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Okay, the last few days are mostly a blur, but I'll see if I can sort them out...Friday night was dinner at my friend Deborah's house. Her three girls remind me of my sisters and I, if we liked each other more :) Logan, her youngest, is great friends with Joe and Ella - they're all so darn cute together!We made snickerdoodles (they were awesome - props to Alyshia) and grilled out.
The kiddos picnic'd in the yard and rubbed chicken all over their faces, from the look of things.So after dinner, we headed over to Lana's (have you met my friend Lana?) to see how she was doing getting ready for her mom to come visit in the morning. She was a tad panicked about driving all the way to Frankfurt airport by herself in the dark, so we had a bit of an impromptu sleepover so I could drive with her.Three hours after we finally went to bed (they have a super comfy couch) we woke up to drive the hour in the dark, through a city to the airport, got lost parking, got lost finding the terminal, finally found her mom, couldn't get back to the car... it was a very long morning.
So I gather up my kids and zoom home. I get the rum cake in the oven, shower and dress everyone for our egg hunt while it's baking, stuff Easter eggs while it's cooling, throw everything in the car and head out to our Easter BBQ at Kathleen's house :)There was a fantastic lunch - a full grill-out, and tons of sides and desserts provided by the guests. After we all stuffed ourselves, we dyed eggs (I know what you're thinking, but it actually worked out really well!) and had 
a spoon race, which Joseph won!And finally, the main event - the Egg Hunt! Easily two hundred eggs were hidden in Kathleen's yard, and when we ran out of hiding spaces, the balance was just tossed on the grass. It really did look like the Easter Bunny threw up back 
there. Everyone got about a bazillion eggs and had a blast - my kiddos were so tired when we left :)We picked up groceries on the way home, and Jamie dropped our little friend Aidan off to spend the night, so that she and her husband can 
volunteer with Airmen Against Drunk Driving (AADD), an organization that puts soldier volunteers to work picking up intoxicated soldiers in the local area and returning them to the barracks in one piece :) Between calls, you get to hang out in the lounge, playing video games, watching tv and chillin' with the other volunteers - all in all, not a bad way to spend a Saturday night.So here I sit, exhausted, looking forward to a relaxing day of... doing absolutely nothing at all :)
Oh man, today was a great day!We met Lana and Deb at the pool today for some swim time - after everything that's happened in the last week, I just needed to spend some time with my close friends. It was awesome! The kids love to swim there, because it has a slide and a little kiddie climbing thing. And I got to float in the water with Nana, Lana's baby, which was nice :) Poor thing was so sleepy, I thought she was going to fall asleep right there in the water.Then a few friends came over for pizza and playtime, and we spent several hours chatting it up and hanging out, enjoying each others' company. Even a couple of husbands came, so Will got to meet some guys and hang out, too. And best of all, Ella stayed dry in her big girl panties ALL DAY! She had one little accident when her friend was here tonight, and I think it was because she got so caught up playing that she forgot she wasn't wearing a diaper. She was dry all night, and even in the car today - I'm so proud of her! She was very, very upset when daddy forgot and put a pull-up on her at bedtime, but we fixed it :)*sigh* So today was great. And we might go swimming again tomorrow, just for fun... who knows?
I know it's been a while, but I really need to get back in to blogging, for my own sake. Basically, my handwriting is awful, and I can't read my own journal entries anymore. So... time to catch up!
Kaile (Joe and Ella's Godmother) cam
e to visit. We went to Paris. It was...swell? I don't know - we had a great time and all, but so many little things went wrong - at the very least it's a great story to tell :) Actually, several stories - we also visited Heidelberg Castle, and the Nazi Prison, Gross St. Martin and the Chocolate Museum in Cologne and went for dinner and dancing in Kaiserslautern... so many, many stories that I will torment her with for years to come :) I absolutely can't wait until she comes back to visit again, but that won't be until after she finishes basic training and AIT :( We'll be waiting for you in the fall, Kaile!!
Ella turned three! She had an Abby Cadabby (Elmo's best friend on Sesame Street, keep up!) party at Yabadoo, and had a blast. She's been clinging to the Hello Kitty wallet and stuffed EVE from Wall-E ever since. Ella also contracted Hand, Foot and Mouth two days after being bit by a hamster. Completely unrelated, but still an interesting timeline, in my opinion. The little rodent took the tip of her finger off, but it is healing nicely and at most, she'll have a lack of fingerprint there for a while :)
Joseph has a best friend ever now. His name is Jackson, and Joseph refers to him in all things. 'If Jackson were here, he wouldn't run in the house because he is a good boy' and 'Jackson doesn't like (insert random thing here) but I do because we're friends.' It's funny to hear him talk about friends now, and it makes me feel pretty good about things. Jackson's mom, Lana, is my best Germany friend, so we do a lot of hanging out with their family. It's nice to finally have a good family to hang out and bbq and just... be friends with, I guess.
I learned this week that Andy, an old boyfriend from Scotland, passed away last fall. I found out when I was redirected from his website to his memorial page, which is honestly not how I would have chosen... There is no information on cause, but I'd wager that the bacterial meningitis they had been trying to contain with amputations finally overcame him. I'm struggling to remember him not as the angry, hurt man I last spoke to, but as the loud, fun guy with the glass eye that I remember from my time in Scotland.
Will's brother and dad are arriving in the near future for a weeklong visit. I'm trying to work out an itenerary, but finding it rather difficult... I don't know what to do! Tulips in Holland? A day in Amsterdam? Berlin? Black Forest? Castle tours? I just can't decide! Ah well, I'll figure it all out somehow.
Oh, and today starts potty training for Ella. I absolutely can't handle diapers anymore - they arealways out of her size at the commissary, so it's become rather a necessity to get her out of them. I'm trying cold turkey this time - lots of water and juice, and no more diapers. I have tile floors and a mop - we're just going to ride this out, if we have to.
I haven't been posting because I didn't realize anyone was actually reading this thing. No one has commented or emailed or called to let me know, so I just... stopped. I keep a journal for myself, so I've just been writing there, but as one person has let me know that they like reading my blog, I figure I'll keep it up. Even if just one person is reading it, that makes me feel good :)Not much has happened in my absence - my Christmas presents from Will finally arrived and they are GREAT! I got a new camera that I can just stick in my purse - I love my Rebel, but it's so big, and I'm afraid to take it to say, a concert or bar, because something could happen to it. This one fits nicely in my bag and takes amazing photos :) He also got me the Post Secret books, and I'm happy to say that one of my secrets made it in!We also finished furnishing the guestroom/family room downstairs - there are now two couches down there, one of which contains a fold-out bed. The old coffee table and tv stand and tv are down there as well, with a nice carpet - it's shaping up to be a great place to hang out with the kiddos and watch a movie :)And lastly, Joseph finally got a pet. Max is our new tortoise hare (I know, it cracks me up, too) and he's super friendly. He likes sitting in laps, being petted, eating celery and hopping spastically. He's litter trained and only chews on paper if you leave it on the floor, and Joseph is thrilled with him. He wanted to change Max's name, but...J: I think the bunny needs a new name.A: Oh? Like what?J: *thinking* Well, how about Stairs?A: Stairs the bunny? I don't know. Do you have any other ideas?J: Yes, we could call him Plugs.A: Plugs isn't really a bunny name, Joseph. J: Ok, ok, ok... how about this, Mom. We can name him Spoons.A: ......... You know what, Joseph? I think Max is actually a very nice bunny name.And so the bunny's name remains Max.On to current events! Soon we'll be heading out for a Hail and Farewell for a buddy of ours who is leaving this unit. We knew him back at Ft. Belvoir in Virginia, and it's been nice to see him again, even for a short time. Will was put in charge of picking out his going away gift, and instead of the usual plaque, he got this soldier a HUGE stein, with an eagle carved on and an engraved silver plate with the name and dates. It's really nice, and I think it's a good departure from the plain old boring certificates and plaques people normally receive. The venue for this H&F is pretty well known around here - it's called Big Emma's. I've never been before, but I hear the schnitzel is amazing. If you get a chance, check out that website - it really does offer a fair insight into the German dining experience :) Please note the use of phrases such as 'big how you like it,' 'taste it and check your quality' and 'woman-size menu.' This is pretty standard :) There's no sharing of dishes in German restaurants unless you're ordering a regular meal for two small children, which is what we usually do. The children's menues here don't differ much from those in the States - they invariably offer chicken nuggets, french fries, grilled cheese or spatzle (sort of like German macaroni and cheese). Joe and Ella don't really eat too much of any of those things, so they usually split a schnitzel or wurst of some sort. I've got a weakness for rumpsteak with krauterbutter - a filet-mignon style steak topped with a fresh butter mixed with garlic and herbs. There are no steak sauces or ketchups on the table - all cooking here is supposed to stand on it's own. Also, they bring the dishes out of the kitchen as soon as they're ready - there's no waiting in the window for a whole order to come up. And as soon as your plate is on the table, you're expected to start tucking in. It's rude to leave your food untouched, as this signals to the waiter that something is wrong with it.Learning to eat here really has been an experience, but it's been so much fun, too. We've found so many great places to eat and tried a lot of new foods - I can't wait to see what else we'll find.I'll let you know how Big Emma's was next time :)
Today is our anniversary - five years ago, I married a man I hadn't known very long. He was older than me. From a completely different walk of life. Another race, another heritage. A whole different view of the world.And it was the best decision I'd made yet.Five years, two children, three duty stations and two countries later, I'm just as happy to see him everyday as I was when my dad walked me down the isle and handed me off. I'm proud of my family, my life and my kids, I'm proud of the new heritage and history I learn more about with each year, and I'm proud of what I'm teaching our children - not every choice you make as a teenager is a bad one, and that we love each other very, very much. This is not nearly as eloquent as I'd meant it to be, but I am exhausted. Tonight we hired a babysitter and went out for Indian food - an anniversary tradition, though it wasn't intentional the first three times :) We also saw "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - an amazing, beautiful movie that I give two thumbs up, though you'll need to bring a box of tissues with you. I guess the long and short of it is this: I'm very, very happy tonight :)
Wow, these last few days have been busy!Firstly, it SNOWED! Finally! I've been assured I'll be sick of white flurry bits soon enough, but it's so beautiful right now :) It has been a bit of a problem, as we live on the top of a steep hill, so going anywhere in the car involves going down and around our hill and approaching from the other, less steep side. Last night when we were leaving the store, the thermometer said 17'F - and boy, was it biting cold. It's the kind of cold, here, that really does suck the air out of your lungs and make your throat hurt just breathing. And please excuse the giant stack of wood in the foreground of the picture - our Naked Neighbors decided that against our back fence was definitely prime placement for their firewood supply this year :(
I've been cleaning out the downstairs storage and laundry rooms, where we dumped everything we didn't feel like unpacking in the first few weeks. And I'm almost done! I really wish I'd taken before and after pictures, but oh well. I'll at least get 'after' pictures up when I'm done :) Our laundry and storage rooms are really both big enough to be spare bedrooms, save for the lack of heating and windows in there. I've got four boxes of Stuff sitting in the hallway that I'm slowly photographing and posting for sale on Ramstein Yard Sales or giving away to the local shelter. Once that is done, I'll be able to start getting ready for our first scheduled visitors - Will's Family! They're coming to see us in April, and we can't wait. We're researching trips and making plans to get the most sightseeing we can out of their time here.And, last but not least, I'm starting a new project. I'll not say what it is now, but fingers crossed that I get it finished. If I work on it (like I really should work on all of my projects), I should finish by the time Will's family gets here. Hopefully. I'm really excited about it, and I can't wait to show it to all of you! But that's all I can say about it now. We've been spending the last few days researching and getting all the bits and pieces I need, and as soon as they all get here (stupid military mail system) I'll be able to start!So that's it, really.Oh, and if you're willing to cut me some slack, you can read my old bartending blog, Kind of a Big Deal. Just don't judge me too harshly - it was mostly meant for comedy and fellow hospitality workers, and the language is less-than-safe for little ears.Love you all!
I forgot - we checked out the Dinosaur Park in Kaiserslautern a few days ago. It was basically the coolest park I've ever been to, EVER. There are giant, life-sized dino statues all over the place, plus half a dozen different little parks with swings and ropes and slides and water playthings, and flowers - oh my gosh, the flowers - that made the whole parks smell amazing!
