We’re recovering from this…

For our spring break, I loaded up the dog and the girls and we headed south.  We dropped the pup off with my mom and then went to Florida to visit my dad.  We went all over St. Petersburg and enjoyed the Rays home opening game, a trip to the beach and a visit to The Florida Aquarium.  The weather was beautiful, the food (and beer) was delicious and the company was excellent. 

I was terrified of the long drive without my husband but the girls were so, so good in the car and traffic on the way down was fine.  On the way back it was terrible but we made it safely so that’s all that matters.  The dog had fun at my mom’s making friends with her puppy and cat.  It was a great vacation for everyone.

That was a mistake!

Over the past couple of years we have made pinecone bird feeders for our feathered friends.  We were a little late getting to it this winter but we do have a regular bird feeder that is stocked all year round so it wasn’t a big deal. 

Since the girlies like to help make these feeders we took a few minutes this afternoon and spread lots of peanut butter into the pinecones and then rolled it in some bird seed.  We tied on some pretty pieces of yarn and I put them in the tree outside of my office window. I snapped a photo and came in. 

No sooner than I had shut the front door my girls yelled that we already had a visitor in the tree!  Awesome!  That was so fast.  I came into the office and lo and behold there is a squirrel attempting to reach our newly hung feeders.  The sneaky little rodent made off with one of the feeders in less than 2 minutes!  I caught him on the roof before he bolted away.

My oldest said “That’s okay.  I wanted the squirrel to have mine.  I wanted to be kind.”  Bless her little heart.  In the moments like this, where she chooses to be positive and thoughtful, I feel like I may just be doing an okay job as a mommy after all. 

I hope you are having a great weekend!

Finally Home

After feeling unsettled for the past 14 years, I am finally at home.  Being in the military and then a military spouse means you move around a bit more than the average person.  You try your best to get settled and establish routines but eventually you will have to pack it all up and start again. 

James will be retiring from the Air Force next year after 24 years of service and we discussed at length what we would do back last fall.  Retire out of Germany or take one last assignment back in the USA.  A job came up that he was qualified for at Fort Knox, KY so he applied and here we are.

We wanted to get settled in and stick around for awhile so we found a real estate agent (hi, Glen!!!) and looked at many homes.  We researched the local schools and neighborhoods and made an offer on our very first home.  Things worked out, obviously, and we moved in a few weeks ago.  I have been unpacking, painting, organizing, etc. 

I hope to share some more photos soon and even share our last 2 trips in Europe, Brussels and Venice.  I just felt the need to post and get back to blogging today.  I have missed my creative outlet a bit and look forward to establishing new routines and sharing our stories.

I hope everyone has a fantastic Tuesday!

And Then She Soared….

My oldest girl started kindergarten this morning!  I am been a bundle of mixed emotions for days now and this morning I was a tearful mommy as we left her at school.  I seriously bawled all the way back to the hotel (Yes, hotel!  We are still living out of suitcases but that is a story for another day!).  I am sure that my tears were what caused Aubrey to get a little choked up as I gave her one last hug but she but on her bravest face.

I know she will LOVE school!  I cannot wait to pick her up in a few hours and hear all about her first day of kindergarten.  I may just cry a little bit more!

Saying Goodbye

4 years ago we packed up and moved from Washington State to Germany.  It was an adventure we were looking forward to and boarded the plane full of excitement and a little bit of anxiety (traveling with a 15 month old, 3 month old and 2 cats adds a tiny touch of stress!). 

We made it and settled into our home and routines.  We were able to travel to some of Europe’s most beautiful cities and stunning countrysides.  We watched our daughters grow from babies to sweet, beautiful little ladies.  My hair has added a gray strand (or maybe 2), I went from my 20’s into the 30’s.  JG jumped into his 40’s.  We struggled as a couple and as parents.  I like to think we ended this 4 year assignment ahead of the game.  At a better point in our lives.  Maybe we all grew up a bit. 

We moved out of our home yesterday and walking away was a little bittersweet.  My girls grew up here.  All of their earliest memories will have taken place here.  They are excited to move back to the United States even though they have no idea how different life will be there.  I am happy they are embracing this time with joy rather than fear.  I wouldn’t blame if they were scared as this is a huge move for a 4 & 5 year old.  Yet, they act like they have done this a dozen times already. 

I have a huge mix of emotions as I type this.  I have loved this assignment, for the most part, and being able to live in Europe was something JG and I wanted to do.  I will miss many things about Germany but I am ready to get back to the USA!  I have grown to appreciate the slower pace of life here and I will imagine that I will miss this sooner than I expected. 

My 5 year old will start kindergarten in August so this move comes at the most perfect time.  We are ending one chapter in our lives and beginning a new, exciting one for our family.  I am looking forward to the future but will embrace these memories for the rest of my life.

Just Like Mommy!

I love Starbucks.  This is a well known fact around here.  Unfortunately for me, they are just not found in every town in Europe so my chances to get a coffee from there are few and far between.  So imagine my surprise when we came across one in Aachen, Germany a few weeks ago when we stopped on our way home from Brussels to visit their famous Dom (King Charlemagne's remains are here).

Aubrey is pretty quick to spot them for me and will even tell James that “mommy wants Starbucks”.  While we drink our Frappuccino’s, the girls usually share one of the bottled smoothies you can purchase there.  They love getting these drinks!  This time, however, I told James that we should let them share a Strawberries & Cream Frappuccino*.  Their very first drink with a green straw! 

This was huge for me so I had to snap photos of them enjoying their Starbucks.  At least they humor me.   I guess a photo was a small price to pay for their drink since it was gone in no time.  There was a small demo of some sorts going on that weekend so it made for a cute back drop and I will use these photos for my Project Life album. 

Do your kids share any of your favorites? 

Thanks for stopping by!

*For those who are not aware, there is no caffeine or coffee in this drink so don’t judge.

Still Chugging Along!

Whoa!  The past few weeks have flown by here.  Our house was packed without incident (yay!) and we have gotten settled into our house with minimal furniture.  My Jeep was shipped back to the USA, as well, and now we are a one vehicle family for a bit. 

I am still taking a photo a day for my Project Life album and even adding my journaling cards as well.  So 5 weeks in and I am still going strong!  I am writing my photo for each day down in my planner and just yesterday I downloaded a free photo editing program, Photoscape, so I can at least get my photos resized and edited to be uploaded to Shutterfly.  Photoshop Elements is just toooooo big to download to my netbook.  Even Photoscape, which is significantly smaller, slows my computer down.

Here are a few of my daily photos:

My cat enjoys the morning sunshine.  I think she is going to miss the huge windows.

Our nearly empty living room after the first day of the movers packing us up.

A little bit of excitement one Saturday in our normally quiet town.  Some faulty solar panels triggered a smoke alarm and the fire department spent about 2 hours taking care of it.  Thankfully, no one was living in the home yet and it appears there is no damage to the house. 

Next week we go on our very last European trip and I am looking forward to the destination but not the 10 hour train ride back!  It makes for an extra long day for everyone.  However, the train tickets are super affordable since the girls ride for free and you just don’t get that option when you purchase airfare tickets.  We reserve seats with a table so that helps with leg room and we all sit together. 

That’s all I got for now.  Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend!

Where has January Gone?

So it is 24 days into 2012 and things are moving along for us!  We have been busy finalizing our last few trips here in Europe before we move back to the USA in July, squeezing in a quick trip to Prague, looking at lots of dates for shipping our household goods and vehicle back, checking into local schools for the starting dates and vacations....the list just goes on and on. 

JG received his assignment notification about 2 weeks ago and we will be heading to Kentucky!  I am rather excited as I haven't lived on the eastern side of the US since I left home in 1998!  A few years in Idaho, then a few more in Washington State and 4 years in Germany and I miss being close to my family.  Now we can drive to visit them rather than fly.  Of course, that means we have to fly to see JG's parents in California but we can deal with that.  It is hard having family all over the US though as someone always feels slighted when we plan our vacations.  We cannot possibly visit everyone so maybe now people will actually come visit us.  I love my family but it sure would be nice if we were not the only ones expected to make the trips to vist as airfare for 4 is expensive and since my oldest starts school this fall we have to plan around the school vacations as well. 

I have had a few minutes to get my craft on this month and have been working on layouts, cards and crocheting a baby blanket.  I have a ton of photos to get scrapped or at the very least into albums and that is one project I need to attack before we move!  I am looking into picking up some of Becky Higgins' Project Life products just for this purpose because it should make for quick photo organization...however, that is a whole separate subject.

I made this layout for a recent Club CK 1-Hour Challenge where we were to bust out our scoring boards and use it to make something for the layout.  The papers and most of the embellishments are by October Afternoon for this one.  The ribbon isn't quite as uneven as it looks in the photo because I cannot take a straight close up photo of a layout!  Grrr.  I need to slow down a bit. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I am going to make an honest effort to blog regularly again.

The Beginnings of My December Daily Album…

***If you are here following along with the blog hop please scroll down to the next post.***

December has rolled in a bit quicker than I thought it would!  I will admit that while I don’t have all of my December Daily foundation pages complete I am about halfway through the month.  I hope to get the rest squared away this week.

This year I will not be printing my photos daily or even weekly but will wait until the end of the month and place my order through Shutterfly.  I love their print quality and the quick turn around.  Since I will have my pages ready and journaling complete I will just have to add the photos once they arrive.

My photo for December 1st is of the girls opening their Haribo advent calendar.  This year is a little bittersweet as it is our last year here in Germany.  There are some things we will miss and the Haribo calendars have become a tradition for us. 

This was about take 5 and the reindeer antlers were their idea!  I rarely get a photo with them both looking at the camera and this was just not my day.

Here is the foundation page for the photo:

Because I didn’t leave any room for journaling I will be adding a journaler by Ali Edwards that I purchased from Designer Digitals last year.  I like to add these when I am feeling long winded or want some extra space for photos. 

My December 2nd photo is of my favorite mug filled with glühwein in front of the Christmas tree.  I like Christmas tree bokeh! 

And my foundation page for the day is this:

The colors are off a bit in this one as the background is more of a pinkish color.  I am using Crate Papers Peppermint Collection for most of my album this year and I was having a bit of a hard time with it but have come to love the feel of it all.  The snowflakes are from the Peppermint Collection as well.  I had a hard time photographing the first set of pages as it has been super foggy here nearly every day and that means no morning sun for my photos. 

That’s all I have for now.  I hope to continue my December Daily updates every few days.  I always have good intentions of sharing my pages but never get around to doing so but will make a honest effort at posting them  here.

When Did This Happen?

 

What?  You mean my girls are supposed to grow up?  I didn’t get that memo!

This photo was taken just 2 years ago.  Aubrey was 2.5 years old and Lolo was 18 months.  Heck, Lolo’s hair was still too short to pull into a barrette or pig tails.

The only similarity between then and now is that JG is deployed…again!  Other than that I now have 2 little ladies now who are very excited about Halloween, they have been practicing “trick or treating” for the past year and had opinions about their costumes this time around. 

I love watching my babies grow into beautiful little girls but I swear it was just yesterday I was holding newborns.  Next year I will be sending Aubrey off to kindergarten.  I can vaguely remember what life was like before they were born but I don’t think I was as happy or fulfilled as I am now that I am their mommy. 

“Leafing” Memories Behind Blog Hop

Good morning!  Thanks for swinging by my home in cyber space as you hop along to some of my peeps’ blogs for the Leafing Memories Behind Blog Hop.  You should have arrived here from Amanda’s blog Love Joy Paper.  The theme for this hop was leaves and I knew the photos I wanted to use right away. 

We took a trip up to Dresden, Germany last fall and we found this small but beautiful courtyard in front of an old church.  The trees were a fantastic yellow and there were huge leaves all over the ground.  The girls played with the leaves while JG went up into the church.  They had so much fun!
I just purchased some Bazzill Two Scoops Cardstock in various colors to include the “Moose Tracks” (rich brown color) recently and was excited to try it out.  I lightly sanded it to expose the vanilla color beneath the brown. I didn’t add a big title because I liked the title on the journaling card so I left it at that.

Here is a list of supplies that I used for this LO:
Bazzill Basics Cardstock in Apricot
Bazzill Basics Two Scoops Cardstock in Moose Tracks
Bella Blvd Finally Fall “At the Patch” and “Cute Cuts”
Cosmo Cricket 2” Glüber for the base of my ribbon flower
American Crafts ribbon – Brown
Maya Road ribbon – Pink
Stampin’ Up! Early Espresso Ink

Here is a photo of the church so you can see why we loved this little spot.  I loved the contrast between the colors of the leaves, the blue sky with wispy clouds and the gorgeous church steeple.  I love the fall and the opportunities for getting some stunning photos! 


Thanks for hopping over today!  If you want to win some yummy German cookies and chocolate become a follower and leave me a comment telling me your favorite fall drink and I will pick a winner Sunday at 12 PST.  I love apple cider but it is hard to come by here.  I cannot wait to be back in the USA next fall so I can get some fresh cider because I really miss it!

Next stop is Ashley’s blog, Ashley’s Paper Doll.  She is über talented and I bet she has an amazing project to share with you.  If you want to join in on the fun you can create your own leafy project and link it to Amanda’s blog to win a prize of your own.

Enjoy hopping along and I hope you have a great weekend!

So it goes....

I am currently in a crafty funk.  I have several projects I want to complete and just haven't started them.  The past few scrapbook layouts have not turned out as I have wanted them to.  I finished them but didn't love them.  I think I just need to clean everything up and hope that it inspires to move onto something else.

I don't have much to share today because I spent all weekend working on a single layout :-( and I don't feel like waiting for photos to upload so I can blog about our tour of Melk Abbey in Austria.  I do want to share photos of my girls because a) I think they are beautiful girls and b) because I don't like posts without photos and c)some of my family members will see these photos and I won't have to email them (except for my brother who does not routinely check his Facebook or my blog...shame on you Josh brother!). 

I am taking Aubrey to get her very first haircut this afternoon.  We had trimmed her bangs a few times but I let them grow out because she was afraid of the hairstylist so we are long overdue to get the rest of it all trimed.  She is looking forward to it and I hope she sits still!

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you are having a fabulous Monday!

Slow Day

This weekend was a slow one and honestly my favorite kind (minus the rain we had).  We ran a couple of errands on Saturday and on Sunday I made some cards and a mess on the diningroom table in the process.  Today things are slow, including my internet, and I don't have a post planned.  I have been editing and uploading some photos from April and thought I would share my favorites of JG and the girls from the month.


Lolo on her 3rd Birthday



Aubrey in Bruges, Belgium



JG in Bruges, Belgium

I have photos from Vienna and the Melk Abbey that I am excited to share and will try to get them up on Wednesday.  I hope everyone has a fantastic day and thanks for swinging by today!

You Are My Sunshine

This photo of Lolo is one of my very favorites of my baby girl.  We had just set up their small pool last summer and she was having such a good time in the water. She paused for just a second to stare at something and I snapped the photo.  The lighting was perfect and her face so sweet. 

I used bits of Echo Park's Summer Days papers left over from the layout I did for Aubrey's album.  I used a May 2011 Page Maps sketch as my starting point.  I stayed pretty true to the sketch and loved the outcome.  I really feel the papers help the photo stand out and I also like the contrast in colors.

I love this easy, quick and fun layout.  I have become a huge fan of Echo Park and they have really been knocking it right out of the park with their releases.  I can't wait to see what they come out with next.

Sweet Summer Day Layout

I really liked this weeks sketch from Sketchy Thursdays and I had plenty of time to play along.  I used fun papers and embellishments from Echo Park's Summer Days collection.  The bright colors in the supplies perfectly complimented the photo.  I used the computer to type my journaling, something I haven't done in a while.  I thought about adding some machine stitching along the outer edge but didn't feel like dragging out the machine so I used a pink colored pencil to add a thin border.  To make the sun cardstock sticker pop I put it on white cardstock, trimmed away the access and added some foam squares to the lift it off the page. 

To be honest, sketches and challenges help keep my scrappy mojo going.  I have ton of photos and lots of product in my stash but I over think what I want to do and then end up not getting anything done.  Having a starting point makes things so much easier for me.  I don't stress about the process and I enjoy scrapping again.  While I may not love every single layout I am thankful that I finished a page and can share the story.  Isn't that the reason why most of us scrapbook?  To share the story?  I sometimes lose sight of that but when my girls ask to look at their scrapbooks I love my hobby even more.  Because I know it matters, at least to them.  And that is all that matters to me. 

Sticking With It...

I posted last week about our quest to eat more vegetarian meals for dinner most days of the week.  I have suprised myself with how much I love the challenge and enjoy feeding my family healthier meals.  Here are some of the recipes I have tried recently. 

This salad was inspired by a salad I used to get at Panera during the summer.  So yummy and very simple.  When I make salads I usually toss the lettuce with the dressing before adding the toppings in.  I prefer this way because I use less dressing as it is right on the lettuce and not all over rest of the fruits, veggies, and cheese.  These ingredients are yummy on their own and don't need to be covered in dressing to taste good.

For this salad I used a bag of Romaine lettuce and tossed it with about 1/2 cup of Poppy Seed dressing until the lettuce was coated.  I added 1/4 cup of toasted walnuts, sliced strawberries, blueberries and a little bit of feta cheese to the top.  Easy, very delicious and everyone eats it.  It doesn't get better than that. 

I found the recipe for this Grilled Mushroom Salad from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison.  I borrowed this cookbook from the library and I am really glad I did it has so many great recipes that I can't wait to try.  Because I obviously can't keep the library book indefinitely I had to order my own copy from Amazon.  This salad was delicious and we all loved it. 

Here is the recipe, with my modifications because I could not locate a couple of the ingredients at the commissary. 

1 large shallot, finely diced

Salt and fresh pepper

1 tbsp aged red wine vinegar

2 large portobello mushroom caps

Olive oil for the mushrooms

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 bag of arugula salad mix (original recipe calls for watercress)

3 tbsp walnuts, toasted and chopped

Dice the shallot and put it in a bowl with 1/4 tsp of salt and the vinegar and set aside.  Brush the mushroom caps with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill or broil the caps for about 4 minutes on each side, then cut into wide strips.  Whisk the 3tbsp of olive oil into the shallots/vinegar and season with pepper.  Toss the mushrooms with 1 tbsp of the dressing and then add the rest to the arugula and walnuts and toss until coated.  Divide the greens and then arrange the mushroom slices on each serving.  Serves 2 to 4.

I made a pear and apple salad that wasn't my favorite recipe of the week and that one is going into the recycle bin. It was edible but just not my cup of tea. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Delish!

We have recently decided to add more vegetarian meals into our lives and this week I have done a bit of recipe searching to find some new things to add to the menu.  I found a recipe for a Fresh Tomato and Zucchini Tart with Mozzarella and Basil from The Best of Cooking Light cookbook.  I decided to give it a go and was pleasantly surprised at how delicious this was! 

Here is my take on the recipe:

Fresh Tomato and Zucchini Tart with Mozzarella and Basil

1 10 oz can refrigerated pizza crust dough (I used Pillsbury)

1 cup diagonally sliced zucchini

4 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch slices (I only used 2)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced (I used a light version with fantastic results)

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves

1 tsp garlic seasoning, such as Johnny's Great Ceasar! Garlic Spread Seasoning  (I love this and use it on pasta,  popcorn, salads and garlic bread.  I have even seasoned meat with this before.  Good stuff!)

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Unroll dough onto the paper and let it sit for 5 minutes.  Pat the dough into a 12x12 inch square.  Brush 1 tsp of the olive oil over the crust and sprinkle the garlic seasoning over the crust.  Arrange the zucchini and tomato over the dough, leaving a 1 inch border.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and fold the edges of the dough over the veggies.  You just want to form a small lip, not cover all the veggies.

3.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and then top the tart with the fresh mozzarella and bake another 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.  Remove the tart from the oven and drizzle with the remaining 1 tsp of olive oil then sprinkle the basil over the top.  Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before cutting into 4 squares.  Serves 4.

This was an easy and fast dinner and the portions are large.  The olive oil came out a little fast so I may have gotten a little extra but it tasted fine.  James at his like a pizza and found his hands to be greasy from the oil but I ate mine like a lady and used a fork and knife and did not think the tart was oily at all.  The girls liked it and that makes me happy. 

Anyone have any yummy yet healthy vegetarian dishes to share? 

Happy 3rd Birthday Lolo!

Three years ago Lorelei made her grand entrance into the world at exactly 4:30 in the morning!  My life has been filled with so much love and our family complete since that very moment.

This girl was tiny compared to her big sister (nearly 2 pounds lighter) and had a lot less hair.  When she was about 4 months old she started to get chubby cheeks and sweet fat rolls on her arms and legs but had nearly no hair until she was about 18 months.

She loves to be with both Mommy and Daddy...If her daddy is doing push-ups, she is too. If I am cooking in the kitchen she is right beside me.  She will sit and look at books and get lost in her own little world for long stretches of time.

Lolo has become a fun little lady who makes me laugh all day long. She is the most independent girl I have ever known and is always saying "I do". She is not a morning person and likes to sit quietly for a bit when she first wakes up.

Lolo adores her sister and is always the first to compromise.  She loves to play dress up and can usually be found wearing a dress and fancy shoes around the house.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Lolo!  I love you so very much and we are blessed beyond words that you are a part of our lives.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The Post Where I Ramble On and On....

The past week has been busy, as a matter of fact, the entire month of March was busy!  James had training for nearly the entire month.  He spent some time back in the States for training and a quick weekend visit with his parents and son.  I was holding down the fort here and planning a lunch for some friends. 

On Thursday we had a small flood in the laundry room and found we needed to replace the rubber seal on the front loading washer.  That was the second time in a year we have had a tear in the seal.  We do not wash anything crazy so I am not sure why we keep getting holes in it.  Since the Army loans us appliances while we are stationed here I am not complaining too much because we don't have to pay for the repairs but after this I have no desire to have a front loading machine when we move back to the USA. 

Just this morning something malfunctioned with our furnace and we had no hot water or heat.  Fortunately, the weekend was warm and we didn't need the heat last night but we will be dipping back into the low 40's tonight and I like to use the heat at when it is that cold.  The landlord and the repairman just left and it is all fixed.

So that is a low down of the every day stuff in my life.  Since I was rather busy last month I didn't get a chance to be too crafty.  I finished a project for a Spring Blog Hop I am participating in this week and I can't wait to share it on Friday.  I am so happy with the way it turned out. 

I also made a birthday card for my friend's niece and I liked the way it came together.  I used some paper from my stash and the Cricut Create A Critter cartridge.  I added lots of bling and some Stickles for a glam card for a 1 year old.  I was inspired by a card made by the fabulous Maren Benedict from the March/April issue of Paper Crafts.  Unfortunately I have misplaced my issue and can't give a page number. 

Thanks for reading this rambling blog post today.  I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and a wonderful Monday!

Happy 4th Birthday Aubrey!

Four years ago today my life changed forever.  I became a mommy!  Aubrey is an amazing girl, so much like her mommy and daddy it kills me sometimes.  She wears her heart on her sleeve, just like me.  She is not afraid of much, always willing to jump off something or try new things, just like her daddy.  She loves hard, takes care of others and can be so thoughtful that I am blown away by the gestures.  She learns fast like James and is moody just like him too.  And this girl has some serious dance moves....she does not get that from me :-)  She really is the best of both of us!

Four years ago I felt a love that was so strong, so deep, so unconditional and I never imagined I could love someone so much.  Happy 4th Birthday Aubrey!  You bring so much love and joy into our lives and we are blessed beyond words.