Constant Beginnings

I did it. I finished another class--Legal Issues in Special Education. Sidenote--there was a time in high school where I thought perhaps law was my calling. OMG. I am SOOOO glad I did not follow that route. It would have been a pain filled process. BOREDOM. While I absolutely HATED this class for no other reason that it was incredibly boring, I am THRILLED to say that I am done. Another A on the transcript and 1 more credit down. This means only my final project remains for my Autism certification! Hallelujiah! I have no idea on what my final project should focus, but the end of this road is near. The funny thing was that I wasn't certain I could completed another area of certification while working full time, juggling 2 small children and basically, acting as a single parent 90% of the time. Such is life. It came, I did, and I have survived. Woo hoo! I am so happy right now. That being said, there will be no happy dances. I have a paper to write for another class I am taking. ...

I posted this on facebook yesterday, but it is one of those things I don't want to forget, SOOOO, here it is... While I was pounding it out on the treadmill yesterday, the girls convinced me that we needed a walk outside. Fine. It was cold, but fine. Claire bundled up in her jacket, hat and mittens, while Mya simply chose her spring jacket. Our dialogue went like this: Me: Mya, it's pretty cold outside. Don't you think you should wear a hat, winter jacket and maybe gloves, like Claire? Mya: No, Mama. I'm coool. (said in her 4 year old version of a hip 14 year old's response). The girl has attitude, personality and the lingo to boot. I love every little thing. Claire is such a goal driven kiddo. It kills me. She has joined Marathon Club at school, which is basically a club that meets for walking/running. The kids log their distance, working toward their individual goal and by the end of the club, they've accomplished that goal and in Claire's case--com...

GM came through for us in a BIG way!! We are so very thankful.  They have a  Goodwill program where they will donate parts or labor sometimes both depending on situations. We didn't think we'd have a shot, but the dealership we are working with decided it was worth a try. They shared our story of being in the military, spending the past two years in Korea, doing our best to accommodate recalls ourselves while there and shipping our car on to Germany this past summer. GM graciously agreed to cover 90% of the parts AND labor for our steering gear and 50% for the other minor things that needed to be done. Hallelujiah! It is such a relief. We were prepared to replace it all ourselves, but I was in shock over the whole thing. I am so thankful that we won't have to stress about our car repairs. They will be done and won't break our bank to cover them.Yippeee! GO GM! Here is the amazing dealership we've been working with (in case you are in Germany and need a hook up). T...

Yesterday was a day from HELL, I tell you. HELL! All started out fine. I did the work thing, went to the lab during my lunch hour to take a PG test to confirm I am not, I repeat, NOT pregnant as necessary for my HSG test later in the day. I returned to work for a few hours, picked up Chris and mosied to Landstuhl for the test. Total awesomeness! The test was horrible. It hurt almost as bad as the pain of contractions. Fitting, I suppose as that is the objective. Anyway, survived. (I updated the post "ANSWERS" for those of you wanting to know specifics on that end.) Returned to work, watched Claire run her laps for marathon club-23 to be exact. Wore me out just watching. Headed off base to pick up Mya at school. On my way, heard a phone ringing. Couldn't find the phone. Finally did. Called the person back. Discovered the caller was the GM dealership who was fixing our car--headlight and checkup. The car needs work, apparently, "extensive work." Of course, t...

This is my catch up post... -Our first niece, Olivia turned 13 on the 13th! Her golden birthday! I was there for her birth, I am her godmother, and spent alot of time with her until moving from ND. We love you, Livi! I hope you had a fabulous day! -Our nephew and Godson, Jackson, celebrated his 1st birthday on the 13th. HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JACKSON! -Chris spent the weekend in Munich for a beer festival. He survived, though suffered a bit. We are glad he is back. I missed the spaciousness of having only him in my bed. The girls slept with me and while I say "with me," I basically mean "ON me." -One downside to living overseas is vehicle maintenance. In Korea this was a MAJOR problem as the auto crew on base could hardly speak Korlish (a Korean version of English--word coined by ME), so there was little to no hope of dealing with recalls, etc. We dealt with a headlight being out for 6 months, finally getting it replaced just so we could ship it. Anyway, same pr...

I frequently wonder and dream about what career my children will one day pursue. Their personalities speak volumes and I can't help but assume those same personalities will pave the way for their future. Claire seems stubborn, yet loving, analytical, methodical, careful, and cautious. Mya is a risk taker, social, tender, yet daring. Both kiddos surprise me daily, though sometimes not so much. Case in point: I could see this one a mile away. She LOVES school. She LOVES teaching. She has such a tender, caring little heart. This could very well be her calling. Time will tell.

Every once in awhile, Mya's teacher emails me pictures of her doing something crazy, well actually, they are essentially of Mya being Mya, but to the rest of the world, it is craziness. Check these out. I LOVE the lip action. She is strutting her stuff. This girl has dance moves like no other. Her favorite at this time is the "robot."  Photobombing? What 3 year old does this? Judging by her classmates' expressions, Mya is the only one :) 

I planned on updating you all with my journal entries, but I was overtaken by a huge power. Guilt. I wasn't going to tell, but I will (because I know you are all just dying to know). My personal challenge is over. Which one, you ask? The no buying clothes for me challenge. I made it two looonnnggg  months and while I didn't hold strong to my 6 month goal, I am so flippin happy it is over. This cruise got the best of me. My Mom will love that as she is dying right now at the cost of the whole adventure and we aren't done paying yet. (On an aside...I was searching for hotel rooms in Venice. For days I couldn't find anything less than $400 per night that would accomodate our family of 4. Low and behold, the stars aligned and I scored a hotel for $200 that fits all 5 (our family + my mom) AND it offers great proximity to the ship AND free breakfast! 10 points for ME! Anyway, I glanced quickly at my closet this morning. Appropriate spring/summer attire are missing. I nee...

Tooth fairies and losing teeth have been weighing on Claire's mind since beginning kindergarten. It is a regular conversation. She wanted desperately to lose one too. I simply kept telling her when it was time, she would. Low and behold, that "time" crept up on us like a bad dream. She took an apple off my desk after school, devoured it and soon after said, "Mom, my tooth is loose."  I shot her a look and Mya immediately says, "Oh, this can't be good." It was darling as are most things she says lately. Anyway, I did the check and yep, it was definitely loose. She continued to share that fact with every neighbor she encountered for the rest of the afternoon. We tried to call Chris, but he was in a meeting, so I encouraged her not to wiggle it until Daddy got home so he could share in the moment. Sadly, Chris didn't get home until 7:30 last night (we thought we had escaped incredibly long work hours when we left Korea, but no such luck). The toot...

Source: lilblueboo.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Source: lilblueboo.com via Ashley on Pinterest