Roadtrip: Bitburg…Stausee.. CC meet

Yesterday, the weather was beautiful so we decided to take a road trip to Bitburg for Devin’s cross country meet.  I knew the drive would be pretty, since all the trees are changing right now, but we weren’t  prepared to end up at a pretty lake for his meet, so needless to say, the drive was worth it

We never got the email with the directions, so we thought we’d just print out directions to Bitburg, call his cell and go from there once we got closer.  We are the anti-gps family, so we are always ready for an adventure lol

Well, he called us first and asked where we were as they were starting in an hour…it was then we found out they weren’t anywhere near the base lol  Another one of the moms got on his phone and told us a general location, that they were at a resort near Bitburg and we went from there.  Yep, we found them!  The race had already started, but I did get to see him on one checkpoint and get a pic, then saw him coming to the finish line…my whole reason for going

I think he came in 42nd or 43rd, not sure which….not sure of his time as we didn’t get final stats…

Afterwards, we went for a little drive around to Spangdalem Air Base, then to Bitburg Air Base again.  Kevin had a tdy to Bitburg years ago (ok 18 years ago) and wanted to take a few pics to send to his buddy he still keeps in touch with….Here’s a pic of the hotel they stayed in, Bitburg Chapel where they apparently parked to go to the BX and  hit someones car with a GOV and, of course, the last pic is probably self explanatory…we took it when we showed Devin where his fav. brewery was located LOL (you can see it from the parking lot of one of the housing areas on base lol)

lake in Hamm Germany…small resort area

He and this other runner always run together

Devin is on the back left…

Devin coming through the “chute” full force in front of jesus (?!)

No, he did not puke

catching his breath “trying” to tell dad about the course

had to put on some clothes to fend of a chill from the wind, plus take a cool down run…

Wildpark Hotel

Chapel across from BX

Bitburger Brewery

Next weekend…Heidelburg….

Cards

So, I guess it really isn’t fair of me to tell you that I’m stamping and swapping and not share what I’ve been doing huh?  I think I’m going to put all my stamping stuff on here too from now on too, so if you’ve got my other site book marked, well, you’ll have a dead link too soon LOL {sorry!}

Anyway, here’s what I’ve been up to.  The yellow “Happy Birthday” card was for the swap.  The pic that has the Halloween card in it was from the club (and my very first Halloween card ever!!) and the rest are the cards I got in the Happy Birthday swap.  They were all so great,  I loved them all!  A big thanks to my friend Christine for getting us to do that so we could replenish her supply of cards!  LOL

We ARE moving!!

Yay!!  It is official, we have taken the house on base.  It will be a good move for our family….all the kids will go to school in the same place which will mean no bus and more sleep for them!! Yay!  We figure it adds a lot more time to Devin’s day too just from the transit time he normally wastes going back and forth to school every day…more than 2 hours from just that alone.  I won’t tell you the exact date of our move, but I will tell you that we should be pretty settled by the time Morgan’s 8th birthday rolls around and Halloween LOL

Kevin is back and life seems like it might be getting back to normal for once, yay!!  I had a crappy time getting him from the airport, but whatever…it was nice to not have to share him with the kids right off the bat either…

Our dumb cat is still here..I think we’ve got the fleas under control (thank GOD) and the kids have been cleaning her box twice a day, which means her bad behaviour is under control for now too. PeePee kitty is only pee-peeing in her box now and lemme tell you what a relief!  (Damn cat!)

The card swap I was in turned out to be LOTS of fun, and I got some really great cards.  We’re all playing again, and this time I’m the hostess.  We’re doing Thank You cards…inspired by our bathrooms LOL I’ve asked them to use the color, textures or themes of their bathrooms for inspiration…..funny huh?  Some of us have older homes with 1970’s color themes so we should get some great cards LOL  Awesome!!

We’ve had the heat on at night, this morning it was only 37 degrees…brrrr.  The leaves are turning fast too, so fall is quickly upon us…

Jordan took a nose dive down our steps the other night and landed face flat on our hard tiled floor.  Thankfully, she only ended up with a fat lip and slightly bruised nose and not a busted noise and missing teeth.  She made quite a bloody mess with her nose and cried “I don’t wanna die!!!!”…because apparently, when you’re 5 and you fall flat on your nose and get a nosebleed, that’s what  happens.  We assured her she wasn’t going to die, poor thing….

Anyway, that’s all that’s been going on here…I’m waiting on Kevin to get back with Devin from the cross country meet in town and then I’m making lasagna for dinner….I was going to go to a much needed crop with the crazies but thought a family night might do the Efam some good.  Seems like we’ve not had a lot of good quality family time the last few months….

thanks for reading~again LOL

We might be moving to ND!!

And I am excited!

Yes, I know we’ve only been here in this house a year but I am really excited about the possibility of moving again!  Just think…walking distance to the commissary, BX and shoppette, the girls can safely walk to school and I can see it from the house and having the high school in my back yard. 

Screeeeeeeeeech!  Stop the bus!  Did you think I meant the STATE of ND?  No silly, I meant North Dakota STREET….in base housing LOL

Our name is very, very close to the top of the list and when I called she told me it would be a matter of DAYS before she called us about a house.  There are quite a few open SRNCO houses in the one area near the school, and that’s what we are on the list for.  I had to do a drive by to check it out last night *just in case* to see the location and low and behold I found out it was North Dakota St. LOL  Isn’t that hysterical?  (I know once you get over the fact you fell for it, you will actually think it’s comical…mark my words!)

Well, it’s the rainy season (again) and it sucks. I hate it. Rain Rain Rain, blah dreary blah.  But I did get out and find some sunshine regardless.  One day I went to Ikea with Kara to touch stuff.  We even ate breakfast there.  I {heart} Ikea, I really, really do.  I will go back very soon lol

Then another rainy day, I went stampin’.  Our hostess club met for the first time and it was a blast.  We made 4 cards and our Demo was very tolerant of us lol  She can tolerate a LOT though, she has 6 kids!  It’s nice to be able to do that again.  You know how I love to stamp!  Speaking of which, I might let my demoship for TAC run its course and die a natural death once and for all.  I’m just not there, know what I mean? I’ve not been happy with a lot of their decisions, their stamp art has really started to suck and I’m just not feeling it.  I dunno, maybe I’m just fickle.  It’s not dying so I can move on to another, it’s just going to die and be done.  I like having a demo to buy from instead of buying from myself, it’s much more fun lol

Well, better get a move on…told the girls we’d go the the American Girl movie they’ve been wanting to see and today’s a great day since it’s raining and I have to go to town to pick up Devin after he gets back from his cross country meet in Weisbaden.  Thank God they have a bus for that!

HaHaHa…

I clicked a link someplace for a yahoo video, must have been on the yahoo home page.  Originally, it was of a cat getting a bath and it was in Japanese and I wanted Heather to translate.  THAT will have to wait, because I found these beauties instead.

Wouldn’t you just shit if a raccoon was eating your house?

And then there was this one….I had to laugh out loud over it.  Don’t know why.  Guess I’m just evil like that. Cymbalta can help

If you get there and need more laughs be sure to check out “that husky can sing”

I must be tired because this stuff is realllly funny to me right now…I need help!  LOL

The sound of silence

“Stoooooooooooooooooop Looooooooooooking aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!”

Yep, another fun afternoon at my house.  The kids got home this afternoon, I gave them a snack, and somehow it energized them into being fighting machines again. Damn, those kids can fight.  They’re like cats sometimes, but kids…Jordan told Morgan if she didn’t leave her alone she wasn’t going to be her sister anymore.  Um, ok, like they have a choice, but whatever…

So, now it’s 8:30 pm and my house is quiet.  I like the solace, it’s refreshing   I actually feel like my sanity might be returning *a little* ahhhhhh….

Ok, dumb thing of the day.  My friend Kara and I met for coffee, ran an errand then went back to the club to see if anyone showed up for coffee (yes, 2 times…I know, I know!!) and they didn’t, so whatever.  We decide, hey, lets grab some lunch at chili’s, only to be told they are on a ….get this…..”seating stop”. Apparently, when their computer goes down, they can’t wait tables, take order, blah blah blah.  (I’m totally serious)  The gal actually told us, because I asked, that she could seat us and they could {probably} get us drinks but they might not be up to get us food.  WTF?  I pictured their wait staff standing in the back staring at blank screens with deer in the headlight looks on their faces waiting to be beamed up to Chili-land.  Good God.  On another note though, we did get lunch elsewhere and had the opportunity to see a local yahoo wives group dumbass in real life, so that made our day. LOL  You know my love for online dumbasses, so you know that THIS event was definately the highlight of my day

So, tomorrow.  I am braving step class.  I hope I don’t die.  I hope I don’t run into my favorite local “oh shit, there’s that loudmouth, I hope she doesn’t see me” acquaintance of mine while I’m there.  I think I will purposely not brush my teeth or use  deodorant so I can keep a barrier of stench that cannot be penetrated by undesirables.  LOL

Don’t you miss me?

Kindergarden grannie pants

It’s late Sunday night, there’s still laundry drying and I’ve been cranky so I thought I’d write lol

Where to begin….hmmmm….well, Jordan is enjoying school and I am happy.  She has a little friend in her class that’s in the next village over and they get to sit next to each other on the bus….a big deal when you’re 5!  LOL

I got my haircut this last week, and if you know me, you also know it’s probably been a while too don’t you?  hehe.  Yah, last time I had it done was May when we were in IA.  The same $25 cut there costs me $43 here and it’s SO not fair.  I hate paying for hair like that, but it’s a necessary evil.  Doesn’t help though either that for once, I took ALL 3 of my girls in for haircuts too this month instead of doing it myself like I normally do…theirs is cheaper…$18 each..and that’s just for a cut.  Like I said…I hate it.

So, laundry.  There was a time when I had it tackled, and that time has long gone.  I’m battling again with laundry.  Even with Kevin gone there is still a LOT of it to do…maybe it’s because there are still 5 people here?  hehe Which I guess will bring me to the title of my post….

I bought another new pair of shoes for Jordan yesterday.  The Adio’s I bought her make her feet sweat something fierce, so I picked up another pair of sneaks at the BX yesterday, along with new socks for her and Morgan and new panties for all.  Well, I was unrolling all the little panties to wash them (I hate that they tape them all into pretty little panty rolls, but whatever) and I got to her package and started unrolling.  It was then that I noticed that I did not get the little bikini ones for her like I did her sisters.  I got her briefs instead somehow and oddly enough I thought to myself….grannie panties for Kindergardeners.  Nice.  Hence the name of my post.

See the new pic too?  I took it myself….it’s  flower out of my garden   I think they’re so purty!  LOL

So, Jordan in school has given me quiet time to think about what I want to do with my life or at least my spare time lol  I’ve got a list of things I want to do…and all for ME.  We’ve always thought I’d get a job when she started school, but with us being in this location, I just don’t see it, and thankfully, Kevin agrees.  With my time, here’s the plan (s):

1.  Ikea.  Only been once since we moved here and that was last year.  I’m planning on going this week.

2.  USO cooking class.  I’ve seen them advertised, they’re cheap, they’re short, they’re German cooking.  I’m there!  Looks like there are 3 they offer and I want to do them all

3.  Stamp more.  My friend Bev is always doing the sketch and color challenges from different places and I have been meaning too as well.  I just like to stamp alone (read: no kids to bug me) and now I’ve got time.  hehe  Maybe this week I will start, who knows.

4.  Lose weight.  yes, I’ve been saying that for years, but now I can’t make the excuse that I have to take along the kids to the gym or exercise before they get up….I’ll keep you posted lol

So, so far, those are the things I’m doing for me hehe.  I will be stamping more starting soon anyway   My friend Christine depleted (almost) her supply of bday cards and has organized a Bday card swap!  Yay!  I’ve an idea in my head that needs to get put to paper so hopefully this week it will come to fruition.  I’ve also joined a SU 7 pack and we meet for the first time this week..yay!  (was a 6 pack hostess club but we added another because we like to share the love!!) 

Kevin will be home in 11 days or so and I am so happy.  I felt bad I was crabby last night on the phone…I call HIM in the states because I can call for much cheaper than he can call me (teehee) and wanted to just hang up on him.  He wasn’t doing anything wrong, he’s nearly a saint (notice I said nearly lol) it’s just I think deep down I resent having to be alone with the kids in a place with no walmart or decent cable tv!!  Or maybe I was a bitch because my period that hasn’t been since May might be showing up…who knows.  I just know I was a bitch and he was nice enough to not make an excuse to hang up on me lol.  It’s all good now though, I called him again today and told him I was in a better mood  HA!

I’m thinking of consolidating my blogs again. That way, you have all that is me, all in one spot.  I dunno yet, might change my mind in the morning lol Guess you will have to wait and see won’t you?

Well enough rambling on and on….I colored my hair today, here’s a pic.  I like it….and I don’t care if you don’t (so there!)

Oh yah, here’s a pic of Jordan with her sisters on HER first day of school, and she lost her very first tooth before walking down to the bust that morning   The tooth fairy brought her $5!! (and brought it ON TIME for once!! hehe)

  

Nope, they’re not babies anymore.

Today was Devin’s birthday.  It’s amazing to think about how fast they grow, and yet, it seemed like forever ago he looked like this:

Cute little shit, wasn’t he?

Yesterday and today though, he looks like this:

                                                                                                    

 I love how he’s smiling at his cake lol  I made him a Fudgy Chocolate Grasshopper cake (he picked it)…I guess the days of the Buzz Lightyear and Pokemon cakes really are very, very far behind us now….I miss that *sniff*   Anyway, the cake was good, here’s a better pic..sooo yummmmmy!!

(ok you wouldn’t know it if I didn’t tell you but it just took 5 tries to get that damn pic on there! LOL)

So, tomorrow is a big, HUGE day here in my house.  I can hardly believe it myself, but Jordan is going to start kindergarten tomorrow.  I have such mixed feelings…I mean, I am glad she’s going, but at the same time, it means my ”baby” isn’t A baby anymore and it kinda makes me sad.  I think I’m more nervous about it than she is honestly!  I keep thinking and hoping to myself all those things any mom does I guess…did I prepare her right, have I taught her all she needs up until this point?  I should be ecstatic, but I’m really kind of scared….Normal?  You tell me….  I do have a day planned though so I don’t just come home and mope lol.  I’m meeting friends for coffee, then going out to lunch for PIZZA at the great place one of them found.  It should be a lot of fun and keep me from worrying about if Jordan misses her mommy LOLOLOLOL.  I’ll be sure to get a pic of her as she goes off to school.  I’m putting her on the bus with her sisters, then meeting the bus at the school to make sure she gets to her classroom ok.  (honestly, I’m only going so I don’t look like the mom who sucks and just sends her kid off aimlessly without tagging along like all of the other over protective moms lol)

Jordan also has her very first loose tooth, one of the bottom ones.  The new one has already broken the skin behind it and we can see it really well.  Craziness.

Lastly, please help me send some “everything’s gonna be alright” vibes out to my little sister Judy.  She’s got to see the doc this week for something and since I can’t physically be there for her, I want to give her a “virtual shoulder” (if you will) to lean on.  I love you kiddo! *mwah*

Back to school

Just posting the obligatory back to school pic…. 

And yes, even though just 3/4 of the kids went to school today, today was a GOOD day for mommy

it’s remedial toilet “wiping” time.

I’m doing the laundry today and, like any other time, I noticed something.  My children need remedial wiping lessons for when they use the bathroom. 

I swear, my childrens laundry has more skid marks that some of those drag racing tracks.  Good  GOD!  And honestly, it’s not Devin.  My daughters are the worst offenders lately, and I KNOW I taught them how to clean themselves properly when going to the bathroom.  UGH!  Well anyway, that’s not the only mess I encountered today, and probably not the last one either today, I’m sure….

 While my coffee was brewing, and I was doing dishes left {again} by my teenager, I saw the ice cube trays on the counter, and as always, if they empty them, they do not refill them and put them back.   So I go and do that.  I have Meg open up the freezer for me and what do I see?  I see this brown crap ALL OVER THE INSIDE OF MY FREEZER!!!!!  “WTF” I exclaim loud enough and angry enough so Meg wants to slither off unnoticed…..SOMEONE put a diet vanilla Pepsi can in my freezer to chill it down {you know, because there was NO ice and if I put them IN the fridge they suck them down quick as they can}  and FORGOT about it! Now, to be fair, it could have very well been ME….I have and do on occasion put pop in there quick to chill, my kids DO drive me insane, so it could have been me, but OMG what a freaking mess to clean up!! 

OMG I do NOT like to clean up crap first thing in the AM before my first cup of coffee!!!

Anyway……Tomorrow, 3 of “them” go to school.  I can NOT wait.  It’s almost sad though to think summer is over, it seems like it flew by, but at the same time could not get over fast enough.  It’s sad that I won’t have anyone home during the day (like I feel about my husband, I miss them when they’re gone, but get the heck away from me when you’re here lol)  but I do welcome the quiet.  I feel like my house has been in “weekend” mode all summer and I am really looking forward to having some more structure to my days too. 

They don’t know it, but I’m getting a trampoline tomorrow   Yah, I said I would never get one, but never say never right?  You notice I said “I’M ” getting a trampoline correct?  We’ll see if I actually let them on it…

Really, what did you THINK I was going to do all day when they’re at school?