{ First day of School }

Shadow pics are disturbing....this makes me look so weird and so much bigger than I am.

It's just me! Instead of 3 shadows in the back yard, there's just one.

I was kinda sorta hoping this day wouldn't come for a little while longer, as much as the kids were eating me out of house and home, I just hate sending them off for hours and not seeing them.

I miss them....like....a LOT.

Is that wimpy of me?

Anyway, here's the obligatory Back to School photos. I just can't believe how much they've grown, they need to slow down a bit.
It's hard to think that I have a Sixth Grader and a Second Grader, but then again, I AM turning 36 tomorrow. BLECH....forget I said that, I'm turning 30. Yes, 30!

Nicholas is starting Second Grade and he's excited for it, and yet all I can think about is....Oh No...no more bathrooms inside the classrooms, he has to go to the big boy bathroom....I mean, really, is anyone else as paranoid as I am?

I said on Facebook earlier, these precious freckles warm my heart, though I have freckles myself but can't stand them on me LOL

Oh boy, Lord have mercy. This girl is growing so fast, so so extremely fast that it's starting to scare me.

Jasmine is starting Sixth Grade and at this point I'm only allowed to show affection behind closed doors, when we're in public it's NO CAN DO. Persona non grata!

She has grown so much and she's becoming such a stunning young lady. Curt has started talking about shotguns and no dating and all that kinda stuff that I really don't even want to think about yet.....but then I look at her and all I can think about is high school and dances and all that fun part of becoming a young adult and I can't help but be excited for her.

But anyway, I've been counting the minutes and staring at the clock all day long, I miss them. I miss them terribly and I can't wait to pick them up from school.

Maybe homeschooling is the way to go for me LOL Then again, wouldn't that be unfair to them? I can't just home school because I want them with me all the time.....can I?

Don't Blink.....

Another year just went by, a whole year, a time when I thought that I would have more of my little boy in kindergarten and my little girl in fourth grade.

But things don't work that way do they? You blink and it's gone.

We just got home from the school, Nicholas had his Kindergarten Field Day/Graduation thing going on, Curt and I got to go and watch the kids play outside and then head back into the classrooms to receive all kinds of goodies, finishing off with their Graduation Certificates and Report Cards.

I promised I wouldn't cry, but I should know that it's a promise I seldom keep because you see, the minute the teacher starts getting teary eyed, I find myself reaching for the kleenex and crying along with her. It's always such a bitter sweet moment.....the immense feeling of pride for you child knowing that they've grown and learned through a whole year and are now beginning a new period in time.....but there's also the sadness, knowing that it's a whole new classroom next year, new kids, new teacher and new bonds that have to be established.

We've been extremely lucky with the teachers our children have had, they have been nothing but the best, devoted, warm, kind, smart and absolute blessings to our lives.

Here's Jasmine with two of her friends.....and below the whole Fourth Grade class...bunch of little nuts they are, I told them to make funny faces for me LOL

So with that, it's done.....we are officially on Summer Break and when we return to school, I will have a Fifth Grader and First Grader. Boy do I feel old LOL

But all of this emotion today got me thinking about how quickly time flies and how one day I'll be sitting at home alone......there won't be any toys hanging out in the bathtub

when I go to sit down on the couch, I will no longer have to push all the stuffed toys aside to find a spot

there will be no little chihuahas hanging out above the tv

or little shoes thrown about in the hallway

when I fix dinner, I'll no longer have to remove the GI Joes from the counter

or listen to endless hours of Spongebob on the tv

and I'll be able to see the door of my refrigerator because it will no longer be covered in dozens of pictures made by little hands whether at school or at home

but thankfully, today is not that day.....I won't have to sit alone because I'm surrounded by laughs and giggles, by the loud tv with cartoons, by the music eminating from the game being played on the computer and the excited voices rehashing their final day of school.

No....for today......I'm going to enjoy every.single.second that I have with these extraordinary LITTLE human beings and thank the Lord for blessing me with them.

Hello everyone.....

Thank you for all the prayers, I feel so much better today, though not 100% yet, but at least I'm able to walk around.

Yesterday was plain awful, I couldn't get out of bed, my body hurt so bad, I was running a fever of 103, tummy aches, nauseated, you name it. It was just horrible. Thankfully I have an amazing husband and children, they took wonderful care of me.

Curt went to pick the kiddos up early yesterday and I was laying on the couch when they came home. Nicholas gave me the biggest surprise ever....he walked in with two backpacks and at first I was confused. "Did he bring someone else's backpack home?" or "is he bringing a friend to play?".

Nope, none of that. The school had each teacher pick the top student to receive an Outstanding Student Certificate and Backpack with all sort of goodies inside. Nicholas was chosen from his classroom....how extremely proud we are of this amazing little boy. He is such a good kid. He gave me a hug and then handed me a piece of paper where he had written in his kindergarten handwriting "I am srre you are sick. I wut you to get betr"....he said he did it during the free time while the other kids were playing. Melts this mommy's heart :)

Jasmine also brought home a handmade card with flowers and hearts and also saying she hopes I feel better and she loves me.

Anyway, enough bragging about my babies....or I could just go on forever.

After Curt left for work, I was so unwell, I climbed into bed. The kids covered me with a blanket, put a ton of soft plush toys around me and then lay next to me watching cartoons.

I was able to drag myself out of bed around 4pm and start some chicken soup, lay down on the couch while it cooked and then we all sat at the kitchen table eating. I tell you, it took EVERYTHING out of me to do that, I was plain worn out by the time dinner was over. Thankfully my wonderful husband walked in through the door, he had told work that I was very sick and they sent him home.

So, here I am....I got plenty of rest and am well on the way to recovery. I do have to watch what I eat today though, I'm sticking to the Bratty diet. Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Tea, Toast and Yogurt.

Curt had to go into work today for 5 hours, so this morning I set about giving the house a really good cleaning, I had already started on thursday so didn't have much to do today, which is a good thing, I am known for overdoing it when I'm sick and I really don't want to push myself.

But, my house is spotless, I mean spotless to the point where I don't have anything to do, there's no laundry waiting to be washed and put away, there are no floors needing to be swept and mopped, there are no dishes needing to be washed or rugs needing to be vacuumed, there aren't even toilets needing scrubbing. It's a great feeling!

Now I can sit back and relax, which is just what I need, thankfully Monday the kids don't have school either, so it's a long weekend.

Oh come look at my plants....remember I was never able to grow anything? I'm so happy with myself for keeping these alive.

Here are the Zinnias

And the Marigold's

Whatever I'm doing, I guess I am doing it right. If only I could transfer this same rate of success to my poor lavender. I just cannot get those to grow.

I finally got around to uploading the video of Jasmine's Dance at school. I'm sure you'll spot her right away, she's wearing tight black leggings and a white shirt.




I just love watching the video, she did so good and remember she didn't even want to go up there, but she said she was doing it for her Aunt Nadine and all her cousins that dance...so Nadine, Tiffany, Taryn-Lee and Alyssa, this one's for you :)

And that's it for me, I'm going to go rest for a bit before heading to the kitchen to start dinner. I'm making some Chicken Egg Rolls which are baked instead of fried. So much healthier but still very tasty....come back later and I'll have the recipe on the Food Blog.

Hope you're all having a great Saturday....see you tomorrow!

I am SO upset right now!

I literally could feel myself wanting to spit nails.

I'm about to rant and rave and I thought about not doing it here, but this is my blog and I'm entitled to say what I feel.

I'm usually a calm person and it takes a lot, and I mean A LOT to get me going, but if there's one thing that is off limits with me, is my children.

Let me start by saying that I've talked about the kid's school before and I've talked about how I don't want to be "that" mother. You know, the one that is constantly bugging the teachers, or the one that complains every time another child looks at one of my kids sideways.

But there comes a time when you need to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and you need to take action.

I've always taught my children to be respectful, to stand up for themselves and to mind their manners. I know that school is tough, we've all been through it and we know that there is bullying and injustices done daily, but when I start feeling that the teachers are not doing their job in protecting my children, then the mother bear comes out, claws drawn and ready for a fight.

Last week I told you all about the girl in Jasmine's class and the problem we had with her. Well since that same week, one of the sisters of another girl in Jasmine's class, has been bullying and picking on my daughter and her friend.

This girl is in fifth grade and comes around with her friends at recess, yells at them, picks on them, tells them the spot their sitting in is their spot. She went as far as throwing grass in Jasmine's friends hair and physically pushing Jasmine. After speaking to my daughter she said that they had brought it up to their teacher and she had informed them that she would be talking to the other girl's teacher....I chose not to get involved, but I warned her that if this continued, I would step in.

Needless to say, she came home from school upset because the girl was bullying them again, throwing half eaten celery at them and in their faces.

Now I ask you, when is enough is enough for you? Would you let it go or would you put your foot down and say "that's it".

Because that is what I did. Unfortunately the duty teachers who are supposed to be out there during recess are choosing to stay in ONE area and not going around checking on everyone. Ridiculous!

I've already emailed the teacher and told her that I'm putting a stop to this today. She will either take care of it tomorrow or I will take it straight to the principal and the authorities. I'm at the point where I am sick and tired of seeing my daughter and her friend coming home upset and broken down.

I trust the school to take care of my children, I send them off EVERY morning with the confidence that while I'm not there, someone else is looking out for them, but it's sad when you hear about how much bullying goes unnoticed in schools and how much is being let go because the child is "having some issues" or "going through some changes".

We all go through changes and we all have issues, very serious issues in our lives, is it ok for us to start going around bullying our neighbors and members of the community? Should I just start walking around chewing on celery and throwing it at people that walk by because I'M HAVING A BAD DAY?

NO, it's not alright and it's not ok and I for one am determined to do my best to stop some of these injustices, it may just start with my daughter and her friend, but I think that in the long run, I may just be protecting another innocent girl or boy from being bullied by this same group of girls who seem to think that they're entitled to this behavior.

Do I blame the parents? I don't know them, I don't know what they do at home or what kind of life they have. DoI think they need to be made aware of what is going on? Absolutely!
If my daughter was doing this at school, even with all the lessons I am teaching her at home, I would want to know, I would actually "expect" the school to contact me.

I'm just tired, sick and tired of this. It frustrates me to no end when I hear statements such as "No Tolerance" when all I'm seeing is otherwise. It's pushing me to seriously consider home schooling, but then on the other hand, I don't want the bullies to win, it's scary the way that public schools have become and I think as parents we need to be completely involved and aware of what is going on.

I ask you this? Have you talked to your children lately? Have you asked them, really asked them, what is going on at school?

I'm done venting and ranting, but I leave you with one question and please feel free to be honest. Am I overreacting or do any of you out there feel exactly the same way that I do?

Let's talk, let's let it all out, I would love to hear from other parents who are dealing with bullying against their children.

October here we come!!!

Where has this year gone???? I ask because I swear I was just in the middle of March and now it's October and I don't even feel like I got much accomplished at all. But that's life, you either strap on and go along or let it pass you by.

I realize I haven't posted since friday, I've been so busy the past few days and not feeling all that great either, all this Jasmine school thing really got me stressed out and I developed a tension headache that made me want to slam my head against a hard wall, repeatedly. I don't know how that would have fixed anything other than make it get worse, but whatever, that's how annoying it was.

Thank you all for the great comments, tips, stories and advice you shared. She went back to school today and I've been on pins and needles all day long, looking at the clock and wondering how she was doing and how she was feeling. She came out of school with a big smile on her face.

The Vice Principal sat down with both her and the girl and talked about what had happened, the girl obviously tried to deny saying anything but Jasmine stood her ground and said that she did say it. The Vice Principal believed her and told the other girl that this is a very serious thing, you don't go around threatening other people, it's completely unacceptable and is cause for serious punishment. The girl then apologized and said she won't do it again..........apparently she told Jasmine she was sorry she said it, Jasmine said, in her own words "I don't deserve to be treated that way and you hurt my feelings.....but I accept your apology". Now they're friends!!!!!!

I have to tell you it's a weird feeling, on the one hand I'm super happy and relieved that this has been stopped and the girl now understands the severity of acting this way, I'm also happy that she was the one that apologized and then asked Jasmine to play with her and Jasmine's best friend......but on the other hand I'm a little iffy. Seriously, this thing of being a parent is a work in process, just when I think I have it down something else comes along that I've never dealt with and then I have to try and keep up with all the feelings that arise. Oh well, at least no one can say that parenting is boring.

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I posted my Menu over on my food blog, this week it's all about Slow Cooking. The weather is getting cooler, it's actually been cloudy and breezy and I find myself craving stews and soups and Autumny (yes I know that word doesn't exist lol) foods.
So I'm trying a bunch of new recipes from the Gooseberry Patch Slow Cooking Cookbook, I'll let you know what I think.

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Last week wednesday I had the best surprise ever, I was online and had my MSN Messenger running which I tend to do so that I can chat with my family in South Africa......then I see a message pop up "Hi cousin". I literally felt as if I had the wind knocked out of me, it was my cousin Patricia all the way in Portugal. She is my dear Uncle Carlos' daughter and we hadn't talked since 1994, at least. It's been SO long and it was great catching up.....last time we were together we were teenagers on vacation in Malaga, Spain. It was funny and kinda weird talking about kids and husbands and life in general....in our eyes we will always be little kids right???
Anyway, Patricia, if you're reading this "beijocas grandes querida prima, as saudades sao imensas".

It's also fun chatting with my older brother Paul, he tends to send me messages whenever he's getting take out LOL
Then we play the "guess where I'm at" game, where he tells me the slogan of the place and I try to guess.......it's great because it's all places where I grew up and I still remember them, but obviously it also brings homesickness and an overwhelming feeling of wanting to be there.

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On to book business, I just realized that on my Fall Reading list I have a library book and instead of doing the smart thing, reading THAT one first so that I can return it, I started with one of mine. I'm glad I'm one of those people that can have 2 or 3 books going at once and not get them confused.......you may be laughing but I'm serious, at times I have a book in the bedroom, one in the kitchen and one in the computer area. But anyway, I decided that I need to start on the "My heart may be broken but my heart still looks good" by Dixie Cash.....it has to be returned soon.

In the meantime I'm down to my last pages of "Moonlight on the Millpond" by Lori Wick and I'm loving every minute, it's just one of those good christian sweet stories that leave you with a smile on your face.

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I'm going to try to make it by your blogs tonight, at least a few at a time. We're heading to dinner and then Dancing with the Stars comes on.

Speaking of tv, did you all see Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters last night??? Both were so good and both left me in tears. It's funny whenever I watch Brothers and Sisters I also have to laugh because it reminds me so much of my family, the chaos and tons of people at times, the bickering and the fighting and the sarcasm but with it all also comes the immense amount of love and closeness and doing ANYTHING for that person. Love it!!!

Alright I realize I hadn't blogged in a few days but I have babbled on for so long today I'm afraid some of my blog readers may be passed out of boredom right now....I apologize, maybe from now on I'll start serving you coffee and treats to keep you entertained.

Hope you're all having a wonderful Monday, have a great rest of day and God Bless you all,
I leave you with this wonderful song by Casting Crowns "Who am I".

What in the heck is this world coming to????????

I'm so angry and frustrated and heartbroken.

Jasmine came home from school yesterday crying her eyes out, when I sat down to talk to her and find out what the problem was she told me her best friend said she didn't want to be her friend anymore...........ok...........I know it's upsetting but it's part of life and something we all go through, but through my comforting her she just seemed to get more and more upset and finally told me that another girl from third grade had come and taken her best friend from her and right after her friend told her this, this other girl told Jasmine that if she ever came near her friend again she would "KILL HER". I'm sorry but WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?

Apparently this has been going on for weeks, this girl has been terrorizing Jasmine, threatening to punch her and give her "a black eye" and yesterday just upped the terror to saying she would kill her. I don't take things like this lightly and when your 8 year old child is crying unconsolably and saying over and over "this is the worst day of my life".........SOMETHING needs to be done.

Even worse is that there were other kids around who witnessed it and went straight to the teacher to tell her what had happened, only to be told "she gets a freebie"

Curt and I were livid and within 10 minutes he had gone to the school, told them what had been happening and removed Jasmine from the school.

Here was a child who absolutely loves school and would often get mad if she was sick and couldn't go, and now she's begging to be homeschooled and not be forced to go back. It's really heartbreaking and as a parenting it's hard to deal with the fact that you send your children off in the morning and thinking everything is fine, only to find out they've been treated this way. It disgusts me and infuriates me.

We have instilled very strong values and morals in Jasmine and she knows how to be with other kids, she knows that bullying is unacceptable and knows to be fair and nice to everyone around her. So to hear a child like this say to you "I don't deserve to be treated this way" tears at my heart strings.

Curt talked to the principal this morning and the girl has been dealt with, she tried to deny saying it but there were witnesses and the vice principal himself says he doesn't believe that she didn't say it, so she's been suspended for a day and told that if she ever threatens or talks to Jasmine or anyone else in that way she will be expelled NO.QUESTIONS.ASKED.

So she's back to school on monday, the want her to return and will talk to her and the others and get this sorted out completely. I just ask that you keep her in your prayers, she's still really upset and shaken and this really got to her, she's being brave and willing to return to school but she's scared and worried and she knows that if it ever happens again she will be removed for good and will be homeschooled.

Here's my issue..........we all know that kids can be mean and brutal at times but for an 8 year old to go around threatening to kill people, that is NOT normal and with things nowadays in schools this should not be taken lightly. Please, if you have little ones and they tell you they're not liking school or other kids don't want to play with them.....TALK and TALK some more, if I hadn't pushed Jasmine yesterday we never would have found out that this had been going on for a couple weeks now.

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On to other things, Susanne tagged me for the middle name meme and I thought I hadn't done it yet, but turns out I did a couple weeks ago, so I'm giving you the link to it, right here.

Curt had the week off and it was great having him home, I'm going to miss him when he returns to work next week, but such is life right???

I'm almost done with my first book in the Reading Challenge, I'm truly enjoying the Tucker Mills Trilogy from Lori Wick, I have yet to find one of her books that I don't like.

I had so much to tell you all and I just seem to be drawing a blank so I'm going to leave it at this, if I try to fill it up with stuff it will just come off as nonsense LOL

Hope you all have a great friday!

Well there go the uniforms!!!!

I tell you, I have the worst luck in the world.

School started last week monday and I was thrilled that they were wearing uniforms, I even showed you pictures and had told myself that the $200 I had spent on them was a good investment.

Well thursday, we get a letter from the school. After 8 years of having uniforms, they are no longer going to be used....kids are back to wearing whatever they want. Are you flipping kidding me???? How's that for luck??? Couldn't they have made this decision BEFORE school started and before the parents spent a ton of money on the uniforms??? I'm livid, I'm disappointed and I'm frustrated.

We're back to fighting over what she wears for school, so now I have to go buy new clothes YET AGAIN. They told us that they can still wear their uniforms, but they can mix and match etc....which I guess is not too bad, because she WILL be wearing them. *Sigh*

I'm having a really hard time lately, I thought that the longer I was here at the new base, the better I would become acclimated and would actually start liking it, but unfortunately it seems to be having the opposite effect on me, on ALL of us. I miss Idaho terribly, the kids are constantly crying to go back home and even Curt is not happy at work here, he too wishes we could just go back to Mountain Home.

It's just too busy here, there's too much going on, it's too hot, the air quality is NOT great, my allergies are getting worse, Curt is having a hard time breathing and the people (the ones I've come in contact with) are extremely rude. Can you hear the whining in my voice???? I hate being whiny but goodness, it's overwhelming.

I pray every day that the Lord helps us get used to this place and that in time we will all grow to love it here. I'm just bitter and homesick and I think it's affecting my attitude towards it too, I don't think I'm opening myself to liking it anymore and THAT has to change. No worries though, I'm a tough cookie and I'll meet Him halfway.

It's sunday and I realize I haven't updated since Thursday. Thank you all for the wonderful Slow Cooking Recipes, YUMMY. I've saved them all and I'm getting quite the Crockpot Recipe Collection :)

I have some cleaning to do today but I'm holding off on that for a while, I'm not feeling too well, I think we're all coming down with a cold. Curt told me to just relax and leave the rest for tomorrow, I've already done dishes, laundry, swept and mopped the floors etc. I guess I COULD leave the rest but I'm such a neat freak, if things don't look right I get hives LOL

I may just lay down and finish my last book of the English Garden Series by Lori Wick. I am just absolutely loving this series, what a wonderful set of beautiful Christian stories. If you haven't yet read Lori Wick you really should give it a try, she's amazing.

I have her next series to start after this one.....The Tucker Mills Trilogy. I also just stopped by PaperBackSwap and picked up 4 more books....

Highlander in her Bed - Allie MacKay

The London Trilogy:
By Possesion - Madeline Hunter
By Arrangement - Madeline Hunter
By Design - Madeline Hunter

I'm ending this post with one of my favorite songs and my favorite soap couple, Jason and Sam from General Hospital. I just can't understand why the writers would ever break them up, I've watched soaps for so many years and I've never come across a couple that has so much chemistry. Enjoy!

The Little Annoying Things!!!

You would think that after almost 9 years of being a mom, I would have learnt some lessons by now and known to avoid certain things. Like, asking your child what they want to eat. WHY WHY WHY do I continue to do that????

It's so much simpler to get something and place it in front of them than ask them what they feel like because I can tell you in 30 minutes, yes it takes about 30 minutes for them to decide.....they will go from a sandwich to chips to fruit to jello...no cake....no applesauce.....no I just want a drink....no wait I want a cookie......ok cookie...no no wait.....I want a banana. OH MY LORD........I feel my body slowly sinking to the ground and I want to reach up to my hair and just start pulling it out. My eye starts twitching and I keep saying to myself "you just never learn do you???" LOL

That is one of those little annoying things that drive me bananas about being a mother. It's also one of the things that I'm going through a lot more lately with Nicholas, the boy just likes pushing our buttons.

For dinner last night I tried the Enchilada Casserole in the Crockpot, it was really good, it got a thumbs up from the family so I'm going to add it to our list of favorites.

I got a picture of the kids this morning as we left the house to take Jasmine to school. I can't begin to tell you how much I'm enjoying the school uniforms thing, what a relief in the morning, not having to figure out what to wear.


I apologize if I don't seem to have much to say today, I seem to be drawing a blank. It was my Uncle's Funeral so I'm sure you understand.

Don't forget about the Slow Cooking Thursday tomorrow, I am eager to see what kind of yummy recipes you'll be sharing.

God Bless,

It feels good to be back to a normal routine!

I love the summer and I love having the kids at home, but it does get frustrating at times, especially when they're fighting and bickering over trivial things such as who gets to sit where on the couch, who takes their bath first and who's towel belongs to whom.....and God Forbid either one drink from the other's cup, we have total shutdown, Threatcon Alpha, Call the President Drama.

School restarted yesterday and Jasmine was happy but also worried and scared, it's a new school and new teachers so she felt a little overwhelmed, it was hard to just leave her there and walk away. I spent the whole day doing what mom's do best......worrying and hoping she was doing fine. When I went to pick her up she was all smiles, talking a mile a minute about how much she likes the teacher and her classmates and she made a friend named Samantha etc. Isn't it always like this??? We worry for nothing!!!

Here's a picture of her AFTER school, I tried to take a photo in the morning but the batteries on the camera were dead.
She's not used to the heat though and since she's fair skin, she has a hard time being outside. Their recess is 45 minutes long and she made it through 15 minutes before having to go inside to see the school nurse, she said she was feeling really sick from the heat. Poor kid!!! I probably would have been right there with her though, it was 113 degrees here yesterday. Again, WHY do we need such hot weather, what for??? I'm perfectly happy with 90 degrees.

I've been missing Idaho lately, I mean, REALLY missing it. I've tried to keep an open mind and to get settled and accostumed to this new home but it's hard, one day I'm ok and then the next I just want to cry. We're seriously considering moving back to Idaho when we're done with our assignment here.

I managed to visit some blogs yesterday and I apologize to those that I didn't, but I've decided that in order for me to maintain some sanity and to not feel like blogging is a chore, I will first comment on the blogs that take the time to come and visit me and then if I can, I will get to the others. There's nothing worse than feeling like blogging is an obligation, it just takes all the fun out of it for me.

Anyway, not much going on here today. I'm hoping to get to the last box that needs to be unpacked, it's driving me crazy seeing it sitting here against the wall. It's like it's taunting me, everytime I look over I feel as if the box is crying out "For the love of God, just empty me already". LOL

Oh I almost forgot, I have to tell you about my new favorite cleaner, it's called Simple Green. It's what we used when we were cleaning the other house for inspection....let me tell you something, this stuff cleans SO SO well, I actually use it undiluted for my floors and they come out white and sparkly clean. I use it in my kitchen, in the bathrooms, the laundry room, the floors, everywhere. I just love it.


I have to work on my grocery list for tomorrow and a few other things. I'm going to cut this post short and I'm sorry if I babble about a million subjects at once, I could never just stick to one topic when it came to blogging. Guess I get bored easily LOL

Have a great day everyone, and to my family in South Africa, I LOVE you guys more than anything in this world, wish I could be there with you but know that we'll all get through this together....and Uncle Carlos, we miss you more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.





Right now I have an Enchilada Casserole in my new crockpot....it smells so good. I will make a salad to go with it and a Pecan Pie for dessert.




Just for Laughs
Singing Bee
Dirty Jobs



Wash the bed linens
Finish Grocery List
Write letter to mom and grandmothers
Finish Laundry and Put it away

A new week, A new beginning!!!!

Image credit: Laterlife.com

If you've been reading my blog you know how things have been for me, my heart is still breaking over my dear Uncle, but life has to go on right???

Well come on in and sit with me, I will tell you all about the great gifts I got for my birthday. Before I do so though I have to say, it's SO quiet in this house. Jasmine started school today, it was sad seeing her go off to third grade. You know we all want our children to grow up but as the years go by and they get older, I can't help but want to hold on to the "little them".

It's a new school, new teacher, new classmates and needless to say, she was overwhelmed and terrified. I stayed with her a few minutes, she was close to tears which of course means, I WAS CLOSE to tears. It's so hard to walk away from them isn't it???

Anyway I'm sure she will have a wonderful day and I can't wait to hear all about it :)

Now onto my birthday, it was bitter sweet, I have my wonderful husband who went out of his way to make it the perfect day, but I also had my dear Uncle passing away that day. I laughed, cried, laughed again, cried again, blew out candles and cried some more....it was an emotional rollercoaster I tell you.

I did get a LOT of great gifts....my favorite has to be my new crockpot. That's right, hubby got me a NEW crockpot. I Love it, it's a Hamilton Beach 6 Qt. programmable with a Thermometer Probe too. I can NOT wait to use it!


I also got a ceramic hair straightening Iron, Shower Gel, Body Lotion and Body Spray from Bath and Body Works......Sea Island Cotton and Dancing Waters.

I got 2 cd's, Hinder and Casting Crowns - Lifesong which I LOVE LOVE LOVE, I don't think there is one song on the Casting Crowns CD that I don't like.

I also got a couple DVD's....United 93, Disturbia, Ghost Hunters Season 2.

I also got perfume, a cookbook, flowers and balloons, chocolate and a Vidalia Chop Wizard.
So there you have it.....I got spoiled and I'm just so blessed to have the family I do.

I don't have much planned for today, other than the usual household chores and by the way, Jen, I am so sorry I forgot to post my Routine, this is pretty much the one I follow when the kids are back to school. I may have to tweak it a bit here and there because it's the one I had in Idaho and now things are slightly different here in Arizona....but not much will change at all.


Oh before I forget, I also posted my menu plan for this week, over at my food blog. Some of the recipes are being brought over from last week because I ended up not making them, we went out WAY too much and I'm literally sick of food that is not homemade.

Last night for dinner I made a quick Onion and Potato Soup, the same one my greatgrandmother used to make for us. The family loves it, Curt actually had 4 helpings LOL
I have tons of leftover soup, so that's what Nicholas and I will be having for lunch.

Well ladies, I have things to do around here so I'm going to let you go, hope you have a wonderful monday. I will be coming by to say hi either this afternoon or tonight after the kids are in bed.

God Bless,

I admit, I LOVE Electricity!!!

What can I say??? I'm glad I didn't live back in the day when there was no electricity, I honestly don't know if I would survive it without crying myself to sleep every night LOL

Yesterday afternoon I was all happily sitting on my computer and getting ready to go visit some blogs when all of a sudden.......BAM. EVERYTHING went off. Now I don't know how the rest of the ladies are out there but I'm the one that walks slowly up to the Electricity Box, open it up and just stare at all the pretty buttons.

I get this rebellious feeling because I want to just get in there and start snapping all the buttons to the side, don't matter if it's the right one or not, I just like hearing the SNAP as they move....here's a question though, who the heck invented these things, I need BOTH hands and all the energy and force I can muster to move the dang button. After trying for a couple times I realized it wasn't just my house, it was the whole neighborhood plus the neighborhood behind us.

You don't even understand the panic that sets in....OH.MY.GOSH....no tv, no lights, no phone (I don't have a cellphone), no stove, no computer. Are you kidding me??? Is this let's see how much stress we can give Sandra day??? I sat there and whined about not having any of it and then I thought, how ridiculous, is it really going to kill me to have no electricity for a few minutes?

Well the problem is that the minutes turned into hours and we didn't get everything back up until 6pm. I was literally sweating bullets (not really but you know it sounds dramatic LOL), all these thoughts start going through my head, what if I miss the final Dancing with the Stars or American Idol, oh wait I can't cook dinner either and it's not fun using the bathroom in the dark. Go ahead and laugh I know you want to, I'm pathetic I admit LOL

Anyway, what matters is that it came back on and now I'm happy and I thank God for living in this day and age.

The moving is going slow, I'm sick of packing already and I am not even near halfway done, aren't there little magical packing elves that we can call upon to get things done while we sleep??? If there are I would like to be pointed in their direction!

Jasmine is at the stage of the school year where she fights every morning to get up.....she's DONE, I swear she does great until the last 3 days and then turns into a snotty princess. I'm just happy because it means that next week we don't have to get up early anymore, we can stay up late, sleep in and not worry about schedules and running around for the next 3 months....well as much as we can deviate from it while moving across states LOL

I have so much to do and no motivation for it at all, I think I'm still reeling over being told we can't have a trampoline. I'm the kind of person who likes explanations, don't just tell me they're banned at the base, tell me WHY and WHO so that I don't have to play the mean mommy who just told them their precious trampoline will be packed and boxed up until we get our own house, whenever that may be.

BTW I don't know what is going on with blogger (must be pmsing again), I can NOT for the life of me get on any of your blogs. It just gives me a 502 Server Error, I don't know what it is or why it's happening but it's been for the past two days and it's starting to work on my last nerve. If anyone else is going through this let me know so that I don't feel like the computer illiterate fool probably doing something really dumb and thereby messing with the Blog World.

Anyway, it's lunch time and I need to feed the little one...then I have so more laundry to get through and yet more packing. It's a busy chaotic life right now but we manage to smile through it all and you have no idea how tightly I've been clutching the Lord's hand, if it weren't for Him I would be a total mess right now.

Have yourselves a great wednesday afternoon, I'm off to indulge in some wonderful Portuguese Soup with Homemade Bread (sorry I would link it to my food blog but Blogger is MIA right now).

God Bless,

God is SO good!

Isn't it amazing when you see a miracle happen or when you have been asking for something or completely feeling overwhelmed and BAM He does something that knocks you off your feet???

Be prepared, this may be a long post, you might want to grab a cup of coffee or top off the one you already have, hey maybe a pillow and blanket too in case you fall asleep. LOL

It's always been like this for me, maybe I'm one of the lucky ones who need only ask and I receive, you would think that would be enough to keep me in line and stop me from straying at times, but I am only human so I find myself thinking that everything is fine and I can handle it on my own. "Thank you Father but I'll take it from here, things are good now", pathetic I know because I'm only setting myself up for my disappointment.

You know yesterday Susanne reminded me that God is interested in every little detail of our lives, and that is SO true, nothing is too trivial and too uninteresting for Him, and if we would only believe that we would be so much happier.

So yesterday Curt and I were stressing and worrying (surprise surprise lol) about the whole house thing. See not always can you get a house readily available when you go to your next base, some bases have a waiting list of 4 or 5 months, sometimes 18 months, which means you have to find somewhere else to live until there is an opening for you on base.

It makes it even worse when you get your orders late and pretty much only have a month or so to contact the Housing office and find a house.....so we were preparing for that, thinking that we might have to live in an apartment or something for a while.
Curt contacted the Housing Office at this base and was told they couldn't put in for a new house for us at the follow up base UNTIL the day we left here.........OH MY GOODNESS.

We would be walking blindly into this situation and not having anywhere to stay. When Curt told me this I went into pray mode, I put it in the Lord's hands and asked for his guidance, if there was anything we could be doing to fix this let Him show us the right way.


Boy were we in for a surprise......it turns out that 2 of Curt's new co-workers JUST came from the base we're heading to and told him exactly what to do. Curt called up the new Housing Office and requested a house and was told "we can give you a 3 bedroom house RIGHT NOW, you don't have to wait at all, when you get here your house will be waiting for you". PRAISE THE LORD INDEED!!!!

But He didn't stop there, remember the school issue? I was actually considering Home Schooling because of not knowing where we would live and therefore not knowing which school she would be attending, we would have missed registration etc.....well now there's 2 schools that Jasmine would fall into, depending on which base neighborhood we live in and one of them we are extremely excited about, it sounds wonderful, the teachers sound amazing and the curriculum outstanding too. Everything just falls into place when you put it in the Lord's hands and quit trying to do it yourself....the minute you start trying to control and manipulate things around you you're sure to fall flat on your face.

I've got to get groceries this morning so I need to finish my menus and grocery list, I like going right as the store opens so I don't have to feel rushed or wait for that lady in the aisle just staring at the food, willing them to magically jump into her cart.....or the lady with the Borg Ear (cell phone attachment) asking very loudly if her husband would prefer the steaks or the pork chops, like I REALLY care to know what they're eating for dinner.

Anyway I have errands to run and things to do, my mother in law is supposed to visiting us on thursday so I'm trying to get the house in order while packing stuff to move. When it rains it POURS!

Have a blessed day everyone and don't forget the book contest, guess only 2 people are interested in winning it.