#183 Half done!

Yes, guys and gals, I am half way through this crazy project of mine! I gotta say, I am quite proud of myself for making it this far. Go me! In the last six months, I have had an anniversary and a marriage, several major holidays, trips to several different countries, and a move across the world. My girls have grown and gotten smarter. My husband has been amazing and testing. I have learned a little bit about myself and have notices the spots that need some work. It's been a fun six months! Thanks for coming along for the ride. Get ready for part two!

Besides that monument, today was a day. The girls did some painting. They are loving the paints lately, which is awesome but messy. They make pretty things for mommy though, so it is good. They were a couple handfuls today. No nap. No fun. But they were still fun, and especially cuddly.

Tomorrow I will be the coolest mom ever. I bought a new stroller tonight; the girls are going to love it. It is a side by side umbrella stroller. It's gonna take some getting used to for me! But I know the girls will love it, and it fits so nicely in my trunk! That is exciting for me; my last double stroller (which insole before we moved) was huge and took up my whole trunk.

Yay, we are so taking a walk tomorrow!

Oh, and I made oatmeal scotchies. I found this recipe a couple years ago and fell in love. They are amazing. But for some reason I haven't made them in a while. When I took them out of the oven, I was in heaven! Why haven't I made this in a while?!

I am an awesome baker!

#182

J annoyed me today. He's my husband, it's his job, and he does it well. Good thing I love him.

This memorial day, we didn't do anything special. There was no barbequeing, no trip, nothing. Which was kind of nice. Not really, but kind of. I did watch a pretty cool show with Medal if Honor guys. They are amazing men that risked so much for our country. It was cool to hear their stories in their words.

My head is going crazy. Apparently I have ADD, because I can't seem to focus. I want to write, I want to read, I want to bake, and I want to be a stereotypical American and sit on the couch and watch tv. But when I watch tv, I keep thinking about writing, and then I want a cookie, but I want to read a really good book.

I think being back in the States is killing my attention span. Or maybe my laziness is killing me. Eh.

#181

The chicks and I tried out a new church. It was pretty nice. The service was pretty much exactly what I like. The priest seemed... I am not exactly sure. I thinkeue was good. His homily lasted about five seconds, so that didn't leave me much time to form an opinion. Seriously, shortest homily I have heard in a long time. That could be because Fr L was chatty, but I am ok with that!

I was the annoying stranger this morning. There was a family sitting behind ms talking about their search for a good church. So I was the 'turn around and insert myself into their private conversation' girl. Man, she is annoying! But #1 I was curious about their thoughts on the different services and #2 I couldn't face another Mass where no one talked to me. Thankfully, they didn't think I was completely crazy. Well, they didn't run away.

Today I also came to the conclusion that reading great books has ruined me. Really, I used to be completely content reading ok books. Then, I read a great book. And another great book. Followed by a phenomenal book. Now, ok books annoy the heck out of me. I go off on my 'how the heck did this crap get published?!' tirades. Which lead me to think that anyone can get published. Which leads me to think I am an idiot for not doing some serious writing/begging to be published. But then I read another great book and realize my writing is crap.

See my problem?

Maybe I should stop reading altogether. More time to write and less comparisons to make.




Who am I kidding? Me, not read?? That will happen when the Devil asks to borrow my coat.

#180

A Saturday morning spent painting with my girls. How awesome is that? Pretty awesome. When I was pregnant, Ma bought these wooden letters, a P and a K. Over two and a half years later, I finally did something with them! Actually, the girls did. Pink and purple paint, a couple sponge brushes, a moving box. Good times to be had. The girls had such a good time. Tomorrow we will hang them up; I think the girls will get a kick out of that.

We also went to the library. Woop! We love libraries so much. My corky kiddos got so excited when I told them we were going. They really love books. And, score, they had Shrek 2 and 3! K and P love them some Shrek, but have only seen the original. So that was a pretty sweet surprise for them.

we really had a good day, me and my girls. They were even great at the commissary. Really!

J has Staff Duty, aka 24 hr shift. So he was only here for meals. Which sucks, because today was such a good day. Because he was going to be gone tonight, I had planned on being productive. Instead, I was lazy and sat on my butt. It was nice. But now, as I am getting ready for bed, I am wishing I had done something with my evening!

#179

WIC and Hobby Lobby. Oh my!

We had our first WIC appointment today. Yeah for milk and cheese! Boo for the outlandish wait time. Seriously, my appointment was at 1245 and I did t leave until 1500. That was just crazy. Thankfully, there was another 2.5 year old girl there waiting with her mommy. The girls all played so well together. This was the first time P and K have had another girl to play with since we left Germany. Who cares if it was in the waiting room of the WIC office!

You really have no idea how great it was to see my baby girls playing. I have missed seeing them play with other kids!

And now, let's talk about the amazing HL! Really, I remember that store being awesome. But my memory was nowhere near as awesome as the real thing! J and I walked down every aisle in fascination. We spent over an hour in there. I got some crafty projects for the girls and some fabric for me (to make te girls some nightgowns).

It was awesome!

Pretty great day, my friends.

#178

And here comes the migraine.

Really, why? Why do I have to deal with this pain?

Besides the incoming Hell, today was a pretty good day. The girls were great. We had a pretty great morning just hanging out and playing. It is so cool to see how their minds work. Man they are getting so dang smart. And nice. How did I get this lucky? We watched Kung Fu Panda this evening, and they were so concerned when everyone was mean to the panda. They really care so much.

I had an awesome Mom/Wife moment. I made homemade French bread to go with dinner. Not the first time I have done that; I used to make it often. But this is the first time in a while. And it had the best rise ever! Woop! And I made a simple cake and frosting. It was pretty yummy. And heart shaped, so my chicks were impressed.

#177 (may 25, 2011)

Well, my Internet is acting up. So I will be posting this tomorrow morning. 

More bad storms right now. Some serious wind, lightening, and rain. It really isn't anything major. But it is some strong wind. 

But oh man am I tired of the weather announcements. I know that makes ms sound horrible. These announcements can and do save people's lives. However, we get one from KY, two minutes later we get one from TN. That is a bit irritating. 

Enough storm talk!  This morning my friend J and I met at the park with our kiddos. Our kids rally didn't play; she has boys that are 2+ years older than my girls. But we got to talk and the kids got to play! My girls were too happy to be at a park. 

I miss them having fun. I feel like this move has really messed them up. They used to have friends that they played with on an extremely regular basis. Now, they have no friends and only see me and their dad. How not fun for kids. 

We need to make new friends. You would think that would be pretty easy since we are living in military housing with families surrounding us. But no. I haven't even seen my neighbors, so that makes it a little hard for them to be chatty! I just need to form a battle plan- make a schedule of different play groups and that type of thing, and just try them all until we find one we like. 

We need to make new friends. 

#176

Today was ok. Nothing really happened. I cleaned, organized, talked to the bestest friend, played with my girls. Loved my husband.

It was a day. There wasn't a moment that ruined anything. There wasnt an inspiring moment that made this day a memorable day. It was just a day with my family at our new house. A little boring. There was some yelling. The girls had some fights and not listening moments. J got on my nerves as husbands do.

I love my life.

It was a good day.

#175

Tornado warnings, not so fun. Really not fun the day after a completely devastating tornado rips through a town a couple hours from my Ma's.

I will always be a California girl; I can handle the earth shaking. But funnel clouds are not my idea of a fun time. And what's the deal with hiding in a closet? That's just crazy talk. tornado sirens sound creepy too.

But, with all that said, I am really not a scaredy cat when it comes to storms. I generally have a 'que sera sera' attitude towards storms. And this time around, that attitude was just fine. No biggie. Some wind, rain, lightening. Nothin compared to last night in Joplin.

I do not know anyone that lives there, thank God. But i lived a couple hours away from Joplin when I was in high school. My friends have friends that live there. I would be praying for those people even if I had never hears if that town. But I have heard of it. I have been there. So it makes the damage and loss more real.

Please, pray for the people living there. Pray for the families that lost loved ones. Pray that they are able to regain a sense of safety and wholeness. And help where you can.

#174

I have always thought that Catholic churches are all pretty much the same. I have been to churches in California, Texas, and Germany. They were all pretty similar. The people were different, the priests were different. But the service was usually pretty standard. Awesome, standard, predictable.

And then, this morning happened. My non-Catholic husband even noticed how different the services were.

The readings were good and the homily was good. Christ was present. But I didn't feel like it was... I don't know.

Fr L wasn't there with his quirky pacific humor. The J family, my family, wasn't there. The lectors, the benches, the faces. They were all different. I missed my family. It was hard going to a new church. Especially when there was not a single person that welcomed me.

Ouch.

After that, though, my Sunday was pretty nice. J grilled for dinner. Steaks, eggplant, zucchini (and hot dogs and brats for left overs). It was all yummy. And, because I am awesome, I made an apple pie. From scratch. Without a recipe. Because i am awesome. I dont like pie, but J does. So I should get even more awesome points for that, shouldn't I?

Well, the pie was good. That's right, holly said a pie was good! What?!

My girls were great today. I loved our time together. They were fun and silly and smart and just my beautiful babies. Days like today reassure me that I am doing something right.

#173

I am tired of this phase. The 'let's unpack and organize' phase.

It's annoying. I don't know where all this stuff should go. I really didn't even know I owned some of this stuff! But now I have to find a place for it. And because we now have a yard, we have to buy so much crap. Stuff for the garden, a hose, a lawnmower. Can I talk about that for a second?!

I am a nerd. We all know that. But J and I bought a new lawnmower today and I am happy about it. Back in the first couple years if our marriage when we were at Ft Hood, we had a yard. So we had a lawnmower. It was given to us, and we gave it away before we left for Germany. So! We bought a for real lawnmower. You know, the rotary steel blades that you actually push? The same lawnmower that your great grandpa used? Yep, that is what we bought!

Our thought process was: we will save money because we won't be buying gas. We won't be polluting our atmosphere with all those fumes. Every time we mow, we will get some exercise. When we move, we just need to spray the blades off and it is ready to be boxed up. Aren't we awesome?

The not awesome thing was our search. Really we were searching for dressers and an L-mower. So the search was doubly annoying. We went to 237 stores. Then we went to eat. Then we went to the mall because J needs new shoes and Old Navy had their $1 flip flops today. Then we went here and there and blah and blah.

Being in the States is hard! We keep spending money. The stuff we are buying (most of it at least) is stuff we need. But there are too many stores and too many choices in each store.

I need to bake. I haven't done enough baking lately. I need cookies and bread and brownies and such. Then this house will feel like mine!

#172

T. V. 

Know what I'm talking about?!

This evening I have spent some time embracing my laziness and overabundant channel list. Really, less than a month ago I had one channel. ONE! Now? I honestly have no idea what 'package' we have. Way too many channels, that's for sure. 

I have watched part of 'Juno', part of NCIS, a crazy survivalist show, some Food Network, Comedy Central funny guys. And a trillion commercials. 

Wow, ADD much?!  Oh, t.v...

I really did leave my couch today, I swear. P and K got to experience Chuck E Cheese and running in the sprinklers.  

How sad is it that they are two and a half, yet are just now experiencing such basic childhood things. Thanks, Germany. They had a blast. Which is all that really matters. 

I attempted to write today. It wasn't pretty. Depressing is a more appropriate word. What is my problem?

#171

We planted our garden today. I say we, but I really mean J. He was pretty great about it all, especially because this was my idea and my 'thing'. But he dug everything out, put up a fence, and planted everything.

While I tried to convince our tired daughters that they really should take a nap. And while I talked to my best friend.

Here's hoping something actually grows in that garden!

Other than that, today was just another day. I didn't leave the house. And I have a pain in my back.

I really have high hopes that my life 'settles' soon. I feel like I don't have time to actually write. And I miss it so much.

#170

Last night, I slept in my own bed. Do you have any idea how amazing that is?? It was so amazing that I really struggled to get out if bed.

But I did get up. I took my baby boy Max to the vet. His hip is bad. He is old. So we went. The ladies there lost my dogs records. My 10 am appointment didn't start until 1020, even though I got there at 945. And we didn't leave until 1130. I spent way too much money for an exam, a couple tests, and prescriptions. But I love my boy!

This evening I went out. My friend J invited me along on her girls night. We went to a movie followed by dinner and frozen yogurt. The movie cracked me up! And it was so awesome to eat Mexican food that wasnt horrible! It was also nice to spent time away form the moving process. And let's be honest, a break from my girls and husband was so nice.

Hands down, the best part of my day was talking to my bestest. She rocks. And it is so fun to be able to say exactly what I am thinking to someone who gets me. I think that is why we are friends, we never experience the awkward silences! Well, maybe we do, but they crack us up!

Love that girl.

#169

I am surrounded by stuff.

My stuff. My large quantity of stuff. Some of it is still in boxes. Some of it is broken. Some of it is missing. There is too much of it in some rooms, and way too much in other rooms. Some of it stinks. Some of it makes me smile.

For the next few days we will find a home for each item. And for the next couple years we will rearrange it all until we find thee 'perfect' spot. And then, we will box it all up for another move.

I am really thinking I want to live a Spartan life.

It's crazy how stressed and mad I was today. I should have been happy to get my stuff. Instead, I was mad. Well, part of that attitude was because of the crappy morning I had with the girls.

We went to a new playgroup. YMCA has a play group every morning, and today was the first chance we had to check one out. I also wanted the girls out of the house while the movers were here. So we went.

I wish we had done anything else in the world. The lady that was running it ssounded like she was auditioning to be on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. For real, her voice made me want to choke her. And it was just me and my girls, and her and her kids. That is all. Just the six of us. Not a pleasent experience.

So I decided the girls needed to play- actually PLAY. I drove 25 minutes to a McDonalds that had a play place. Only to discover that the play place was locked and they wouldn't be UNlocking it. Seriously?? Yeah, I was more than irritated.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to jump on a plane headed to Germany. I wanted my girls to play with kids. I wanted to talk to friends while my girls played. This was not a great experience for me.

And then to come home to a house filled with boxes and almost put together furniture and straneg men... Lets just say, today was not my finest hour. I almost had a complete breakdown.

But then I got a text from my bestest friend in the world, telling me she loves me. Just because. What would I do without her???

#168

You know how I have been talking about planting a garden? Well, today we bought the stuff to do just that.

I am not really thrilled with it.

We will be planting tomorrow or Wednesday. We bought a lot of the already started plants, since we are jumping in to the game late. Oh well. Here's hoping we get the plants in the ground and something grows. I am really not wanting to completely waste all the money we just spent.

Man, I am in a mood. I can feel my fingers slamming into the keyboard and my face scrunched in to my mad face. I am perturbed. At J. At his family. At my family. At so many situations.

And I am finding that I have been majorly craving a cigarette lately. Really. When someone walks by me with a lit one, the smell annoys me. But when I see them behind the counters at stores, I want to buy them. What is that all about? I haven't had one for 9+ months.

#167

I am feeling the effects of my lovely migraine. I like to call this amazing state of being my 'Migraine Hangover'. It is not pleasent.

The nice thing about today was my daughters getting back to their normal sleep patterns! They didn't wake up until 7:40ish. They went down for a nap around 1:30 and were asleep until 4. It is just after 7, and they are already in bed. It is awesome to feel like they are back to normal! Here's hoping it continues.

Yet again, I did not make it to Mass. This morning I was in too much pain to consider getting myself and my family dressed and out the door. I just didn't have it in me. Which sucks. It would have been nice to get to Mass. See some new faces that might eventually become new friends. But that will just have to wait.

I am hoping that an early night and a good sleep will get me feeling close to normal soon.

#166 (May 14, 2011)

I am not making excuses. I am just stating a fact.

I had a killer migraine last night. So I didn't post anything. I didn't even write anything.

First let me say, my mommy left this morning. She had to get back to her home, which is understandable. My girls were ok with saying goodbye to her. But we all left the house at the same time. When we got back home, the girls wanted their Nana. They are not digging the fact that people in their lives aren't always 'steady'.

After nap, the girls and I made their first rosary. Pipe cleaners and pony beads. They are cute and the girls loved making them. They also made 'bracelets'. And, because I am possibly the coolest mom ever, after dinner they got to make chocolate covered pretzels with sprinkles. I rock.

My head did not rock though. Around lunchtime, my head started to hurt. By 2, it was a steady throb. At dinnertime, my eyes were a little blurry. After I put the girls to bed, my belly was feeling a little bit... off.

But I still told J I wanted to watch the $5 movie we got from Wally World. Yeah, 30 minutes in to it, I was almost in tears and we had to turn it off. I went to bed, then ran to the bathroom, then went to bed, then took a hot bath, then went to bed, etc. It was not fun.

I slept and slept and woke up feeling like I had been hit by a train.

#165

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have an announcement.

I am officially an adult.

The lovely guys from Lowe's delivered my brand spankin' new washer and dryer. Yep, it's official- I am half of an old married couple. We bought our first major appliance. Actually, we bought it last week, it was just delivered today. But now it's official!

So our new 'toys' are hard at work since we have been without one for about a week now!

The girls got awesome presents today as well. A dear friend from Germany, M, sent the girls adorable bags! They are 'tutu totes'. Canvas bags with tulle sewn around the bottom half. And their names are stitched into the top half. Really, they are adorable.

And the topper of my day is going to be in about 5 minutes... I made homemade ice cream! Mint chocolaate chip. It is currently in my freezer, since the recipe suggested 6+ hours to harden.

But I think I have waited long enough!

#164 (May 12, 2011)

Dear stupid blog. Here is the deal. You not allowing me to post my daily blog is killing me. Especially because I finally got back on track!

Anyhow. I got my new car today! J and I went to pick it up. He was laughing at me because when they brought it out, I said “oh wow, I really do like it!” Car buying for me is a huge pain, so I was to the point where I just wanted to buy something and be done. So I was a little surprised that I liked the car as much as I do. It drives really nice too!

After I picked up the car, I went to the commissary for a couple things. Literally needed 4 things. Well, I was hungry… So I spent about $35. And as I was walking out, the skies completely opened up. It poured and then poured some more. Normally, I do not mind the rain. However, I had JUST got a new car. And lets be honest, I didn’t remember where I had parked or what my car looked like! But after waiting for a few minutes to see if it would let up, I just ran for it.

Found my car and got drenched.

After dinner we went for a walk. It was nice to get out as a family and just walk. We haven’t done that for a couple weeks. I love our walks, and I love that my girls love them as well.

#163

First off, let me apologize for the delayed blog postings. We moved in to our new house and the internet was not hooked up yet. As of now, the blog is updated and we should be back on our normal schedule. So here is today:

J and I went to a car dealership to look at a car today. I had checked it out online and was digging it. So after he got off work, we went. Ma stayed at home with the girls so we were actually able to look in to things.

And, we bought it. 2004 Mazda 6... It's a car, and it's mine. Almost. We have to go in tomorrow to give them a couple things, and to pick the car up.

I am excited to have a car. And I am excited to be done looking for a car. I really do not like car shopping. It just annos me and sets me on edge.

I am not excited about spending so much money. Really, it was a great price. We like the car. We need the car. But it's money that we will no longer have.

I am just not good at spending money.

I really felt myself getting a little sick thinking about my poor bank account... But really, we knew we would be buying a car and we saved specifically for it. It is just a hard pill to swallow for me!

And after the crazy amount of time spent buying the car, we picked up my stepdad! He is a truck driver, that just happened to be passing this way. So he will be here for the night and tomorrow morning. Worked out pretty great. We get to see him, he gets to see the girls and his wife. Woop!

#162 (May 10, 2011)

My internet was turned on today. I should be more excited about that than I am...

This whole adjusting to the States is killing me. I am not feeling like I am back. I am feeling distant and alone and just not right. I should be so happy to be back with family. But things really aren't that different. My family is still far away, and they are just 'so busy' with their lives that I don't really hear from them.

And at this point, my friends are in another country... Most of them, at least. Like I said, feeling alone and distant. And suffering from some culture shock.

Bright side, I made Angel Food Cake, that I topped with mixed berries, and I made whipped cream as well. Yum! It was so good! I really had to make myself stop at one serving.

#161 (May 9, 2011)

We got our first shipment from Deutschland!

There was a mix-up between J and I when the movers were boxing things up. So, we have our kitchen stuff, clothes, and military gear. We should have had some kiddo toys and a tv, but those things were forgotten… Not really that big of a deal though.
The girls have a yard to play in, so who needs stinking toys?! They had a blast today. They drew with sidewalk chalk, bounced a ball, blew bubbles, ran with their dogs- all in their own yard! It was pretty great. The boys are loving the yard as well.

But my poor Max. He is in a lot of pain. Ma and J are wondering if it is his neck as well as his hip. I am just wondering when I can get him to a vet and get him feeling better. I hate to see him in pain and hear my big boy cry.

#160 (May 8, 2011)

I didn’t goo to Mass this morning. I had every intention of going. I looked up the Catholic services on post. I told the husband he would be going with me. I had planned out what I would wear. I set my alarm.

And I still didn’t go.

If I am completely honest with myself, I would say I didn’t go because I wasn’t ready to cut the ties with my Schweinfurt Catholic community. I really love ‘that’ priest’ and ‘that’ congregation and ‘that’ family so much. And the second I go to a new church, it will be different. Mass without the J family will be hard.

Mothers Day was nott really a big deal to us. Which is mean because my mom is here. But we are trying to get settled and ‘moved in’ so we kind of put it to the back burner. We shopped and spent money and all that jazz today. Really, I almost had a heart attack spending so much money… It really isn’t that fun!

#159 (May 7, 2011)

My mommy is here! I haven’t seen her since December 2009. So I am pretty thrilled about her being here. She got here at dinner time, so we met at Red Lobster, which is pretty exciting as well!

Our morning consisted of getting everything out of the hotel and in to the house. So we are officially in our new house. With very little stuff. We have the four suitcases we flew with, which are mainly clothes and shoes. We have the stuff we have bought; air mattress for us and read beds for the girls, some food – though we haven’t gone grocery shopping, and other odds and ends. But no real stuff. Oh well, this will be our first night in our new house!

Today was also the ‘post wide’ yard sale. So we drove around to a few places and checked out what people had. We didn’t see anything we wanted, except 2 pair of Crocs for the girls. One pink, one blue, $1 for both. Thank you very much!
While we were out driving around post, we ran in to my friend J. She is the only friendly face at Ft Campbell right now. So it was great to run in to her. We met in Graf and haven’t seen each other for a couple years. It was nice to see someone I knew.

And like I said, Ma is here. I am thrilled. And the girls are doing really well with her. You know how kids are, sometimes they are shy and stuff. But these two are digging their nana!

#158

Oh man. This 365 blog was not a good idea. I just want to get in bed. But here I am!

J actually had to go to work for part of the day. So my chicks and I were left at the hotel with no transportation. And there really isn't anything close to here. But we went to the closest park for some play time.

My little K monkey got sick this afternoon. At Walmart. Ha! My first 'My child just vomited all over everything in a store' experience. Not so fun. My poor little baby was not at all thrilled with the experience. She really has no idea what throwing up is - the last time she did she was 14 months old. So she was pretty upset. The 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc times weren't as traumatizing.

I repeat, my poor baby.

J and are are still on each others' nerves. Ugh. That is just annoying. Everything is annoying. I think we need to get out from underneath each others' feet. We need to eat an enjoyable meal.

And that is tripping me up. While we were overseas, we were always talking about the food we missed. Now that we are here, I just want a home cooked meal. For over a week now, we have been eating out. And I am just tired of it. Especially fast food. We have tried to eat at a 'sit down' place since we got here. But my girls are against that for some reason. P had an accident. K threw up everywhere.

I want real food.

So far, being back in the States isn't what I was looking forward to! I know that is Jetlag and loneliness and lack of knowledge speaking. But right now, I am missing my friends and the streets I knew.

#157 (May 5, 2011)

Wow. So apparently this move has messed me up more than I thought! I went to bed at about 8:30pm and totally forgot to blog. Oops. So here is my Cinco de Mayo blog!

We went to a Newcomers Orientation Day event thing. The girls got to play with other kids and watch caare ladies. They had a ton of fun, which really makes me happy. They really haven't gotten to play all week, and we keep asking so much of them.

I got a ton of information. But I feel like I don't know anything! I have a ton of things to do. I want to get involved, get plugged in to something. But I am not sure where to start or how too work everything in. the orientation left me feeling disoriented.

But, we got the girls' mattresses. One step closer to moving in to our house.

Jet lag. Not fun.

#156

Today, my nerves are shot. I am way too quick to get irritated and snap. I really don't know why. I know I am tired and we have a ton of stuff to do. But I don't feel like those are the reasons, like they are excuses... Who knows. I know I am tired of J and the girls being on my nerves, and I know they are tired of me getting mad.

And, my voice is pretty much gone. Again. I just dealt with this a couple weeks ago. What is the deal, yo.

Good things: I now have a phone, and I now have a house. We got cells this morning. iPhones. Yeah, I have no idea how to use it!! And we signed for a house on post. Not the prettiest or niicest house around. But, it is ours. For a while, at least. And when we get our stuff here, and make the house a home, it will be fine.

Good night.

#155 (May 3, 2011)

Please excuse the late post, again. Really, I have good reasons for that though!

We are in the USA!

We got to Ft Campbell around 11:30pm Tuesday. Checked in to our hotel, got in bed, and slept! So here is my post...

I really don't want to recap the day. Can I just say the flight to Dallas went really well. The girls did amazing. I love them, they rock.

In dallas we had major issues. Instead of getting to Nashville around 6:30, we got there about 10pm. Grrr. I really wanted to just leave the airport and drive a couple hours to my best friend's house! J vetoed that idea, because he is mean.

But we got to our 'final destination' in one piece, will all our luggage. All in all, it really wasn't so bad. The girls were completely exhausted by the end of it all. Good thing, though, it I think we are on local time already. Woop! We will see how the day goes though.

On a personal note, I am disappointed with myself. I was not awesome like I hoped to be. I lost my patience super quick with J. With the girls I was ok, but not with him. We have total different ways of dealing with situations, so we irk each other a lot! But yeah, I could have handled myself a lot better. Good thing I know he loves me.

And, I am losing my voice again. I just dealt with this a couple weeks ago, dang it!

But, fun times are coming my way. So I will have more for you at my normal time!

#154 (May 2, 2011)

I am officially homeless and living on the road. I am no longer a resident of Bavaria. I am on my way home!

J and U were up at 0400 to finish the packing and get ready to roll out. My friend B was awesome and helped us get the boys to the shuttle. A pretty seamless morning. We got to our new hotel (there were a few other stops, but I will spare you the details.) around lunchtime.

Strangely, it has been a pretty uneventful day, all things considered.

The book I am currently reading is really speaking to me. I lovve the Catholic Church, and this book is helping me see how I can be a better 'Catholic'. It has given me words of encouragement. I have read lines and thought 'Aha! That is exactly how I feel!' I have found practices I hope to imitate.

Like I said, I am really diggingg this book.

So, tomorrow we fly. I am a little apprehensive about the flight. Two year old twins on an 11 hour flight - doesn't that sound like some peoples' worst nightmare? And my boys will be in the dark, scary, underbelly of the plane. Not happy about that.

I know everything will be ok. P and K will not be angels for the flight, I am not that delusional. But we have toys, snacks, and two parents. And, it is only 11 hours. Followed by a 2 hour flight. No biggie!

Here is a good chance to start practicing my new 'Good Catholic Girl' attitude and such... !

#153

The worst thing about having amazing friends in this Army life, is having to say goodbye to them.

It sucks.

This is one of those times where I want to stomp my foot and say "It's not fair!" I don't want to say goodbye to the women than have been like sisters to me. I don't want my daughters to say goodbye to their best and first friends. This is not fair!

But it is life. It is the Army life. And it sucks.

Today consisted of, you guessed it, saying goodbye. We said goodbye to friends before Mass, during Mass, after Mass, and over dinner. Hugs, tears, and that stupid word. All day.

I am really blessed. That is what I keep telling myself. I am blessed to have friends that it is so hard to leave behind. I am blessed to have women that are more than friends, but family. And, family means you never get rid of them. So I am good with that!

To the sweet, beautiful, funny, caring, smart, honest, crazy chicks that I call friends: I love you. I'm gonna miss you too much. Come see me.