pm until midnight!!! It. Was. Devine!!!!!!!!

There were so many gorgeous chocolate sculptures..

As well as some really cool ice sculptures too...

This was our favorite thing. They had cake pops as well as fruit kabobs that we could dip into the chocolate fountain and it was sooooooooooooooooo good!!

One of my favorites because of the design as well as the colors. I could never do this kind of stuff but I love to look at it. Sadly though we were not allowed to eat any of the sculptures which made us all VERY sad!! It was fabulous though and we all left the dining room wishing we had skipped that last chocolate pie or cupcake....soo good and yet our tums we took after NOT chocolate coated..

So then tomorrow I will show you Venice, Italy which is where our cruise ended and we spent a day in Venice just trying to cover as much as we could. Venice is huge and gorgeous and so neat getting from place to place in boats instead of street cars....fabulous!!!

Greek cruise..part 6

2011-06-29T09:58:00.000+02:00

Once we left Mykonos we were headed to Katakolon. We were especially excited for this one because we were going to see Olympia. Now Mr. M and DD1 are huuuuge fans of ruins...DD2 and I on the other hand like to see the ruins but then we are ready to move on. So we were already packing entertainment in the backpack for us. As we docked and were heading out to get on the bus we realized I had left the bag of entertainment......dang it!!! Oh well we will just have to listen to the guide and pretend we are fully interested..haha yeah tell my 7 yr old that!!!! Let's just say we play a lot of "I spy" and "guess what kind of tree that is" we were having a blast on our own.

Ok this was a grave of a great olympian. Sorry I don't remember his name but I am sure it is in the book I decided to buy all about Olympia since I was so buys playing I spy and not paying full attention to the guide.

This is the arch leading into the arena where the games were held.

This big open space was the origional arena. It looks kind of small compared to now a days doesn't it?!

We tried to get a family pic but apparently no one near us spoke English and I wasn't about to hand off my camera to someone who may or may not have thought I was giving it to them!!

So after visiting Olympia we headed in town to do a little shopping and pick up some great stuff. Then it was back on the ship for another great dinner, fabulous show and another chance for Mr. M and I to visit the casino...this time we lost almost all of our start up and quit early because...well we are cheap!!! lol

Come back tomorrow for another full day at sea along with a chocoholic buffet with pictures!!! Who can resist a chocolate buffet for reals?!?!??!!!!

Greek cruise..part 5

2011-06-28T07:45:00.000+02:00

We went to bed after leaving Santorini ~~and Mr. M and myself won a little money in the casino..woohoooooo~~ and woke up to already being docked in Mykonos. It was funny to wake up to land right there and not look out at all water for once. As we walked around the deck of the ship trying to figure out where the town was that we would go to it seemed far away. If I haven't told you yet then let me tell you now...Norwegian rocks!!! As soon as we had breakfast and were ready to get off the ship and enjoy Mykonos we stepped off the ship to staff telling us to please take the free shuttle to the main town....yupp free shuttle!!! So we boarded the bus and were taken to the main town. It was gorgeous and there were small beaches all along the way there and in the town. As much as I loved Santorini this place was just as exciting and there were so many more things to look at and we got some really great pictures. Of course we did some shopping but mostly we enjoyed the city, especially little Venice, and just took our time walking around.

The view we woke up to.

Again the white buildings are just gorgeous and will always make me think of Greece anytime I see a white building.

I just fell in love with Greek letters and am now looking for some place to get a family board made with our names in Greek letters...how cool would that be?!?!

This was the first place we saw colors other then blue added to the white buildings. Isn't it pretty?! I really just want to climb up those stairs and stay forever!!

Again with the blue but they painted the stair bannisters also and I just love it.

We loved this!! It was just a few windows with some tshirts in them that said hard rock Mykonos. We thought it was so funny because we try to hit every hard rock wherever we go.

View of Little Venice! It really does look like Venice, Italy doesn't it?!

Another view of Little Venice with our ship docked on the left.

The girls were so happy to finally put their feet into some water on a beach. We told them they could go in further and we brought extra clothes with us but they said it was kind of cold so that is as far as they wanted to go.

We had a really great time there and I can tell you that shopping on this island was the cheapest so far we had found. I came home with so many great things from Greece but Mykonos was the place where we got ourselves some really pretty dresses and jewelry. So if you go to Greece just remember to check Mykonos if you are interested in clothes or jewelry.
Once we were done and had to reboard in Mykonos we were sad to see it go. We had a nice dinner, watched another show and the girls headed back to the room to play a game and Mr. M and I headed again to the casino to try our luck. I actually got adventurous and played the 25 cent games...that is HUGE for me since I only usually play penny or nickle slots!! We left ahead again though so all was good!!

One more stop in Greece and then back to Venice for us...come back tomorrow and see Katakoln and Olympia!!

Greek cruise...part 4

2011-06-27T08:31:00.000+02:00

Ok so after leaving Corfu and a full day of exploring, shopping and enjoying Greece we headed back out to sea to get to our next destination which was Santorini, Greece. This island was different from all the others in the fact that our cruise ship was too big to dock at it. We had to drop anchor off the side of the island and take a tender boat to the small dock. Now before we had actually reached the island we were told that there were two ways to get up the island from the tender boat dock and that was cable car or ride a donkey. The girls were so excited and wanted to ride the donkey...crazy kids!!! So once we actually talked to a few people and realized not only how big the island was and how far apart the cities were we decided to take the excursion and save ourselves the hassle so we actually were tendered to our own seperate dock where we were able to take a bus..haha you donkey riding people!!!

The main town up from the dock was Fira and it was gorgeous but we were headed to the other side of the island to a town named Oia(prounounced EEa) and let me tell you how breathtaking this city was. All the buildings were white and most had blue shutters and the sand was white for the most part but there were a few black beaches due to the lava of course. I can't say enough about this island so let me just show you some pictures....

Here is the small tender boat pulling up to our cruise ship. It looks so small right but this little boat held about 50 people on it.

Gorgeous view of Oia from the ship!!

Another view from the ship..

View of our ship from the top of Santorini. Can you see the white that looks likes snow on the island? It's actually pumis stone from the lava. The entire island is different colors depending on the stone it was and it was really pretty.

Our first stop was to a winery just on top of the island. It was a gorgeous building and had beautiful views from their balconies.

After enjoying a glass of wine we relaxed for a while on the balcony of the winery and just enjoyed the views.

One of my many favorite buildings. The blue domed buildings were all some kind of religious building. Not all were the same though.

The one was called "the home of Mary". I tried to listen to all the guide had to say but honestly trying to get pictures while driving in a bus was dificult enough! I did catch that though. :)

This is the beautiful town of Oia!! On the edge of the island, hot and breath taking!!

Sooo happy we didnt' take this option up the mountain. Cute but nahhhh!!!

Looking out across Oia..

Not a very good picture...ahemm Mr. M....but the island at night was just as gorgeous!!

So once again we had another full day of exploring, shopping and fun. Once back on the ship we were so excited for the next day to see what all we would see. It was becoming somewhat of a game to us..what would the next island look like, would they have the same color buildings, would we find the same things there, do they have the colored rocks like here?! I love it when we can combine some sort of education to any vacation with our girls.

Come back tomorrow for another day and more adventures!!

Greek cruise...part 3

2011-06-25T17:32:00.000+02:00

So my last blog was our full day out at sea sailing from Venice, Italy to Corfu, Greece. It was so relaxing and so much fun but as soon as we saw land I could not contain myself!! The whole reason we went to Greece was because it was DD1's choice. You see when we first found out we were going to Germany we asked both of our girls what their dream place to visit would be. DD2 wanted to go to Paris which we did last year and DD1 wanted to see Greece and we finally made it. So watching her face was absolutely priceless!!

Corfu was gorgeous and everything I thought it would be..a total beautiful beachy shopping paradise!! :)

Yayyy the first sight of land in over a day!!!

A beautiful building and museum.

Unfortunately there was a fence all around this or I would have insisted on a family photo here. How gorgeous is that?!?!

Well duhhh...of course Mr. M once again sniffed out a McDonalds!!

Can you say heaven?!?! I am a total bag junky and Greece is a total paradise to me!!! Muahuahuahuah!!

They had a ton of cafes as well so you know when you get hungry from all the shopping and walking you can sit down and enjoy a latte, sandwich and of course some fabulous gelato!! Yummmmmmmmmyy!!

Simply gorgeous no?!?! I truly adored Corfu and was so excited to move onto the next place.. goodbye Corfu and hope to see you again some day!!

So we spent all day on Corfu and bought so much fabulous stuff that Mr. M finally said "feed me or I am leaving you" and since you know he is the bag holder(he loves it!) we fed him and headed back to the ship to give everyone a rest. Of course I have not yet taken photos of all the goodies we bought so that will have to be an after blog when I am all done with the cruise.

See you tomorrow for another day of our cruise!!

Greek cruise...part 2

2011-06-23T07:14:00.000+02:00

Ok so I left off yesterday where we finally got to the cruise and after a short bit of shaking and the girls crying because they were so relieved to finally be there we got checked in and headed to our room. The first picture of our cruise is kind of funny in my opinion. Mr. M says it's just sad and he didn't like it but I just had to have it to chronicle the mess that it was getting there..

Don't we look ~~scared out of our everloving minds and happy to finally be out of the truck~~ so happy to be starting our cruise?!

So we left the port around 5:30pm and were at sea for the first day. We had tons of time to look around the ship and enjoy it and that is exactly what we did.

We shopped! Mainly because my genious self had bought DD2 a new swimsuit and didn't notice that her top was size 7 but the bottoms were size 14..ughhhhh!!

We swam and swam and swam some more!! There were 2 pools and 4 hot tubs and tons of places to just sit and enjoy the sun.

Looks like fun right?!

This is how it looked before all the sun bunnies got there! So peaceful and beautiful.

We ate buffet the first day. I can not say enough about freestyle dining on this cruise..it was AMAZING!!

The girls loved that they always had fresh fruit and hot dogs no matter what time of day it was. Well, ok no hot dogs for breakfast but the rest of the day you could get hot dogs, hamburger, cole slaw and potatoe salad any time you wanted. Oh and did I mention that there were soft serve ice cream bars on the pool level and you could get ice cream 24/7?!?! Yummm!!!

We all enjoyed just hanging out on the deck as well and watching the gorgeous water go by.

We did watch a show that night and it was fabulous!! The girls thought it was so much fun that we changed clothes all day long to do things...kids!!! We dressed for breakfast in casual and then went swimming and then changed for lunch and then dressed up for dinner and the show. Let me just say that thank goodness they offer a laundry service on the ship because we packed light...whoopsie!!

I would say the best thing about our day at sea was just the relaxed atmosphere. We didn't have to worry about cooking or cleaning or our jobs at all. I highly reccomend a cruise if you really want a relaxing and pampered vacation!!

Come back tomorrow for our first port in Corfu, Greece and all the exciting things we discovered there!!

Greek cruise...part 1

2011-06-22T07:31:00.000+02:00

So we took off June 11th around 2am in the morning to drive to Venice, Italy and take our cruise. We were so proud of ourselves for leaving so much extra time once we get there to look around Venice a little before leaving on our blissful vacation. After about 2 hours of driving we started realizing we were not going the way we had thought we would go and went to check the gps.....ummmmmm....yeah so by the time I spam out on the gps and to find out that for some reason we are being sent through Switzerland instead of Austria we are at the border and have to purchase an overpriced autobahn sticker!! We weren't worried though because time wise we were still right no schedule and would have plenty of time to reach our port so we drove on.

Let me just pass about 6 more hours of traffic, construction and going up and down mountains to say that it took us 8 hours to get through Switzerland...GRRRRRRR!!! By this time we were nervous and getting madder by the minute. Once we finally hit Italy's border it took us almost an hour to get through the border into Milan. Let me just say.....God bless gps and the warning of traffic cameras on the road because otherwise we would have a ton of tickets to pay right now!! We were flying!!!

As we finally get into Venezia our gps dies on us. It keeps saying program error and won't reboot at all. We are frantic trying to find another way to the port and driving around aimlessly. It was also raining which didn't make anything else easy. As we watched the clock hit 3pm which was to be the last time the book said they would allow you to embark the ship we really got flustered. Yes, yes I started to get scared that we would miss our cruise and I was sad!! We finally spotted an Italian security guard and pulled him over to ask for help. He spoke no English but showing him the port number and map we were trying to get to he was able to point and help us find our way. Once we hit the entrance to the port bridge we were so excited and Mr. M was still flying like we were on our way to the ER and then it happened.......*pause for suspense*..... Mr. M took a corner too fast and lost control of the truck. The girls were screaming and crying in the back seat, I was watching the cars coming at us and wondering if there a family in their car as well and Mr. M was so calm and working hard to keep control of the truck that he didn't even notice he barely missed hitting 2 cars and a van and just barely clipped the end of a guard rail before coming to a complete stop. We were fine! The girls were still crying! Mr. M was mad and just wanted to get there! At this point we all figured if they said they wouldn't let us on the cruise we were fighting tooth and nail and would get our place on that cruise ship. Oh yeah we had been through it all that day and I was getting on my cruise ship NO MATTER WHAT!!!!

As we reach our ship and the dock, Mr. M pulls up to the luggage drop off and the people could not have been nicer. Mr. M says we have bags and they help unload them out of the truck. We head to check in and Mr. M heads to park the truck. Oh did I mention that our tail light was hanging on the truck?!?! Yeah good times!! So we go inside only to find out that we have plenty of time and everyone keeps telling us how we missed the crowds and are lucky to get checked in so fast now....REALLY?!??!?!?! We had an accident and it took us 12 hours to get there and it's just fine?!??! Oyyyyy!!!!

So yes we made our cruise and yes I now have to fix the rear end of my truck and yes I will have tons of pics and things to show you all in the next few days. Ok you can stop clutching that pillow now!!

The atrium on the main floor of the ship.

Map of the ship's levels.

One of the grand staircases in the atrium.

The bridge where they are driving the ship.

This was one of the lounges where they held classes and you could just relax and chat with people.

This is the theater where we watched all the shows at night. It was also the room where we learned about all the ports, where to shop and met to take off on our excursions. The shows were fabulous!!!

Our ship docked at our first stop. Corfu, Greece I was a little flustered when we first got on the ship to even think about taking pics of the ship. She's a beauty isn't she?!?!

So keep coming back each day and I will introduce you to our cruise day by day as well as Greece and a few Greek Islands as well.

5 Question Friday and a bonvoyage message!!

2011-06-10T06:00:00.000+02:00

1. How close to your childhood dreams is your life now?

Growing up I wanted to be so many things but most of all I always knew I wanted to be a mom. I used to have dreams of driving my kids to dance class and football practice and cheering them on. I also had dreams of running my own business. Now I am a mom and am totally fulfilling that dream but I have yet to open my own business mainly because being a milspouse and moving all over tarnation constantly is a little harder to get a business started. Maybe someday I will get the rest of my dream.

2. What is one must have item for the summer?

Maxi dress!!! I looooooove maxi dresses and especially being overseas with no air conditioning they are so comfortable.

3. Do you have your kids stay up on school stuff during summer vacation? (Or, if you don't have kiddos, did your parents make you keep up on school stuff during summer?)

I don't remember my parents making me keep up with schooling during the summer but I do remember going to church camp all the time. As for my kids I let them have their summer with fun and sun and all the good stuff but my oldest always reads and does her art work and my youngest loves to do workbooks so we do a lot of them.

4. Do you can or freeze fresh produce?

Nope I don't do either. I love to have fresh produce and really miss having a good farmers market to go to around here. We will be going to pick our own strawberries one day but I am a total city gal who never was taught to can or freeze anything unless you bought it frozen! lol

5. Do you get ready for the day first thing in the morning?

The first thing I do in the morning is check my emails and then add anything that has come up to my calendar. I am so in love with Cozi right now and have it on my laptop and my ipod touch. It keeps me straight and I adore it! Oh and for those who follow me regularly yes I am working on getting an ipad and have decided it is a good investment not only for me but for my kids as well.

Ok so that is the questions for today and now I will tell you that I will be busy today packing up to leave town. We will be leaving tomorrow morning for our cruise!!! I am so excited and the girls are so ready they have all their swimsuits and flip flops layed out already. We will be seeing a little of Italy, Greece and the Greek islands. I am sure I will have a ton of pics to share with you when we get back but unfortunately I will have to say bon voyage for a little while as we will be gone for 10 days.

Be back soon with tons of pics and all the other good stuff!!!

A super fast catch up..picture heavy!!

2011-06-08T13:14:00.000+02:00

Ok so things around here have been super duper hectic, and really busy. Let me start with the fact that right now I am taking a break from packing...a much needed break too...but we will get to the travelling soon enough.

Ok first of all my trip to Garmisch was amazing and fabulous and exhausting and very informative. I however do not have any pics to share with you because my dumb a** forgot my camera...can you say I need an Iphone now?!?!!? So anywho it was great and then the next weekend was filled with catching a show at the theater, a birthday party and legoland deutchland. I LOVE going to the theater and especially love that my girls love it too!! We got to see Crazy for you and it was just fantastic.
The next day we headed off to Legoland..yiippeeee!! I adore Legoland and the one here is even better then the one in California. They had so many rides we spent all day there and still didn't get to ride all of them.

Can you see me?!?! Haha it was so much fun!!

So then let's move onto the closing ceremony for DD2's elementary school. I was so sad to see the school closing because I liked the smaller class sizes but I guess all good things must come to an end. The kids sang songs and it was a beautiful ceremony..

Yeah she is a total ham if she sees a camera pointed at her!!

Look minisoldiers...ok ok they are highschool rotc soldiers but I really think they look like minisoldiers dont you?!?!

DD2's favorite part was the bbq afterwards and the cupcakes that she said "a lion cub walked on and left a footprint" Soo cute!!

So then we have to go to DD2's dance recital for her hip hop class. She LOVES this class and I love the fact that she is so passionate about it..

Seriously how cute are they?!?!

She was concentrating so hard she forgot to smile! lol

One of my favorite moves they did. It was a fabulous recital and I was so proud of DD2. She did a fabulous job and even had a friend give her flowers afterwards!! You go girl!!

Now that would lead us pretty much up to today..yes I skipped some stuff but I was afraid to completely bore you. I do however have to tell you that when I am all done packing up our bags we will be leaving early early Saturday morning to drive to Venice, Italy and catch our cruise ship to the Greek Island!! I am SO excited and I promise I will NOT forget my camera on this one!! So you all can look forward to more fun and gorgeous pics when I return.

Oh and just in case I have lost anyone due to my crazy hiatis because I done locked myself out of the blogger page....come back ya'll ya hear?!?!??!?!!!!!

This is what happens when you think you know it all....

2011-06-02T12:04:00.000+02:00

So in case you all didn't miss me badly ~~I knew you all did!!~~ enough to notice I have not blogged in a while I have a funny story to tell you all. So I have started working on all my stuff for the club I am volunteering for next year and all my info of course has passwords on it. Well...my being the smarty that I am I decided to change all the passwords so I didn't have to worry about anyone going into my accounts and messing anything up. Smart right?!?! Yeah well not if you forget to write down all the passwords that you have now changed...Haha that's right I made the mistake of not writing down any passwords that I chagned and ended up locking myself out of blogger...ughhhhh!! Call me genious..go ahead I know you want to!!!

So I do appologize for not blogging in a while and will do my best to not lock myself any more. Do you know how hard it is to talk with customer service when your hours are so far from their hours that you have to literally set an alarm to remind you to call them at a certain time?!?! Geeeeezzzz what a mess!!!

A lot has gone on in the past week or so also and I have so much to tell you but today I just got done volunteering for field day and I have a few hours until I have to go volunteer some more so I am taking a small break. I will be back to update you all on our comings and goings soon though I promise!!

Have a fabulous day and I hope you are having wonderful weather like we are today!!

Post it note Tuesday!

2011-05-24T14:01:00.000+02:00

I'm back and it's Friday...what could be better?!?!

2011-05-20T13:17:00.000+02:00

I have so much to tell you about my trip and you might as well take a big sip of whatever it is you are drinking and then DON'T touch that cup again until you are done reading because this is going to have you rolling on the floor...

So Saturday morning Mr. M decides he is going to put air in my tires ~~since asking him to help me do it for over a month just wasn't good enough until it came to me driving 4 other ladies a long distance~~ so we all get ready and head out to the truck. Well Mr. M went and sprayed all four valve stem caps with WD40 because it wasn't that I am a crazy woman and don't know how to put air in my tires they were stuck! So he is spraying them and then we are supposed to go run some errands and go to the gas station to top off the tank and put air in the tires. Well apparently he thought I was a dumb woman who didn't know any better so as soon as he sprays the caps like I told him to he then decided to try and take them off. Now I may not know a lot about cars and such but I know stuck when I see it!! He apparently doesn't!!! He gets out a tool and starts tugging on it...I am sitting in the truck wondering what is taking him so long to spray a little spray. Just then, I hear a sound like he is spraying but it seems to me he is spraying the heck out of the one tire..hmmmm!!! So as I look out my window to see what he is doing he is sitting on the ground with the biggest smile on his face that I have ever seen...OH DEAR LORD WHAT DID HE DO?!??! Yupp you guessed it...he broke off the valve stem and my tire is now leaking air completely!!!

As I jump out of the truck to find out what he did I look over to see that my front driver side tire is completely flat...ughhhh!!! So we tell the girls to get out of the truck and my mind is going back and forth between "how do I get this fixed", "what am I going to do if I can't get this fixed by tomorrow", "crap it is a Saturday in Germany and we all know stuff is not always open", and "how dumb do you think I am now mister?!"!! It was fun.....NOT!!! So he takes off the tire and puts the spare tire on while I call around to find out where we are going to get this thing fixed and start calling the ladies riding with me to let them know that we may have a small problem with our ride...aka ...my truck. I luckily find a place to fix it and the man could not have been more nice and helpful and so we have to head out there....after Mr. M gets the tire off which so far he has broken 3 tools and throw another across the parking lot..sighhhhhh!!! Let's just say..we got the tire fixed and after all of the hassle it took us 4 hours to get it all done, we ran out of time to get all my errands done before heading out for the day, and then I had to redo the calls to let people know we were ok for our travelling hte following day. I love my husband but I am always calling him Tim Taylor because if it can be broken then he always finds a way to do it!!

So Sunday morning I headed out with 4 ladies to Garmisch for our conference. It was so much fun, I learned a lot and came home completely exhausted. More on that later though I promise with pics!

Today is Friday though so I am doing the 5 Question Friday because I love it soooo much!! So here it is...

1. Do you and your spouse go to bed at the same time?

Most of the time yes. Usually during the summer months I like to stay up a little later since I don't have to get up so early in the mornings and then sometimes on the weekends if we don't have a lot going on Mr. M likes to stay up later and watch junk I don't like to watch and I go to bed.

2. A question for the ladies...What kind of facial hair do you like on your man?

NONE....I can't stand any facial hair on my man and even when he is on leave and likes to attempt to grow it out it grosses me out!! Yuuuck!!

3. What's the worst vacation you've ever taken?

Well for a long time we didn't really take vacations really we just went from wherever we lived to Oklahoma to visit our families because they are all too cheap to come and visit us...oops did I say that outloud?!?! We finally came to our senses after listening to all of their lovely vacations they took instead of giving a rats behind to come see us and now we take vacations wherever we want and don't worry about anyone else. I guess I wouls have to say that our worst vacation was being bored out of our minds sitting around some relatives house spending time with them when all we really wanted to be doing was having fun.

4. What's the first-ever blog you followed?

Well a long long long time ago I had a blog that was private and only my family and friends could view it and back then the only other blog I ever followed was my cousins blog. Hers is private too so sorry ya'll but you can't see it!! :)

5. Do you enjoy amusement parks?

Well I do love to go to amusement parks and I love to watch my kids faces as they get all excited to ride all the super crazy loopty lou roller coasters and such but I really enjoy going to them for the food...yum yum yummmmmy amusement parks have the best food ever!!! Funnel cake and corn dog anyone?!?!?! How about a big cup of fruit..mmmmm mmmmm!!

5 Question Friday...a day late!!

2011-05-14T09:46:00.000+02:00

Ok I know it is Saturday but I was unable to get on blogger yesterday. So much is going on here at the house and we have so many end of the year things that keep creeping up on us that it is almost rare to have a day to just relax anymore.
We are moving forward on our cruise plans and I booked our hotel for Venice so that we can spend a few days there after the cruise and enjoy the city. Hmmmmm..did I mention we are taking a cruise yet?! Ok so if this is repeat bare with me. We are taking a cruise in June to Greece and it leaves from Venice so I am so excited to be doing 2 things on our list at once it is just incredible. I will tell you all about that later though.

I am leaving tomorrow to go to Edelweiss for a week but I will try to keep blogging from there if I have time.

Let's get to the questions now so I can go get on breakfast and feed my "are you making it yet?" kids...

1. Tube socks, calf socks, crew, ankle, none?

I am more of a crew sock girl myself. I have told you all before that I do consider myself fashionably challenged. I am not one of those women who goes gaga over the newest fashions or have to have the latest in anything. I try to dress for whatever occasion in a way that is called for but for the most part I am all about being comfortable and I could care less what any else thinks. Wow I sound rude...ok I am not rude just know what I like!! For reals!!

2. Was your childs (children's) name a mutual decision or was it a debate? If you don't have children, do you plan on giving your spouse a say, or do you have a name you MUST have, regardless if your other half likes it or not?!

Well with my oldest it was pretty much my decision. Mr. M was deployed and he pretty much said whatever you want is fine with me. So after going through a bazillion different possiblities after finding out that it was not a boy like I had sworn it was throughout my entire pregnancy...I came up with a name that encompassed my whole families traditions. Her first name started with the letter of a deceases relative(Jewish tradition) and her middle name was after an accomplished female on my mother's side of the family.(according to my mom this meant she would do great things).

For my youngest daughter, who once again came out a girl despite my swearing she was a boy and after the doctors told me I could not have any more kids due to my body having serious issues with both pregnancies, we decided to name her after Mr. M and myself. Her first name is actually a combination of mine and Mr. M's names and her middle name is once again from a deceased relative on my father's side. Wow I just realized Mr. M's family had no part in either of our girls names..hmmmm I sense a pattern.. Oh well!!

3. What is your favorite type of weather?

My absolute favorite weather is the Fall weather where you are wearing shorts and a sweatshirt. It's warm but not hot and no air conditioning needed...Fabulous weather if I do say so myself!!

4. If left to your own devices, what time would you wake up every day?

When I do not have to wake up early to get the girls ready for school then I normally wake up automatically around 6 or 6:30am. I am fine with that especially since the rest of my family sleep in a while longer and I can still have my quiet coffee time to myself.

5. Have you bought your cemetery plots yet?

Ummmm no!! I can definitely say that after having to do all of that for my little brother that it is a daunting and horrible task and I hated every minute of it!! I was sick of people asking me questions like do you think he would want this kind of coffin or do you think he would like to be buried near a tree that I wanted to scream...do you think he wanted to pass away and leave us all at such a young age you creepy people?!?! Ohh sorry it is still a little fresh and makes me sick to my stomach to think about it.

I have always said that I do NOT want to be buried in the ground. I don't like bugs, or camping now so why would I want to be laid to rest in the ground?! For reals!! I want a place for my family to be able to go to and visit if they feel the need but it better be above ground and that is the end of my thinking on that subject!

Ok so there are the questions and wow some of them were horrible but hey I guess that's what you get answering generic questions every week. I have to go make breakfast now and feed the hungry masses. I wish you all a fabulous weekend and a wonderful week ahead!

Post it note Tuesday..revelations, hopes, and wierd noises!

2011-05-10T06:37:00.000+02:00

Military Monday blog hop and pics from Koln!!

2011-05-09T09:05:00.001+02:00

Ok so we had a fun filled weekend and honestly I am ready for a nap right now. We woke up early Saturday morning and headed to Phantasialand. It was fabulous and we spent all day there!! We left there and drove to Koln where we checked into our hotel, asked for a map and were out exporing the city and looking for a place to eat by 5:30pm. We found the Hard rock cafe and ate dinner there. Then we just walked around the town snapping pictures and being amazed at all the beautiful things they have there. We finally returned to our hotel around 9pm and that was only because it started getting dark and DD2 does NOT like dark at all!!

The next morning we woke up and had a fabulous brunch at the hotel and checked out and headed out to explore more of the town. We saw the gorgeous Dom of Koln and many other beautiful things and then made our way to the schokoladen museum where we engorged ourselves in everything chocolate..MMMMmmmmmm!!! It was fabulous!! I even brought home some chocolate beer!! Yupp it may not taste good but I had to have it anyway.

Here are some pics of our trip...

this is Phantasialand..soo much fun!

they had the cutest characters and DD2 just loved them..

the coolest ride in my opinion..

this character was crazy huge!!!

and these are some pics of Koln...

where we ate dinner...yummmmmyyy!

we saw these guys riding a beer bike..how cool is that?!?!

beautiful statue..I am going to have to look this one up..

another church...I adore the architechture of European churches!

this was some sculpture park.. again something I will have to look up to find out what it was..

the bazillion steps leading up to the Dom..oyyyyy

the Dom...it was enormous and amazing and breathtaking!!

the side of the Dom from the bottom of the stairs on the other side..

and some pics of the chocolate museum..

anyone want to go to chocolate school?!?!

it was amazing to watch the machines making the chocolate...mmmmmmmm......

at the end they let you try some...oh yeahhhhhh..

ok so I wanted this sooooo bad but Mr. M said no I couldn't hide it even if I tried to take it....sighhhhhhhhhh

So it was an amazing weekend and we had a fabulous time. You definetly have to put Koln on your schedule for a trip if you are able to. It is also Monday military blog hop so grab this button and head on over there to do your thing.....

5 Question Friday!!!

2011-05-06T06:17:00.000+02:00

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy it's Friday again!!! I have never been so happy to see a day come as I am today. We are heading to Koln this weekend and I am so ready to see some great sites, have a fabulous meal at another Hard Rock cafe, and taste heaven that is chocolate....mmmmmm I can just taste it now.

Ok so here are the questions for this fine Friday and I will be back next week to share all the pics and stories of our adventures once again...

1. Have you ever had roommates?

Ummm yupp! I had a dorm mate my first semester in college and then I moved out to an apt. with friends and had 3 roommates. I then moved into another apt. with one roommate and then moved out of that apartment and into a house with another roommate. I guess that pretty much answers the question right?!?!

2. How many names do you/your children have? (i.e. Prince Charming William Phillip Arthur Louis John Jacob Jingleheimer-Schmidt)

We all have pretty simple names here. However, had I ever actually given birth to a boy I do think he would have hated me one day. The name we had picked out for our son(which I swore I was having with both of my pregnancies) was..Andrew David Bryson....I guess that's not too bad though. It's not as bad as some I have heard. No boy for me though and so my girls just got regular names with not extras. Poor kids!! haha

3. Did you watch the Royal Wedding?

OMG are you kidding me?!?! Who in their right minds would have missed that?!?!?! No, for reals!!!! Not only did I watch it but seriously ya'll I planned my whole day around it and then got soooo upset when I had to go pick up my child from school and I missed the live kiss....arrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhh!!!! Oh well it's not like it hasn't been on tv a bazillion times over now but still..it would have been nice to see it live is all I'm saying!!

4. What is the messiest room in your house?

Well that would depend on what you consider in my house really...I have a storage room in the basement that looks like a tornado lives there. If that doesn't count and it actually has to be IN my house then I would have to say the laundry room. We have the tiniest laundry room and it is so cluttered because other then the kitchen or bathroom it is the only place in the house that is tiled and not wooden flooring so I keep a lot of junk in there like water bottles, mops, etc.

5. What is your ideal mothers day?

I would have to say that my ideal mother's day would have to be a day where I have to do or plan nothing. None of this "what would you like to do for mothers day?" crap!! Seriously, I spend my entire life planning our days, meals, activities, trips and cleaning, packing, googling, printing, and running around for all of it. What I really really want is one day where someone else plans and does every single thing!!! Is that too much to ask?!?!?!

Ok ya'll I am off to get my day started and start packing for our little trip this weekend. I hope that all of you have a wonderful weekend and a very very Happy Mothers day to each and every one of you moms out there!!

Post it note Tuesday!

2011-05-03T18:52:00.000+02:00

Monday...ughhhhh!!!!

2011-05-02T10:43:00.000+02:00

So Mondays are my absolute worst day of the week. I try to keep them very slow because it takes me all day to get motivated to do pretty much anything. Don't judge me you know you wanted to say it too!!

So this morning we started teacher appreciation week and so as I was delivering way more food then I ever would hope someone would bring to me on a bright sunny Monday morning it hit me! I have beeen complaining about Mondays for so long that honestly I don't even know why I am complaining anymore. I mean seriously it's not like I have a job to go to on Monday since I am a stay at home mom. I can usually plan my days any way I want unless there is a function or something I need to be at. So why is it that I don't like Mondays?!?! I have no idea!!! Hmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

Oh well this morning was a little ucky anyway. DD1 woke up saying her chest hurt and she was nauscious..that is what happens when you have severe allergies and yet still insist on sleeping with the fan directly on your face!!! I have told her a million times to stop doing that but of course she never listens. So she tried to eat something and immediately ran the toilet. I know it is just the mucus that drained into her stomach all night but I sent her off to bed to relax and take the day off. DD2 then wakes up telling me that her throat hurts...are you flippin' kiddin' me?!?! I know she did not sleep with the fan on her face because I control HER fan and I even have a humidifier in her room to make sure her allergies don't get too awful. So I feel her head and she is fine but refuses to eat breakfast so I end up telling her to go back to bed then.

As I am trying to figure out how I am going to get all of this food i have prepared to the 2 different schools along with teacher gifts and deal with 2 sick kids in comes DD2 saying she is better now. OMG what are you trying to do to me?!! So I tell her she better eat her breakfast or she is not going to school today. She shoves that muffin down her throat faster then I can say it! Ok so maybe she realized what day it was today and she really wanted to give her teacher her gift..uhhhhh huhhhhhhh got it!!! So I rearrange everything I had set up and finish putting together the food and off I go to take DD2 to school. We get there and give her teacher the gift and then off I go again to go get in my truck and go to the second school. Stop by the office to tell them DD1 would not be in school today and go start helping set up the food in the teacher's lounge.

Now if you remember correctly I had received an award for volunteer of the year for the middle school last week. It was nice to be honored but really I don't like that stuff. I love volunteering and enjoy doing it but please just give the awards to someone else unless I can just come pick it up from your office when I have time. Going up on a stage to say thankyou and have someone else say thank you to me...NOT my cup of tea at all!! So anywho...I remind you of that because it turns out there were not so many volunteers who brought things for the teachers. I am so tired of people saying they will do stuff, show up, or bring things and not do it and think that is ok. As I am walking out the door a little disgruntled and sad I am once again asked to please take the President's position on the board next year to which I reply " No thanks because I can not give that much time and I have had it with people who take positions just to have their name out there and yet do nothing to deserve any recognition"!! Harsh?...Maybe! True? Absolutely!! I am done being the work horse for people who do not appreciate it and will take advantage of me because I simply am that type of person who can not sit idley by and watch nothing get done. I will not!!!!!!

Ok ok I am done ranting but it needed to be said. I will be volunteering my rear end off next year but it will be for something that I truly believe in and something that I think will be fun! I love volunteering and will not give that up but I will not sit by any more and allow people to put their names on things that came from my sweat and tears!! Ya'll have a lot of work to do from now on since this patsy is not going to help you out!! BuBye!!!

5 Question Friday!!!

2011-04-29T08:29:00.000+02:00

1. If you could buy any car, money not an option, what would it be?

I would absolutely buy a fully loaded Porsche SUV!!! OMG I see them all the time and I am sooooooo jealous!!! Me. Want. Porsche!!

2. What was your worst first date ever?

I had a guy ask me out in college and I really didn't want to go out with him but he was a nice guy and my friends kept telling me to give him a chance. So I told him I would go to dinner with him one night. He came to pick me up 30 minutes late. took me a cheap fast food restaurant and explained me to me through out the whole dinner how he didn't have a lot of money and no one ever said yes to a date with him until me. It was like a gigantic cheap pity party!! I am all about giving people a chance but you better be out for a good time instead of just whining all night!! Sheeesh!!

3. How old were you when you fell in love for the first time?

That would depend on if you count puppy love. The very first boy whom I SWORE I was in love with was in 2nd grade and I will never forget his name...swooon...he was soooo dreamy!! After that I would have to say that until I met Mr. M I had never felt that gut feeling that I had met the one!!

4. When was the last time you reconciled your checkbook?

Ummm yesterday!! Funny thing is I carry a check book and almost never use checks but I reconcile my checkbook every week so I am aware of what we are spending our money on. It really does help us keep from overspending due to not paying attention.

5. If you were going to fashion a "Wanted" Ad for a best friend, how would you word it?
Wanted: Some one who can be there whenever needed, cry with me, laugh with me, know when to take the kids or grab a bottle of wine and come over. Must be care free, fun loving, sensitive, tough, good with kids and have tons of material to gossip about!!

Ok so that is my Friday get to know me portion of the day. Now I have to prepare for the royal wedding as I am trying to figure out how to record it for my girls to watch when they get home. Have a fabulously royal weekend everyone and see you all later!!!

Ever have a fake conversation and what frustrates you?!!

2011-04-27T08:03:00.000+02:00

What sort of things do you think when you are all alone with your thoughts?! For reals!!!

I have had so much going on lately and have found myself having complete conversations in my head while either someone else is talking to me(meaning I am totally ignoring them) or while I am watching tv. I am not a real huge tv watcher especially since majority of my favorite shows I can not watch here..buggers!! Anywho, it has become a thing lately that I don't daydream but seriously have conversations in my head. Does anyone else do this?! Am I officially insane now?!!

I have been planning this trip for Mr. M's birthday and he had decided he wanted to invite other people to come with us. So I had started to tell people about it...in my head..and had been wondering why no one was telling me if they were going or not. Yupp you got it..I was waiting for my imaginery conversation to answer me...ughhhh!!!! I really do think I need a serious spa day ya'll!

So now that I finally realized that I had only had the conversations in my head I began telling people about the weekend and now am so close to it and yet everyone has a million questions and that is the only part I hate. I can plan a trip and Mr. M just asks if we are good and we off go, but once you invite other people then they all want to know what is planned, who is going, how far is it, how much does it cost, how did I find the hotel, and blah blah blah!! If I invite you to a weekend trip do me a favor and do your own research before you ask me a bazillion questions ok?!!!
I have taken my own time to plan, explore and compare everything before making the decision to make the trip so basically either trust me since every trip I have ever planned was fabulous or don't come. Is that rude?!?! Honestly I am just tired of having to do all the work and answer a bazillion questions that they could have answered themselves to then only have them say they are not coming. Whatever!!!!!

My trip is planned and I am happy with what I have come up with. I will have tons of pics to share with all of you and we will have the time of our lives. Is anyone else coming?!! No idea! Do I care either way?!! Nope!!

Onward and upward right?!?!!!!

So be honest really and tell me just what is your biggest pet peeve about planning a trip!!

Post it note Tuesday!

2011-04-26T09:49:00.000+02:00

Military Monday blog hop!!

2011-04-25T10:49:00.000+02:00

Ughhh it's Monday again!! The weekend was fabulous but man does it go by too fast. I will have a few pics to show you this week once of course I grab them off my camera...don't hold your breathe!! No. Really. You just might pass out before it even happens ya'll!! Ok so today I am doing the military Monday blog hop. It's actually quite fabulous because the only rules are to follow others and have a good time..how flippin' simple is that right?!?! So click on that button up there and let's have some fun meeting new people.

For those of you new to my blog:

Welcome, welcome and please make yourself at home. You are welcome to browse around and you will discover that my blog is a mix of pretty much everything. I am a 30-something woman, married to an Army man for 16 years and we have 2 beautiful girls. DD1 is 13 and DD2 is 7. They make my life worth living in everything they do. We are currently stationed in Germany and loving it. We travel as often as we can and love all of the opportunities we have been given here. I write about our travels, crafts, organizing, military life, being a mom, being a wife, and pretty much anything fabulous you can think of. Oh and btw I have my own language but stick around long enough and you will figure it out along with the rest of my fabulousness!! :)

As always follow me and I will return the favor. Stop by for coffee anytime or daquiris which are only served on Friday nights.

Everyone have a fabulous Monday and rest of the week and I will be back tomorrow with some pics and some post its!!

5 Question Friday!!!

2011-04-22T14:58:00.000+02:00

1. What is your favorite Easter tradition?

I would have to say that everything dealing eggs (since I am totally obsessed with eggs) especially deviled eggs..MMMMMmmmmmm!!

2. Are you a "shower" or a "long, hot bath" kind of person?

Ok well this is a tough one for me. I would looooove to be a long, hot bath person; however, we have only had a bath tub big enough for me to actually lay completely down in so it has not worked for me. I am tall and I always end up having to bend my knees which is not relaxing to me so for now shower it is..sighhhh!!!

3. Can you parallel park and if so when is the last time you did it?

Haha, ummmm why yes, yes I can parallel park. Have I mentioned how I live in Germany and paralell parking is a comon practice here?! I hate it and especially doing it with my gigantic American suv.....can you say PITA?!?!?!

4. What is your favorite Easter candy?

Hmmmmm that is a tough one for me. I would honestly have to say I have a tie between chocolate peanut butter eggs and the chocolate caramel eggs....ooooohhh I feel a run to the store coming on!! :)

5. Easter: do you go all out with the Easter Bunny or focus on the religious part of the holiday?

I have always tried to make Easter more of a spiritual and family holiday more then anything. My youngest still believes in the Easter bunny so of course we do the baskets with candy and toys for her. My oldest who knows better usually gets money simply because we don't feel like explaining it to our youngest yet which kind of makes it hard. I will never forget the first Easter that our oldest got money and no toys and our youngest said "mom, the Easter bunny didn't have time to shop for sissy huh?!" We laughed so hard that morning!! We then had to explain that when you reach a certain age the Easter bunny just like Santa Clause decides you would rather buy your own goodies sometimes. I know. Aren't we the best parents ever?!?!

We have a full weekend planned and so hopefully I will be back next week with tons of pictures and a maybe stuff to talk about even!!

Have a great holiday weekend everyone!!

Post it note Tuesday!

2011-04-19T07:57:00.000+02:00

The answer to the mystery pic from a few weeks ago...

2011-04-18T12:36:00.000+02:00

Ok so if you remember a few weeks ago I showed you this picture and asked what you thought it was....

Well I actually had someone guess right!!! One day I decided to go through our "vacation jug" and get all the Euro change out of it before we went on vacation. Now this jug is supposed to be our vacation money for the summer we head back to the US. We already have ideas on how we want to spend it and are just hoping it is more then enough to get it all done.

We figured this was a good idea to get our girls excited not only about saving but that our next big move would not just be all stress and sad goodbyes but would have a fun trip included along with it.

So when I had to retrieve the euro change that Mr. M kept putting in there even though I told him numerous times not to it took me 2 hours to dig it all out..ughhhh!!!

I seperated it all out onto plates in order to better sort out what was euro and what was not.

Believe it or not out of all of that change this is all the euro I found!! It was a little frustrating...just a little!!

So I figured why not just count it since I went through all that trouble already. Now we had agreed not to count it until the day we were cashing it in before we moved. However, I change my mind..and that's that!!

After counting all the quarters which again took me forever it seemed I decided to forget that business and just threw it all back in the jug and was done with it.

I then counted up the euro change and ended up with around 8 euro!! Haha soo worth it right?!?!?! Yeah not so much but oh well atleast I got it out of there.

So far we are looking at a decent hotel for our vacation but we better keep the savings up so we can have a fabulous hotel for vacation!!

How do you save up for vacations?

Does your family have a vacation jug or another way to save up change?

5 Question Friday!!!

2011-04-15T07:58:00.000+02:00

OMG I can not believe it is Friday already and that of course means the end of Spring break for us...waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! We had such a good time traveling to Berlin and a few other places. We still have a few things to do. This weekend will be filled with Easter markets and outdoor fun...yippeeee!!!

1. What is your favorite sign of spring?

I would have to say that my favorite sign is all the flowers in bloom and the green grass. Although I have to say that the grass never goes brown here in Germany..it's quite odd actually but for the most part it just gets covered in snow and slush but stays green.

2. What was your best birthday ever?

I would have to say my best birthday was the one year Mr. M actually planned a surprise party for me. He is horrible at keeping secrets so it really was a treat! Most of the time I do not make a big deal out of my birthday. I mean you can only turn 29 so many times before people quite wanting to celebrate with you..haha!!

3. What is your favorite dessert?

Wow I have to pick just one?!?! Ummmm...Errrrrrrr.....geeeez this is hard!!! I guess if I had to say anything then it would be strawberry shortcake and I mean the good one. With strawberries everywhere, shortcake, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and strawberry sauce..yuuuuuuuuuuummmmy!!!!

4. What is the best excuse you've ever used to get out of a ticket?

Well sadly to say I have had very few tickets in my lifetime and I never tried to get out of getting them. I just took my tickets like a good little girl and then went to the cops we knew to get them taken away..haha yupp I am bad!!! Let me just say it only worked once and that was only because the cop screwed up on writing the ticket so it was thrown out of court.

5. Do you wake up before your alarm, with your alarm, or after hitting snooze several times?

Normally I wake up before my alarm and eventually give up trying to go back to sleep and turn it off. I hate it when you wake up and you have like 20 minutes before your alarm goes off and so you try to go back to sleep only to end up waking up to your alarm going off and feeling like you just slept for a minute and are totally exhausted. For me it is better to get up then to deal with that feeling...ewwww!!

Ok so that is my questions for the day. I hope that everyone has a fabulous weekend and I look forward to reading all of your questions and answers as well.

Our American tour of Berlin.....

2011-04-14T07:48:00.000+02:00

I am so glad to be back home in my own bed with my own pillow!! The only part of European hotels I don't like is their beds and what they call pillows...waaaaaaay tooo soft for my liking. Other then that the hotel was fabulous and everyone was so friendly and nice. We had everything we could have wanted out of a hotel and then some.

Our trip around Berlin began and ended up becoming an American theme for us. Not that we had wanted it that way but after a few days it just seemed funny so we stuck with it. You see we arrived on a Sunday afternoon and if you know anything about Germany on a Sunday almost nothing is open. So as we walked aimlessly around the city looking for something that was open so we could eat the first thing we came to that was open was Subway. Yupp we drove all the way to Berlin, Germany to eat Subway. Haha no just wait it gets so much better. Once we ate then we headed out to find the Berlin zoo which was fabulous and well worth the trip.

We also went into the aquarium. The girls loved that they not only had fish but snakes and bugs....yuuuuuuck!!! Sometimes I wonder what they will do when they grow up. They both seem to like icky things!! Yikes!!

One thing we noticed right off the bat was that there were these bear statues all over the city. Mr. M was determined to find out why and eventually he did. As soon as I ask him again I will share it with you but of course I do not remember right now..

Aren't they cute?!?! DD2 and I had a blast posing with some of them.

There were so many magnificent things we did and saw whilie in Berlin but I have to say the most exciting for me was seeing parts of the wall that were left standing and the markers all along the streets of where the wall had once stood. It just was amazing and humlbing at the same time.

Checkpoint Charlie!

These double stones on the street are the markers of where the wall used to stand. Amazing!!

Brandenburg gate!

Of course as always we hit up the hard rock for some good food, a little shopping and a hurricane glass to add to my collection.

This was the memorial to the murdered Jews. Beautiful and yet very sad.

Our next American stop was of course Dunkin Donuts..yummmmmmm!!!!!

This is Berlin's walk of fame!! It wasn't very big but how clever of them eh?!?!

All along the walk of fame they had stars with people names on it and then there were these little gold boxes. If you looked inside them you could see images of the people who were names on the stars they were next to. Very cool according to the girls!!

One of my favorite stops was the Charlottenberg Palace. It was huge and beautiful and even though we were standing in the rain we didn't care!!

The gardens out back of the palace.

The center of the gardens. They simply were stunning.

So our trip was great and in the whole time we were there we made our American tour something like this: Subway, KFC, Hard rock cafe, McDonalds, Burger King, Dominoes pizza, Dunkin Donuts and of course we enjoyed them all!!

So even though we were having a good time visiting history and learning so much we managed to make it fun for the girls as well. I would highly reccomend Berlin to anyone who is looking for a historical trip and yet something for the kids as well. I have a ton more pics but maybe another day on those.

Have a great day everyone and I will see you all tomorrow!!

cupcake update and a small hiatus!!

2011-04-07T09:00:00.000+02:00

I really wanted to say thank you so much to everyone for the sweet comments on our cupcakes. We made them for my daughters class. They were having cupcake wars!! Well as prejudice as I was and was sure our cupcakes were the best I was......RIGHT!!! Haha they won!!! I was so proud of my daughter and when she came home with a huge smile on her face proclaiming her win and the pride beaming from her like sunshine. Those are the moments that make being a mom the best!!

So thank you thank you all for your support and comments and apparently we did a good job.

Tomorrow we start our Spring break here. Mr. M is taking leave for the whole week and we are going to do some traveling, catching up on sleep and just some general family time. It is so nice when we actually get to have some family time and I love every minute of it.

For our travels we will be going to East Germany: Berlin, Dresden and a few other cities. We will take the week and just go explore as much as we possibly can. I am so excited to see so many wonderful things that we have yet to explore. The girls are very sad that they will not be able to see Knut the polar bear but I guess we will get some pics of his memorial anyway. Rest in peace Knut and so sorry we never go the chance to see you.

I will not be taking a laptop with me as I never do. Family time is too precious to me for anything else to get in the way. I will however have my ipod with me so if I am lucky enough to find a wireless connection I will atleast be able to update facebook. Yes I am totally addicted to facebook and don't see how I will be with out it for so long but I will survive!!

So I hope that everyone has a wonderful week ahead and I will be back very soon to update with tons of pics, many adventures and hopefully a very happy family.

To all the new friends I have made through the 2011 blog party and the new military blog hop....welcome and thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your lives as well as keeping tabs on mine!!

It's Wednesday and I forgot my post its!!!!

2011-04-06T07:17:00.000+02:00

So yesterday started out with me taking DD2 to school to then go into the teacher's lounge for a PTA meeting. That meeting lasted until around 9:30 and then I walked to my truck and headed to the middle school to go to a PTSA meeting which lasted until around 12:30 and then standing around talking afterwards I ended up getting back home around 1:10. So I started checking and answering emails and finishing up some business for both organizations for the 40 minutes I had until I had to go back and pick up DD2.
Once we were home I then got a phone call telling me that dance class was cancelled. No big deal right?! Well actually YES it was a big deal!!!! You see DD1 did not ride the bus home from school because she was going to walk over to the dance studio instead and meet us there. All of which is not near our home or some place where I could tell her to just come home. So we got in the truck and had to go get her...Ughhhhh!!
Once we got home we started making the cupcakes that I had to have done by this morning to take to school with DD2. They turned out gorgeous and we are pretty proud of ourselves for getting them done but seriously the time it took to make them....RIDICULOUS!!

Cute right?! I really like them but cutting the marshmallows in half one by one and then dipping them into the sugar..holy cow I thought I was never going to be done with it!!!

Oh yeah and btw did I happen to mention that while we were making these gorgeous cupcakes I was also making dinner which included home made potatoe salad. You know peeling, slicing, cutting, and boiling potatoes. Oyyyyy sometimes I think I ask for it!!

So that was my crazy busy Tuesday and hopefully next week I will remember to do my post it's...oh wait next week I will be in Berlin!!

We will be leaving on Sunday to go to Berlin for Spring break and I won't be back for a few days. I will have tons of pics to share with you and a lot of things to tell you so be ready!!!

Happy hump day everyone!!

Military Monday blog hop!!

2011-04-04T13:36:00.000+02:00

So I am always eager to meet more milspouse bloggers and only wish I had time to visit them all every day. I can tell you that I try to visit as many as possible and leave comments always because...comment rock duh!!

So one blog that I follow recently told me about a military blog hop they do so I was all excited to have the opporunity to join it. Here is the button if you would like to join in yourself..

Of course there are rules...I did read that correctly hopefully but really the only rules are to follow people and meet new bloggers..how easy is that!! For reals!!

So here is to trying something new...Cheers!!

If you are new to my blog you can go and read the all about me section...hmmm I have no idea when I last updated that so I guess I should do that now huh?! Ok ok stop barking at me I will....as soon as I have time!!

Honored, humbled and so much fun....

2011-04-02T07:18:00.000+02:00

I am having a grand time with this years blog party and so glad to have met all the fabulous bloggers out there. It just started so I have so many to get to and I am happy to be finding new places to follow and enjoy seeing all the fabulous designs on people's blogs. I am kind of jealous actually and thinking of redoing my blog maybe just a little bit. I do adore my blog design and have to give a huge shout out to Casey for making my design. She does fabulous work and you all should go and check her out.

So many of you I have found are milspouses yourself or used to be and I am loving the opportunities to get to know each and every one of you. I love the huge support network I have found here on blogger with more military wives and all of us sharing our experiences with each other. Don't get me wrong I am not only interested in milspouse blogs but it does make the world seem just a little bit smaller to meet such fabulous women who are so far away from me and yet so close and kind.

Last night Mr. M and I went to a spouses club dinner and this one was themed "You're a star"! I love the themes that they do for these things because it makes it so much more fun to go to and it gives me an outlet to be a little crazy and show some of myself. I really wanted to wow people last night so I had a friend help me go and find a hair piece to wear and I bought a gorgeous dress to go with it. I had my normally short hair all pulled up with this gorgeous long hair piece and it looked sooo great!! I had so many compliments I am sure I was blushing by the end of the night. Dinner was great, the people were great and watching all the volunteers get honored was really humbling. I love to volunteer and really do not like a big deal made out of it at all. I like to be one of those people who does what I do and let's just leave it at that. Well last night I crawled out of my shell and took a chance and now I will be the next year's 1st VP for the spouses club and I couldn't be more excited to do it!! It was an honor to be asked to do something and I jumped into it full steam ahead. I know it is going to a year to remember and I can not wait to get started on it.

Along with that position I was asked to be President for the PTSA for the middle school. If you remember from my previous blog I am actually being honored as volunteer of the year for the middle school this year. I did a lot of work and enjoyed every minute of it. It did however take up a huge chunk of my time and I do not think I could possibly do both positions. It is very humbling for people to ask me to take positions and I appreciate the confidence they are showing in me. Staying back in the shadows and just doing what I thought needed to be done has always been rewarding enough for me but this shall be the year that I truly step out and make myself known. I am so excited and I really think the next year is going to be grand.

Now I did have several pictures taken last night however, I do not have them yet so please keep checking back and hopefully soon I will have them for you.

To all my newest followers....welcome and thank you so much for letting me share just a little bit of my life with you. I will get to each and every one who commented on my page and all the others I have yet to get to as well. We have some things going on this weekend but I will get to it I promise!!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!! If I can say anything inspiring to any of you it would be to take a chance, step out of your comfort zone and you might just be amazed at all the good things that happen.

5 Question Friday!!!

2011-04-01T17:20:00.000+02:00

1. Have you ever had surgery?

Yes I have had 2 surgeries on my knee and 1 Csection with my youngest daughter. If I have it my way I will be getting lasik surgery on my eyes sometime soon as well....plllllllllllllllllllllllllleaseeeeeeeeee pray it works out for me!!!!!

2. Ever ride in an ambulance?

Ummmm nope!

3. How are you in a medical emergency? Panicked? Calm?

I guess it depends on what kind of a medical emergency and who it is for. Ok that sounds wierd but truly when one of my girls is hurt it is like I immediately go into doctor mode and am calm as I can be. However, let me see some stranger bleeding or something and I freak out and forget what to do. Wierd huh?!

4. Do you have a garden? Flowers or veggies?

Hahahhaahaha..oh sorry..baaahaahaahaaahaaa!! Ok ok I am back now. I have not inherited my mothers, nor my grandmothers green thumb sadly. In fact I think I inherited a black thumb because even when I try my hardest to grow a garden of any kind and do everything that everyone tells me to do it still ends up dying!! Ughhhhh!!

5. When did you move out of your parents house?

I moved out of my mother's house when I moved into the dorms at college. I then moved from the dorm to an apartment, then another apartment, then a house with a friend, then another apartment and then back to my mom's house when I got engaged and needed to end my lease to move with my hubby!! Whoaaa that was a long answer. OMG some day I am going to tell you all about all my different apartments, friends, roommates and craziness that was my college years!! Don't let me forget k?!?!?!

Now go grab you that button up there, go visit Mama M and give her a big hug and kiss because she is fabulous and her baby girl is going through a lot of stuff right now and she totally deserves happiness and love!!

Ultimate blog party 2011 is here!!!!!!

2011-04-01T12:50:00.001+02:00

Ok so I did this whole blog party last year and I had the best time ever so I figured why not do it again this year!! If you have never done a blog party then let me just tell you what you are missing out on.....
1. meeting tons of new fabulous people with fabulous blogs
2. finding those blogs with fabulous giveaways that you never would have know about
3. Every day having new blogs to go and check out..seriously there is no way you can visit them all in just a week..No for reals!!!
and that leave us with...
4. Because I said so and that is all you should need!!! Haha see and you thought I was going to be all about the blog party but of course I had to add some me fabulousness!! Is that a word?!?! Hmm, oh well, it is my word so there!!

Now hop on over and get your name onto one of the many lists and start some blog hopping and partying!!

A little intro to those new to my blog..
I am a thirty something woman, wife to Mr. M who is active duty Army, mom to DD1, age 13, and DD2, age 7. We are currently stationed in Germany and loving every single minute of it. My blog is about being a wife, being a military spouse, being a mom to two completely different kids, our crazy cats, our travels around Europe, our lives being military and of course my fabulous, hilariously funny self!! Tada....meet me!!

Ok seriously, if you haven't figured out that I am fabulous then by all means go click that follow button and I will be sure to fill you in on a daily basis as you come to realize the best thing you ever did in bloggerville was find me!! Too much?!?! Ok ok don't leave yet...I am not crazy but please do follow me and be sure to leave me a comment or two or three....I looooove me some comments!!

Can't wait to meet more fabulous bloggers and keep coming back each day of the blog party as I plan to share so much more about me, my life and my experiences with the military and bloggerville.

Let me just leave you with one image to help you decide to follow me....

Ok so now that you are totally curious as to what that is...see you tomorrow!! Muahuahuahuah!!

Please do leave me a comment inspite of the stupid word verification thingy that we all hate...you see I have mice..ok ok it's not mice just spammers lately! As soon as they go away it will be back to simple comments and beautiful veri free submitting!!