Sasha's Sass

Well HELLO world!

2009-10-07T21:58:00.002+03:00

Just a quick update of our lives. My computer is still crashed, and I've been using the internet on my phone (which DOESN'T do blogger...BOOOOO!) so, it's just a tidbit while using my inlaws computer.
Maleah is LOVING kindergarten. She's playing soccer, and loving that, too. Looking forward to Halloween, and winter. She's awesome!!! Hope to post pics soon. :-s
Jaden is enjoying time with mommy and daddy WITHOUT sissy (read: only child time! woo hoo!) He's talking sooo much, and growing like a weed. He, too, is awesome!
Me, I'm NOT crafting as much as I'd like, but have been enjoying working at Michaels craft store, and being a mommy to a busy kindergartener, and an even busier 2 year old. I, unfortunately, am NOT as awesome as the kiddos.
Justin is back home, and currently looking for a job. ugggg... wish him luck with that one! We're loving having our family all together again, but hating the finacial situation. blahhh, and NOT awesome. But, we're hangin' in there. :-)
Like I said, I'm hoping to post pics soon. And looking forward to having more time to read all of my friend's amazing and inspiring blogs....miss you all out there in blogland... :-( sniff sniff

good golly....

2009-08-21T06:54:00.008+03:00

Ok, so it's been a LONG time since I've posted anything other than photos for the iHeartFaces website. Dang! I'm a HORRIBLE blogger! So, this post is probably going to be chock full of pictures, to do a bit of catching up :-) My mom likes to see pics of the kiddos, so if you aren't interested, you might as well stop here! If don't mind seeing a couple of the cutest kids in creation, ENJOY! (I KNOW you will, mom! We miss you, and can't wait to see YOUR pictures!!)
There has been LOTS of water play...

Trips to the coast, Central Oregon, waterfalls, fairs and festivals...
Lots and lots of growing (way too quickly, in my opinion!)...

Enjoying the time as a whole family, and feeling grateful to live in such a beautiful place!

i Heart Faces Bubbles week!

2009-08-18T21:50:00.002+03:00

This website, iHeartFaces, is SO much fun! They have the best ideas for photo contests, and the people who participate are just phenomenal photograhers! This week the theme is bubbles. You'd be amazed at some of the creative pictures I've seen. I know mine is not even NEAR as amazing as most of them, it's still fun to share :-D So check out the site, and enjoy!

Another go at it!

2009-08-12T06:57:00.002+03:00

This week on iHeartFaces it's funny silly faces week. Here's a photo of Maleah playing with her "spy kit" Aaaaah, my goofy gal!

iHeartFaces beach week!

2009-07-27T21:58:00.005+03:00

Ok, so I said before I have a lot of feet pics? Well, I have a LOT of beach pics. Guess that's what happens when you live on the Arabian Gulf for a year, then move back home to Oregon (which, in my opinion, has THE most BEAUTIFUL coast...our Oregonian word for beach!)So, this week on iHeartFaces, they've asked for beach photos! Here is my entry for the contest for Week 29. This was Valentines Day 2009, in Newport Oregon. Maleah's first kite flying experience! What a great day!

iHeartFeet!

2009-07-20T06:29:00.009+03:00

...no really, I do (heart feet, that is!) At least the photos I take would say that I do. So after having posted 2 different headers with feet in them, and being told I should check out the site iHeartFaces, I decided to GO for it. Of course, I didn't post either of the pics I'd originally planned. This one (below) is one of my all time favorites, though! It's of Jaden (at 7 months) with Justin, in the water at Sharjah Beach, United Arab Emirates. It was his first time in the "ocean" (although technically it's the Persian Gulf/Arabian Gulf...depends who you ask.) I took this picture on Valentines Day, 2008. What a great day, with LOTS of amazing pics to remember it by! :-)

(thanks, Corrinea, for the idea! You're AWESOME!!!)

FINALLY!!!!

2009-07-19T00:36:00.005+03:00

Ok, so the pronunciation of the fabulous store Ikea is much debated. If you're in Germany, it's E-kayah. Here in America it's I-key-a. So I've always wanted to know how to pronounce it correctly (the Swedish way!) I even went so far to contact customer service, to which their answer was "Well, it's pronounced many different ways!" Huh, really?!? gaaaaa...
My super amazing mom was recently in Sweden, and got this for me!

To me, that sounded like "Ickyah" What do you think??

THANKS MOM!!! Yet another reason why YOU ROCK! :-)

Cupcakes for breakfast?!?

2009-07-18T20:19:00.004+03:00

Today is Maleah and Jaden's REAL birthday! Last night while the kiddos were sleeping, I put up some balloons, made cupcakes, and put together little gift bags to help celebrate this morning. Yes, they really did have cupcakes for breakfast! Hey, it's their birthday! ;)

Since they got SO many great gifts at their party, we decided just to give them little gift bags full of party favors. Happy Happy Birthday, babies! Mommy and Daddy love you SO much! :-D

**The cupcakes aren't wonky, they're heart shaped! ;-)**

Our first family camping trip

2009-07-18T07:30:00.004+03:00

Justin is leaving again tomorrow (Saturday) for Maryland. He'll only be gone for about a week and a half or so, but we decided to do something fun as a family before he left. We headed about 15 minutes from our house to a place called Fern Ridge Dam. It was our first camping trip as a family, and apart from the mosquitos, it was a great time!

Gotta have my toasted bagel in the morning! :-)

Maleah's turning 5, and Jaden's turning 2...on the same day! So what do we do?

2009-07-16T00:52:00.005+03:00

CELEBRATE!!!!!!!!

We celebrated Maleah and Jaden's birthdays this past Saturday. Their actual birthday isn't until the 18th, but Justin has to go BACK to Maryland on the 18th (for a week or so?), so we had it early. Maleah is IN LOVE with Hello Kitty right now, and since it is her 5th birthday, we decided not to do a joint themed party (like a luau, or beach party like we originally planned). So Hello Kitty and Mod Monkey it was! And we had a GREAT time! we had a pinata (big hit! No pun intended, especially since it was a pull string one! GREAT idea!)Jaden is all about efficiency...here he's opening ONE present, while trying out another!This little lady was ALL smiles, ALL day. At one point (before the pool) she did have her hair done. Oh well, that smile makes it all ok!The super duper yummy cakes (from my FAVE store and cake bakery, Market of Choice) The monkey cake was poppy seed with raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting (can you say YUM!?!?!), Maleah's cake was ALL chocolate, and the middle cake is all vanilla. I kinda got worried about not having enough! That's what happens when you get NO RSVPs from people...what has the world come to? sheesh...Jaden blew out his candles too quickly...he really wanted that monkey toy from the top! ;)

Everyone had a great time, the kids got SO many gifts (even though when asked what they needed/wanted, I let everyone know gifts weren't necessary!) Everyone was very generous! :) It's nice to know I still have almost a full year 'till the next one, though!

Aren't they CUTE?!?!

2009-06-24T07:12:00.003+03:00

Random tidbits of life right now...

2009-06-24T01:42:00.010+03:00

And I DO mean random! No rhyme or reason, just, things!

I decided to make guacamole the other day (and strawberry freezer jelly...mmm!), and it was GOOOOOOD!!! A few of the ingredients...

He did NOT like the avacado! :) But he thought the food processor was HILARIOUS!!!! See his neck bulging, he's laughing SO hard he sounded like he was crying! Kids are so silly sometimes!

and, voila! No, wait, guac is not french. Y, aqui esta! Ok, so guacamole doesn't make the most beautiful portrait, but hey...it was GOOOOOOD!!! Yes, I know, I already said that, but really, you would have to try it. But, I ate it all! ;)
This is one of the baby shower invites I said I'd post pictures of ages ago! The mommy to be LOVED them, and that made my day.
(sorry for the crappy lighting....)
Here's my J boy, who put his shirt on ALL by himself (upside down, yes, but it's ON!). No laughing at the pull up. We were given these pull ups, which we don't normally use, but he's super into the potty right now, so he's nixed the diaper idea. He was wearing underwear but then decided to go commando. On this day, the issue of pee on the floor, not so nice...so there ya go! He settled for the pull up, because it has Cars (the Disney movie) on it.
The other day at Michaels (oh my, how obsessed I am with that darn store!), I picked up the coolest little plastic lap tables for the kids. This is them playing with Jaden's blue one. They're great! They can sit on the floor with them, and there are little "cubbies" on the side for their toys/drawing stuff/whaever suits their fancy. Maleah's is pink (of course! IS there any other color in the world? Oh yeah, red. ) and is usually covered with a puzzle. And my little Me-squeek, super cheesin'! :)

Justin should be home in about a week or so. I'm so excited! It's just been frustrating because they're still not sure exactly when they'll be done (he's one of just a couple guys left on the job, and another guy is leaving this Thursday) but the daily rumor for today is that they'll be done next Wednesday. Then the issue is whether he's driving or flying home (I'm all for him flying!! Gets him here much faster!!!) so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for that, and something else exciting for today, that I'm not yet spilling the beans about, because I don't wanna have to spread the bummer news if it doesn't come out well. Just know you should be wishing me positive vibes, good luck, and all that jazz. :-D

Photos of my hubby spending father's day in Washington D.C. Lucky guy!!
This post is dedicated to our backyard buddy. <3<3<3

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T21:23:00.004+03:00

I'm sure not many fathers actually read my blog, but maybe you can pass along the message from me! :) I have to send my love and appreciation to my dad in Germany today, and my husband in Maryland (who's actually visiting DC for the day...what a great father's day!)

Claus, I appreciate all that you have done and continue to do for me and my family! You have given so much love and support, even when I deserve it the least! I'm so happy to have you in my life, and I love you. I look forward to you guys moving back here, so we can actually spend father's day with you! I'm so happy we got to spend a day with you I hope you've had a good day, and I miss you and love you!!!And to Justin, we love and miss you SO much! I appreciate how you are willing to go and do anything to support our family. You have always been the love of my life, but the moment you became a dad, I fell harder for you than I ever thought possible. You are an amazing dad and husband, and I (and the kiddos!) love you with all my heart and soul. I can't wait for you to get home!!

mmmm......

2009-06-19T23:07:00.005+03:00

Today we went to Lone Pine farms (the same local farm where we went for mother's day) to pick our own strawberries. Funny, but it wasn't just Maleah and Jaden's first time, but mine, too! We had a great time, and got some super yummy berries!

I think he may have picked one berry, but had a great time nonetheless!

She picked an entire half of a bucket to herself! She was very selective with hers!

The berry taster. They must have been good!

Gotta find JUST the right one!

I think Jaden had more interest in entertaining his best buddy Aiden (and trying to share berries!)

We got lots of sweets! Not just berries, but candy sticks, and flavored honey tubes! We're gonna have to take it slow, since I alone have already just about made myself sick on fresh berries! I may look up a recipe for making freezer jam, so all the yumminess doesn't go to waste!

I guess it's been a while!

2009-06-17T20:47:00.005+03:00

Well! Time seems to be passing quickly! It's been almost a month since my last post. Sheesh! We've been normally busy, so I'm not sure why the lack of posting, but hey! That's life sometimes I guess. Since my last post, I've been hanging out with friends, enjoying (for the most part, especially with water around) the weather, eating lots of BBQ, hosted a baby shower, started thinking about serious summer plans, gotten down to about a week and a half 'till my hubby comes home, and turned a year older. There has been so much more going on, but those are the things that come to mind. Loving hanging out with these two little monkeys! :) Golfing with the girls for Leah and my birthdays. (my friend Leah's birthday is the day after mine.) SO much fun, even for it being my first time golfing.

I was spoiled this year!!!

Super sneaky GORGEOUSNESS from my mom, made by the amazing Jenny (thanks again, Jenny!!)

I have such great friends, who know me so well!! :)

My new love... OH.MY.GOSH!!! This is amazingly delicious. THANK YOU JAHRED!!!!! And me, at 28, full of happiness for such great family and friends! :)

aaaah, the warmth....

2009-05-26T19:03:00.006+03:00

We have really been enjoying the weather! It's been super warm, which means it's just perfect for water play with the cousins!!! My kids seem to have evolved into fish! I don't recall Maleah ever being so keen on the water, even in nastily hot Kuwait. Very exciting, let me tell you! It's going to be a GOOD summer!

This past weekend was a whole lot of fun! Friday night, I took the kiddos to my best buddy Jahred's house for their first campout! Maleah slept in a tent for the first time and LOVED it! Jaden, well, he slept in the house in his porta crib, with the window open so we could hear him. It was just a tad too cold for the little man to have the full experience yet! Saturday we joined our friends and their families for a bbq at their house. Maleah spent the entire couple of hours running, jumping and rolling with a great 7 year old little lady. Unfortunately, I was too busy following Jaden to take pics! Sunday was a family bbq at my inlaw's house. Again, lots of kids! It was great, but again, no pics of Maleah (she wouldn't even sit still long enough to eat!) Aaaah, the energy of youth. And to round out the fun, food, family and friend packed weekend, I had a bbq at my house on Memorial day. I think I ate an entire farm worth of fruit and green salad this weekend! Yet another reason I LOVE this time of year. Now if that cool evening breeze would stay around!

The boys gettin' in to the water baloons at Nana and Papa's house.

Maleah relaxing after a long day of water and fun in the sun!

Perfect ending to a perfect weekend! Strawberry shortcake! mmmmmm

Shortcake face!

Cheeks full of shortcake, and super sleepy eyes!

And a look at what's growing around the house,other than the kids!

My primroses are still hangin' on!

I LOVE my fuschias!!

Berries are turning pink!

And getting big!

The only pic I took all weekend of the great food we had! mmmmm

a super cool giveaway!

2009-05-19T19:22:00.002+03:00

Ok, so the incredibly talented Katelyn is having a super cool giveaway! If you don't already know her, check her out! And while you're checking out super cool and talented gals, check out Jenny, and her shop too! She makes THE most beautiful jewelry!!! With all that amazing talent back in Stuttgart, it makes me miss living there even more!

not much to report....

2009-05-16T21:00:00.004+03:00

There hasn't been too much going on lately. We're pretty boring, with random short bursts of excitement. My father in law came and mowed our lawn this morning. Why didn't I do it? Well, other than us NOT owning a lawn mower, it needed a tractor. No, not a little riding lawn mower tractor, like an actual tractor! Yeah, it was almost as tall as my sholders, which actually isn't that tall. But in grass standards, it IS!!
So after having my grass cut, I now have a huge list building of things I want to do with our yard! We're hosting a baby shower here in about 2 weeks*, so I gotta get on it! Whew! I'm excited!!! So, I'll be shopping around for all the fun things I need (you know, bark mulch, lattice, plants all that "FUN" stuff!) YAY!!!
So now I'm off, to enjoy the 80+ degree weather we're expecting today, go shopping for yard stuff, and then go make smores with my friends tonight! I always say how much I hate warm weather, but you know what? I DON'T!! Just as long as it's not "Africa hot!" ;). Or Kuwait hot, something I actually have experience with! ugggg... Yet another reason I LOVE Oregon!

*I've been working on the invites to this baby shower, and after meeting with my friend this weekend to see if she likes them, I'll post pics of them! :) Of course I know they won't be as amazing as the awesome invites Jess did, but hey! We do what we can, right? :)

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-11T06:38:00.009+03:00

This morning I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. My hubby didn't remember to tell me happy mother's day, AND he's really far away, AND I didn't have my mom around AND... then I figured out why it really IS a happy mother's day for me, and I have NO reason to feel sorry for myself.

These two! These little ones are the reason I breathe, the reason I get out of bed every morning, even when I want to just pull the covers over my head and never get up. The are my sunshine on a rainy day, the wind that lifts my spirits. They are my world! Yes, there are times I just want to run and hide, change my name to something OTHER than mommy for 5 minutes, scream at the tops of my lungs. But they are so fun. So smart. So funny. So full of life, and love, and energy. And they are mine. Forever! And for that, I am a happy happy mommy, and it's a happy happy day!

This happy day we spent at a local farm. It was a lot of fun! We saw some animals, played on the playground, "mined" for gemstones, ate ice cream, and just enjoyed being together.

aaaand, a pic of the giant fuschia plant from my kiddos. I LOVE it! :)

just, HAPPY!

2009-05-10T06:43:00.004+03:00

It's been a good couple of days! Yesterday, it finally warmed up and dried out! The kids and I wanted to head to a local farm, but it wasn't yet open for the season. So instead, we went to a park. They had a great time, but how can you NOT on a day like this! That evening, I got a babysitter (YAY for great inlaws!) and spent some great quality time with a good friend. MUCH needed mommy time!

Maleah will be starting school this fall, at a new charter school in the area. It's VERY exciting! They are in the process of hiring a couple of new teachers, and asked for some volunteer students to help in the interviewing process (by attending mini-lessons taught by the different candidates) SO, Maleah was able to go to "practice" school today, as kind of a taste of what she's getting into! Oh my goodness, I can't believe how fast my babies are growing up!!

This morning, THIS was delivered to my house!

It is honestly the BIGGEST hanging fuschia plant I've ever seen! And all the card said was "from Maleah and Jaden" ooooh, mysterious! :)

I want to send a gigantic, full of love, "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!" to everyone out there. Even if you aren't a mother, have a happy day! Because chances are, one day you will be a mom, OR you play a very special part in someones life, for which you deserve appreciation!

And to my mom, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!!! I miss you so much, and wish you the best today!

a woman obsessed....

2009-05-08T21:07:00.004+03:00

Ok, so for some reason, I was drawn to the moon last night. It's been SO cloudy and rainy lately, and finally the moon peaked out, and it was gorgeous! So I grabbed the camera to try to get a decent picture of it. These were a few of the better ones. Again, I MUST say, I need a new camera! The whole point and shoot, not so fun! I took more than 40 pics, and ended up with these so so ones. BUT, I like 'em, and the sky last night made for a B-E-A-UTIFUL day today. And on that note, we're off to the farm! :)

(I wouldn't suggest clicking on them for a larger image...they are pretty grainy!)

What I've been doing INSTEAD of crafting...

2009-05-07T07:25:00.006+03:00

I watched Bottle Shock last night, and it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! I definately recommend it! Sit back, with a good glass of wine (or two, three, four...whatever) and enjoy!

I've also recently watched The Secret Life of Bees, and enjoyed that as well. It was a book I read with a book club, and I really liked the book. It's been a while, so I can't compare how well it fit the book, but it was a good movie!
hmmm... what else have I seen that I'd recommend?Well, I'm going to be watching Seven Pounds soon, since I rented it a while ago, and have YET to watch it. I was told by the movie rental guy that HE thought it was the best movie of the year, so we'll see! It looks good, so here's hoping it lives up to its reputation.

Now, I'm off to watch, well, tv instead of my movie, still! Aaaaand go into panic mode because I CAN'T FIND MY CAMERA!!!!! AAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKKKK!

that girl of mine...

2009-05-07T07:09:00.003+03:00

Oh, my Maleah. She is so caring, and sweet, and loving, even when I deserve it the least.

Today she saw a commercial about Mother's day, and she asked if it was talking about my birthday. I told her no, it's a special day for mommies! Since Justin is gone, we're not really doing the whole "Mother's Day" thing. Soooo, she says, "I want to get you a present for mommy's day!" I told her she didn't have to, to which she said,"Ok, your present will be kisses. And hugs!"

Could my heart melt any more?

My baby girl, I love love LOVE you, so much more than words can say. :)

I did it!

2009-05-01T05:09:00.003+03:00

Before...And after...Aaaah, my little baby man! I finally had the courage to take him and get his hair cut!I'm a little bummed all his gorgeous curls are gone, but hey, they may grow back! He's SO hansome!!! The barber shop gave him a certificate for his "first haircut" It was not technically his first, but was his first from a barber shop. Mama (what the kiddos call my mom, instead of grandma) gave him his first haircut! Sorry the pic is so bad...

The great view from my mailbox. I love it! Lucky to have the camera in my pocket today.This girl of mine will work on a puzzle until it's complete. She takes a break here and there, and often has to fight off her brother, but she loves her puzzles! The first pic was early this morning, and the other two were from this afternoon. She decided to move the puzzle to a higher table, so it wouldn't be as easy for Jaden to reach! :)

Bad puke, go away. I don't want you!

2009-04-29T23:51:00.004+03:00

That's what Maleah said this morning, after having been sick the past 24 or so hours. I was inspired by Jennifer keeping track of her cutie's cute sayings, then Maleah said that! HA!

Poor little pooh! It appears to have been a 24 hour bug, though! She seems to be feeling so much better! Thank goodness... Here's hoping Jaden and I don't get it. I'm just amazed. Our sweet little kiddos are NEVER sick. I mean really, they don't get sick! Then Justin leaves, and BAM-O! Sickies galore. And such nice timing for her to get flu like symptoms, with the buzz about the swine flu! sheesh! But, she's feeling better, I'm a happy camper, and we're good! :)My little princess, sleeping off the icky sickies!
Jaden, showing his beaver pride (Oregon State University mascot, for any non-Oregonians out there! Poor souls...)
Now I can work on this more! Woo hoo! And maybe I'll actually watch the movie I rented for myself the other night.... Baby Mama...hope it's good. If not, don't tell me yet! I hope to watch it tonight! NO SPOILERS!! ;)
And yes, I know, I know... I ought to stop blabbing on about my man being gone, and oh woe is me, but you know.... I won't! :) That's just me.

trying out our green thumbs

2009-04-28T00:52:00.004+03:00

Well, we finally got around to planting the strawberry and fuschia plants we picked up LAST week! They are probably much happier now! The kids had a great time, and Maleah is hoping to do more soon.

It's been hard not to just run out an buy a ton of garden supplies, especially since she's so interested (and I LOVE having a nice garden). However, we've held back. We are currently renting our house from my father in law, and it's up for sale. We didn't want to get things in the ground, get all excited about them, and then have to move because the house has sold. But, it looks like we may be able to do a little garden, since some things have come up recently that may mean we won't have to move for a while. I'd love to do some raised beds... So we'll see! But for today, the berries and fuschia will do! Though by this weekend, I may have to run to the store for more garden supplies! ;)

Safari!

2009-04-26T07:07:00.006+03:00

Today the kids and I traveled with my brother and sister in law, and their two kidlets south a couple of hours to Wildlife Safari! It's a giant drive through wildlife preserve, with ALL sorts of animals, including lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!) There is even the random llama...

I haven't been there since I was pregnant with Maleah, and it was SO much fun!! Everyone had a great time, and it was so nice to spend time with a part of my family that we missed so much while overseas. They are awesome, and we all look forward to spending more time together. It's especially nice that the kids LOVE each other, all 4 of them!

They are such good friends! Maleah and her cousin, Nathan
Elk Nathan, entertaining Jaden

Too funny!
The Elephant Car wash
My beautiful niece, Emme

My awesome little nephew, Nathan
Maleah being a monkey
...and a "little lamb"
Time to take our wild animals home!

quilting!

2009-04-24T08:30:00.004+03:00

Well, finally! After being uber exhausted dealing with sick kiddos, getting adjusted (as best as I can) to the hubby being gone, I finally got to my quilt! Last night I cut strips, today I sewed them together, and tomorrow I'm on a hunt for an iron and ironing board. Yes, I know, INSANE that I don't own one. Don't make fun of me! Apparently we love wrinkle proof clothing, or we're always in a state of wrinkled disarray. Hmmm.
So, that's my update for the day...

Hopefully there will be more to post tomorrow!Jaden trying to drink my coffee (but it's empty!)

My white haired afro boy! (hehehe, Jennifer! I know, he needs a haircut! We'll get there!)

Maleah was NOT in a picture mood at this time...

Happy Earth Day!!

2009-04-22T19:26:00.006+03:00

Wherever you are today, take a minute to look around you, and appreciate this planet we live on, and all it has to offer. I think everyday should be earth day! I hope everyone takes at least today to do a little something green, and use it as a start to be more environmentally aware in your everyday life! :)

tree photo: moon~Goddess~Earth

sunset over water photo: eye2eye

foggy hills photo: jon.noj

Green heart leaf photo: Shabbir Ferdous

bird photo: makeupanid

prairie animals photo: etrusia_uk's

butterfly photo: khasan

our adventure today...

2009-04-21T02:31:00.006+03:00

We decided to soak up some more sun today, while it lasts. We took a drive up the mountain to Alsea Falls, just about 15 miles or so from our house. It was so beautiful! Warm, full of sun, and great hiking. We spent a good couple of hours up there, had lunch, and just relaxed. Another great day (minus the fact that the hubby was missing, of course!)
LOVE these two! My Katrina and Aiden Lee...thanks for the fun, guys!

Sunday

2009-04-20T03:05:00.002+03:00

This is just about what I'm feeling, right here.

Just hangin' in there (mostly).

Things have been so-so since Justin left on Wednesday. The night he left, Jaden got incredibly sick. And I mean SICK, like up all night puking, or dry heaving, and just miserable. Things were seeming to get better, until Saturday morning, he threw up all over the kitchen floor. That was the last straw for me, so I called my doctors office, frantically hoping that they have Saturday hours, and THEY DO! Yay! So in we went, to find that he has a horrible ear infection, which is causing all the other yuckiness. phew... Even though an ear ache is no fun, it's better than not knowing what it is, or when it might get better. So now with the antibiotics, and hopefully more energy at night so I can actually get on the crafting kick. sigh....

Today was gorgeous. It's just now 5:15 p.m. and still 73 degrees. Warm! So we decided to hop in the car, and go.

Our original plan was to go to a park down in Eugene, but on the way we saw that one of the local farms was open for the season (YAY!!) so we stopped. We picked out a beautiful fuschia (my favorite summer flower) and a 6 pack of strawberry plants. The kiddos has a good time. Maleah has a lot of interest in plants, and farming, and all that, so we'll be feeding that this spring and summer. The other super awesome local farm opens the first of May, so we'll be headed there soon enough.So, as much as I'm HATING my husband being gone (damn, but the night time kills me! SO lonely... sigh...) we're doing ok. At least I have two adorable, adventurous and fun little parts of him here with me to keep me company, keep me busy, and for the most part, sane!

bring it on!

2009-04-15T23:00:00.007+03:00

9:45 a.m. (goodbye daddy!)9:45 a.m. and 30 seconds9:46 a.m.

9:55 a.m. (heLLO mommy's waterproof mascara! Have you met the loveseat yet? Let me introduce you!!)

Justin left this morning for Maryland. The exact length of time he'll be gone is yet unknown (2-4 months?) As long as it takes to build a Costco Depot, whatever that is! Hopefully something small, but it doesn't sound small! Anyone who might be reading this knows I suck at Justin being gone. I just get all gooey, and sad, and fidgety, and blah!

But this time, I say time and lonliness, BRING IT ON!!! I've come prepared! I've got my fabric, patterns, glue sticks, sewing machine, scissors, thread, and a FAT stack of scrap paper. I've got recipes, sunshine, happy kiddos and parks. I've got everything I need, and all just to take you on...

so come on...

I double jelly roll dare ya'!

What we've been up to

2009-01-21T20:55:00.007+03:00

The four new scrap pages I finished the other day (had such a great time, Leah and Katrina, I got the bug again!)

Our last minute trip to the coast. Oh my gosh, it was SO warm and beautiful! I was hot in a t-shirt and capris. Of course, coming home, it was about 20 degrees here in the valley at night. Gotta love Oregon, with it's variety of weather!

So that's about it, trying to be crafty, trying to get a job (agggg!), lots of family time. Justin hard at work at school. Kids growing like weeds! Lovin' the fact that we have a NEW president!!! woo hoo! Looking forward to all this new year has in store for us!

and a kajoijf lkdfjej in a bad dream.....

2008-12-24T03:29:00.000+03:00

We have been hearing we're going to get more snow, but we're still waiting! All we've got right now is RAIN, which I usually LOVE, except when it's a choice between rain and snow. So with the hope of snow in our minds, we decided to take the kids to Corvallis (also known as "Go Beavers Go!" by Maleah!) last night to look at the christmas lights.
See, when I say we live in an itty bitty city, I'm not lying. Since we left here, they've updated the population sign, which now says there are now 680 people living here. Needless to say, there are not too many houses, at least not close enough together, for doing the drive by light lookin'. Instead, we drive "into town" as the locals all say, usually Corvallis (a 30 minute drive) or Eugene (about 30-35 minute drive) to check out lights. Last night, it was Corvallis. There is a Pepsi dstribution center there, and every year since we've been in Oregon, they've always got the best light display. In fact, the night of our wedding (6 years ago on the 28th! woo hoo!) we went through it in our limo! Haha, good times. :)
One of the greatest things in the display is the Twelve Days of Christmas part. There are painted bells ringing over painted pictures of each gift from the song. And of course, you have to have all the windows down to hear the song! So, Maleah was singing along as best she could (apparently we suck, and have yet to teach her Christmas songs!), and we get to the partridge in a pear tree, and we hear, "And a (not sure what she was saying) in a bad dream!" We were laughing SO hard, but quietly so she would feel silly. She said it each time! It was great!
So now, while we wait for snow and teach Maleah Christmas songs, and while I scurry to finish binding a quilt that is a Christmas gift, I wish you all a warm, merry and bright Christmas, and very very happy new year, with wishes for all the best, and lots of GOOD dreams, whatever may be in them!

a very special tree!

2008-12-17T04:18:00.005+03:00

This year I wanted to put a little tree in the kids room, and was SO excited to come across these vintage ornaments that belonged to my great grandparents! I had forgotten that I even had them. I was going through all the stuff that's been packed away for the past 4 years, and was ecstatic when I found them. They are absolutely beautiful! All the tree ornaments are made of brightly painted wood, and include sledders, a parachuting Santa (one of my favorites!), clowns, snowmen, and toys. The other couple of things I put in their room is the velvet covered Santa above (so jolly!) and the ceramic painted angel. I'm so happy to be able to share such beautiful and special things with my kiddos, and tell them where they came from. :)

my therapy

2008-12-17T03:42:00.006+03:00

Well, it's been way too long! I'm sick up to my eyebrows with technology issues! Our Xbox 360 died, the door won't stay on the battery compartment of one of our digital cameras which makes it nearly useless! And, we just had to get a new hard drive for our not even one year old computer. gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Ok, now maybe I should look at it another way! I'm ON my computer, so at least it was something fixable! I've learned to hold the batteries in long enough to get at least a couple pics! And, we do have two. Maybe it'll push my hubby to someday get me the big fancy one I'm dreaming of! And, well, if we were sittin' around playing Xbox, we'd be missing out on the beauty all around us right now!

Aaaaahhhhh, much better. I guess that's the meaning of count your blessings :) Hope you are all doing well, and enjoying this holiday season!

starting to feel a crafting itch...

2008-12-01T01:03:00.005+03:00

I've been inspired by so many great holiday ideas lately! My super awesome friend (who I miss SO much!) Jenny P. , has been making the CUTEST felt ornaments! Then, I received a Better Homes and Garden crafting ideas email, so the itch got to be too much to handle! I had to scratch it! I decided to make felt ornaments that I will use as tags on presents (to discourage peekers, since only I know who each ornament is for!) I drew out what I wanted to make, cut it all out, started to machine sew them (man, a Brother does NOT even compare to a Bernina....sigh....),and needless to say, I fudged that all up! So I had to resort to the good ol' hot glue gun! Yes, I know you can see that in some places, but the next round, I'll do better! I've got a couple more to make, so I better get to it!

Around the house...

2008-11-25T23:17:00.006+03:00

Home sweet home

2008-11-24T23:15:00.004+03:00

It's with a bit of mixed emotions that I post this. I'm ecstatic to be home in Oregon, with our friends and family. I forgot just how much beauty there is, how easy it is to get people to smile at you, and how fresh the air is. Aaaaaah....

But I am really missing my family in Germany, and wishing I had spent more time with the great people I know from there. I hope you are all having a great week, and I wish you all the best as the holidays approach.
I'll be checking back in more often, but I don't have my crafting stuff here, so it might just be with pics and stories about my adorable family! ;)

I LOVE you Jennifer!

2008-10-18T11:41:00.003+03:00

yes, well there are so MANY reasons to love you, Jennifer, but this is the lastest!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all your help, inspiration (and most of all, patience!!) in helping me make Maleah's shirt! She LOVES it! She was so excited to put it on today! I can't wait to make another! And oh my, am I gonna be in trouble when the new Oliver + S fall patterns are around! I'm dreaming of a corduroy jacket christmas! hehehe... we'll see how that goes :)

workin' on my tan...

2008-10-16T11:23:00.002+03:00

Ok, NOT really. Just a few pics of something I've been working on for a while... ok, LONG while! I've finally got a couple letters done! Now, only 9 more to go ;) I'll post more as I get them done. I'm not tellin' what it is, though. Just in case I don't get it done by the time I want to! hehehe....
Oh yes, sorry for the bad color/lighting... It's a tad dark today, but I still wanted to take pics.

As the sun sets for one, a new dawn breaks for another

2008-10-15T17:52:00.005+03:00

What an amazing feeling of happiness a new baby brings. We had the joy of hearing of the arrival of our new niece, Emme Ruth on Tuesday. We look forward to meeting her, and watching her grow, in love, happiness and surrounded by family.

But today, my heart grows heavy, when I found that I have to say goodbye to my Opa. He passed away early this afternoon, in his sleep. Though it's incredibly sad, I feel peace. He's no longer sick. He's no longer lost feeling so dependent on others, when he's always been such a strong an independent man. He no longer has to miss my Oma every day and night since she passed away a few months ago. He can go now, to be with her. Though we'll miss him immensely, we'll be happy remembering all the great memories we shared, the example that he was, and what a long an amazing life he lived.

We love and will miss you Opa, and Oma!

good golly....

2008-10-13T02:30:00.003+03:00

just a random bit of absurdity....
Did you know, the National Debt Clock ran out of numbers? They had to get rid of the dollar sign to put a number in it's place. Damn.... that's a LOT of money!

I'm gonna have to go with Russell Crowe (on Jay Leno, 29 Sept. '08), and agree that the government, rather than dealing with this whole $700 Billion bailout that gives ENTIRELY too much money to some sickly rich people, they should just give 300 million americans $1 million each. Yeah, he's not so good at math, but sure, I'd take a million!! As long as they start at the W's, it's all good!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the bailout. I don't get the entire idea of it, and I'm thinking, hey if it'll help our economy, go for it. I still need to hear more, but I'm not the expert! But like I said, if they're handing out money, I'll take somma that!! ;)

woo hoo! I've been tagged! :)

2008-10-09T11:12:00.006+03:00

I've been tagged by Jennifer
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog - some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog
.4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ok, here goes!

1. I am a true west coast girl... born in Washington, raised in California and Oregon

2. I hate beets!

3. My name and my daughter's name (Sasha and Maleah) are the same as Barack Obama's daughters (Malia and Sasha)

4. I love to ride horses. I've even won a couple ribbons in a horse show.

5. I can speak spanish fairly well, though I'm a couple years out of practice!

6. I am OBSESSED with science. In fact, I want to be a biologist when I grow up!

7. I don't like hot weather. I'd always prefer to be cold than hot. ALWAYS!!

oh, now the difficult part... people I'm tagging. Hope it's not rude to tag someone I don't personally know, since nearly all the people I DO know have been tagged! So here's my 3 of 7! I suppose I should branch out more, and get to know more bloggers! Enjoy

1. Kelly
2. Katelyn
3. Ali

November 4th...

2008-10-08T18:33:00.003+03:00

...is going to be a great day! Aside from the excitement of being Election Day, it's also the day WE'RE FLYING BACK HOME TO OREGON!!!!!
I am so excited, but sad to be leaving Germany and my family. It'll be great to get back, since it's been nearly four years since we've even set foot in America. I'm afraid of the economy, but excited to see the changes the last four years have brought to Oregon and my home town. I can't wait to see our family, including meet our nephew, who's now over 2 years old! And we'll be there around the time our new niece is due. Jaden, too, has never been introduced to our Oregon family and friends. It's going to be great! I think the hardest thing is that we'll miss my family, especially Maleah! She loves my family SO much, but hopefully they'll come visit often, or just move back! ;)
Can't wait... now I gotta get on all the things I want to do before I leave here!

aaaaah, Germany :)

2008-10-08T00:54:00.006+03:00

Not a lot of words, just a LOT of pics. This is what we did today. Pancakes, walk, the colors of fall..... love it!

frosty

2008-10-05T15:52:00.003+03:00

We woke up today to (what I believe to be) our FIRST frosty morning!

I love this time of year!
When I checked, I saw that it's still 95 degrees in Kuwait today. aaaaah, Germany!

another one....

2008-10-05T00:26:00.003+03:00

I did this page today. It was inspired from something I saw a while back, don't even remember where. Just used a bunch of scraps, and an older pic of Maleah.
yay!

if only....

2008-10-04T00:58:00.002+03:00

OMG, these are so flippin' cute! Damn, but I wish I could crochet, or knit, or whatever the heck it takes to make these! I want one for each of my kidlets! Or at least Jaden.... it'd be so cute! Oh well, I'll keep the pattern for someday when I take up another crafty hobby....

Finally!

2008-10-02T18:16:00.005+03:00

I've finally gotten back to scrapping! It feels SO good! I haven't done much, but still have had fun! This ribbon album was scraplifted from one of my FAVORITE scrapbookers! (Oooh! I finally figured out that link thing! HA!)

And the scrap page, I just finally had some inspiration! On my own! woo hoo! (this is a very exciting feeling, let me tell you. SO, if you don't like it, don't tell me. It'll kill me! jk... kinda) It's a pic of Maleah as a wee little thing (only about a month old or so? SOOO long ago already...wow)YAY for me! I know, I'm so humble.... ;)

strange happenings....

2008-09-21T00:35:00.004+03:00

Ok, so I am so incredibly cynical about people and their "Weird sightings" and "UFO sightings" I'm thinking, "yeah, ok, sure. Whatever!" I'm not totally against the possibility that maybe, somewhere out there, is another group of beings that may have some interest in us. I mean, come on, just us in this gigantic universe, and beyond? Awful waste of space! hehehe...
SO, anywho.... Today is my dad's birthday, and we went out to dinner at the yummiest place outside of Stuttgart. (I'll have to post about that another time.) On our way home, we were in the van, and my brother had called to say he needed a ride home from work, and since we had just passed through the town where he works, we had to go to our village to turn around. So as we are approaching the top of the hill in our village from the highway offramp, we (Mom, Justin and I) see 5 glowy orange balls in the sky. They looked like little balls of fire, and were most definately NOT airplanes, but we thought maybe they were hot air balloons. Hot air ballooning is BIG over here. So we rolled down our windows to listen for the sound of the flame (they were low enough that we could hear it) but we heard nothing. Not a sound! So we're still kinda thinkin', hmm, ok.... whatever. I asked my mom to pull over onto a tractor road off to the side. We got out of the van, and were just looking up, and we only saw 3 grouped together (in a perfectly straight line) followed at a distance by one, also in a direct line from the others. One had dissapeared. They were moving at a pretty steady and quick pace, and still NO sound. We just sat and watched the one all alone for a bit in awe. What in the heck were these things! When we were getting into the van to go get my bro, we noticed the first 3 of the group had also dissapeared. It was SO weird!
I'm sure I sound like some sci-fi junkie weirdo, but DAMN! That was weird! Of course I'm sure there is some logical and boring explaination for this occurance, but, DAMN!
And of course, I figured I had to post this in case anyone else saw them, too. Or heard anything about it. Or if I dissapear! ;) hehehe....

Where I've been...

2008-09-19T12:49:00.007+03:00

Basically just bummin' around. I've been sewing some baby gifts for my prego friend, which I've been slacking on taking pictures of. So excited to get some MAJOR sewing done tonight!! I've definately been LOVING the cool almost fall weather. I love love love the cold! Can't wait for it to get even colder! :) We had to run out and get the kiddos some more appropriate cold weather clothes. Gotta love C&A!!

Yesterday we took the kidlets to a park in Vaihingen. It was LOTS of fun.

Maleah has been up to entirely too much! She came down stairs the other day when I was in feeding Jaden dinner, with an awful white face. She motions me to look down, and she got blood dripping ALL over the floor! I was freaked out! I said, "Where's your owie? Where are you hurt?" And she just says, "I don't know." So I'm looking at her head, her ears, mouth, finally realizing that it's coming from her hand. Turns out she had found some RAZOR sharp scissors in my sisters' room, and was cutting string. Well, she almost cut the top of her finger off! Poor thing, and poor me. Thank goodness my mom was there to help clean it up. I get pretty emotional when I see blood coming from my kiddos. I can get the job done, but I usually make them start crying becaues I'M crying!

THEN, last night.... grrrrr. She and Jaden are both in the same room as us (it's a HUGE room, almost living room size) so they each have their own bed, and we have ours. Anywho... I went to check on them on my way to bed, and she wasn't in bed. There was no room for her to BE in her bed. She had every book and writing utensil in the room on her bed! She had trashed the room (stuff was EVERYWHERE!) And, poor baby J, had pieces of a connect 4 game in his bed, along with a plastic sandwich bag (!!), aaaaand his face was colored with markers. Red, blue, black.... I couldn't help laughing! Then this morning, when I saw her (she had snuck into bed with Jewel), SHE had "A mustache, like Justin!" no, not daddy, Justin! hehehe....

Birrrr.....daaat

2008-09-03T20:38:00.005+03:00

... or something like that!
My mom has two pretty little finches that make lots of noise. Mostly pleasant, but noise nonetheless. And Jaden, being the curious tiny man he is, LOVES anything that makes noise. So, he walks to the birds and says, "Birrr" Then he proceeds to shake their cage. I'm surprised he doesn't yet say, "No Jaden!"

We also take him out on the back porch quiet a bit. He ate breakfast there this morning, and we had a breakfast guest. One of the neighborhood cats was hanging out with us. So we kept saying, "Jaden, CAT!! Meow...." A bit ago I asked him where the cat was, and he points outside and says, "Dat!"

awwww..... what fun being a mommy is!

Oh, and I also should mention that I'm a woman obsessed. I'm on a sewing KICK! I woke up early this morning, got Maleah breakfast, then headed back up to my mom's sewing room. I have a bunch of flannel that I bought ages ago, to make rag quilts with. I made one for my bro and sis in law for christmas, but wasn't too happy with how it turned out. It WAS my first ever quilt, and I got frustrated. Crazy, huh? I mean REALLY how hard is it to do a rag quilt?? uggg... So, I cut the squares today, and got to sewing. I didn't sew them all, but I did get them all cut out, with is a big thing with me. I HATE the cutting part of quilting. So, I'm hoping to enjoy a nice glass of wine tonight and sew sew sew some more. If I don't watch a movie with the hubby instead!
Yes, Jennifer, I am LOVING this sewing thing! It's making me really wish I had bought all those awesome patterns we got in (you know, a LONG time ago when I was still a Gussy Goosey!!) I'm going to cause us to go bankrupt with all the fabric and sewing things I'm gonna go gaga over when we get back to the states. I had to hold myself WAY back at the Multi Crafts store..... I don't know if I could have the same restraint next time..... And you know what? I've been thinking more about sewing than scrapbooking..... way not like me!! But I'm obsessed and want to do more more MORE!!!!!
It's fun :)

For baby Emme....

2008-09-02T23:17:00.004+03:00

In November, there will be a new member of the Werner family. My hubby's brother and his wife having a baby girl! We're so incredibly happy for them, and for our little ones to have another cousin to play with. I've really been thinking lately how special it feels to get a homemade gift. So, today I made this quilt for our new niece. When I saw this fabric, I was really excited! It's a breast cancer awareness fabric, and it's beautiful. It really has special meaning in this instance. The new baby girl is going to be named Emme Ruth. Ruth is my husband's grandmother who passed away some years ago. She was an amazing, fun, lively woman! We miss her dearly. She had fought breast cancer earlier in her life, and beat it. So I figured it'd be nice to make a pretty gift, with a bit of a special meaning. My hubby liked the idea, and maybe the family will to. Regardless, I hope the sweet little one will love this blanket as much as we already love her!
I have no idea what the pattern is, if it's even a real pattern! I just had a certain amount of fabric on hand, knew about how big I wanted it, and drew out a diagram of how to place the squares. It was SO much fun, and from cutting to finish (well, this stage of finished!) it only took a couple hours. YAY! Now for the borders and binding! ;)

been a while....

2008-08-31T22:29:00.005+03:00

Soooo, I've not been posting for a bit. The family and I have been LOVING being back in Germany. It's so green, and there is SO much fun to be had! Just a tiny recap of the past.....er, well, long while.

We took our kiddos to see the new zoo kiddos. Baby Wilbear, the newest polar bear. He was SO cute and playful!And Samir, the two week old baby rhino. Awwww!

We had a nice little picnic and walk at the park downtown Stuttgart.

Maleah brought us LOTS of pretty flowers.

We were so excited to see them setting up for the Weindorf! Which is where we ended up the very next day. mmmm! German food, yummy wine! What a day!

We spent my hubby's birthday at the Killesberg Park (GREAT place, if you've never been, and you have kids, you should go!)

They've got the most gorgeous dahlias growing there right now! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Dahlias, so, I was uber excited!

Lot's of time trampin' it up! (hehehe, couldn't resist!)

And yesterday, we went to the Lowentor Museum (it's a dinosaur museum...very cool!) that sits at the end of the park running all through Stuttgart (at the zoo end). It was fun, kids loved the dinos. And, the ice cream in the park afterwards. Next time we go, we'll go earlier and walk to the castle that's there, too!

Ahhh, what possibilities for entertainment that are here in Germany. :)

Oh, and the evening entertainment??? Bier, bier, wine, and bier! How nice to not be in a dry country!

aaaah, back in Germany!

2008-08-20T00:40:00.003+03:00

What a great day we had today! We got up, ate breakfast and took off for our "nature walk" through the woods near our house. It's a great walk, took us about an hour and a half or so. The weather was nice, and I took lots of pics! I was thinking that I'm no good at finding fun shots anymore, but I guess I just didn't have any inspiration. Now, back in Germany, there's PLENTY of beauty to inspire me!
Maleah and the blackberries..... yummm!

A funky little fungi! So cute growing all alone among the rocks and leaves.

This adorable little wild strawberry was SO tiny!!! We just had to let him be! :)This cute little guy was the guardian of that tiny little strawberry.
Another busy little web builder....
A flower grows in Neuenhaus....

And a few more shots of Neuenhaus. Such a pretty little village, that's just a TINY glimpse of how beautiful Germany really is. I really missed being here!

for goodness' sake!

2008-08-15T16:32:00.002+03:00

Well, my mommy and hubby are sick sick sick today! Poor things have some kind of AWFUL stomach flu. Jaden was sick a few days ago, and now they've got it. So life around the house has been quiet. Well, at least more so than usual. It's never quiet with a 1 year old, a 4 year old, a 9 year old and an 11 year old, all within the same living space!
So, while Jaden napped, I decided to drag out some scrapbooking stuff and get to work. Well, after 10 months, not such an easy task, let me tell you! I get overwhelmed by all my stuff if I don't have an idea in my head of what I want to do. I am SO jealous of all those people that can just whip up 10 pages in no time! I'd be happy with even 1 right now. I guess if I had prints of my most recents pics it'd probably be easier.
.....sigh.....
well, I'm hoping tomorrow will be better, or at least that my people are better, 'cause I'm bored, and lacking creativity, and that's just NOT good for anyone.

We're BAAAACK!

2008-08-12T10:39:00.004+03:00

Well, after all the craziness of packing, cleaning, and saying goodbye to great friends, we've finally arrived in Germany! YAY!!! It feels so good to be back, especially since it's been raining so much since we've been here. I LOVE RAIN, and I've really missed it in dry ol' Kuwait. :) Now I'm just waiting to get to see the people I love and have missed from here.

Here's Jaden, my super helpful packing buddy! He climbed up into my suitcase all by himself. Such a silly boy!
The kiddos getting out some pent up energy in the Prague Airport. We had a LOOOOONG layover there ( I think about 6 hours?) So they had lots of time to stretch.

Maleah absolutely LOVES these "people movers"

Dancing her energy away
Both the kids loved the airplanes.
So, aside from the long layover, having to pay $10 for 3 bottles of water (oh my GOSH it's expensive in Prague. I don't know what the deal was!), we had a great trip. The kids were fantastic on the airplane, and Maleah was SO happy when we walked through the doors and she could see mama (my mom) standing there waiting for us.

It just feels so great to be here! Not to mention my excitment at being reunited with my scrapbooking stuff! Woo hoo!

Mix-a Mix-a, Shake-a Shake

2008-08-08T09:00:00.004+03:00

Yup, that's me alright! Mixed emotions and moving jitters. We're down to our last boxes, and FULL of excitement, but I still am feeling, well, I'm not sure. Weird. Happy to be going to see my family and friends in Germany, sad to be leaving my friends here, happy, sad, happy, sad.... ugg! Like previously posted many times before, I am never satisfied! I've always got a few feelings going both ways. :-s Though, my feelings in this situations are more leaning towards the happy side. But there's still so much to do and worry about. Last minute packing (because really? Is there any OTHER way for me than last minute?), saying goodbye for (hopefully not really!) the last time to the great people we've met over here. Running like crazy to get the things from here we want (YESSSS! We got our rug, and one for my mom, and one for our friend! That is a HUGE relief!) I'm sure anyone who's reading this has moved many many times, and internationaly, too! So, what I'm saying is nothing new. Just, BLAH!

But, the amazing reward that I'll get in just a couple days is being back where there's green, soft places for the kids to run, a pleasant change of environment and scenery, and especially our much missed friends and family! So I'm a holdin' on!

A Kuwaiti Dhow, an ancient fishing boat.

The "Boneyard" out in the desert. A big junkyard with cars, tanks, buses, and more.

Salmiya Mosque, across the street from our house

Camels along the highway on the way to Saudi Arabia
Kuwait City, with a view of the Liberation Tower

Sandstorm, with Kuwaiti flags blowing in the sandy breeze

A family day at Marina Beach, Salmiya Kuwait

An approaching sandstormKuwait, a place of beauty, pride and tradition.

My Samurai Son

2008-08-03T11:14:00.004+03:00

hahaha! Ok, dorkey title, but OH MY GOSH, this is too funny! Don't even ask how this started, I have no idea. Maybe because he's getting into copying sounds right now?
Our neighbors cat meows really loud when they're gone, and you can hear it from our living room, and out by the elevators. So, we always meow back, and say "Cat!" So one day, last week, we were getting ready to leave, waiting for the elevator and poor little lonely kitty started meowing. Jaden perked up, looked around then grunted "Dat!" I'm not kidding! I know he's only 1, and it was probably a lucky coincidence, but we were floored! Of course, I honestly don't remember when kids get the whole first word thing, but we'll say "Hi-YAH" is his first word. Oh, well, other than "mama" and "dada". I'll have to get a video of his when Justin gets home from work. He says, in a breath-y sigh, "Da-Da!" so funny....

Happy August!

2008-08-01T22:06:00.003+03:00

Well, it is August already. How on earth did that happen? hmmmm.... they say time flies when you're having fun, so how has it been flying? Life has been NO fun lately! hehehe.... ok, maybe a bit.

It is loads of fun watching Jaden do the stiff-leg Frankenstein walk! He's all over the place lately! It's great! And his big sissy is lots of help! She's great with him. I couldn't have wished for two better kids, that's for sure!

Jaden's fun ravioli face! hahaha....

We are still just pack pack packing away, hoping to get it all done, hoping we have enough time, but at the same time, hoping time goes FASTER! We're both very ready to be back in Germany for a bit, and even more ready to be back in OREGON! woo hoo!

Well, I hope August is a good month for all of you! It's Justin's birthday month (along with almost all of his whole family) and my brother's birthday. In fact, my brother and Justin have the SAME birthday. Fun family fact from Fasha (couldn't break up the alliteration!) :)

So, off to watch Sex and the City, so I can return the discs to my friend before I leave. You wanna know another fun Fasha fact? I've already seen the movie, but still insist upon finishing the series, even though I know what's gonna happen! It's just darn good entertainment (read: totally alone, just for me time! YAY!)

FINALLY! Yesssssss!

2008-07-30T18:20:00.005+03:00

I got the pics of the kids birthday party from my friend's camera! So, better late than never, here they are!

Smiling birthday faces! And I can't help but laugh EVERY TIME I see this pic of Jaden!
Maleah's birthday cake, and Jaden's. I know, it's not a whole one, but it was a big piece! He's not crazy about sugar, so, we got him a slice from the bakery. Hasen, Maleah, and Sikayna. Maleah's great friends from here. She really is happy, just caught a sad lookin' face!
Helpin' blow out the candles! He was blowing, just not quite hard enough!
Yup, he sure know's how to get it done! hahaha!
mmmmmmm, the chocolate cake! I think she likes it! I think daddy likes his cake, too! And it's just a clue as to where my kiddos get their silly face making ability, and love of doing it! Gotta love him!

Aaaaaand, present time! (I hope I'm not the only one who thinks of Blue's Clues when I read that?!) Our lucky little kiddos got some great gifts. After opening the gifts, we went up to our pool and swam the afternoon (and sugar jitters!) away. And man oh man, did they sleep well that night! It really was a great day.

What have I DONE?!

2008-07-25T15:34:00.002+03:00

Ok, I'm a terrible, horrible, awful mom! I decided to cut Maleah's bangs today. No big deal, right? I've done it before, and not too horrible a job.
Until TODAY!
I won't even post the picture, I feel so bad. Wanna know just how bad it is?
Maleah, after looking in the mirror and laughing, says, "Mommy, it's not funny. I'm not cute!" Talk about guilt! THEN, while looking in the mirror, she says, "Mommy, I don't like this hair. I like the other one."
I am CRAP! :(

My oh my what a WONDERFUL day.... :)

2008-07-24T22:15:00.005+03:00

Got the "plenty of sunshine headed my way" part for sure! This is one of the many beautiful sunsets we see here in Kuwait... Though the pictures don't quite do it justice... still need that new camera!We were driving along Gulf Road, and we were so amazed by the skyline over Kuwait City, we had to pull over (at the Hard Rock Cafe!) to snap some pics...
And even better, Maleah was in a mood to be lovin' on her brother, and not mind being in pictures! YAY!Then, again with the guitar obsession of late! She was so excited about it... she said, "Look! Guitar Hero!" Nothing is ever JUST a guitar, nope, it's always Guitar HERO! gotta love kids and their awesome words and ideas! Apparently we play Guitar Hero on Xbox too often?
AAAAAAAAAAND greatest thing of ALL today? We got our tickets to visit Germany! WOO HOO! August 10th, flying into Stuttgart in the evening. We have a layover in Prague, over 8 hours, so we're trying to decide if we wanna chance venturing into the city, since we've never been there. We'll have to see what happens. But, WE'RE GOING BACK TO GERMANY!!!!! YAY!!! Thanks Mom and Papa!

a whole lotta this and that!

2008-07-21T19:10:00.007+03:00

I've been a mad picture takin' fool lately! I've been feeling bad because I haven't been doing so well with good pics, so I took some. Good fun!

Since turning one, I kid you not, Jaden has developed a whole set of new talents! Ok, well I know it's all developmental, but I think he's pretty talented! For example, yesterday, he feed himself for the first time (he's been playing with the spoon for quite some time, but he actually got a good few bites from bowl to mouth with his spoon!) And Maleah's saying, "Oh mommy, not ANOTHER picture!"
Since the day after their birthday, he's been doing A LOT MORE of this! He goes form sitting on the floor to standing, and he'll squat down, bend over, all that, and NOT fall!

He's been walking, too! He took 5 steps in a row without falling, at least twice today! He's honestly spending more time on his feet (mostly standing, with a good bit of walking) than he does on his bum, or hands and knees. YAY!!!
He's reading German! ;) Apparently reading it upside down makes it easier.... I'll have to try that one! Or, he'll just absorb it through his head! Dangit, I can't think of the word for that!

Ah yes, the angry face! I have no idea what happened (most likely, sissy took a toy he had or wanted!) This is the resulting tantrum, something quickly learned in the past couple days.
Climbing for curiousity! hehehe... that was just a funny picture. :)

And here's Maleah, my beautiful 4 year old! Wow....

She's our little Guitar Hero. She LOVES music, and pretending to rock out! She also watches the Sound of Music, so she's got a softer side for music, too! Any time there is someone playing a guitar on a movie, she pauses it, runs and grabs her guitar, and plays along. You should see her when we're playing Guitar Hero on our Xbox 360! Her newest thing? Stage diving practice!
And her "Rock On!" pose.
And, between songs, she practices her princess curtsey, "Like on Cinderella!"

no birthday photos : (

2008-07-19T17:48:00.003+03:00

Weeeeell, silly me, didn't make sure there were sufficient batteries in the cameras, so I didn't get any pics on my cameras! Uggg! So, until I'm able to get the pics I took from my friend with her camera, these will have to suffice! They're just some pics of the decorations I made (finding the kind of decorations you want for a certain theme here that don't cost a TON is pretty tough, thus the home made grade school look!)

We were going for a "fun in the sun" theme, and the plates/cups/napkins were beach balls, flip flops and floaty rings. Pretty cute! We also got Maleah a Little Mermaid mylar, and a Nemo candle. We were trying to get a Nemo balloon, but she wanted My Little Pony. I guess she doesn't get the whole "theme" thing yet, and I'm a freak, so I talked her into the mermaid one. It's cute, though! And, since she didn't get her disney princess party, the mermaid balloon (maybe?) helped with that. hmmmm.....
Our front door.....
Jaden playing with some of his new toys. He got this cute Fisher Price phone from one of my friends! He's "answering" it by putting it up to his forhead and kinda grunting. He kept doing it all day! SO funny!!This girl LOVES balloons! I think if we just gave her balloons for every gift, she'd be happy!

What a day!

2008-07-18T18:15:00.002+03:00

Today is (both!) of my babies' birthdays. Maleah, my beautiful princess turned 4. Jaden, my little baby man tuned 1! Time goes by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday, Maleah was born, but now to have two, and the youngest being 1 is amazing. But, I also feel like I've had both of them in my lives forever, and I often find myself wondering what I did before them. They both are such amazing little souls! Maleah is so brave, curious, strong, athletic, smart, beautiful, and fun! Jaden, though still developing his personality, is quite a character himself! He's my little lovey dovey cuddle bug, and already is such a boy! He's very happy, loves to laugh, LOVES his sister, and to copy and follow everything she does. He's pretty stubborn, and he looks so much like his daddy I laugh about it nearly every day!

I can't say enough how much I love these two! I didn't understand how I could ever love them so much, until they came into my life. I am so grateful to be a mommy to two of the most beautiful, amazing, crazy and wonderful children in the world! Yay for the past 4 years with Maleah, and the past 1 year with Jaden, and HOORAY for many many many more! I can't wait to see what the future brings with them!

Ok, yes I can. We'll enjoy this moment for now! :)

Make a Smilebox postcard

my nudist in training... and three little steps

2008-07-13T23:49:00.005+03:00

Ok, so I was looking back over my older posts, and realized you probably all think I don't dress my daughter. Honestly, I DO! She does NOT like to keep clothes on her little body! Well, other than when she layers up for winter in 112 degree weather like a couple posts ago! :) But, she had those clothes off within about a half an hour.

Seriously, the only time I can keep clothes on her is if we are away from hom. Even then I think she's itching to get home and get those clothes OFF. She takes her hair out of how ever I do it when we're out. I think this is her version of stripping in public.

We're having a birthday party for the kids this coming Friday, and I'm hoping she'll keep her clothes on for that! I'm not holding my breath, though. She usually has her clothes of within an hour or so whenever we have friends over. I'm sure a couple extra people won't make her shy. Heck, she will even go to the door when we answer it, run past us and the person at the door to run around our hallway in circles in just her underwear. I think we're going to have to start gluing her clothes on.

Yes, my little nudist in training...

She did NOT learn this habit from me!!!!

Here's a pic from (ALMOST!) a year ago now. My goodness, time flies! I can't believe she's gonna be 4! She's been such an amazing big sissy this past year. :)

OH! Speaking of flying time, Jaden took some more steps today, without me coaxing him! I was sitting on his floor in his room, and he used me to stand up, and I scooted back, but didn't say a word, and he stepped towards me! After sitting down for a sec again, he stood back up and took 2 steps! The best thing was how he laughed after he did it! It's like he was so excited and proud of himself. He's getting SO big! I know, there are so many kiddos who walk well before they're one, but I'm ok with my kids doing their thing when they get to it! I'm still super excited for all his firsts, whenever they may happen! Ok, well, as long as he's walking by the time he starts school, we're good. hehehe! Yikes! My baby man is almost one!

p.s. I lOVE this movie!

2008-07-13T12:38:00.003+03:00

OH my gosh, I fogot to post about this movie. It is SO good! But, let me warn you, it's a tear jerker! I kid you not, I cried almost the entire movie! Not sad, per se, just unbelievably touching. Even my movie watching partner (won't mention HIS name! hehehe) had a little moisture now and then. Awww....

So, if you've got an interest in romance, bits of sweet comedy, good actors/actresses, HOT Irish guys (or actors playing HOT Irish guys!), and you feel like crying a bit, WATCH it! It's SO good!

a little of this, a little of that

2008-07-10T15:07:00.002+03:00

Maleah: "Mommy, I'm cold."

Mommy: "Well, put on some clothes. You're sweater is over there."

Maleah: disappears, quietly, for a few minutes.....

Then, this! (Apparently, I have the air conditioning set to "too cold!")

Ok, so I LOVE FOOD! And not just eating it. Cooking it, reading about interesting new recipes, imagining what fun/different things to blend, the colors, the textures.... I'm a closet foodie! So I'm super inspired by all the amazing blogs out there that post those beautiful pictures of recipes they've tried/created. So, being the dork I am, I decided to post my own (not so pretty..... DAMN I need a new camera!!) pic of a yummy and interesting recipe I created. This is what I had for lunch today. I'm sure I made a major culinary aux paux, but here it is none the less.

First, I cooked a chicken breast on my George Foreman grill..... those SO rock! I seasoned it with garlic, pepper, oregano, basil and a splash of lime (just because I LOVE citrus, all citrus, in everything!)

Then, I heated up some (canned, uggg!) black beans, mixed with some (canned, uggg again!) stewed tomatoes, garlic and onion flavor. Let me go on here about how I can't wait to get back to Oregon and have my OWN tomatoes from my garden to can.... ahhhhh.... and a much better selection of salt/sugar/preservative free foods.

Ok, anyway.... I just topped my hot chicken breast with the mix of black beans and tomatoes, added a sprinkle, or few, of parmesan cheese (after I took the pic, of course.....), a bit more black pepper, and YUM!

I could SO imagine this as a salad, with some whole grain organic couscous or quinoa, and maybe some feta cheese, with some olive oil.... mmmmmm.... I'll have to try that next time! Yes, I am a dork, but it's FUN!!! And YUMMY!
So now I've gotta go think about making some mint lemonade to go with our shish kebabs I'm making for dinner tonight... and should we have couscous or brown rice? oh, the possibilities! :)

Leisure time

2008-07-09T12:33:00.004+03:00

We took the kids to the Al Sha'ab Leisure Park last night, and the night before. It was fun! It's a big park with lots of rides, for kids and adults. Since it's been so hot during the day here, we've taken them at night when it's "cooler". It's still 100 degrees and over, but it's not unbearable. The kids drink lots of water, and don't seem to mind. They just love to be out, and the rides, colors and lights add to the interest! Sorry if the pics are a bit fuzzy. There's always a bit of dust in the air, and the camera pics it up at night. blah!

This was Jaden's first time on a ride! And that trampoline was SO cool.

Jaden wasn't so sure about that pony. The pony didn't look too sure, either! But he's sure happy with his daddy!

Maleah LOVED the pony! She's not yet four and already horse crazy. That's my girl!

Just some more fun things she did. She loved that clown ride, but that face is classic! I don't like clowns, and it looks like she doesn't either! hahaha... she loved it, though. And the pic in the middle? It's a ride called Time Out. HA! Love it. She is not afraid of heights, yay!
So, that's what we've been up to the past couple days here in the heat. Having fun!

pics for fun....

2008-07-06T15:07:00.003+03:00

and because I know I haven't been sharing them lately! Enjoy! And I'll try to get some more up, soon!

what we did.....

2008-07-06T14:58:00.005+03:00

For our fourth, I decided to make a Flag cake. You know the one! White cake with the "stars and stripes" (bluberries and strawberries or raspberries) I made a white vanilla cake from a box, with a buttercream frosting from scratch. Due to extreme overpricing of blueberries, and lack of good looking strawberries, I resorted to using frozen fruit. It tasted super yummy, but didn't turn out so pretty! The berries leaked pink juice all over the white background (even after I strained and patted them dry!) so.... here are some other pics from the cake making fun.

We had burgers and hot dogs, chips and pasta salad. We were sad that we didn't get to see any fireworks, but we had a good time all together. And we explained to Maleah that it was America's birthday, so she was happy about that! We'll get a bit more in depth as she gets older!

A time of celebration

2008-07-03T17:46:00.002+03:00

That time of year again! Red white and blue, hot dogs, fireworks, pride and celebration. Tomorrow will be our Independence Day! And this year, I can honestly say it IS a time of celebration in my mind. Over the past couple years, Independence Day has been kind of meaningless to me. I have been overwhelmed with anger, dissapointment, and frustration with my country. Well, more the running of my country than the country itself. I have been so self absorbed that I never took the time to appreciate all I have, and those who make it possible.
I have always supported our troops, though not exactly what they're fighting for, I support them. And always will. They get up every day, and go to work, often in conditions we could never even imagine! They don't get sick days, or lazy just to be off days. They go go go, 100 percent, 7 days a week. And I appreciate it.
So to our soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines, coast guard, reserves..... and anyone I missed, THANK YOU!
But I also have to send a huge thank you to the other people who make our country what it is. The moms and dads, teachers, steel workers, writers, artists, doctors, webdesigners, actors, poets, telephone workers, mailmen, unemployed people, self employed people.... Everyone! Without every single on of us, our country wouldn't be what it is. Sure, there is a bit of chaos, sadness, and the like. But that's part of life, and part of having the choices we have. Speech, religion, and everything that I myself in the recent past have comletely taken for granted. And so, as this Independence Day arrives, I wish all of you, with an open heart, open mind, and humility, all the best. Because even though we all have different ideas of politics, religion, of what's right or wrong, we are all American. And finally, after years of not being able, I can say, I'm grateful to be American. I still don't believe in a lot of what happens everyday, or who's in charge, but that's the beauty of being an American! I can say that without fear of retribution (other than comments from my lovely and hopefully open minded friends!)
We may not be perfect, but we're trying!
Happy Independence Day!

Keepin' my word... or at least trying to :)

2008-06-30T00:15:00.005+03:00

It's been a couple days, so in order to follow through with my previously "blogged" goal, I must blog... not much to say, so it'll be a random one!

First of all, let me give you some interesting and random things going on in Kuwait.

1. It's midnight(quater after in fact) and it's 106 degrees

2. The high today (that I saw anyway) was 120. and that's a cool summer day. :-/

3. In Kuwait, houses/buildings have installed plumbing, yes, BUT the water doesn't come from pipes in the ground. Uh uh. Rather, it comes from big barrels of water sitting on our bulidings roof, that is trucked in daily and pumped in to fill the said tanks. So no, we don't drink the water out of the tap. You just never know!

4. Because of previous points of interest, the water that is piped into our apartment is very warm, nearly hot. So, we have to turn off our hot water heater to get reasonably cool water! Yeah, and cold cycle on the washing machine? Doesn't exist. I'm running it on tap water temp setting, and my clothes feel like they were run on hot! But hey, they're getting clean!

5. The average amount of CO2 emission put out per person in America is 22 tons per year! In Kuwait, each person's average CO2 emission is 87 tons per year! Damn.... I wonder what the average for an Oregonian is? Probably even less than the national average! We're just cool like that! :)

6. Dancing Matt came to Kuwait City! Well, I was uber excited, got all emotional watching his 3rd video, but was IMMENSELY dissapointed about what he wrote in regards to Kuwait and the amazing people here. (Comparing the traditions of the Muslim people to someone with OCD! Good God man, are you for real?!?) He's a star that isn't shining so bright in my eyes anymore. If you don't know who he is, google him. I'm not going to post his site here.

ok, well now in other news.....

¡felicitaciones España!

and much sadness to my beloved Deutschland... :-( But hey, you've still got great beer, amazing Christmas markets, and my awesome family and friends! :)

* I KNOW that's not all that's amazing about Germany, just the first few things that came to mind. If I wrote all I love about Germany, I'd have to write a novel.... so no crap throwin'! :)

aaaah, that's better!

2008-06-28T00:57:00.003+03:00

Nothing like a good chocolate marble cake with the YUMMY Peanut Butter Frosting (recipe thanks to JennyP!) to take the edge off a crappy day.... of course, a nice glass of wine would have done wonders as well, but hey... we take what we can, or in this case BAKE what we can..... :) And honestly, when you're feeling super bad, calories work better, because all the alcohol it'd take to "fix" it would just leave you more pissed off in the morning. Thank goodness for small favors (you know, this being a NON alcohol country and all!)
Maybe I'll post a pic of my not-so-pretty-but-yummy-all-the-same cake tomorrow... we'll see.
Now OFF TO BED! :)

when.will.it.STOP!?!?!?

2008-06-27T16:42:00.002+03:00

Germany! Oregon! Kuwait!
6 months! 3 months! 1 year!
October! August! September! NEVER!!!!!
arrrrggggg.....
So this is the Crappy Mc Crap we're dealing with right now. I know, doesn't make much sense, huh? To me, either. Unfortunately, this is what our future looks like!
We were happy chappies headed for home in August! Yay! Then, because I want to come to Germany so bad before we go home, we decided maybe it'd be best for Justin to resign a 1 year contract, stay for 6 months, and I'll go back to Germany for a couple months, then on home to get ready for him to come home. THEN, he goes and signs his contract, which is only for 3 months!!! Well, that was NEWS to us! BAD NEWS! So now, do I stay with him 'till October 23rd? Or, go to Germany, and wait for him to fly home, or does he make a run for it? And where the hell is all the money for 57 flights coming from, since he's being screwed out of his contract!? I'm SO flippin' sick of decision making! It's making me so sad, pissed, sick, angry, you name it, if it's a crappy ass feeling, I'm there. I am SO over this! When the HELL did we become adults, and how do we make it stop?!

I can't even BEGIN....

2008-06-22T16:11:00.002+03:00

.... to describe to complete and utter rapture I'm feeling as my big move home to Oregon approaches. Honestly, I keep myself awake at night thinking about all I want to do! I have not even set foot on American soil in almost 3 1/2 years, and I'm feelin' it! I could publish a NOVEL about all the things I'm looking forwar to, but let me give you just a peek into my overstimulated mind...
grocery stores (I'm going to need to be sedated I'm sure, I'll be so excited!)
the ability to buy products with NO added sugar or salt!
green green green!
no dust! ok, well, no SAND (that moves on it's own, for miles, and takes over whole cities!)
family, including a nephew we've never met who'll be 2 in a couple days, and COUSINS for the kids to play with!
FRIENDS!
alcohol
shorts, tank tops, AND being able to not dress up to go to the grocery store (read: I can wear sweatpants if I really wanted to, or no makeup.... hahaha!)
the beautiful Oregon Coast
Tilamook Cheese
enviromentally conscious people
recycling!
organic products!
and.................
ok, so like I said, I could go on and on and on
But truth be told, I will miss things about here, too!
For example:
the amazing cultures and ethnicities of people here, and their incredible traditions they've held on to for thousands of years!
$7 a TANK gas.... no joke.....
palm trees
camels
being loved for being American
meeting people from places like: India, Bangladesh, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan.... seriously, how many people from even 1 of those places do we run across DAILY in America? And no, they aren't bad people, but in fact amazingly similar in that they just want to make an honest dollar (ok, well dinar, which is almost $4!), with families, and great stories to tell! Amazing.....
and again, there is SO much more I'll miss, that I will be able to think of better when I'm away from it and missing it....

I feel so fortunate that I have been given the opportunity to live in such a different, beautiful and amazing place. I wish every person with a bad view of the middle east could have this opportunity, to open their eyes to see how similar all the people of the world are. Yes, there are bad people in the world, but there are LOTS of bad people in the United States, too, so we can't say America is perfect. No place is. In fact one of the things I envy about here is their utter and absolute dedication to their religion and traditions. Our freedom of religion in America is amazing, and I'm grateful for it. They have it here, too, though it's not as obvious. But the people here base every choice of their daily lives on strongly held beliefs and morals, and I find that amazing. It's like the common thread that holds them together. Too many people in the world are lacking in those two areas, which leads to chaos, lies, and sadness. I'm not religious, but I can appreciate people who hold fast and never waiver from what they believe, which doesn't have to involve religion. Just in this case, it does.
And I've see how everyone is just trying to make their way, in a beautiful world of diversity. I am thankful for that diversity, even when it causes difficulties. Because being exsposed to those differences, and learning how to live, learn and love them has made me a better person. And for that, I'm blessed beyond measure.
Though I'm feeling incredibly blessed to finally be going home, too!

Inspiration

2008-06-18T17:33:00.005+03:00

So, I'm SO excited for my much missed friend Margaret, and the fact that her adorable Keara is on her way to walking! I had recently taken some pics of Jaden and his adventures in walking, and a few videos. HOWEVER, I tried and tried to post the videos, to no avail. So, I'll post a pic 'till I get it figured out! :)

Finally, after nearly two whole weeks of sandy sandy, dusty disgusting sandstorms EVERY day (no, I'm NOT exaggerating!!) it was clear until about 5 today! So we took the opportunity to go swimming again. We love having a pool here, and we're sure going to miss is when we get back to Oregon. But, there are lots of pools to visit there, so I shouldn't complain. Jaden is loving the water, which makes me regret not having exposed Maleah to the pool earlier in her life. She likes it ok, just not a big, brave water lover like my Jboy. But, it's ok, she's a sports fanatic of all other types of sports you can think of, so we know she'll be an active one! I see visions of the typical soccer mom agenda in my future, and I'm pretty excited for that!

We've had a good weekend (our weekends are Mon-Wed), other than battling sand. I got gorgeous flowers for my bday, and a shopping trip the day before. I made Justin his favorite cookies for daddy's day, and surprised him with his favorite thing, 2 watches! He was SO happy! Other than that, we've been just hanging out.... that's the kind of fun I like! Fun family time.

Mmmmm.... Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate No Bake cookies..... Here's the recipe if you're interested :)

In a Saucepan Mix1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1/2 cup milk

2 1/2 TB cocoa powder

Bring to a slight boil, and heat until sugar is no longer "crunchy" sounding on bottom of pan. Stir often! DON'T let it burn!!

In a large glass or heat resistant bowl, mix:

3 cups oats (not instant, old fashioned)

1/2 cup Peanut Butter (I usually use creamy, but crunchy is yummy, too!)

1 tsp. Vanilla

After chocolate/butter/sugar and sugar is completely melted, pour chocolate mix into oat mix. Stir until well mixed, and while still warm, drop by rounded spoonfuls onto wax paper or tin foil. Allow to cool, grab a glass of cold milk, and ENJOY!! YUM!

Yield: depends on how rounded your spoonfuls are! :)

awwww, thanks you sweet sweet girlies!

2008-06-15T00:00:00.002+03:00

Ok, to my beautifully fabulous and talented friends in Germany, Jen, Corrinea and Kelly, thanks! You girls and your kind words made me a chipper chicky! I appreciate your sweetness, and it makes me miss you all and the atmosphere of life in the store even more!
Honestly, I suppose I was pretty down on myself, but when I sit down to blog, I just write away, without changing anything (other than awful spelling/grammar mistakes!) so I guess I was in a bit ho-hum blah mood! But thanks again, you wonderful chicas you!
love to all my amazing, supportive, fabulous pals.... thanks! Because of you, I CAN face turning 27! :) hehehe

LIAR!!!

2008-06-13T22:39:00.002+03:00

Yup, that's me! Ok, so the big ol' "I'm gonna do better!" blog was a big crock! Sorry... though I must admit getting comments saying "Oh, yeah, I don't check your site any more because you never post!" made me sad, and realize even more what a crap head I am, so here's hoping for better.
So, what's new with me, the crap head? Um, well according to my birth certificate, I'm turning 27 in *gasp!* under 2 days..... uggg
So now I'm thinking of all the times I gave my mom a hard time about complaining about her age, yeah.... sorry mom. Truth? I am FULLY aware that 27 is not that old, but durnit all, I feel old! Old, frustrated and BLAH! Want proof? I colored my hair 3 different colors in 3 days! Yeah, no joke.... and yes, my mom does know, and I'm surprised she's not on a plane as I type this to come kick my multi colored booty. oh, wait... sounded odd... I didn't color my booty hair! ok, never mind! I was just not looking forward to a birthday with crappy hair, and since we are having to pay over $1200 for a car accident we got into (yeah, whole 'nother story, and to make it short, no one got hurt, just our wallet), and I couldn't see asking my hubby for the nearly 70 KD for an appointment (why, because 70 KD equals $259!) I decided to go for doing my own highlights.... yes, I'm seeing my utter lack of intellegence here.... all you have to do is look at my profile pic to imagine how that might turn out.....
SO, after doing my own "highlights" I ended up with not blonde, but WHITE roots, a few orange only half-way down my head streaks, and still black hair. uggg! I had to fix that, pronto, so the next day, I decide to go to chestnut brown... and end up with chestnut roots, still black hair.... 3rd day? You guessed it, new color (why oh why didn't I just go for Deep Fig again? uh uh.... too easy!) So now, I'm burgandy rooted, with some burgandy streaks in, yes, still black hair. I'm a flippin' idiot! But, I'm done.. no more dark and no more doing my own highlights...... I guess it's good I'm still learning at almost 27! Like my mom said, I'm not dumb, but there is for sure blonde hidden under all this black, NATURAL blonde!
so, that's my excitement.... there's oh so much more I'm hating about turning 27 (being a completely uneducated career challenged failure, STILL trying to lose weight, no house, no car, nothing.....)
Ok, wait..... I have traveled to and LIVED in many amazing places in the world, I have a beautiful, happy healthy family, I've met amazing people (who may or may not get around to checking out my blog to even read this!), I've learned about things through experince, even if I don't have a degree..... why do I feel the need to complain? I have so much more in blessings than I could even ask for, and yet I'm unhappy.... I suppose it's human nature, my false "optimistic" attitude, OR, it could just be the fact that I'm turning 27 in too short a time..... :)

give AND take!

2008-06-05T11:29:00.003+03:00

So, I've come to realize what a selfish blogger I am. Everyday I log on, and click on my list of most loved blogs, with anticipation, waiting to see all the new and exciting things they've posted. I always feel bummed and a little let down when there's nothing new.
BUT, do I ever stop to think about MY lack of blogging? Nope, not 'till now! Truth be told, I hardly ever have anything interesting to post, other than fabulous pics of my amazing kids. So, my goal for the upcoming two months ( I say two months because after that time, I'll be happy at home in Oregon once again, and I'm sure I'll have an overabundance of happiness, creativity and fluff to blog about, once I settle in to normal life again, that is!)
I'm determined (with many things, like you know the norm..... spend more quality time with my kids, LOSE WEIGHT, keep my house cleaner....blah....) to get back on the blogging band wagon.
So, here goes! I'm WILL be a better blogger, or you have the right to leave me nasty, angry comments, or at least tell me to GET ON IT! hehehe....

I love games!

2008-06-03T12:25:00.007+03:00

I couldn't resist... I'm such a sucker for games! And one with pictures is even more fun! Thanks Jen!

Ok, so here are my answers, in case the pictures alone don't tell you enough.

1. First Name: Sasha
2. Favorite Food: Indian
3. High School I went to: Monroe High School (yes, that's an ACTUAL pic of my school. Notice the dragon on top? Our mascot! I've been away so long, I've not seen that! hehehe)
4. Favorite Color: Green
5. Celeb Crush: The delectable Jonathan Rhys Meyers
6. Favorite Drink: Gin and Tonic...mmmmm...
7. Dream Vacation: Australia, mate!
8. Favorite Dessert: Chocolate Mousse (raspberries are an added bonus!!!)
9. What I want to be when I grow up: A Dreamer
10.Most Important thing in my life: FAMILY!!!!
11. One word to describe me: Optimistic
12. My Flikr name: nothing found for Funhon29 : ( boo hoo

I'm a nut, I'm nut, I'm an N-U-T-T nut!

2008-05-23T17:08:00.003+03:00

Ok, well, when it's 111 degrees outside, let me tell you what you DON'T want to do. Decide it's good time for some excercise! A walk in this weather, yeah, not so fun. :) Of course, it's always good to check the temp BEFORE you go out, rather than after. hmmm...

Our weekend

2008-05-15T12:07:00.005+03:00

Well! Again, problems with the internet, thus the lack of any news from Kuwait! BUT! I refuse to post yet another negative blog (I AM changing my outlook, you know!) so, on with the fun.

We had a fantastic weekend! Absolutely fun fun fun! Drank some good wine with friends and watched Cloverfield (again for us, new for them.) FUN to see their reactions, and make them wait when they're asking us questions! hehehe... I am NOT a movie spoiler, so don't ever ask me!!!

Then, Tuesday, we got together here at our place with one of our buddies and made a huge breakfast! That was interesting, 3 adults in our little kitchen, trying not to run each other over. But fun fun fun, and yummy! Then we drove out to one of the half million malls here to go to the grocery store there, and just wander aimlessly through the giant shrine to commercialism. Good fun :) Gotta love a good mall cruise. That night we got together with our awesome friends yet again to play Monopoly, Nintendo edition. That was fun, too! hmmm, I'm seeing that I enjoy the word fun, but that's word of the weekend, so yeah.

Next afternoon, a friend called to invite us to lunch, so we drove out to meet him. WELL... The night before, a former Emir (ruling Sheikh of Kuwait) had passed away, so everything was closed. The funny thing about this is that all Kuwaitis were given the day (and 5 following I believe) off of work, so there were hundreds out driving around, looking for somewhere to go hang out, but NOTHING, not even McDonalds, was open. Everyone had kind of a "Now what?" expression on their faces. So we drove around a bit, found a yummy little Arabic restaurant that was open (ok, there may have been 3 open, and all were PACKED!). Then, we got a call from our friends asking if we'd like to head out on the boat with them. So we spent our evening on the boat, enjoying the cool breeze, relaxing, and chatting about what a great weekend we had. Very nice!

And to my utter amazement and JOY!, this morning, Jaden slept until past 7! woo hoo! I actually got a bit nervous and checked on him around 8, which woke him up. :)

so, that's our weekend.... relaxing, fun, good.

Don't ask me about mother's day, though. It seemed to be forgotten this year. Oh well, I can't complain. I don't do that anymore! ;)

BTW!

A couple people mentioned my blog title pic... I made it in the Paint program on my computer when I was bored! hehehe

Our good buddy Constance.... she's great!Maleah's "Queen of the World" pose
Saad and Justin

well....

2008-05-13T00:11:00.002+03:00

I feel a little guilty now, for being so upset about the Snapfish situation. I got an email from them today saying they were sorry that happened, it was all due to a technical problem, and they're refunding my money. I feel now that I overreacted.
I've been thinking that this is something I seem to do, often. I let the little things in life get to me entirely too much!
My goal for, well, my life! is to try and give people the benefit of the doubt, give people a chance before making a snap judgement. Even if people aren't being the best that they can, I can alway strive to be the best that I can. I'm a mommy, and I've got to set a good example for my kids! I may not be able to change others, but changing my outlook on things will sure make life easier, and in my little insignificant view, it'll make my world a better place.
So, thank you Snapfish! for refunding my money, and for teaching me a lesson on patience, and understanding.

Evil, Snapfish be thy name!

2008-05-11T14:44:00.002+03:00

Ok, well maybe not THAT drastic, but I'm TICKED OFF with Snapfish right now!!! I got an email saying I get a free (plus S&H) 8x10 print for Mother's Day, just for being a snapfish customer! yay! I'm good with free, and shipping only worked out to be $.99. So I'm putting in my new address, going through checkout, it shows my coupon applied, and my total is $.99, so I push Order, or Check Out, or whatever their dealy button says, and my receipt says, basically, THANKS for the $3.98! We'll be shipping you your order in a few days....
wait, $3.98??? what the hell!!! They said free, and only S&H was to apply, and it SHOWED my coupon being applied, but as soon as I push buy, they sneak in and take my $2.99. I know, it's not much, but it's the PRINCIPLE of the darn thing.....
So I emailed them asking them WHAT'S THE DEAL!!! We'll see what my response is.... Better be good! Or no more Snapfish for me...... And to think I really enjoyed using this company!!
>:-( grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...........

aarrrggg!

2008-05-08T16:22:00.006+03:00

Ok, so I've not been able to get online,. Something is messed up with internet in Kuwait! So I am finally going to post an OLD blog (see below if interested), and then this one.... It's not that exciting, just some random goofiness with Maleah and I. Hopefully our internet will be normal now, and I'll be able to blog more.... blah!

here's what we've been up to lately...
Maleah has become a theatre buff... JAZZ HANDS!! :)

Jaden has taken up football...

And they FINALLY filled up our pool!

Kid again!

2008-04-29T21:28:00.003+03:00

Hooray for being a kid with you kids! Today, Maleah and I decided to "spruce up" our refridgertor!

My family, my super cool mom and I, and Maleah with her first crush, Cesaer "Tuder" that she met at the Patch CDC in Stuttgart Germany....

and (my part) of the finished product.... Maleah's part changes daily

I know, we're goofy, but it's FUN!! And hey, you do what you can when you're BORED! lol....

Maleah's art : )

2008-04-24T12:26:00.004+03:00

Maleah's been hard at work drawing pictures today! Here's what she has come up with:

A squirrel

Barney

An "Opudus" (Octopus!)

Daddy : )

A princess

woo hoo for water parks!

2008-04-22T22:16:00.004+03:00

Well! I've been away a couple days, all because of that darn hubby of mine! He's off Mon., Tues. and Wed., so we've been running like crazy! We tend to do that on his days off.

Monday we had SO much fun! We took the kiddos to Aqua Park here in Kuwait. It was awesome! It's pretty good sized, with some great slides, and the BEST area for little ones! We had an amazing time, but unfortunately cameras aren't allowed inside. I think it's because Muslim women can be offended if you take pictures of them. I was totally ok with that, though!

Some people are annoyed by the customs here, but people just gotta remember, it's NOT OUR COUNTRY! We expect foreigners to respect our traditions and customs when they visit the states, so get over it! I hate people complaining about things like that. If you've got a problem with life not being like it is in America, GO HOME TO AMERICA! sorry..... I just get tired of people bitching about things like that, both here and when I was in Germany! Differnces in traditions, customs and cultures are what makes the world so amazing!

OK, sorry for that...just had a bit of a snarl building up inside, and it escaped! whew!

To lighten the mood, here are some pics of Maleah (and that crazy hubby of mine!) BEFORE going to the water park!

SO, that was fun fun fun for Monday.

Tuesday we met up with a friend for lunch and then went to 2 or 3 (?) different malls to walk. It's so warm here already that if you wanna get out and walk, malls are your best bet. Gotta love some good air conditioning! NOT something I miss about Germany (their lack of air conditioning)

Yesterday (Wednesday) was just a completely relaxed day, and then in the evening we headed over to another friends house for a night of poker and fun! So, that was my week thus far. Justin went back to work this morning after only 2 hours of sleep (poor guy!), and I'm fighting a headache, but we had a GREAT "weekend". Hope you all have had a good week and a have a good weekend!

2008-04-20T11:20:00.002+03:00

Ok, Jennifer, this is the video I was talking about! I took it with my regular digital camera, so it's not great quality. I had to share it because you shared the Backyardigans with us! I have another of her doing the dance they do while she sings, but it's too long! Hope you love it, as well as anyone else who looks at my blog!

oooh, now I'm inspired to post more cool videos, since I have ISSUES trying to email them. We'll see. : )

Kidlet Update

2008-04-19T10:31:00.007+03:00

Ok, now I've shared a bit about life here in Kuwait, I'll give some info on how the kiddos are doing! OK! well, as of yesterday, Jaden is now 9 months old, which makes Maleah 3 years and 9 months! WOW how time flies when you have kids!

Jaden still has just two teeth. He loves giving us his toothy grin at every opportunity! He's eating all kinds of solids now (bread, scrabmled eggs, pasta, crackers) and lovin' it! He is quite an eater! He is also pulling himself up to a standing position on EVERYTHING!!! He prefers standing to any other position. We have to put a water box in front of our TV stand to prevent him from opening the doors and standing up to play with the DVD player. Nothing else is heavy enough to stop him. But now, he just pulls himself up on the box! aaarrrgggg! He isn't quite crawling yet, more of the "army man" crawl, just using his arms. He'll get up on his hands and knees, or hands and feet in an inverted V shape, but he refuses to use his knees to move himself. It's great fun to watch him, and he's QUICK!

Maleah is definately 3 going on 30! She's so amazing! She's always got something clever to say, and has Justin and I just rolling in a giggle fit many times a day! Her personality is almost bigger than her body, and she's as sweet as can be. Already quite a little mommy, she is always helping me with Jaden, from giving him his pacifier, singing to him, even climbing into his bed to read to him when she hears that he's awake. She was "reading" the book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?" to him the other day. She's got the book memorized! It was ADORABLE! Glad the camera was handy!!

She has an incredible thirst for knowledge, too. She's always talking about going to school. We'll probably be heading back to the states in August, so we'll be looking into preschools for her. She's doing great with recognizing colors, and shapes. She'll point out rectangles and triangles when she sees them when we're out and about. She can recognize a few letters, and she'll count things out. "Look mommy, there are two! One, two!" So my goal over the next few months is to work with her on her letters and numbers, recognizing and writing them. We've found some great books over here (in English!) that are workbooks to help with that. She's really excited to start it, and she's looking forward to writing a letter to her aunt Jewel and uncle Andreas. She's always drawing, too! She's pretty darn good for a 3 year old! I'll have to start taking pics of her art.

Lots of energy, happiness and imagination. That's our girl, Maleah!

Around the house...Kuwait

2008-04-18T07:05:00.003+03:00

Sunset out our laundry room window, looking out over Salmiya

View from the roof of our building (but durnit, I posted the WRONG pic! This one's still ok)

The Kuwait Towers at night

Salmiya Mosque, right by our house

View from our balcony at sunset, looking towards the gulf

Update from Kuwait

2008-04-17T22:10:00.001+03:00

Well, I've been here in Kuwait since November of '07, and it's been good. It's an amazing place. The land, the food, the people...what an experience it's been! It's starting to warm up (it's been in the high 80s and up to mid-90s so far!), and I'm beginning to understand what it means to live in a desert country. It was very cold during the months of December and January, and there is NO built in heat in the houses here! So we relied on portable oil heaters. It was quite a shock to experience the cold. I mean, come on, it's the DESERT! Ok, well that shot down one of my dumb American assumptions.

The people here are SO kind, and curious, and they love our kids! Well, for the most part they love American's in general. But truly, the Kuwaiti people are GREAT! And uber stylish! I felt underdressed sometimes going out in Germany, but here I almost feel shabby! They have beautiful bright clothes, and huge sparkling sunglasses, and the SHOES and PURSES! Many of the women have such beautiful eyes that they enhance with dark eyeliner and mascara and bright colored eyeshadow. And they guys here, well, yeah. There are some MAJOR hotties! ;) But aside from their beauty, they just have this presence. As a kid, I grew up thinking of Arabian people as they are portrayed in the movies, rich, powerful, stong...and you know what? When you see them in their traditional clothing (I'm not exactly sure of the proper names, so I won't even try) it's all you've ever imagined. They just ooze vitality, and power. It's really a cool thing to see. It's even better to see them driving around in their cars! I'm talking Hummers (EVERYWHERE!), Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Mazerratis, Jaguars, Mercedes, BMW..... They have such expensive cars here, but they can't drive! OH my gosh, some of the absolute worst accidents that you could EVER imagine...yeah, they happen here, daily!

So, I guess that's the scoop for now... Just a little piece of Kuwait..... I couldn't even begin to describe what it's really like....But I DO miss home (Germany and Oregon) but I'm very happy here for the time being. You should come check it out!