We Want To Know

Well, if you can believe it, it's Wednesday again!!  Holy crapola how is it going by so dang fast!?!?  Join us, won't you?!  Link up with Mamarazzi and Alicia aka Queso.  It's always a good time!!!

#1  Did you live in the same town or move around a lot as a child?

Oh man.  Not only did we live in the same town, we lived in the same house!  I'm finding this is rare the more people I meet.  And my parents still live there and most likely will until they die...and we'll bury them there...no no I kid.  That's just weird. 

#2  What were your parents like?
Awesome to the max, that's what!  My Dad worked for the State Dept. of Transportation and was gone a lot.  I remember him being grumpy and having to watch what we said around him, but I also remember we used to watch the Disney cartoon Robin Hood every Sunday night and he would laugh and laugh and laugh.
My mom was funny and silly and listened to John Denver and Neil Diamond and ABBA. We had a good time, we sang a lot and she's help us make forts.  Gosh I have a lot of fond memories of my mama.

#3  Do you have any siblings?  What were they like growing up?

Did I?!  Yeah, I did.  3 younger brothers, no sisters.  They were fun growing up.  Being the only girl, I was so SO no the sissy la la classy pile of woman you now see before you. No no, I was somewhat of a tom boy.  It was survival of the fittest at my house, eat or be eaten!  Always be on your game!  Make fun of the other person to show them how much you love them! Learn how to hit as not to have a dead arm!  My husband actually had to tell me to stop hitting him in the arm.  I was hurting him, but that's how we say 'I love you' where I'm from!

#4  Share a short story from your childhood.
Oh gosh there's so many I could share! So so many.  Let's see, well how about the time my mom told me NOT to ride my friend's 4 wheeler.  And I did anyway.  And we were driving down one of the dirt roads and my friend let her cousin drive and she was turning the handle bars back and forth really fast and I fell of and got ran over.  And I had road rash all up my legs and face and arms.  And my mom took care of me and helped me and not once did she ever say "I told you so" or anything!  Listen to you moms, kids!  

#5  What did you look like?
Well, that depends on what point of my childhood we're talking about here.  I ended up okay, I like to think so anyway.  And I started out cute...

    

 ...but somewhere in the middle there things got all awkward and, uh, schmexy.

   

Yikes.  Good thing I'm a secure person.  Those were some interesting years.

Blog Swap 2011--Summer In Germany With Adrienne

Hey there all of Camie’s readers! 

My name is Adrienne, I am a 23 year old military wife and I am here, living in Germany and am originally from Portland, Oregon (represent!!). Currently My husband is in the US Army and we’re stationed here in Germany for the next three years (hopefully more!). I love crafting, art, photography, sewing (even though I don't have a sewing machine yet), traveling, and just being me! I run the blog called Right Here, Right Now! and it is my baby! I have been blogging since... (I had to look it up...) March of 2008. My blog has gone from scrapbooking, to art, to photography, to just being a personal blog with photography mixed in. I also run a photography blog. It is not as well developed and has been kind of on hiatus for a while... as inspiration has sunk, and I love taking iPhone pics... heh!

I also talk show a lot of pictures of my puppy, Koodge. :)

Anyway, I am here to take over Camie’s blog for today to talk about summer. Summer is my absolutely my most favorite season of the year! I can get a tan... My seasonal depression subsides, and it just makes me generally glowy! Ha.

Summer in Germany.

Sucks. Even compared to Oregon! I mean, it rains ALL the time in Oregon... but we have at least ONE MONTH of summer! But no, not here, not in Germany. There are... Days. Probably not even a week. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll head out on the weekend, and get to enjoy some sunshine (that day for us, was in April... weird, no?).

Last weekend my husband and I were lucky to have some sun when we went to Würzburg (pronounced Vertz-berg) to go to Ikea and a castle! It was amazing! I finally got a bookshelf and one of those expedite shelves (you know the ones with the square holes??). And that helped my own summer blues. 

 Now that I have these amazing shelves, it feels that life is coming together a bit better now, and that makes me happy. Now I just need to paint the apartment... and get some furniture that is NOT the Army Loaner furniture... Cause this shit is UGLY! lol.

BACK TO SUMMER.

There are TONS of things to do in Germany if you have GREAT walking shoes! hahaha. There are festivals like, EVERY weekend during the summer, and tons of HUGE music festivals.

And then, there is always some wine drinking:

Which is like, my most favorite part of Germany!

Then there are visiting some of the castles in and around Germany.

Summer in Germany is kind of crappy, but it is also a great time of the year where the weather is pretty mild. Perfect for exploring, hiking, seeing the country side and exploring all that Germany has to offer.

I know I will miss the summer when winter breezing in... *sigh*

Sunday

Izacc is wearing a shark tooth necklace.

Ian looks like he's perhaps pooping his pants.

Amelia is now wearing size 2 diapers.

And we were having dinner, I made hamburger pie. 

It has green beans.  

Ian was speed eating.  

He mistook his finger for a green bean.  

Hilarity and sadness ensued. 

Have a beautiful evening. 

Friday Confessional: Sexy Hair and Brownies

I can't  believe it's Friday again!  I swear it was JUST Friday a second ago...well, I guess if you wanna be technical it WAS Friday just a second ago smarty pants!  I MEAN this week went by fast.  But I digress, let's get to the confessin'!

I confess...

• Today was Izacc's last day of summer school.
• HUZZAH!!
• No really, this is spectacular news.
• FREEDOM!!
• Too bad it's only gonna last for two weeks.
• That's right, everyone, in two weeks I will be the sobbing proud mother of a Kindergartner.
• I can't believe I am old enough to have a kid in school.
• I can remember my first day of kindergarten.
• It wasn't THAT long ago.
• I wore a blue shirt with a pair of blue shorts.
• They were a matching set.
• I had said sets in purple and pink too.
• And they had one of those weird belts that you have to pull it through to get it tight;
• Damn belts.
• I can remember many a panic attack standing in the bathroom stall with the bell ringing and me trying to get that *&#$(@ belt done up.
• Stupid kindergarten fingers!!
• I also had the biggest fro mullet you ever saw.
• What you don't believe me?!
• I wish I had a picture to show you.
• It's in a box somewhere.
• I promise I will bring it out someday.
• Until then, how about a picture from when I did my own hair?
• Will that suffice until I can get the fro mullet photo out?!
• Here ya go:

• Yeah buddy.
• I know it.
• Don't hate the playa, hate the game.
• Also please note that I am a whole head taller than my friend standing next to me.
• Yup, I was AWESOME.
• Oh man.
• I hope Izacc has inherited my awesomeness...
• ...er maybe on second thought...
• Seriously though.
• He was just born a minute ago.
• I know, I know, he really wasn't, but you know what I mean!
• His big fat birthday is on the first day of school too.
• So we're gonna have to make that day super special and amazing.
• Any ideas?!
• Ever since having Miss Amelia my brain seems to be broken.
• All creativity I ever possessed is lost in the abyss of my sleepy, sleepy brain.
• Hopefully it will come back.
• Soon.
• I have to take Ian to child development today for his 2 year screening.
• I know, I'm a little late.
• But better late than never, right?!
• Yeah it should be fun.
• Also there is a GIANT pan of super magic brownies in my kitchen as we speak.
• It is a problem.
• And if any of you were thinking MAGIC magic brownies, sorry, you are mistaken.
• They have no pot.
• Just marshmallow goodness.
• They are seriously yummy and addicting.
• And the devil.
• BUT SO GOOD!
• I shall share the recipe if you like.
• But beware, they will haunt your dreams at night with their deliciousness.
• Oh mama.
• I might need to go have one now.
• And put my hair in a big ol side pony with a clippy on top.
• I'm bringing sexy back.
• Oh yes, it is happening.

Now go link up!  It's super fun!  You know you want to!!!

We Want To Know

It's Wednesday & time to link up with Mamarazzi & Alicia aka Queso!  
#1 If you could be on any game show what would it be?Oooh, I gotta go with The Price Is Right here.  I've ALWAYS loved that dumb show!  And it doesn't take that much skill, right?  I'd say I want be on Millionaire because I'msure I could do it, but I'm pretty sure I would freeze under the pressure and get the third question wrong, maybe not even come home with a thousand dollars.  So The Price Is Right it is!! #2  If you could choose to stay any certain age forever, what age would it be?What a coincidence!  I am 29 and shall be for a while!  Maybe not forever, but for a good 5 years-ish.  I can't allow myself to cross the threshold into "thirties" yet...it's a scary place... 
#3  What were you doing 30 minutes ago?Thirty minutes ago I was getting Ian a bowl of cereal, getting one for myself and sitting down and nursing the baby...while I ate my cereal...I know, I know, try not to be too jealous of the glamourus life I lead.
#4  What would i find in your fridge right now? A whole lot of nothing!  There's milk and some soda and the essentials, you know, ranch, ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc.  There's some leftover spaghetti and some hamburger, cheese, turkey, summer sausage and breast milk.  Don't judge me.  Oh and some bacon and apples. Whew!  So glad I had at least 1 healthy thing in there, but let's be honest, those apples have been in there for months and are a little inedible...they're just so my crisper doesn't look empty and I don't feel like a complete turd for having no fruit in the house.
#5  If you were a piece of furniture what would you be? why?I'm gonna say the bed!  Yeah,that's the life, am I right?  Just laying there in front of the TV all day, all soft and comfy, and the fatter you are the better people like you.  But wait, knowing what goes on IN my bed...yeah no one needs to see that...not even me!  I'll be the couch instead.

Who Wore It Best: Coles Edition

You've seen in US Magazine where the have the Who Wore It Best?  Pictures side-by-side of two celebs who have on the same or similar clothing?  And readers are invited to vote on, well, Who Wore It Best?!  Right?  

Well, it's time for Who Wore It Best, baby Coles Edition!

That's right, each one of my babies have worn this silly little nightgown.

They crack me up.

Can you tell the difference between the pictures?!  

Do you know who is who?!

And is it possible to wear a nightgown "best"?!

Ha ha I love my kids!!

And what do you think?  

Who wore it best?!

Something Else New and Fun

There is a blog.

A blog I love.

She makes me happy.

She makes me laugh.

She has the best taste!

And beautiful kids.

Her name is Mary.

This is her blog:

http://maryellephotography.blogspot.com

You should go there sometime.

You won't regret it.

My reason for bringing this up is that she does something that I adore.

Every Sunday she takes a picture of her kids and posts it.

And I wanna do it too!

So I'm gonna.

Thanks, Mary.  You rock!

And here's my Sunday picture.

Don't worry, folks!

There's a lot more where this came from!

Craptastic

I'm having a bad bad day.  

I feel like I need to get it all out to feel better rather than sit and stew in my own pity party pool of sadness, so please excuse my word vomit while I try and clear my mind.

I sincerely and truly hate it when my husband is away. We normally see each other for an hour while he gets ready for work, an hour for lunch, an hour for dinner before he heads to job #2, and then about an hour when he gets home before we go to sleep.  Technically speaking, he sees the kids at lunch and dinner and that's it.  They are usually asleep in the morning and are in bed when he gets home.  That's not very much time to be home.  That's a lot of time spent working.  That's a lot of time to be away from his family.    It's not fair to the kids, and it's not fair to him.  And it's not fair to me and I basically hate it.  Because, although it's a lot of time for him to be away from me and the kids, it's also a lot of time of JUST me with the kids. 

So even though it's only 4 hours a day we see him, those four hours are my saving grace.  When he's not here, it's noticed and felt.  And it sucketh.

Today has been a gem of a day.  It's day 4 of Daddy's little excursion and it started out with the boy demanding pancakes as soon as I set my feet on the ground.  I'm happy to make pancakes, especially on a Saturday, so it's not a huge deal except for the fact that no one said please or even asked for that matter.  So I made the pancakes.  And I had to feed the baby.  And while I was feeding her, somehow a movie got deleted from the Playstation.  And then something was broken.  And some kool-aid spilled on the BATHROOM?? floor.  And lots of crying and pinching and hitting and biting and wrestling and diaper taking off-ing and slamming mommy in the car door and pinching mommy's finger with needle-nose pliers and mommy crying and baby crying and Ian crying and Izacc crying.

I'm at wits end with the kids today.  And I'm tired of doing everything.  And there's no relief in sight.  I feel like I clean and cook and feed the baby and look around and still see the biggest mess, almost like I'm trying to run up an escalator that's headed down.  And if I just stop running, down I go.

I love my kids.

I love my job.

There's nothing I'd rather be doing than raising my kids.

But sometimes I have a bad day.

And need to cry.  

I feel like I give and give and when the time comes for me to need someone or something, no one has time for me.  

I feel like everyone just assumes I'm so tough and can handle it and will be okay. 

But sometimes I'm not and need to talk or to get out of the house or something.

And know what else?!  I don't like who I am when I feel like this.

I don't like being lonely and sad and angry and frustrated.

I don't like it when I can't get a hold of anyone.

And my mind starts creating the most ridiculous scenarios

And I feel like no one cares about me.

I especially don't like to be mad at my babies.

I don't like for them to see mommy crying into her potato peels.

I am going to be okay.

Everything's gonna be better tomorrow.

I know this for sure.

It always is.

But right now, I'm doing a lot of praying.

And sitting in the silence.

And thinking about the ways I'm gonna be more patient and calm tomorrow.

And feeding my baby.

Because seriously, ya'll, all she does is eat.

She's 8 weeks old today.

I sorta can't believe it.

A lot of things culminated to make today a stinker.  And it seemed a lot worse than it really was I'm sure.

But it's pretty pathetic when an episode of  My Name Is Earl brings you to tears.

So here's my goal for the week.  
I'm going to yell less, and hug more.
I'm going to breathe.
I'm going to not expect so much out of myself so that when my giant list of chores doesn't get done, I'm not stressed and mad at myself and in a bad mood.
The dishes can wait a day.
The floor can be crumby and sticky for a minute.
My kids need a sane and happy mommy.
I'm not going to expect so much out of my 4 year old son because let's face it, people.
He's four years old.
My goal is to go with it.
To get off the escalator and take the stairs.


Here's to tomorrow and a fresh new day.
Here's to a happy Mommy, even if Daddy is away.
Here's to letting my kids be little.

And here's to a shower.

And maybe a vanilla milkshake.

Friday Confessional: Eating My Words AGAIN

It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday.Please tell me you know what I'm talking about here.If not, watch this and get back to me.And laugh your butt off at the awesomeness.Ha ha ha ha.  That video kills me.Anyway let's get going here, shall we?!
I confess...

• I had this post all worked out in my head and ready to go.
• And then I forgot it.
• Nursing brain is SO MUCH WORSE than preggo brain.
• I can't remember crap anymore!
• And I couldn't remember crap before!
• So imagine my dilemma.
• Last week at this time we were becoming the proud owners of a 2000 Pontiac Montana minicruzer.
• It's in such good shape and drives like a dream.
• I hate to say it but it's freaking awesome.
• FREAKING AWESOME!
• We went to the lake last weekend with Steph and her hubby.
• We took the van.
• It was amazing.
• It was roomy and comfortable and could hold all our crap.
• And I sat in the gloriousness and shamelessly ate my words.
• The words "I'll never drive a mini van" are no longer in my repertoire.
• An I'm totally okay with that.
• I kinda can't wait for our first road trip in the family wagon.
• Should be a good time.
• I was walking today to pick up Izacc from the bus stop and I realized something.
• I have a freaking amazing life.
• My home, my clothes, my hubby, my kids, my hubby's jobs, even said mini cruzer.
• All such blessings to have.
• And on top of all that, I have seriously the world's most amazing friends.
• I can't remember life before them.
• It's pretty sweet to find someone you mesh well with.
• And gosh dang they make my life super amazing.
• I took my kids to the fair last night.
• Oh I forgot to mention my husband is gone.
• Yeah, he's at some convention in Vegas, won't be back for a few days.
• And my little buddy had been begging me to take him to the carnival.
• Reese and Steph to the rescue!
• They came and helped me load everyone up 
• And we ate fair food.
• And they helped me wrangle my boys.
• And they didn't even ride any rides!
• They helped me so much!  There's not a chance in you know where I would have been able to do it myself.
• They're always such nice things for us and I seriously don't know what I'd do without them.
• I'd be a lost soul.
• Steph and I have the best time together too!
• No drama, no fighting, no lameness, no backbiting.
• Gosh dang she's awesome.
• Speaking of which, we need to go play soon so I gotta go.
• Gotta get some lunch first.
• When my husband isn't here I eat like a champ.
• Pita bread and ranch dressing for lunch.
• Frozen pizzas or pancakes for dinner.
• It's a good life...but only for a few days.
• I want him back, safe and sound.
• And soon.
• It's  kinda like living alone again.
• Well, except for the three monkeys I've got to take care of and clean up after.
• Meh, scratch that.
• COME HOME SOON, THOR!!
• I'll  give up my lame lunches for you!!
• :)

Now go link up and play!  All the cool kids are doing it!

We Want To Know Wednesday

It's that time again!!  I am beginning to LOVE Wednesdays!!  If you wanna play, link up with Mamarazzi and Alicia aka Queso for a good time! Promise!!
Let's get crackin' here!#1  If you could spend a day with a blogger, who you haven't met in real life, who would you choose?Not fair I say!  I wanna meet everyone!!  Okay well, if I have to choose, I would say I'd most like to meet Janette, Melissa, Tiburon, and I believe it goes without saying that I'd wanna meet Mamarazzi and Alicia aka Queso.  Duh!  Also, it's a dang good thing that I know Steph IRL because life would suck without her!! And you should get to know her because she is simply amazing.
#2  What website do you check first when you go online?I am such a creature of habit!  It goes like this:Get on computer, open Google Reader, open Yahoo, check e-mail, open link in e-mail to Facebook.  Every day, it happens exactly the same.  I also frequent Wells Fargo, but not EVERY time I get on the computer.  At least once a day, but come on.  Seeing how much money you don't have gets a little old after awhile.
#3  What is something you are saving money for right now?Right this very second, we're saving money to get out air conditioner fixed in the freakin' new mini van...yeah I don't wanna talk about it.  And we're saving up for our family reunion later this month, and then it's Izacc's birthday and we're having his his epic party and blessing Amelia all in the same weekend, which means house guests and a whole lotta food!  Also, about that same time our car insurance is due.  Gosh I love how it all comes at once!!
#4  What is your go to silly face when a silly face is needed? 
Well, it's sort of a cross between this:

...and this: 

Also, sometimes a little of this thrown in for good measure:

Yeah I know.  I'm a dork.

#5  How do you relieve stress?I cry and listen to music really loud and clean.  And breathe.  And pray.  And sometimes I lay in my bed and listen to my ipod so loud that it drowns out any other noise...although I only do that when the kids are sleeping. I am mother of the year you know!