It’s Amazing….

How time flies, people change, couples met and marry, stay together, have kids, get divorced.  Time just changes…And it is changing SO fast for me.

Today, while I was pondering what on earth to ‘blog’ about.  It occurred to me that as of New Years Day; Eric and I have known each other for 15 years!!!  A lot of people didn’t think we would make it…let alone for this long.  But we have.  We have had some VERY bleak times, and some VERY AWESOME wonderful times.

In the last 15 year Eric and I have been together….it has just been amazing.  Even with all the ups and downs of being a military family.

We have lived in Tennessee twice since being married.  As well as Kentucky, Miami, Florida and Stuttgart Germany.  We loved Germany.  Of course, since we are back at Tennessee I guess you can say we loved it almost as much as Germany.

Eric completed almost 22 years in the Army before retiring.  He can speak Fluent German.  As well as write it and read it.  He can also speak Arabic.  He can read it as well…just takes him a little longer.  He says it is a VERY difficult language to learn.

We have had 4 healthy children.  Which are growing up WAY to fast.  Daniel will be in the 7th grade next year and Aimee in the 6th.  It just doesn’t seem like they should be that old.  It seems like it was just yesterday I was giving birth to them.

We also have a angel baby.  I miscarried (Never really talk about it much anymore) our first baby in 1996. Exactly, One year and 4 days before Daniel was born.

It is amazing how much I love Eric more today, then the day I married him.  With me, I guess it really was love at first sight.  He was a true gentleman.  Every other man I dated. ….Never opened the doors for me.  Eric did and still does. Eric opens my car door and still does.  He is what I want my boys to be when they start dating (Lord, help me!).

I didn’t know how Eric would handle fatherhood.  It suits him to a T!  He was at EVERY birth.  After, the birth was over for each of them Eric would hold each baby passing back and forth in my room and sing a lullaby to him or her. 

He plays an active roll in there schooling, doctors appointments and dental appointments.  He goes to parent teacher meeting willingly.  I mean there is nothing (short of anything illegal) that Eric would do for us.  Eric puts us-his family first. 

He is also a Christian Man with a strong faith base.  Everything is 50/50 with us.  He is a man of honor and his word.

I wouldn’t trade any of it….I love where we all have ended up…

Just wish it wouldn’t go SO SO very fast.

I hope you all have a great Thursday!

Take Care!

A New Look for a New Year….

Hey Guys!

Can you believe that it is almost 2009???  Where did the year go?  This year has been filled with a lot of ups and some downs.

Daniel started middle school this year.  Aimee is in her last year of elementary school.  Zachary was diagnosed with ADHD.  And David had a tooth pulled.  Being a Mother is one of the worlds BEST job titles….if not the best.  I just wish my kids wouldn’t grow up so very fast.

My kids and Husband are everything to me.  I wouldn’t change being a mother and wife for anything.  My kids have moved around a lot.  And it looks like (for the time being) we are finally settled in our home.  We love living in Tennessee.

However, with all the stuff going on….I have forgotten about myself.  I put my kids and husband first.  Which is how it should be.  There needs are greater than mine.  However, I believe it is time I do something for myself.  Which in turn my kids will benefit from.

1.  I am in great need of a hair cut.  For the last 6 years or longer.  I get it cut but somehow it ALWAYS ends up back in a pony tail.  Which is not good on hair.  My hair is very fine and VERY thin.  My hair doesn’t do well with perms.  Because it is so thin.  And for the last 6 months or so my hair has been falling out by the handfuls (I know gross!!!). 

For the last couple of days I have been searching online for a good SHORT hair cut and I found one I just love.  I have a round face, and a HIGH forehead (thanks to my daddy and his side of the family) so I need some sort of bangs. This is the hair cut I chose. Tell me what you all think of this hair cut.

I will also need some highlights.  My hair is a light brown with some AWESOME shades of GREY!!!!!!  Yeah, I know….Grey!!!  I have had some grey hair since at  22 years old.

2.  I am going to start taking vitamins.  I need them.  I think I am going to take centrum.  I believe this is the multi-vitamin my mom used to take.  Maybe a women’s centrum vitamin if they have that.  I do know I need a muli-vitamin.

3.  Going to the Dentist and Doctor.  This will be hard since we only have one car.  And Eric needs it 100% of the time and I can’t drive a stick shift.  However, I think it is important.  Plus, I need that annual complete physical that I haven’t gotten in oh…..4 years!!!!!  Yes, I know get onto me now!

4.  I am going to continue exercising at least 3 or 4 times a week.  When it gets warmer, I am going to start walking either in the mornings when the kids go to school (this will probably be the best time for me to walk) or in the evenings. 

I need to lose this baby weight that I have been carrying around for the last 9 years….I didn’t loose all my baby weight with Zachary and now I am paying for it.  It does get a LOT harder to loose weight as you get older. 

And hopefully before 2009 is out I will have a tread mill. 

I am thankful, that I don’t have any huge health problems (that I know of).  And I am thankful that I have a family and extended family that support me 100%.

Maybe after I get my haircut I will be a little more confident in my looks and I can start taking pictures of myself.  I just don’t like the way I look right now.

This is not a New Years Resolutions.  Because those never hold any amount of time for me.  However, this is something that NEEDS to be done for myself.  If I see a NEED for it, I will get it done.  And I see a Need for this. 

I am hoping that sometime during the first week of 2009 to have my new haircut.  And I have to say that I am quit excited about it.

Now a little off topic….but this weather is just weird for this time of year.  It has been pretty nice for the last couple of days.  Yesterday we even hit 70 degrees!  And on Christmas it was around 65 degrees.   However, this evening we are suppose to be getting a big storm.  And right now as of 11 am, the winds are starting to pick up.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

Take Care

Fifty Things and stuff…

Hey Guys!

We have been a house full of sickness.  However, the only person left that is still sick is Eric.  I should rephrase that. Eric is still sick and I am just working at about 95% healthy.  So, I am on the mend.  Eric has to go into work today.  I am thinking he is going to be home early.

Now for the stuff…

Next year, Starting on January 1st. I plan on blogging EVERY week day.  And hopefully maybe even every Saturday.  I will more than likely take Sundays off from blogging.  Blogging is a good relaxing outlet for me.   And I love it.  Somedays, I just need a day away.  So I think will work out great.

Secondly, I am starting a new recipe blog.  Not only will I post recipes.  I am going to be posting pictures of the completed recipes that are prepared by me.  Also, I am going to post pictures of the ‘how to’ stages of certain recipes. Besides my family, Cooking and baking are two of my passions.  And I would really love to build up a neat recipe blog.

For now, my old recipe blog Kitchen Table Chat Recipes is still up and active.  However, I will be working at getting that blog down to nothing and those recipes over to my new blog.  The new blog is called “Let’s Get Cookin’”.  I am hoping to post on it at least 3 or 4 times a week as well.

And now for Fifty things.  I stole this from another blog that I read.  And thought I would post it here.  Maybe there will be something that you didn’t know about me.

1. Do you like cheese?  Yes, But only on sandwiches or pizza.  Not just to eat.

2. Have you ever smoked?No, Never even tried it.  YUCK!  I have had two many Uncles and one Aunt whose health was greatly diminished by smoking.  I think watching them taught me a good lesson.

3. Do you own a gun? No, I don’t but my husband does.
4. Do you like listening to Christmas music? Yes, I could listen to it all year.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?  It depends on what I am going to the dr. For.  If I think it is serious than yes, I get nervous.  But more so for my kids.

6. What do you think of hot dogs?  I really like them.  When I was in High School we were allowed to go ‘Up Town’ to eat our lunch.  We had a 35 minute lunch break and it took us about 5 minutes to walk ‘Up Town’.  And there were 3 places to ‘eat’.  One place served hot dog and hamburgers and such.  And there hot dogs with Mustard and relish were delish!  There is nothing quite like a small town hot dog.

7. Favorite Christmas song for all time?  Little Drummer Boy.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?  Tea

9. Can you do push ups?  This is almost laughable.  If I were still in High School, the answer would be yes!  However, since having 4 babies.  Ummmm, NO not in a million years could I do a push up now.

10. Who is your favorite Grey’s Anatomy Character? Miranda Bailey
11. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry?  A bracelet my kids made me for Mother’s Day.
12. Favorite hobby?  Blogging, Cooking, Baking, Decorating, Crafting with my kids.
13. Do you eat “exotic” foods? No.

14. Do you have A.D.D.?  No.  however, I have a son who is afflicted with A.D.H.D.

15. What one trait do you hate about yourself?  I worry to much at what other people think.

16. Middle Name?   I am named after my mother, who is named after her grandmother.  My great grandmother.  My middle name is Jane.

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?  1.  I wish Eric’s Car ran correctly and wasn’t breaking down all the time.  2. I wish my oldest would complain as much as he does sometimes.  3.  I hope we have a Good Merry Stress free Christmas.
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday?  Groceries, stocking stuffer, and Candy
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?  Water, Tea, and a occasional Dr. Pepper.

20. Current worry right now?  Getting my husbands car running so he/we can go places and not worry about being stranded.

21. Current hate?  Crankiness’s

22. Favorite place to be? Anywhere my husband and kids are.

23. How will you bring in the New Year?  A nice peaceful evening at home.  I usually make finger foods, brownies, cookies, and popcorn.  And we rent a few movies and we watch movies.  Daniel and Aimee are allowed to stay up until mid-night. 

24. Where would you like to go? To Texas and Oklahoma.  To see family.
25. Name three people who will complete this?hmmm, don’t know since I am not going to be tagging anyone with this.
26. Do you own flip flops?  Yes, a few pair.
27. What shirt are you wearing?  A blue USA shirt.

28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?  I don’t know that I have ever even slept on satin sheets…so I don’t know.

29. Can you whistle?  Yes, I sure can…

30. Favorite color? My favorite color changes….I always like Pink.  However, my other favorites are shades of Blue, Peach, Yellow, Silver,  and brown.

31. Would you be a pirate?   no
32. What songs do you sing in the shower?  I really don’t have time to sing in the shower. 

33. Favorite girl’s name?  Aimee of course.  However, I also LOVE Olivia, Claire, and Grace!

34. Favorite boy’s name?  Daniel, Zachary and David.  However, I also love Kane for a boy!
35. What’s in your pocket right now? Nothing.

36. Last thing that made you laugh? David singing his changing song.
37. Best bed sheets as a child?hmmmm, I don’t remember.  I don’t think I had favorite bed sheets as a child.  My mom would be better able to answer this.

38. Worst injury you’ve ever had?  hmmm, Getting about 20 stitches in my left elbow and arm after a wreck, just a few weeks after Eric and I were married.  Either that or when I had a fish hook stuck in my thumb and I thought I was just going to loose it.  OR, when I pulled my earring straight down through my ear lobe one night.  But nothing major at all…..Thank Goodness!

39. Do you love where you live?  Yes, Actually I do.
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2
41. Who is your loudest friend?  None of my friends are really ever LOUD.  However, I did go to school with a girl who was a year younger than me named Carie who was quite obnoxious and loud.

42. How many dogs do you have? none at the moment.

43. Does someone have a crush on you? I hope my husband does.

44. Do you get embarrassed easily? yes I do.
45. What is your favorite book?  It is not really a book but a play.  I love Hamlet!
46. What is your favorite candy? Snickers or Butterfingers.

47. Do you know all the words to the Fresh Prince theme song? No, it took me a while to remember the Television show.
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? no comment.
49. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Washing a comforter and wrapping a gift.

50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Time to make the COOKIES!

I hope you all have a excellent week.  Filled with lot of  Love, Joy, and Laughter.

Take Care.

What were you doing 1/2 your life ago???

With my children going back to school in 5 days. And with them growing up at what seems like the speed of light. Finding each year of going to school for each of them bittersweet. Daniel is going into 5Th grade. His last year of elementary school. Aimee is right behind him going into the 4Th grade. Zachary is going into the 1st grade and of course David will be starting school in two years.

This all got me to thinking……

What was I doing 1/2 my life ago?????

Well, the year was 1990, the month was August. I was 17 years old. I was just about to start my Senior Year of High School. My parents had just purchased me a brand new 1991 Buick Regal. I loved that car! I was nervous but so excited because, I had enough credit hours to go to college during the mornings and high school in the afternoons. I didn’t have to report to high school until 12:20 in the afternoon. School was dismissed at 3:15! I so clearly remember my first two college courses I took. I took Speech and Art. And then the next semester I took English and Psychology. I received all A’s in the classes except for English. Which I received a B.
In High school–I was on Yearbook Staff that year. And I was Secretary of the class. My parents were the class parents. I participated in Music (went to state all 4 years of my high school grades with my solos), Basketball (This was when girls played 1/2 court) I was a guard. I am pretty tall at 5’9. And I was a cheerleader for the boys basketball team. So right after I finished playing basketball, I had to suit up in my cheerleading suit to go and cheer.

I worked part time and on weekends for my grandfather at his Irrigation/Farming implement Shop. My mother was his full time Secretary so I would help her after school and on days that I didn’t have college in the mornings. I answered the phone and took care of billing customers.

I had a boyfriend. Who I “thought” was it for me…but he had other plans. We finally broke it off after 16 months of being together(that happened in late Jan of 91. WAIT! I broke it off with him. And I had NO regrets since then.

I graduated High school Middle of May. Went on my Senior Trip on May 20-May 29Th. Turned 18 the NEXT day. Moved out of my parents house on June 2ND 1991. And have not lived under there roof since. I have been on my own or married for 16 years now.

So what were you doing 1/2 your life ago????

*A small shopping update to yesterdays post. Aimee and I went out shopping last night. We bought her a pair of Van Sneakers for 19.95! More than 50% off with NO tax. We found shoes at Shoes Department in the mall. I have discovered that they have awesome prices (compared with Payless but better quality and NAME BRAND). We then headed to Old Navy where I found her another T-shirt for 2.49 and I bought each of the boys a shirt for 4.99. I also bought Zachary a lunch box there. Total there was 19.96. Aimee also had to have a pair of shades that cost 1.99 from Old Navy. We then headed out to Walmart where it was a MAD house! I picked up David a Play Doh set with numbers and the alphabet for 4.95. Since he was the only one that really didn’t get anything. I did buy the kids some flip flops for 1.50 a piece. I bought all 4 of them a pair. They can wear them this year and hopefully next summer as well.
Here are Aimee’s New Van’s Sneakers that we purchased for school.

Four Things About me…..

Since I am fairly new to blogging (Just a little over two weeks). I thought I would share some things about myself. So the lurkers, people that just happen to my blog and the few readers that I have can learn a little more about me.

Four Places I have lived.

• Eakly, Oklahoma
• Fort Campbell, Kentucky
• Miami, Florida
• Stuttgart, Germany

Four Jobs that I have had:

• Mommy (my favorite and most important)
• Opryland Hotel (phone center)
• Babysitter
• Grocery Store Cashier

Four of my favorite foods:

• Anything BBQ (I could live off bbq stuff)
• Sweet Potatoes
• Chicken Enchiladas
• Macaroni Salad

Four television shows that I love to watch:

• Days of Our Lives
• Dancing with the stars
• Golden Girls
• Little People, Big World/ Also The Real Estate Pros

Four Websites that I visit Daily:

• I visit more blogs than I can count
• Cozy Corner-I love this board!
• Ebay
• Kohls-I love to shop! Can’t ya’ tell!

Four things I love doing:

• Spending time with my husband and kids
• Cooking and baking
• Shopping and ebaying
• and my new favorite thing….BLOGGING!

Four Movies I could watch over and over:

• How to Lose A Guy In Ten Days
• Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
• Sweet Home Alabama
• Grease (I now, it is more of a musical)

Four places I would rather be right now:

• Shopping (which I will soon be doing, but for school supplies)
• Taking a relaxing shower or bath
• A Day Spa
• Disney World!

I hope that maybe you know a little bit more about me. I hope to get to know all of you that I can. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog. I have found over the past two weeks that Blogging is a very good outlet for me. I really enjoy it.

*Daily Thankful thought #11-I am thankful that blogs where created. Who created them anyway….THEY ARE SMART!