HAH! Yeah ok......

I'm sure a lot of you have heard this story which seems to be making news everwhere. I just have to laugh, it's utterly ridiculous to me LOL

Husband on Strike!!!

It's just amazing the ridiculous things that people will do, I mean honestly, who has time for this? Doesn't he have a job or something else to worry about?
If I had to go on strike for everything that my hubby did that I didn't like....oh well, let's just say I would forever be on STRIKE!!!

Me: Honey take out the trash please!
Hubby: Ummm, just a minute!

30 minutes later........1 hour later........next morning.....

Me: Uhh you forgot to take out the trash!
Hubby: Well I can't read your mind can I?

LOL See??? That right there would be grounds for a strike. If only I wasn't afraid of heights and climbing up to the roof.

So apparently his main reason for the strike is the fact that there is no intimacy......LOL
Ok so now the WHOLE world knows that they are not being intimate, is that something I really want everyone knowing? Friends and family etc? What happened to the whole "marriage is sacred" thing, aren't these some of the things you don't go around publicizing? I just don't get it, either I'm old fashioned or just not NORMAL!!!!
But anyway, you go on over and read the story and then let me know what you make of it.

I am on my second cup of coffee and let's just say that there's going to be plenty more to follow today. I think I got about 1 hour sleep last night, if you count all the interruptions during that time.
Nicholas was up and restless all night long, this usually means he's getting sick. Oh boy, better get ready for it!!!
It's hard enough not feeling well but then when you don't get to sleep either, it all just makes it 100 x worse.

I sat up last night and watched "Walk the Line". I'm NOT a Johnny Cash and June Carter fan, BUT being that Reese Witherspoon is my favorite actress, I couldn't let this one pass by. I have to say that I really enjoyed the movie, I learnt a lot about Johnny Cash which I honestly did not know before. Maybe I was just "country music ignorant"?
Watch the movie if you get a chance, it's actually really good!!!

I'm supposed to be taking it easy today because I'm not feeling 100%, I really feel that I'm coming down with something, and this weather constantly changing is not helping.
But being that it's payday, it means paying bills, getting groceries, running to the bank, etc etc etc. You know what I mean!!!

Anyway, it's friday and that means another "Remember When???". So here it goes:

"Remember When???"

I have so many stories and so many funny memories, so it's hard at times to pick one. But this one is engraved in our minds and we still laugh about it to this day.

So imagine, it's 1980 or around there. We are living in Portugal in Povoa de Santa Iria.
It's New Years Eve and for some reason there is this belief or whatever it is......that when the clock strikes midnight, you should take a bowl of water and throw the water out of the window for good luck.

Yes it's ridiculous and I have no idea where that came from. My dad gets a bowl and fills it with water and walks over to the window. He sets it on the shelf next to it, and walks away towards the table that is filled with food. See, we're Portuguese and any occasion is an excuse to eat and eat and eat some more.

Anyway, we have a great time and it's now a few minutes to midnight, dad gets up and walks over to the window. We're all just standing there watching him, and I have to say at the time I was like 7 or 8 years old so I'm wondering what the heck is going on.
We start the countdown and dad is getting excited to throw the water out......we get down to the last second and he reaches over and grabs the bowl and dumps it. Nothing wrong right????

WRONG...in his rush to dump the water out he reached over and grabbed a bowl of oranges LOL

We just stood there laughing to see his reaction when he realized what had happened. LOL Even worse though, he made me and my brothers go downstairs to pick up the darned oranges....what a great way to start the New Year!!!! LOL

So there you have it, another crazy story!!! I'm sure I'll have more next friday :)

Lights of my Life!!!

Was messing around with the kids pictures. Just had to share the loves of my life.......I know I'm not supposed to BRAG or anything, but aren't they just adorable?

They've been so good today and I've been getting tons of hug and kisses. I have to say that these are the days that make up for the other 99% chaotic ones.

I think they sense that I'm not feeling well. For some reason I'm just sick to my stomach and I feel light headed and have a headache. I feel like I'm getting the flu, just hope it's NOT Strep Throat, that would be horrible.

BTW, yes I changed my template, couldn't find one that I liked, so I tweaked this one to my liking :)

Hope you all like it :) I am going to lay on the couch for a bit, might make me feel a little better.

Have a great night everyone :)

About Me

I am a mother to two amazing kids and wife to a retired Air Force Sergeant.  They are truly my best friends, my whole life.

I was born in Mozambique but shortly after had to leave due to the Independence War and there began my journey. From Mozambique to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and then to Portugal, where we lived for 10 years and finally to South Africa where I spent most of my life. It is what I consider my home, it's where I did my schooling, where I made my first friends, had my first boyfriend and grew into a young woman.

I spent many years as a Radio DJ and I absolutely loved it, in between that, I also sang, yes sang, in front of many thousands of people and recorded two songs. They were some of the best years of my life, I look back today and thank the Lord for having been so blessed and having experienced so many wonderful adventures during my childhood years.

In 1997 I met my husband, Curtis, on the internet. He was in the States and I was in South Africa. After one year of communicating back and forth, he flew to South Africa and we were married, shortly after I moved to the USA.

I left behind my whole life, my family, my friends, my roots and with a little baby in my belly, I made the huge journey across the ocean from one continent to another. It was scary and it was exciting and I'm so glad I did it.

We've now been married for 15 years and have two beautiful children who we love more than life.

I love cooking, reading, crocheting, photography, knitting, sewing, astronomy, movies, Jane Austen.....so many things, I think it's what life is about, being able to enjoy a little of everything.
I'm a firm believer in enjoying every single second and making it count.

The years we spent as a military family were some of the hardest times in our lives, there were many sacrifices, many tears and many separations, but also many rewards.  It was a life lived to the fullest, and an amazing roller coaster of adventures.

We are living our dream, a home in the country surrounded by nature, by mountains and horses and cows.  It's all about learning a new way of life, how to do things, how to budget with a retirement check and how to live away from a military base and the routines and schedules that we were so used to. 

I always say that if the pioneers could do it, then so can we.  Where life is going to lead us, we are not sure, but as long as we're together, it doesn't matter....we will be happy.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my little corner of the web!

I hate my scale!!!

You know if there is one thing that I totally detest, is the bathroom scale. See I'm obsessed with my weight. I've been trying to loose the last 10 lbs from my pregnancies for the past, oh, 7 years? LOL

So yesterday I get on my scale. This is a new one I bought, it measures body fat, water percentage blah blah blah. I thought you know, this is great, although I dont' know why I put myself through this, now not only do I know how much I weigh but I also know how much percentage of fat I have on..................that's a sure way to cheer me up.

Anyway, as I was saying, I get on my scale and it says 126 lbs. YAY YAY YAY I'm all excited and I'm jumping up and down. Forget the fact that I've been eating like a pig lately and have had a slice, or more like a square, of German Chocolate cake EVERYNIGHT!!! But that doesn't matter right?
I'm too excited to think about that, I have this huge grin on my face and then I look down and it says in capital letters ERROR ERROR. Hmmpfh!!!!
I get back on and it says 136 lbs. DAGNABIT!!!! Stupid scale!!! Now do you see why I hate it? Honestly though, I should have known better, I mean, who looses all that weight while eating chocolate cake and having Burger King for lunch? It was that whopper with cheese I tell ya!!! Those fries didn't help either!!! So now I'm annoyed....I'm going to stop eating....now don't panic because it won't happen. I always tell myself that and then go into this daze and wake up with a bag of chips on my lap. How did THAT get there?

I do have to force myself to stop eating everything in sight. It's not good for me anyway cause I end up laying in bed at night thinking "wow, my stomach really hurts, wonder why?"
DUH Sherlock!!!

I'm proud to say that I got all my laundry put away, YEP, all 6 baskets. That's so embarassing to admit!!! Before I had kids I always said to myself and to everyone around me "You know, I'm not going to be one of those moms that stay home and yet the laundry doesn't get put away, or there's toys on the living room floor etc".
Well well well, what do you know Miss Sandra, that's exactly what I became.
Don't get me wrong, I DO clean my house and you will always find me involved in some kind of cleaning activity in the house, but there are days that I really don't have the time and energy.

How many times do I have to pick up the toys during the day before thinking "ok this is ridiculous, just let it go". Within 5 minutes they are all back out again.
Don't even try to get rid of them because suddenly every toy that has not been played with or even remembered that existed, becomes "MY FAVORITE TOY".

Me: Ok I'm giving this one away
Jasmine: But that's my favorite toy!
Me: Ok well, what about all the other million ones sitting in the toy boxes? You don't remember this one existed until I pulled it out?
Jasmine: Yes I did, I knew it was there!
Me: Then why don't I ever see you playing with it?
Jasmine: I don't know, but I do play with it.
Me: Jasmine, this one has legs missing.....
Jasmine: So?!?!?! It's hurt, you can't just throw it away!!!

And so it goes on and on. What do I do now? Do I become the mean, cold hearted mom who will toss the poor injured toy out? Or do I become the compassionate mom that nurses the toy back to health? Somebody HELP ME!!!!

This is how our conversations go. Somehow I always end up feeling defeated LOL
Like the one time that she was sitting on the living room floor with a huge mess around her, and this blank look on her face.

Me: Jasmine what are you doing?
Jasmine: Concentrating!
Me: On what?
Jasmine: Concentrating on making a mess!!!

Well at least she's honest! I'll give her that! LOL

And that's it for now, I have a 2 year old who has just stripped down to his underwear, pushed my pillows off and is jumping up and down on my couch and a 6 year old who is playing on the computer yelling "STOP that Nicholas, you're annoying me, I can't concentrate on my game".
Nothing like that to snap you back to reality.........so off I go to fight mommy/kid wars. Have a great morning my blogger friends, and I'm sure I'll be back with more later.

Powerful Story!!!

While doing my usual morning read of the blogs, Karen mentioned how Laurie rode her bike in honor of a fallen soldier. What an amazing story, I went over and read the post at her blog and had tears running down my face. Please go over there and read it, it's just a wonderful example of how so many people stand behind the troops and support them no matter what their believes are towards the President or the War. Here is a link to the local news story too.

It's so easy to get caught up with the day to day and forget that the soldiers are still over in Iraq and working against all odds to do what they are TOLD to. See, I think that is where a lot of people get confused. They have this idea that the soldiers chose to go there out of their own will, when in fact they are just following orders. So next time you decide to point a finger at someone think carefully and make sure you know all the facts.

On to something else. RAIN!!! Yeah you heard me, RAIN that won't go away. It's been raining since last night, and it's not that hard rain, it's that constant drizzling that gets so annoying after a while. It's not cold, it's actually 47 degrees BUT the weather is pitiful. I have to run to the commissary for some WIC checks and I'm just not looking forward to leaving the house.

Curt took Jasmine to her dentist appointment this morning. I had called yesterday to be sure that she could still be seen even though she has the strep throat. The dentist said it's fine, as long as she is not running a fever and has been on antibiotics for a while and generally feels well. She's GOOD TO GO!!!

So I was watching tv the other night and came across "SuperNanny". Hmmm, ok, well I don't even know where to start. I've tried the whole punishment thing with the coming down to their level, giving a warning and putting them in the naughty corner. At my house we have the WALL....yeah the dreaded wall. If they don't listen and continuously misbehave then they get to put their noses up against the wall.
Does it always work? NO!!!
Do I threaten them with the wall every chance I get? YES!!!
Do I follow through all the time? NO!!!
See a pattern here??? Something's definitely got to give. Unfortunately I know who's to blame. ME, there I said it, wow that feels not so great LOL
Alright so I've decided that I have to stick to my guns, even if I think they are going to hate me for making them stand up agains the wall. Oh well, a little bit of grief now will mean a lot of happiness later, or something to that effect.

Well it's 10:30 am and I've put off going out of the house for as long as I could. I really need to get going. What do I have to look forward to today? Going through all my INS paperwork, rechecking it, finish filling it in, get everything notarized and ready to be sent out.
SIGH.......how fun!!!

Hope you all have a great day, I'm feeling like I'm coming down with a cold, so I'm about to go drink a HUGE glass of orange juice. Will see you all back here later :)

What you may or may not know!!!

I love those Meme's that allow you to get to know the other person. I found this one online and thought I would list my answers:

Accent - Well I am from South Africa so everyone always tells me I speak with an accent, although after being in the States for 8 years I feel I've lost most of it
Booze of choice - Southern Comfort and Coke
Chore I hate - Putting away the laundry
Dog or Cat - Dogs definitely, I'm allergic to cats!
Essential electronics - Computer, TV
Favorite perfume(s)/cologne(s) - VanderBilt and Anais Anais
Gold or Silver? - White gold
Hometown - Maputo, Mozambique
Insomnia? - Once in a while
Job Title - Chef, Chauffeur, Financial Advisor, Seamstress, Dry Cleaner aka SAHM
Kids? - Jasmine 6 years old, Nicholas 2 years old
Living Arrangement - Base housing at Mountain Home AFB
Most admired trait - My honesty.
Overnight Hospital Stays - When my kids were born
Phobia - Snakes and Mice….ewww ewwww
Quote - “It's Ridiculous”
Religion - Christian
Siblings - 3 Brothers....sigh, poor me!!! LOL
Time I wake up - Between 6 and 6:30 am
Unusual talent/skill - Umm, well, I really don't know LOL
Vegetable I refuse to eat - Love veggies.
Worst habit - Lotioning my hands.
X-rays - Teeth, Chest, Wrist
Yummy foods I make - Loads of Portuguese food YUMMM
Zodiac sign - Leo

So there you have it, now you know just a LITTLE bit more of who I am and what makes me tick.

It's that time of the day, we've just had dinner, the kids are wired but also starting to slow down, if that even makes any sense. LOL

We are heading upstairs for the night, it's bath, playtime for an hour, reading and then Night Night time. I'm going to watch American Idol, yeah I know, I can't believe I'm addicted to that show. Guess who my favorite judge is? SIMON COWELL!!!
I don't know why, I just love that man, he is a bit harsh, well, a LOT harsh at times, but he also tells it like it is which I love. Maybe I'm nuts, who knows.

THEN I have "Walk the Line" to watch. I'm excited because I've had it on hold for a week now. So, I will definitely let you all know how it was.

Hope you guys have a great night, stay safe, stay warm and I'm sending out tons of hugs and prayers for everyone, especially the troops in Iraq and the families holding the forts back home.

See ya tomorrow,

Trying to Annoy me????

Ok you know this is so unfair. Yesterday we had a GORGEOUS day, it was 63 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, although at around 2pm we started getting these annoying winds, BUT all in all it was a nice day.

So it's 2:30pm, Curt had just left for work and the kids were sitting around really bored. I looked to my laundry and realized I had 4 baskets of clean clothes to put away. Did I ever tell you how much I detest laundry??? Because I do, I really do!!! I don't mind washing the clothes, let's face it, I just sort and drop in the washer, and it does the rest. The folding is already pushing my patience, but then the actual act of putting it away is enough to make me go running in the opposite direction.
Let's not forget that for some reason, the more laundry I do the more seems to appear? Does it multiply???

Anyway, I know I went totally off track there but now you understand how much I detest it.
So I say to the kids "hey let's go to the park across the street and then when we get back you guys can watch some tv so mommy can put the laundry away?".

YEAH YEAH, those were some excited kids. So we get ready and walk out the door, I go by my friend Veronica's house to ask if her kids want to come with. So now I have two 6 year olds and a 3 and 2 year old. We go to park and they play, everything is great, Scottie (Veronica's son) says that he's ready to go home because it's too windy. I say to the kids "hey, let's go by Burger King for some Icee's". Again I'm met with screams of joy and kids scrambling to reach my car.

I'm holding Sydney and Nicholas and Jasmine and Scottie take off ahead of us, I look down for a second and then hear ear piercing screams, I look up and Jasmine comes running towards me crying. While in a hurry to get to the car, she slips on the sidewalk, falls onto the street side and slams her face and nose on the sidewalk. SIGH.......why do these things only happen when I'm with them?
Thank God she didn't break her nose, she was just scraped up, but we did end up still going for the icee's, she felt that it would make her feel better LOL

So yeah, that was my wonderful afternoon. LOL
Today the weather is NOT great, it's not that it's cold but it's cloudy and we have thunderstorms on the way. Why, why does it do this to me, it's like torture!! It tempts me with warm summery days and then just as quickly pulls it away.
We're supposed to go back to the park this afternoon, so I'm hoping it doesn't start raining again.

Have you noticed how my life is always full of action??? There's always something going on here, it's never boring.

This morning while doing my usual blog visits, I came across a ton of blogs about pugs. You know how much I love my Lola, so what do I do? I create blog for her....see I used to have one back when we first got her and then I couldn't remember the password and username to get back in and now it's lost is cyberspace. If you come across it, please, treat it nicely!!!
But I started a new one "Family Gone Pug". Also, I added a whole new link section to my blog, just with pug blogs, even if you don't have a pug, be sure to check them out, these dogs are so adorable and so funny, I'm sure you'll enjoy visiting them.

Well I have dishes to do and a 2 year old to potty train. YEP, we're back to the big boy underwear, he woke up in the mood for it? Hmmm....let's see how long this lasts, keep your fingers crossed!!!

Love is in the Air!!!

So I spent this weekend watching movies. Couldn't really go anywhere with Jasmine being sick and I haven't been feeling too good either. I was sitting around trying to find something to watch, and as usual, for some unknown but very annoying reason, it seems that they put all the cruddy shows on during the weekend. Shouldn't the weekend be when the good stuff is on, I mean, after all, isn't that when people are home?

Anyway, I couldn't find anything to watch. So I mosied on over to the PPV channels. Of course I was met with a gazillion NASCAR racing channels, BLEH!!! But then I saw the only 2 movie channels that were on. One was playing The Fog, and the other "Just like Heaven". I jump up and grab the phone, and start dialing the numbers real fast. See, Reese Witherspoon is my favorite actress and I've been wanting to watch this movie, so this was exciting. I sent hubby and the kids to the computers and told them NOT to bug me for the time the movie was on. They did so but while giving me weird looks.

For some reason though, before I knew it, I was only 15 minutes into the movie and everyone had moved back into the living room on the couch next to me, watching the movie. HAH, whatever works I say!!!

LOVED the movie, it was so sweet and such a cute story. I don't know what it is but I always get into a really good mood after watching such a good movie. Later that night, I was laying in bed, Nicholas asleep next to me and I decided to pop in another movie. "13 going on 30".

What do you know, Mark Ruffalo was in that movie too. YAY, I mean, he's not exactly what I would consider HANDSOME, but there's something about him. Definitely some appeal there. LOL
This was yet another chick flick!!! Loved it too!!! So yeah, that was my Sunday movie watching.

This morning we are headed to the vet to take Lola for her shots and to hopefully get her nails clipped. I would do it myself and yes, it's cheaper to just buy the clippers and do it myself, BUT, I'm so terrified that I will end up clipping one of her toes or something, I would rather let the experts do it LOL
She was supposed to go last friday but then they couldn't see her, so here we are.

I better get a move on, wanna give the house a quick clean before I head out for the day.
Thanks to all that wished Jasmine a quick recovery, she's doing much better and is not running a fever anymore. The doctor says she can go out of the house and play and do whatever as long as she is not feverish....well DUH, thanks Mr. Doctor, I could have guessed that myself LOL

Hope you all have a great day, love your men, embrace them, and just for today, look the other way when they do dumb things. LOL

I'm leaving you with one of the songs from the movie "Just like Heaven". Enjoy :)

Colors by Amos Lee

Sleep!!!!

Is there such a thing as Sleep once you become a mother??? Because seriously, if there is, I would love someone to point me in that direction.

Do you remember the days of uninterruptable sleep? The ones where you would go to bed and sleep 8 hours, sometimes 12 and not have a worry on your mind, not get kicked in the stomach or punched in the eye by the toddler who climbed into bed with you during the night?
Not wake up from a deep sleep by the screams of a young kid going on and on about the shadow in their room, or the bad dreams they were having?
Or even that wonderful sleep that kept you from waking up for anything, a bomb could go off in the house and you wouldn't even know?

Yep I miss those days. I knew it was all part of being a mom, but I don't think you ever quite grasp the concept until you go night after night without much sleep. You wake up in the morning and you're pretty much ready to just go back to bed, that's how bad it gets, and that's how I feel today and believe me I look it too.

My only salvation????? COFFEE and plenty of it. I've had 2 cups so far and I've actually managed to have them hot, which is another luxury in this house. But then again I don't have to tell you moms out there, I'm sure you understand what I mean.

My day started a bit cruddy as you can tell. But hey, it can only get better right? The kids are being cooperative this morning and there haven't been any fights about the tv, or who eats where or which spot on the couch is mine and yours. I get so annoyed with it now, but then I start thinking about me and my brothers and it was the EXACT same thing. We went as far as writing our names on our chairs, plates, cups etc. The whole COOTIE factor was in play!!!

So I'm watching tv yesterday and I see a commercial for these Washers/Dryers. I scream out at the tv "I WANT, I REALLY WANT". Of course that's just a dream because I can't afford them, but you know it would save me from going to the laundromat to do the comforters which don't fit in my washer right now. AND they have LCD screens and just look cool. I would probably enjoy watching my clothes being washed too. Oh well, one day!!!!

You know I'm not really looking forward to this coming week. The kids are off school until the 3rd but with Jasmine being sick it means we'll be stuck in the house. I feel horrible for her. Anyone have any ideas on fun stuff to do with the kids? If I don't find some fun ideas I think we'll all go nuts!!!

Well I better get off here, time to do my morning blog reading. I love visiting all the blogs and seeing what everyone is up to. I've added all my favorite and MUST READS on my blogroll, so when you get a chance pop on over to one, you won't be disappointed :)

Strep or Mono?!?!?!?!

YEP, I spent my friday night at the ER!!!
Grab your coffee and prepare yourself, this is going to be a LONG one.

So Jasmine gets home from school yesterday and everything is fine, she's ok, she's running around with Nicholas and having fun.

Gets to about 4pm and I'm feeling REALLY sick, I honestly felt like I needed to throw up and my stomach hurt.

Now it's happened many times before where, the minute I say I'm not feeling well, the kids start walking around going "I don't feel good, I'm sick."
When Jasmine says to me "I don't feel good, my throat hurts", I didn't think anything of it, I thought well, she is either developed the instant sickness because I'm not feeling well, OR, it could be that she's getting a cold or something. I tell her I'm sorry she doesn't feel well, and go about my business.

We sit down at the dinner table and each take a bite of our dinner. I look over at Jasmine and notice this HUGE lump on the right side of her throat, right underneath her ear. Her gland looked extremely swollen. So now I'm sitting there staring and thinking "what the heck, is that the light making a shadown or creating an illusion or something". She wasn't complaining at that point, she was laughing etc.
I get up, walk over to her and lift her hair away only to be met by this huge lump. I touch it and she yells at me that it hurts, please don't touch.

Oh GREAT, now I'm panicking, you know how the mommy instinct kicks in and you start imagining all these horrific things. I pick up the phone and call Curt at work, but of course, I should remember that this is the military and unless someone is dying, they won't let him off work for something this small. Doesn't hurt to try thought, right?

So I gather up the kids, leave the dinner on the table and off we go to the hospital ER. Let me tell you that if there is one thing I totally detest doing is going to the ER especially with kids. I knew this was going to suck because Nicholas had to go with me.

We get there and there is NO ONE else at the ER, so I'm thinking "we might actually get out of here quick". WRONG. I check my watch, it's 5:05pm. We wait for about 10 minutes and then get seen by the nurse, get the blood pressure, temperature, listen to the heart yadda yadda yadda.
Go in to the little cubicle and the wait begins. We honestly looked like the freak family, Jasmine is laying on the gurney with a huge lump on her throat and moaning that she doesn't feel good. I'm sitting on the gurney next to her looking green and pale and about to get sick. Nicholas is running around touching everything, trying to pull everything down and just NOT listening.
After about 40 minutes the doctor finally comes in and checks her out, he keeps pushing on her lump and she keeps crying out and telling him that it really hurts. So I have to fight the mommy instant to tell him to "BACK OFF", I just tell Jasmine that I'm right there and that unfortunately he has to touch it and feel it to see what it is. He gets up and asks a couple more questions, then says "well we need to test for a few things, Strep Throat and Mono".
COME AGAIN?!?!?!?! Let's face it neither of these tests are easy to do or comfortable for the child.

"The nurse will be right with you" he says, and walks out. Wait another 25 minutes. Here comes the nurse, who might I add was absolutely WONDERFUL with Jasmine. Loved her and she made Jasmine feel very comfortable, she was one of those people who are definitely cut out for this. Anyway, she comes in and tells Jasmine what she has to do, and my princess says "I'll do the blood test first". She holds on to my hand and she is shaking and has tears in her eyes, and that was it for me, I thought I was going to burst into tears. She was SO GOOD through it, she kept her arm still, didn't cry once although she did keep repeating "it really hurts, please take it out now".
So that is done, and now we move onto the strep throat test. HERE WE GO......my daughter is like me, I don't like having things shoved down my throat, I would rather take blood over and over. The nurse approaches her with the swab and Jasmine panicks "NO NO I don't want to do that, I dont' want that down my throat". So we explain it's not going all the way down the throat, just by her tickler and the nurse even shows her her own tickler so she can see. After 5 minutes we convince her to stick her tongue out and open her mouth, nurse goes in and Jasmine's mouth SNAPS shut like a crocodile. LOL
Oh boy, this is going to take a while!!!

Let's just say that it took 20 minutes to get the two swabs and then another 20 minutes to get the other 2. Now the waiting game begins. I look at my watch, it's 7pm. Usually by this time, the kids are both getting ready for bed, so they both start getting cranky. Oh and by this time, Jasmine is now running a fever, she's really hot BUT the ER won't give her anything because when she first got there her temperature was only 99.1. WTH?????

Anyway, I take them to the snack bar, call my husband and go back to waiting. Finally the strep throat results come in "POSITIVE", she has strep throat. There's a lot of it going around here, lots of kids at the school have it. She is now on penicillin for 10 days.....the doctor told her she can do the antibiotics for 10 days or just get a one time shot on her behind and be done with it. She refused the shot LOL No thanks doc, keep the needles to yourself!!!
The Mono results were going to take a couple of hours, so we came home, walked in the door at 8:10pm. Gave them their baths and they went straight to sleep.

So THAT was my wonderful friday night. I'm happy to report though that they called us back later that night and told us the test for Mono was negative. THANK GOD!!!
We caught the strep right as it was starting too, so she wasn't having pain just the swollen gland. Doctor said it's only contagious before you start taking the antibiotics and only if you eat or drink from the same utensils, and as long as she is not running a fever, she's allowed to go out of the house. DOCTOR MOM though says, NOPE, she's perfectly fine staying at home. :)

And with that, I am done. I know I know, this was a LONG post, but just wanted to let everyone know what my evening was like. Well better go pour some more coffee, this one is ice cold and the cereal I had ready to eat is now really soggy, which does not appeal to me at all.

Rise and shine everyone, it's a beautiful crisp saturday morning. I have errands to run so I will be back later. Until then, stay safe and stay warm :)

Remember When???

It's friday and time for another "Remember When???". I think one day I will have to sit down and write down all our funny stories, we definitely have enough for a whole book LOL

This is one of those short funny memories that I will always have.

We were visiting my grandparents house in Johannesburg. We had spent the day there and when it got to late afternoon we were heading back home. My brothers and I got in the back of the car and my stepmother and dad in the front.

We all sit down and buckle up, and right before my dad starts the car he starts sniffing around, like something smelled really bad. My brothers and I say nothing and just look at each other. He turns around and says "WHAT IS THAT SMELL???".

He is met with the "I don't know, it wasn't me".

He continues to sniff around and again asks what the smell is. Then he says "you guys stink, good grief can't you wait til you get home, that's disgusting", and he is going on and on and on about it. LOL
We keep telling him it wasn't us, and my stepmom turns to him and says "you know, maybe it's you". My dad gets this insulted look on his face and says "No, NO it's not", but then just as quickly adds....."OH, ACTUALLY, it was me, I stepped in dog poop". HAHAHAHAHAHA

We about died laughing at him. If you guys could have seen the look on his face, all that insult at being told that maybe the smell was coming from him, and only to find out that indeed it was LOL

If you're reading this dad, just know that we will NEVER let you live that one down LOL

HOUSECLEANING!!!

MY PHILOSOPHY OF HOUSECLEANING!


I don't do windows because ...

I love birds

and don't want one to run into a clean window

and get hurt.

I don't wax floors because ...

I am terrified a guest

will slip and get hurt

then I'll feel terrible

( plus they may sue me.)

I don't mind the dust bunnies because ...

They are very good company,

I have named most of them,

and they agree with everything I say.

I don't disturb cobwebs because ...

I want every creature

to have a home of their own.

I don't Spring Clean because ...

I love all the seasons

and don't want the others

to get jealous

I don't pull weeds

in the garden because ..

I don't want to get

in God's way,

HE is an excellent designer!

I don't put things away because ...

My husband

will never be able

to find them again.

I don't do gourmet meals
when I entertain because ...

I don't want my guests

to stress out over what

to make when

they invite me

over for dinner.

I don't iron because ...

I choose to believe them

when they say "Permanent Press".

I don't stress much on anything because...

"A Type" personalities

die young

and I want to stick around

and become a wrinkled up crusty ol' woman!!!

So now you know why I don't particularly enjoy cleaning LOL
I got this through email this morning and just had to laugh because, really, it makes a good point doesn't it? Or at least I choose to think that maybe I can use one of the excuses next time I would rather relax than clean. Hopefully people will believe me though LOL

It's been a very slow and quiet day around here. Jasmine was off school at 11:30am and now it's spring break. I am one of those mothers that welcomes the breaks so that I can sleep in a little and not have to rush in the mornings, and also, because I get to keep my princess home with me. BUT, make no mistake, I also know that school breaks mean kids at home all day, which in turn leads to fighting and yelling and bickering. SIGH......oh well, can't have my cake and eat it too can I?

I have so much laundry to put away and just the thought of tackling that job is making me nauseous. LOL Have you ever had so much to do that you feel totally overwhelmed and secretly wish someone would come and save the day? I mean I would give anything to see a Knight in Shining Armor with a duster in his hand, walk through my door and just take charge of the house. Ahhhhhhhh....what a wonderful thought LOL
Well time to get moving, the laundry won't do itself no matter how much I will it too.

Hope you all have a wonderful friday.

Our Home!!!

Ok I know I know, I've been promising to get the photos taken and then something comes up and I totally forget about it. BUT, today I actually took the time to do it and I'm uploading them to the Opera Album. You can find it under my links.

Here are just a few of the pics, probably one of each I would say. NOW, remember, I haven't cleaned my house today AND we live in base housing which pretty much means NO PAINTING the walls and no doing nothing out of the ordinary, which leaves us with these plain and boring eggshell colored walls.
Oh well, one day, one day I will have my own house and will be able to paint, demolish or whatever else comes to mind LOL

Enjoy a peak into our everyday life :)

Lola if you only knew!!!

For those who don't know, this is our pug Lola and she will be 6 months old on Saturday.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that she has given me headaches over the whole house training thing. But all in all she's the most adorable, family, loving pet you could EVER come across. She's brought so much joy to our lives.

Well today she is going for her shots, so I'm already dreading it. It's not a biggie for her, she doesn't even flinch when she gets them, but me being the whiny and wussy that I am, I get tears in my eyes. It's like having one of my own babies getting their immunization shots LOL
Good grief!!!
I'm going to see if they can clip her nails too, she's in desperate need of that being done but I'm not doing it. I could buy the clippers and try to do it myself but you know, knowing my luck I would clip off her toes LOL

So today and tomorrow the kids only have a few hours of school. 3 hours to be exact. They get out at 11:30 because of the Parent/Teacher Conferences. Today won't be so bad cause I'm picking up Jasmine and heading straight to the vet and walmart etc, but tomorrow I know what awaits me.

See my kids love each other to death but for some unknown reason, the minute Jasmine gets home from school they fight and bicker over EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING. The spot on the couch where they sit, which cup to drink out of, the toys, the computers, the tv shows to watch, the crayons to color even who takes the bath first and who gets out first....and GOD FORBID I dry one off with the other's towel. WORLD WAR erupts!!!!

That's exactly what my house feels like at times, I feel like a soldier in enemy territory, although I bet it would be easier to coax a criminal to eat than my kids. If only I could eat like they do I would be as thin as I want to be. LOL

I finally got the carpets done and I would LOVE to say that they look beautiful and like new, but who am I kidding right? They look MUCH better is all I can say. I don't think they'll ever be the way they used to, but that's ok, that's how I feel after having kids too, never will look the same again LOL Guess me and the carpets have a lot in common. How sad!!! LOL

Alright I'm out of here, gotta get ready to go pick up Jasmine. Thank you all for continuing to stop by my blog....I love your comments and love knowing what's going on with you too.
I'm sure I'll be back later with more updates from here. Until then stay safe and keep smiling!!!

What Kind of Soda are you?

You know those fun quizzes that everyone does? I found this one online and I find it so funny because until a few years ago I was TOTALLY obsessed with Coke, still think it's the best drink on earth. BUT after a few kids and expanding hips, I switched to diet coke and diet pepsi *shhhh, don't tell the coca cola company*.
So as you can see I'm an original classic coke.........Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

You Are Coke

A true original and classic, you represent the best of everything you can offer. Just the right amount of sweet, just the right amount of energy... you're the life of the party. Your best soda match: Mountain Dew Stay away from:Dr Pepper

What Kind of Soda Are You?

And since we've been talking about donuts.....what kind of a donut am I you ask? Well, I'm a:

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

Return of the Carpet Cleaner!!!

I DID IT!!! After one whole month of trying to get a carpet cleaner, I finally got one this morning. I called up and the conversation was the usual:

Lady: Blah Blah Blah, Self Help, Blah blah, can I help you?
Me: yes, do you have any carpet cleaners in?
Lady: Just a sec! * mumble, mumble * Yes we do!
Me: PUT ONE ASIDE FOR ME, I'M HEADING OUT THE DOOR RIGHT NOW!!! DO NOT GIVE IT TO ANYONE ELSE, I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR A MONTH FOR THIS!
Lady: Oooohhkay!

LOL I swear the lady must think I'm nuts or something, but I really don't care. I'm not joking when I tell you that it's been a whole month of calling them every day to get a carpet cleaner. Gets very frustrating. So, anyway, I got me a carpet cleaner and I'm going to use it today and then let Veronica use it tomorrow so that she doesn't have to track one down for a whole month LOL

I actually went for a haircut this morning. I told the lady to keep the length because I'm trying to grow it out, but to go ahead and layer it and thin it or whatever she could do. See, I have really thick and heavy hair so I can't get away with wearing it all in one length, it's just not possible. She did a good job and now all that I need to do is get some color myself. I WOULD go back to do it but really, I don't want to spend $65, that's not in my budget and besides, I can get it done for $2, well actually $4, because I need 2 bottles instead of 1...but I'm HAPPY and PROUD to announce that Walmart is my hairdresser LOL

I remember those days, the ones where I would go to the hairdresser and get a shampoo, haircut, blow dry, highlights and the works. Then I would get my nails done etc. BUT that was B.K. (before kids). Now I run up and get the $11 haircut at the base salon, come home and wash and style it myself....and nails, HAH, I can't remember the last time I had long ones. Mine are cut short for practicality, I do however occasionally indulge in the nail polish, which seems to last about 2 days tops and then it starts cracking and disappearing. SIGH....such are the joys of parenthood.

I watched American Idol last night, and I can say that I did what I promised I would do last week. I said I would vote for Ace Young until my finger got tired, and I DID!!! LOL
Don't ask me why I watch this show or why I like it, I honestly don't know and wouldn't be able to give you a good answer. It's just one of my weird likes I guess. LOL

So off I go, off to vacuum again and make sure the carpet is ready for cleaning. Sometimes I wonder why I put myself through all this trouble because seriously, I know for a fact that by this weekend there will be the usual mysterious spot, you know the ones that appear without anyone being nearby? I suppose pointing out to Nicholas that the juice pouch is NOT a sprinkler wouldn't do any good?

Well I hope you all have a great afternoon and I will see you all tomorrow with more craziness from this side of the world. Big ol' hug from potato land!!!

Coffee and Donuts anyone???

Ahhhh, ok I was running around late today so I left the house with just a cup of coffee. By the time I sat down and realized that I was feeling really hungry, it was after 10 am, BUT I had to run to the Shoppette on base to return the movies we rented.

I go in there with Nicholas, and of course the first thing to catch my eye is my BIGGEST downfall with food. Krispi Kreme Donuts....oh come ON you sweet fluffy temptation beast. I can't just walk away, can I???
So what do I do? I pick up 2 boxes. GASP!!! I'm so ashamed. That's a whole dozen donuts and you know how expensive they are, but I figured, or at least I tried to convince myself, that I don't do this all the time, only once in a blue moon. I bring the donuts home, pour myself another cup of coffee and devour 3 donuts. YEAH I ADMIT I ATE 3 WHOLE KRISPY KREME DONUTS!!!

I feel slightly nauseous right now. BLEH!!!

So I had Jasmine's parent/teacher conference yesterday, and it lasted all of 5 minutes. Yep, just 5 minutes. I walked in and her teacher told me she is still getting all 3's, she's doing AWESOME and is more than ready to go to second grade. YAY!!! I was so happy and not surprised, and I don't mean to brag, but Jasmine really is a very good student....and the teacher just loves her and says she's an amazing student and a joy to have in her class.

After school we went by the BX to get some crayons for the kids, because as hard as it may be to believe (well not really), they lost all their crayons etc. So we go in there and get those and when we come out they have those rides for the kids, the one with the horse. It's right outside the barber so I think "you know, it's now or never, he needs a haircut".

I take him in there and he was SOOOO good. Well, maybe cause I told him that if he let me get his haircut he could go on the horsey ride again. Is that bad? Does that make me a bad mom cause I have to bribe him?
What matters is that it worked and he got a really cute haircut, which you can see right here. LOL

Of course even though Jasmine didn't get a haircut she insisted that she needed a picture taken too, so here you go.....her Royal Highness in all her glory. LOL
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE her hair :)

Well I'm outta here, I got errands to run and I need to track down a carpet cleaner, yep, it's now been almost a month that I've been trying to get one. I WILL succeed eventually LOL
Have a great day everyone!

Night Sky!!!

So one thing that Curt and I LOVE doing is using our telescopes to observe the night skies. We love astronomy and really want to get into Astrophotography. We're slowly trying to get the best telescopes and accessories so that we are able to achieve that.

We've been doing this as a hobby for about 2 or 3 years now and it's just amazing what you can see out there. The kids love looking through the telescopes too so this is a family activity we all enjoy.
I'm still trying to learn how to use all the astrophotography software out there, to edit the photos after we take them.......but I wanted to share some that we think came out really good. I have a photo album with all our astrophotography photos at our OPERA account. Be sure to check it out if you're interested.

Anyway here are some of our favorite shots. Enjoy :)

Here's Jupiter and some stars and nebulae.

Here's a shot of the moon

I love this one, we just took a shot of the night sky from our back yard and then I used Paintshop and Photoshop to edit the photo and bring out the actual colors etc.

Pretty amazing huh? It's such a cool hobby to do, so this is why we're planning on going camping this summer and see what else we can photograph.

Next time you look up at the night sky, really think about the beauty and wonder that is before your eyes :)

Nice Weekend!!!

I have to say that I really enjoyed this weekend. We did absolutely NOTHING. Just sat around the house and watched movies, and then yesterday we took the kids to the park and afterwards went by Burker King for some Chocolate Shakes. It was really nice to just spend time together and have fun with the kids.

Last night we decided to start playing DAOC again. It's an online game and the reason I started playing it was to spend time with Curt and Jasmine. We all get to play together and it's fun. Nicholas is not old enough yet but once he is I'm sure he will be just as eager to get in there. LOL
The reason I mention this is because we were able to catch up with some very good friends of ours. Friends who we actually met on the game about 2 years ago. You know the kind of people you meet and instantly become close to, it's like you've known forever even though you've never met, just like so many friends I've made through the internet.

So I start by sending out a HUGE congrats to Eli and Steven, their daughter is pregnant and expecting a baby girl. They are so excited and we are too. So, CONGRATS MANDI!!! :)

Today is going to be a pretty nice day, the weather is not too cold and it's the start of spring. It's only 43 degrees outside BUT since it's been so cold lately, I welcome this with open arms :)

This afternoon I have Jasmine's Parent/Teacher conference. I know that she is doing great but I love the time I get to sit down and talk to her teacher, who we absolutely love. She's such a wonderful person, she is strict but she also allows the kids to be themselves and to be, well, KIDS!!! I couldn't have picked a better teacher for Jasmine, so we are really thrilled with the results we've seen. Will let you all know how it went later.

Right now I'm headed to walmart. Got our state tax return in so that means I can actually get my speakers for the car AND still have the money for my immigration paperwork, which let me tell you, it's not cheap. Just one of the forms is over $350. YIKES!!!

So yeah I'm outta here, will check back in with everyone later. :)

Good Morning!!!

I think blogger is actually cooperating this morning so we will attempt to post something. I don't know what it is about this site that goes ballistic once in a while, it either gives me errors or won't post images or whatever. It's still not letting me post them this morning, but since I've been learning html, I went in myself and added them manually. AHHHHH the feeling of accomplishment LOL

Last night I watched "Elizabethtown" and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Orlando Bloom is one of my favorite actors so this was a must watch for me. It was a cute movie and definitely one I would add to my DVD collection. Today we're going to be watching a whole bunch more movies, so I'm looking forward to that. Usually if we have a movie watching day I don't cook, I guess it's their way of giving me a break from the kitchen LOL
But I'll be making some seafood subs and I've been craving Taco Bell nachos and chalupas so Curt might go get some for us.

I was sitting on the computer this morning, waiting for blogger to let me into my own site, and started making a slideshow using picasa. I love using it because it allows me add music etc, but anyway, that's not what I was going to say, I can't believe I got sidetracked LOL
The reason I brought it up is because I was going through all my photos and found so many that I had totally forgotten existed. It was great to go back through all of them again and remember the kids when they were little, remember our family vacations, even deployments etc.
Wow, have you ever just sat back and reminisced about your life and the places you've been?
So, it reminded me that Courtney over at Waiting on my Soldier had posted this really cute slideshow this morning, so I decided to take the same idea and do it myself. Thanks Court :)



I just added some of my favorites.
It's so easy to get caught up in everyday life and totally forget EVERYTHING that has brought you to this moment.
If anything going through those photos just put a huge smile on my face.

You know what I hear right now? NOTHING!!! Though it's good in a way, it's kinda scary cause it means the kids are either being extremely good or terribly bad. I'm happy to announce though that they are both behind me on the other computers and are playing REALLY well and really quietly. It's moments like these that make up for all the chaos and craziness of our day to day.

I want to end this post by sending out a HUGE hug to all the wonderful military ladies I've met through this blog. Most of their husbands are deployed to Iraq right now and they are back here doing it all on their own. Being moms and dads and trying to keep a smile on their faces while inside their hearts are breaking.

Please remember to keep the troops and their families in your thoughts and prayers, they deserve that and so much more.
God Bless!!!

God, hold our troops in your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts
they perform for us in our time of need.
Amen

Wow Blogger PMSing!!!

Well good evening to everyone, I'm usually here bright and early with a hot cup of coffee in my hands, and I DID attempt that today but seems that blogger is not behaving and cooperating.
I've tried all day to get on here but to no avail. Talk about frustrating.....but this is the reason I picked Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" to start my weekend. Love the song and the fact that it pretty much talks about life and living it to it's fullest. Or at least that's what I get from it. LOL Won't I be surprised if that's not really what it's about?

It's been a real slow day, I don't think I've been getting enough sleep lately. Been sort of dragging myself around, I did manage to get dressed and run out to the commissary for some milk and the library for some movies. They didn't have much available, obviously with it being a saturday afternoon, the good ones were all gone. SIGH!!!

We just got done watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
LOVED IT!!! We love the Harry Potter movies so it's no surprise that we would enjoy this one.
So this is the list of movies we now have at home to watch....some from the library, one from Netflix and some that we rented. It's a weekend movie marathon....better make sure I have enough popcorn LOL

• Harry Potter "Goblet of Fire"
• Elizabethtown
• The Brothers Grimm
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• P.S.
• School of Rock
• Red Eye

Not too sure about The Brothers Grimm, I've heard it's got some gruesome scenes. Eager to see what we think of it.

I can't believe it's already saturday night, the days just seem to fly by lately, another week and the kids will be on spring break. YAY, no more waking up early, well, at least for about a week.

You know what's frustrating? When it seems that everything goes wrong for you. I mean seriously, I know everyone has a run of bad luck, but with me it just always seems like there's extra obstacles. LOL
I'm talking about my car this time. Remember the car we just got for myself? Well it didn't come with a radio, and you know me, I LOVE music, grew up around music, was a radio dj and sang etc, so music is really a HUGE part of my life.
I've put off getting a radio because, well, we just couldn't afford it while trying to stay on a budget and doing all my Immigration stuff.

This payday we finally were able to afford one, and it's not even an expensive one with all the blings and whistles. Just a plain, cheap, cd and radio in one. We get home and Curt installs it for me and everything is great except for the fact that there is NO SOUND!!! The radio has power and it's working but we hear nothing.....just the crickets!!!

Curt searches and searches only to realize "THERE ARE NO SPEAKERS IN THE CAR". Oh COME ON NOW.......give me a break!!! LOL
So after all that we now have a very pretty looking radio that I can turn on and just look at, I do mess with the stations and act like I'm actually changing from one to the other, OH and I did put a CD in. Changed the tracks etc. SIGH, if only I could hear it LOL

Anyway, now we have to wait until NEXT payday and see if we can afford to get the speakers, if not "oh well" that's fine too, I'll just keep singing to myself. So I ask you, if you see me driving down the road and it looks like I'm actually grooving to some song and singing along, it's really just lonesome me and the crickets emanating from my stereo system. Just drive on by and act like you saw NOTHING!!! :)

Remember When???

Before I start just wanted to post the quote for today :)

Life is an adventure.
Hang on to your hat and scream for all you're worth.

Well it's another friday and time for another "Remember When???".
I love sharing family stories, and we've had pretty funny things happen to us. So here we go:

It's a bright early morning, my dad and stepmom, my youngest brother and me and my boyfriend, pack up the car and get in. We're excited, we're going to Durban for the week.

Durban is on the east coast of South Africa and we LOVED going there for vacations.
So we get in the car and start driving and everything is fine.

A couple of hours into the drive we are just past Harrismith  when we decide to stop for breakfast. We get out and enjoy a great breakfast, then get back in the car. UH OH!!! Something is not right. The car is not working, something is definitely broken. Now I don't recall exactly what the problem was, I want to say it was the transmission but I may be wrong and I'm sure my dad will correct me LOL

So now we are in one of those travel places where they have the gas station, restaurant etc. They did have an auto shop but it was closed so we had to wait for it to open. They have these picnic tables around the gas station so we go and sit there and wait. We talk and just watch all the other cars go by, headed to Durban, headed to the beach and here we are sitting on a picnic bench wondering what the heck we're going to do.
Lunch time comes around and we go back into the restaurant and eat, and then dinner time rolls around and we do the same. We kept getting these weird looks from the staff there because usually people will stop by and eat and continue on their journey. But not us LOL they must have thought we loved the food so much that we just stayed there. If only they knew!!!

The auto shop finally opens and they figure out what's wrong with the car. It was an old Peugeot Station Wagon which my dad absolutely loved. LOL
Anyway, the guy says that it will take the rest of the day to fix it and we need to stay overnight, so he offers us his house, he invites us to stay with him and his family, which we thought was really nice. Before we leave to go to his house my dad remembers that he left his wine, yes you heard right, his WINE, in the car. So he goes back in and tells the guy he needs to get something out of the car, by this time the car is up on jacks and now they have to lower it so he can retrieve his box of wine LOL

We go to the guy's house and before retiring to our bedroom, his wife asks if we need anything, to which my dad replies "yes please, a glass so that I can drink some water" LOL we all knew what the glass was for and unless water is made from grapes, you catch my drift LOL
We all pile into one bedroom with two beds. My dad pulls out the wine and has a glass or two. We are just laughing at this time. Finally the next morning comes around and we leave to go see if the car is ready. Dad stays at the auto shop and the rest of us come back to the house to get the luggage. Did I remember to tell you that we THEN had to drag the luggage back to the auto shop, while walking alongside the highway? HAHAHAHAH

We finally pile back in the car and now we've lost 2 days so we decide to just head on back home and not risk going further. What a disappointment, we were so looking forward to the beach. But our bad luck wasn't over. LOL On the way back home, we drive for a couple hours and then stop for gas and decide to run into the fast food place and grab some burgers. The place was SOOOOOO packed with people it took a while. We get back to the car and now we realize they messed up the order and we're missing some burgers LOL......by this time dad is just so annoyed so he says "forget it, let's just go".


Oh man what a trip that was. We got back home that night and felt like we had when we left. IN DESPERATE NEED OF A VACATION!!! What funny memories, thanks for letting me share it with you :) Hope I brought a smile to my family's face :)

Will be back next friday with yet another "Remember When???"

Base Housing!!!!

Quote for the day:

The beautiful words of Ecclesiastes teach us there is "a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away." There are occasions in life when we must hang on - grip the hand of God tight and struggle fiercely to hold on to His promises. And then at the end of our lives, there is a time to let go of the struggles and simply fall into those everlasting arms of the Father.


You know you've been in the same house for way too long, when you scrub and scrub and mop and mop and things still don't look right. It's not that it's dirty but it just doesn't have that new house look you know? LOL
These are the houses we live in now:

I was driving around the other day and looking at all the new housing they are building on base. We've been told that by next year we should be out of our houses, considering we've been in this one for 8 years, I think it's about time we get a new one. BUT then there's the downside to it. For those in the military, you know how paranoid housing can get. God forbid you spill something on the carpet or there's a crayon mark on a wall. You might as well start saving for a housing fund just to afford paying for all that when you get orders somewhere else.
But doesn't that house look so much more appealing? You wouldn't even think you were on a military base LOL

A friend of ours had to pay almost $1500 just for the carpet when they moved out of base housing. I don't have that kind of money, and who makes these ridiculous prices up? Obviously someone who has NEVER come across a two year old with a juice pouch in his hand. BELIEVE me, that quickly becomes one of those summer sprinklers for the lawn. LOL

So these houses I really like..... I've been in one too and they have carpet AND hardwood floors. DROOL!!!
Not to mention a garage which is nice to have. Well keep dreaming, will definitely post a pic of the house we move into, WHEN we move.

I would love to stay on here all day and just chat, but I have groceries to do and menu's to make and bills to pay and so forth.....besides, my coffee is cold and no longer desirable.

Oh before I go, I'm happy to report that Nicholas and his potty training is going extremely well and even though I cheated and bought more diapers, which I had promised I wouldn't, I keep enforcing the big boy underwear rule and he is stickin with it. YAY!!! He told me diapers are just for Night Night. Good boy!!! LOL

American Idol...GRRRR

Ok one question.

"WHAT THE HECK IS AMERICA THINKING?". And I say that with all the love I have inside LOL

So Jasmine and I have been watching American Idol from the beginning, she's really into it and likes staying up to watch it with me, she always says how it's nice to do that with mommy without Nicholas being around interrupting. LOL

Anyway, we're watching last night and they start announcing the bottom 3. ACE YOUNG and LISA TUCKER were in there. WHY???? WHY is all I ask?? Are you kidding me?
Why is Kevin Covais in there and getting votes. Honestly, when did this go from a singing competition to a popularity competition? Don't get me wrong, I think they should have a bit of everything to be the American Idol, but isn't one of the major prerequisites that you actually SING??
Kevin Covais, or chicken little like he's been called, does not sing well. I don't care if he's cute or if people think he's funny or whatever, that does not make him a good singer. To keep him in there while not voting for Ace and Lisa who both have excellent voices, it truly outrageous.

Ok so I got that out of the way, I just had to vent. I honestly have to shake my head at how some things work. Let's keep our minds focused on the fact that this is a SINGING competition and NOT the cutest or funniest person competition. There's other shows for that!!!!

Watch out America, next week I'm spending 2 hours voting for ACE LOL......I will call in the vote until my finger hurts from hitting redial. LOL

Fountain of Youth!!!

So here's the quote for today: March 15

GOOD NEWS: I've finally discovered the Fountain of Youth.

BAD NEWS: At my age, I've forgotten what I wanted to do with it.

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Ahhhhh another morning. At least the sun is shining, even though it's cold LOL

I feel alot better than what I did last night. I swear the whole INS thing is giving me migraines. But, I understand that unfortunately it's all part of the process so I just paste on a smile and keep going.

The song I'm sharing today is by my favorite country band "Rascal Flatts". Just love them and their music. This one is called What Hurts the Most. WOW, it's a real tear jerker, but just love it, so enjoy :)

Boy am I glad it's payday today, with all this paperwork and money just going out, left right and center, it's hard to keep a budget. BUT, we're managing and doing good. When we first got married it was so hard trying to control the spending urges, we would buy and buy and then come home and think "where did the money go, what did we buy?".
It's a learning process but we've finally learnt to stop buying stuff that we don't NEED. It's made a huge difference.

So anyway, last night I'm sleeping and I wake up at 4:30am hearing footsteps outside the bedroom. I get up and realize it's Curt. I ask him what he's doing and he walks in the room and says "well I was sleeping and then my finger started hurting real bad and when I looked at it, the whole blood bump thing had burst". BARF!!!
Ok not what I want to hear OR see at that time of the night. But let me tell you, this morning his finger looks SO MUCH better. Thank God.

I really should get a move on but I'm being extremely lazy today. If it were up to me, I would take my kids and hubby, get into bed and snuggle the whole day away. Doesn't that sound heavenly? LOL

BUT, I have to get my grocery list and my menu's done. Then I have to run downtown to Mountain Home, which is about 10 minutes from base, so that I can go to walmart. I usually do my grocery shopping at the commissary but there's things that I like better at Walmart. Have to run some errands and pretty much drive around all day. Can't wait for bed and it's not even 10am yet.

You all have a great wednesday :)

OMG I'm so annoyed

So after all this time of waiting, I get my paperwork in the mail. The one I'm to send to INS.

I open it up and right away this word jumps up at me. CANADA!!! WHOA hold on, where the heck did that come from?
The paperwork has me listed as being from Canada. Are you frigging kidding me? I'm SO ANNOYED right now. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Canada, it's the fact that they've put the WRONG country. I've bent over backwards and gone out of my way, jumping through hoops for this. Why don't people pay attention to what they're doing?

I pick up the phone and call the doctors office.

Lady: Dr.........'s office, may I help you?
Me: Yes, this is Sandra, I just got my paperwork and where it says country I'm from, it says Canada.
Lady: and so?
Me: Well I'm NOT from Canada that's the problem.

Ummm hello??? Obviously I didn't call just to tell her what country I'm from. Unbelievable. So now you may ask where I'm at? Well, now we have to wait for them to RESEND more paperwork with the right country. SIGH......I seem to have developed a really bad headache all of a sudden, wonder why? Could it be the stress or the fact that no matter how hard I try there is always something messing things up for me?

Well just had to vent. Going to go take some Tylenol and sit down for a bit, help this headache go away faster.

Word of advice to those out there going through any immigration process. TAKE YOUR TIME and go through every single piece of paper and written word to make sure it's right. One more thing, don't count on others to make sure everything is done the right way, to you it's your life, but to them it's just another piece of paper going through their hands.

We're stuck in winter!!!!

YEP, you heard me, no matter how much we want to move on from this dreadful weather, it's just not going to happen. Everytime it seems it's going to ease up, there comes the snow just to slap us in the face and remind us that we are NOT in charge. LOL
At least that's how I feel about it, like it's taunting me!!!!

You know with all this spring cleaning I find myself discovering stuff I had no clue we had or had totally forgotten about it. Most of it is going to be given away because it's in a good shape, but there's a lot of stuff that I just have to shake my head and think "what the heck was I thinking?"

So I have this little book thing above my sink and it's from Barbara Johnson. It's called "I don't suffer from Insanity....I enjoy every minute of it!". It's filled with all these daily quotes that are so funny and it always makes me smile. I thought that I would post the quote for that day on here, just to share it with you all.

The one for today goes like this:

Men: There are two theories for arguing with a woman.
Neither one works.

I'm sooooo showing this one to my hubby this morning. LOL

His finger seems to be doing a little better, not much, and it's just plain gross to look at. I would have put a bandage on it by now just so I wouldn't have to see it. But he's a guy and you know guys, nothing is THAT bad. Maybe I'm just a wuss I don't know.

You all know how much I love books, and how much I love cooking and crafts, etc. I was at the BX yesterday and ran smack into 4 of Rachael Ray's books. Do you know how hard it was for me to walk away and not buy them? LOL
I wanted to get them so badly, but I keep having to remind myself that we are trying to budget and besides payday is not until tomorrow......SIGH, it's so hard at times. I'm just glad I know how to control my shopping urges otherwise we would be in serious trouble.

So for today I have nothing planned, and that's fine with me. I am in the mood to just lay around and read a book. My back is not letting up and all the driving around and walking is not helping it either. Nicholas is doing good with the potty training, he has only had one accident today so that is good. Can't wait to get rid of the diapers and say hi to spongebob big boy underwear LOL

Ahhhh Computer Area Clean

I actually went through the whole area and got rid of a bunch of stuff that didn't need to be there. It feels so much better to work in a clean computer area doesn't it?

So we went from this:

To this:

Yay for me!!! Well gotta go pick up Jasmine from her friends house, then it's dinner time, baths, homework etc.

Hope you all have a great night :) Will be here bright and early tomorrow with a hot cup of coffee and, I'm sure, interesting stories LOL