Mommy all the way....all day.....right to the end.

What do you get when you combine two little girls, cupcakes, and lots of toys...........well of course lots of giggles.

Our poor little friend was diagnosed with pneumonia and a double ear infection a few days ago, so she was not willing to smile as much as I wanted.  Olivia however, was happy to be with her "best friend"!  By the way, she is talking to "daddy" on the phone, and we also called Avery's mom.

Oh my afternoon got even better, I babysat the brother for the afternoon, while mommy took Avery to the doctor yet again.  Garrett is actually Nicolas' best friend.  Now you know the whole story.  Believe me the kids fell into bed tonight, and Olivia fell asleep in the car, once we surprised them with a trip to Baskin Robbins.  It was a well deserved caloric intake! The kids were more then excited to look at the fireman and firetruck.

See the full gallery on posterous

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Weekend Fun

Things that made me smile:

- friends ☺

- lots of junk food

- the colors of the beach

- the weather

- ton of fun

So where do I start.   Friday and Saturday have passed by so quickly, and our days were filled with so much fun in the sun, that I can hardly believe tomorrow will be Sunday.  Friday afternoon was all about the beach.  We planned on taking the kids, and packed the cars with towels, snack and drinks and drove.  I messed up by forgetting the battery of my camera, and the wind was a bit chilly, but other then that, the water, the sand, and the color of the sky were absolutely perfect.   Since my friend Sarah is also currently living her life without her husband, we decided to have pizza delivered to the house, and allowed the children to play outside until it turned dark.    Ahhhh, the joys of spring.  The kids get along so well, and they were having so much fun, we decided to let Garrett stay the night with Nicolas, and they fell asleep talking about their dreams.

My friend Sarah Henderson (http://sarahhendersonphotography.com)

The next day was just as busy.  The kids got up way too early, but we made pancakes with fresh strawberries, and at noon we headed to a Birthday party.    Reese, the daughter of another fantastic friend turned 4, and there was a bouncy house, hot dogs, snow cones, and yes a camera!!!!  Here are some pictures we took.

I have no idea who this baby was, or who she belonged to, but we thought she was beautiful.

Our next favorite guest was this little puppy.  The kids could not get enough of him.

See the full gallery on posterous

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Happy Birthday Olivia

Created with flickr slideshow.

Things that made me happy today....

- Everything!

- Finding my cell phone buried in the children's toys instead of in the garbage can.

- Olivias Birthday

- Celebrating with good friends

- Listening to Olivia tell me how everyone was going to sing Happy Birthday to Olivia today.

- Lots of giggles and screams

- Getting to hold Baby Bryant

I could give you all the details about today, but I thought these pictures sum it up, and if not this does.  My friend Sarah Henderson put it so perfectly into words that I can rush through this blog post, and maybe get some sewing done.  We had a great day.

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Friends - Good for the Heart

Things that made me happy today....

- SUN that warmed me

- Friends that kept me smiling

- Giggles from children

- A baby boy

- Pizza with friends

- A cup of tea to warm my soul.

This day shaped up so much better then I could have ever imagined.  Just take a pot full of friends, small and large, and combine them with sunny weather, a park, lots of catch-up stories, giggles and smiles, and you get the perfect recipe for happiness and fun.  There is no better way to have fun or to warm your heart, then to laugh and talk with friends. After being couped up in the house for weeks, it was good for both the kids and me to get out. After a few hours at the park, we drove over to the pizzeria and had dinner together. A wonderful sunny day, full of hugs and kisses. Just the way a fun day should be.

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Remembering 2009

Created with flickr slideshow.


Goodbye 2009 and Hello 2010.
I welcome you with open arms.  2009 was a wonderful year and if I had to take a moment and come up with two words that totally embraced this year it would be Friends and Family.

2009 started out with my parents moving from Germany to California.  Although we were apprehensive about the move, my parents found a wonderful neighborhood, and quickly made alot of new friends.  My mother loves the weather and waking up to a beautiful view every morning.  I am so happy that they have turned their new destination into a home, and are enjoying their retirement so much.  We were lucky enough to spend two months with them this summer.  The kids had a great time, and I never realized how relaxing it was until after I got home.  It was so nice to be around the entire family again.

I cannot forget this was also the year my grandmother died.  She had just turned 90.  She was a wonderful woman, and I will never forget her.  I was saddened by the fact that I could not go to her funeral, but I know she knew that.  I always think about her during Christmastime and whenever I take a picture of the kids.   We enjoyed many holidays together in New England, and once a month I developed pictures just for her.  I miss her.

Next, hubby left to go to Kuwait for a year.  This event truly took over my life, and brought about alot of wonderful changes.  Our relationship grew stronger and more resilient as time went on.  I came to respect him more then ever before for voluntarily sacrificing so much for our family, and I believe the same holds true for him.  Being a SAHM with two toddlers by yourself is a tough job.  Distance truly makes the heart grow fonder, and although he has been gone, I try to make him a part of everyday life by writing everything down for him, and sending him pictures almost daily.

In the midst of all this, I have gained alot of new friends in my little hometown.  Friends that have been there for me through thick and thin.  Friends that have made me laugh, cry and helped me whenever I needed someone or something.  I cannot even imagine what 2009 would have been like without them.  Very lonely...........I send them lots of hugs for being there for me.

My Nicolas started Kindergarten this year, which brought about alot of change in my life.  I now know how difficult it is to juggle a schedule with kids in school.    The next few years will be interesting.  Olivia is a typical 2-year old, always adding something new to my life on a daily basis.  She starting talking this year, and is getting better at it with every week that goes by.

We also took the time this year to visit and be visited by family.  Our trip to Kentucky was beautiful.  Even though the kids got very sick, it was so nice to visit Lance's family after such a long time.  We also enjoyed the short trip from his dad in November.  The kids had such a good time playing with Grandpa and Grandma.

In conclusion, this mom is very happy and so fortunate to have such a beautiful and big family that loves her as much as they do.   I love them too.  I had to close my Etsy shop for Christmas, but I was able to put alot of things in perspective.  Time seems to be flying by me more then ever before, and I realized that if I dont stop to open my eyes, I will probably miss out on some beautiful moments.  This has led me to take up my newest hobby - photography.  Spending so much time with the kids, I have stumbled upon a new love.  One that allows me to share my time with the kids, and make everyone happy.  Sewing is still and will probably always be my favorite thing to do, but it is getting harder and harder to find the time to finish things this year.  Photography is fun, and since by friend and uncle are both photographers, I am hoping that 2010 will bring even better experiences with this new hobby.

As always, I am very grateful for all of my internet buddies that give me such great advice, hugs, and a pat on the back when I need it most on this blog.  Turning to you has proven over and over again to be alot of fun.  I will drink a toast to you this evening as I enter the new year with a bang.  Stay healthy, have fun, be good, and kiss everyone you know for good luck!  Happy New Year.

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Thanksgiving Memories

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving with family and friends, and stuffed themselves full of glee.  Luckily we were invited by friends to enjoy their Thanksgiving feast with Family.  I was quite depressed that morning, thinking about my husband throughout the entire day. He is usually the one who prepares the turkey and the stuffing, and not hearing him stress out over the time was completely strange to me. However, I enjoyed the fact that my thoughts were broken up by kids and conversation during the afternoon.  We had a beautiful time, and the food was delicious, and I did not even have to cook.

I decided to dress Olivia in a dress I made last year, and she never got to wear, because she fell asleep right before the turkey came out of the oven.  It was so perfect, and although it is alot shorter then most of her purchased dresses, I liked it alot.

Normally, I spend Thanksgiving Day sewing, and I must say I missed that this year alot.  I really have an itch to sit down and sew.  There is so much going on in my house at the moment, that I rarely find the time to do anything for myself.  I know that I will make the time to sew up a few things for Olivia.  She desperately needs some new clothes, and Nicolas needs a pajama for his December Polar Express Field Trip.  I managed to find some "I Believe" flannel at JA's, and that will be cute.

So, I wanted to end today's blog entry by saying how thankful I am for my family, my husband, my friends and the unbelievable fortunate life I currently enjoy.  I imagine I am not the only one who feels that way today.

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Don't come to my house to eat.......

Olivia running through the park.

This is Reese. She is 3 years old, and believe it or not her eyes are really that blue.
She is a beautiful child, and a very good friend of ours.

November 5th, 2009

That’s right. You won;t find any food in the pantry, and believe it or not, I bought my first Hamburger Helper ever! STRESS…. – leads you to do all kinds of hilarious things. I mean seriously, given the ingredients I can whip up a beef stroganoff better then any box! However, I don’t have the time to cook.. No I don’t have the time to go grocery shopping. It is such a shame that grocery shopping cannot be done anymore under an hour. I want a little mom and pop shop to open up in every subdivision. Seriously. I don’t need half of the junk you find in grocery stores nowadays. I will expand on that another day.

Oh, I forgot to mention that my in-laws are about 10 hours away. Yup. They will be here tomorrow. So while I finish my last shop order tomorrow morning, I will be scrubbing the toilets tonight at midnight. Yeah, I better leave it at that before I say something I shouldn’t. They have been traveling from Oregon through the midwest, down the eastcoast for the last two months. I guess that explains why we have not heard from them. Then last Friday I receive an email. Amidst all my stress, haha, I get to have visitors.

Normally (when hubby is here, and it isn’t Halloween) I would be thrilled to have visitors. It’s been two months since I had anyone older then six at the dinnertable. But……. I cannot say that I am looking forward to running a marathon tomorrow through my house. Oh God, it looks terrible. No it looks awful. I have seriously neglected the house while sewing. Well, nobody was here to check on me, so why should I stress myself out. This is why? To make matters worse, ever since Nicolas got his bunkbed, we did away with the guestroom. So now I have to clean up everything in my room and make all the beds. Oh goodness, I am going to be a basket case tomorrow. Flylady would be very upset knowing that my sink has not been cleaned for three weeks. So ladies, be warned. Keep at least part of the house clean, because you never know who will ring your doorbell.

Good Night.

P.S. Lovely pictures of the kids playing the park during our weekly get together. The kids had Early Release yesterday, so we met to giggle, talk about our hubbies, the economy, and of course our growing pains with kids. It’s a nice change of venue that I truly enjoy and need.

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Take a deep breath......now exhale.

November 4^th, 2009

Before I tell you about the above picture, let me say Thank You to all my friends for their lovely words on yesterday's post. Believe me I took a long time to think about this, and knew that once I felt happier three weeks ago without all the stress from my shop, I had no other choice. I really have enough on my plate, and the next few months are filled with so much joy and excitement, I would hate to ruin that as well as my love for sewing. I thought maybe getting ready for Christmas season would boost my morale and spirits, but instead it created alot of havoc in my life. We will see how things go, but I have to admit I already feel like someone has removed a large load off my back.

The above picture is Olivia's little best friend "A_b_ery!", also known to us as Avery. The dress is a PDF pattern her mother bought from Etsy - The Knot Dress. Her mother and I have become great friends, and she is an incredible photographer . Three weeks ago, I spent two days helping Sarah learn how to sew. I took her fabric sewing, and she managed to put this little beauty together. I say Bravo. Sarah even picked the fabrics out herself, and I think she did a great job. I applaud her efforts, and need to get her to sew another one, so we can have another mommy join the ranks of SAHM/sewing enthusiast. PARTY!!!!!! We can never have too many sewers out there.

One of my newest hobbies has been photography. With the help of my friends, picture taking has become a lovely addition to my life. It is alot of fun to spend time with your kids, and in that same moment capture perfect story-telling pictrures that you will cherish for a lifetime. I do so enjoy art in every form, and there are some lovely - no gorgeous - breathtaking pictures out there. It has become my objective to learn photography, and hopefully enjoy it as a hobbyist. So every once and awhile I will have to share one or two tidbits about that along with my sewing, cooking, and interior decorating.

Recently, I learned about Jodi's blog called MCP Actions. She shares wonderful photography, photoshop tutorials, and creates actions that help ease our workload when editing pictures. Oh, don't think that taking pictures is all you have to learn. Oh no, learning everything about photoshop, is almost just as difficult. Hard, but fun. Sort of like sewing. Well, I recently purchased a set of actions from Jodi, and here is a before and after look at something I created.

Crackle, Powder Your nose, Tunnel Vision, Dusty.

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Yummy Chocolate!

October 13th, 2009

What a gorgeous combination of fabrics from Sandi Handerson. Love her fabrics and love her blog at http://portabellopixie.typepad.com/. I wish I could get them here where I live.

If any of you are wondering where I get these lovely fonts, please feel free to visit this great blog called Kevin and Amanda. Not only do they offer a ton of free fonts, but great tips on how to keep up a great blog.

I spent the day with a friend trying to learn how to sew. How nice is that? She actually wanted me to help her pick out fabrics. Where in my house? Why not? Some women collect shoes, or books. Not me, I collect fabrics. So we went fabric shopping. Oh, I was so bored - NOT! I had a great time. Then we took the kids home to my house and I helped her cut out the pattern. I honestly felt like the grabbing the dress, and just sewing it while she watches tv. LOL. No I was not that lucky. Two hours later, mama-on-the-go was off to a soccer game, and then to another dinner playdate. We got home at 8pm. Much too late, but everyone was having a good time, so I let it go. By the time, I put a load in the wash, cleaned up, it was almost 9pm. So no sewing for me again. Tomorrow I am counting on making a Fall outfit for Olivia. I am not sure what it will be but I will think of something.

I finally made a decision on Monday and put Olivia in a daycare. I still have her registered in the Preschool, because as her mommy I want to make sure she loves it before I make my final decision. However, on Monday I was reassured that my decision was correct, when I had accidentally switched my parent-teacher meeting appointment, and could only find someone to watch Nicolas and not Olivia. Knowing she was at daycare, and I could sit quietly with my son’s teacher was a great feeling. I know it is the right decision even though I prefer the one-on-one attention she gets at her Preschool. As soon as hubby returns we can look at more quality solutions. I figured it out that she really does not spend more time with them if you include the two hours she naps. I just get to run the vacuum a bit longer. LOL. Thanks for the comments

Yes, I am teaching myself photography, and diving back into a software program that is called Photoshop. I used it years ago for real estate programs. Now I am practicing how to edit my photographs. If I do get a nice relaxing evening, I usually am too tired to sew. So I spend an hour listening to videos, and visiting tutorials trying to make the best of my time. I am excited to dive back into my daytime sewing. I miss it. At least I get things done. I hate it when a project lasts a week. I cannot wait for my life to find some relaxing moments again

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Political Blunders

When I first came to the United States after living overseas for 20 years, I remember the two golden rules my husband told me. It was sort of joke between us whenever we traveled to a new country.

1. Don't get angry at the drivers here.
2. Don't ever discuss politics.

The first one was sort of easy to understand. German drivers are fast, have a huge rule book, and some unwritten courtesies. I find most americans to be good drivers, except that "I am going to stay on the left lane" thing, really does frustrate me. He was afraid that I would get my head shot off if I got someone angry.

The second rule I had a harder time swallowing. Germans, at least the ones I know discuss politics, economics all the time. I mean they really get into heated debates, but everyone walks away happy and tired. It is part of our life, how can you not discuss it. I always found it to be fun and entertaining.

Of course, I broke that rule, and I am sorry and frustrated at the same time. Politics is nothing that I would ever want a career in, but I do believe everyone has the freedom to state their opinion and not be attacked, either verbally, abusively or in any other way. Whoever you vote for is your right, and a wonderful right at that. It is what this country is all about. However, I also believe that we, as americans, and yes I am an american citizen, have an obligation to inform ourselves about political issues. I remember my sister once saying to me, there is no reason you are not voting, except that you are too lazy to take the time to learn about the issues. She was right. I wanted to watch tv, and sew, and when the voting booths opened, I had no idea what I was doing there. That was wrong. Believe me, it never happened again.

The healthcare system in the US is an issue that is personally very important to me. Not just because I have had my own share of negative experiences, but because I think I am paying way too much money for the little service I receive. I am not a selfish person, and if someone knocks at my door asking me to vote for a tax that would help bring more money to our schools, I would do it. My neighborhood is important to me. I dont like money being wasted, and I dont have much to share, but some things are just important to my future. Education, healthcare, infrastructure......all these things frustrate me in our country, and yes I think I can make a difference. My one little voice will engage, and is not afraid to do so.

However, I cannot fight against lions, or lies. There are lots of people out there, that don't communicate too well, forget their manners, and show their ignorance. I know what it is like to live under a democratic socialistic healthcare system. I appreciate the great medical care I was given, and the little it cost me. Although it was not a vacation, I won't ever complain. I am still learning about our government and our system here, and I will always have alot to learn. I hope everyone else takes the time out of their hectic schedules to look up the facts (http://factcheck.org), think about what is good for us as a nation, and our children. It is important. Even if we don't agree with Congress and the "Plan", we should write our Congressmen about we would like to see change. My father used to tell me to always "Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole".

“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction”

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Is there a waterpark in Okinawa?

So, a little birdie whispered in our ear that we may end up in Okinawa next year. When I first heard this I was sort of excited about the news. I could hardly wait to get home and look at maps, climate conditions, blogs, and cultural news to get a glimpse into this strange and maybe beautiful country. However, my endeavors were hardly rewarding, and I must say a bit scary.

First of all, I did not like where Okinawa was located. It is the furthest island from Japan, and out in the middle of the Pacific ocean. I do not like being so close to water. We purposely moved about 15 miles inland to avoid any major hurricane issues. Typhoons are quite typical for this subtropical area. Not too happy about that either. Temperatures range in average of 73 - I prefer 63. Long summers, and short winters (average temperature does not drop below 50 degrees). YUCK, since I am a big fan of Fall.

However, I travel alot, and being a big fan of visiting strange countries and experiencing their culture, I dug a little deeper and found some nice blogs. Not many of them were positive, always stating how much they missed the US. I finally stumbled on one blog that was definitely a bit more cheery. Her and her husband spent alot of free time traveling. Her blog talks about the culture, the food, and the lovely features of this island. Definitely more uplifting than anything else I read. I wonder how hard it would be to travel with two kids. How often I would have to evacuate with the kids and not speak the language?

Things are not like they were. I have two children, and they come first. So I looked into their schools. That was not so uplifting either. I found lots of groups that homeschool their children. The test scores for the school was about 71%. I am not too sure, but I did not see that as a positive thing either. Last year the reading score was 61%. Not too many special ed classes there, so what is going on? Do I really want to know.

The more and more I read, and researched, the more depressed I got and the more unsure I got about really wanting to travel abroad. Things are pretty rough right now with our economy, and selling our house will not be so easy. As it stands right now, we are due to lose about $41k on our house. If things dont start looking better, we may have to rent. Going to Japan, will help us to avoid paying rent or a mortgage for two years, but what happens if we cannot sell this house. We will have to rent, and not being in the US may lead to alot of problems - alot of expensive problems. It just is not fair.

So if anyone can tell me anything positive about being stationed in Okinawa with children, I would much appreciate it. I really want to gather as much information as I can, before making a final decision.

Our day was fun for the kids. We took them to a waterpark in Navarre Florida. They loved it. The adults however were of a different opinion. Sitting out in the heat watching the children enjoy the water was no fun. My eyes were burning most of the day from sweat pouring down my forehead. Why we did not join the children? Well, nobody over age 12 was allowed to enter. So, the kids had a wonderful day, and we enjoyed watching them run and play for hours. Thank goodness for cars. I got into mine a few times and cranked up the air conditioning. Afterwards, we celebrated G's birthday with chocolate cupcakes. The kids were so exhausted, they each hit the mattress at 7:00pm and were both snoring by 7:10pm. I am next. Going to bed early, and hoping to finally get some sewing done tomorrow.

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