Potty Training Day 1 - a.k.a. Mummy Needs WINE!

We are at the end of day one, and it actually has gone quite well, I really don't want to jinx myself, and she totally hasn't really gotten "it" but I'm an not a blubbering wreck in the corner either!
I purchased and downloaded THIS guide, I'm not going to tell you too much about it, if I can cough up the $30 for it, so can you... and right now it's probably the best $30 I have EVER spent!  Sophia spent the day completely naked eating cheetos.. FACT, well it wasn't cheetos but she was naked eating pretzels and popcorn, gummi bears and oreos... best day of her life I am sure... we wait til she starts peeing and then rush to the potty, there are no accidents on day one, it's all "learning" so we had 3 pees this morning, the majority of it making it in to the potty, then one almighty poop (I looked for the signs and put her on the pot, within 2 minutes and 2 stories she had pooped... and she was amazed! LOL) 2 more pees (one completely on the floor because I wasn't fast enough) and 1 completely unprompted completely on the potty! YAY! So not entirely a bad day! I was on her like white on rice, she had 150% of my attention no computer, no phone, no book, just Mummy staring down Sophia ALL.DAY!  Today has taught me that my child is a camel.. she can go hours without peeing, the norm for her apparently is about 1.5hrs... then holy buckets it comes out fast....! Sophia is super exicted when she pees in the pot, taking it and dumping it out into the big toilet and then, flushing and getting to play in the sink while she floods the bathroom "washes her hands"
The best part about today, she was so active, skipped her nap and has been alseep in bed since 6:30 yippeeeeeee, I know I will be awake at some absurd time tomorrow... but for tonight it's worth it.... off to catch up on the interwebs and read my guide ready for day 2 of battle!

So-phia, So-Mummy, So-Woody?

Since Sophia has been able to talk she has called herself "Phia" - I think it's because that's all the hears when I'm telling her very sweetly (ahem) for the eleventy-billionth time NOT to do something soPHIA you are being very NAUGHTY! Or it could be that like most children she has a problem with the S sound at the start of a word....

Well recently I decided we need to tackle this, so on a recurring basis I have been asking her what her name is... she will say "Phia" and I will say "Hello SOphia" she will then say "Sophia" she's getting better at correcting herself without my prompts... well today at bath time, we do our daily recap, things we've done throughout the day, new words we have learnt etc etc -
Me - "what is your name"
Sophia - "Phia",
Me - "Oh hello Sophia"
Sophia -  "Yes SOphia, what's your name Mummy?"
Me - Lorraine
Sophia "No it's SO-Mummy_
Me - LOL "OK"
Sophia "What's Odie's name? SO-Odie"
Me - still laughing, "what's Daddy's name?"
Sophia "SO-Daddy"
Me - "What's our friends name?"
Sophia "SO-Bray.... SO-Woody!!!!!"
(Brayden who she was initially going to say, was the Wood to her Jessie at Halloween... SO-cute!)

Show me the Money....

I wasn't going to write this blog UNTIL things had worked themselves out (literally) for fear that I would be judged for not rushing my darling sweet child to the emergency room, BUT I keep thinking of funny little things that I should write, and know I'll forget them! So here goes..... go ahead judge me... she's still alive.....

I have never wanted my child to poop so much, I've been her own personal cheerleader since Sunday night... that fateful Sunday night.... it was a dark and stormy night... no wait that's not my story to tell.... ANYWAY it was Sunday, Sophia being the little entertainer that she is, came to find me in the kitchen to show me her new "trick" - If you have been around Sophia lately, you will know that she is obsessed with Halloween -  ghosties, pumpkins, trick or treating... and VAMPIRES... I didn't think that my 2 year old was going to LOVE the whole vampire scene.. but thanks to Mickey Mouse (damn you Disney AGAIN!) and Max & Ruby (really Rosemary Wells!?!?) Sophia's new passion in life is vampires...

So back to this "trick" (and this should have been one of those times when maybe I shouldn't have laughed with her.. I'm still learning) Sophia bounds into the kitchen and smiles at me..... cute... no wait.... I take a closer look and on inspection come to find that she has 2 nickels shoved up under her top lip... the puzzled look on my face was all Sophia needed to announce to me that she was a "VAMPIIIIIIIIRE"..... and I laughed... and then she laughed and then........ SHIT... she coughs and splutters, one nickel comes flying out of her mouth and the other.... well in her words... "I ate the monies Mummy"... my heart lurches in my chest.... she's still breathing.. check.. she's now laughing..  I hand her a drink and she gulps it down.. ok not stuck anywhere... so I do what EVERY clueless good mother does... I jump on Google... (well first I skype my hubby... but he was about as much use as a chocolate teapot.... "maybe she'll poop out a dollar" - THANKS Honey! OK give him more credit.. he told me to call the nurse advice line... I totally skipped that idea as I knew they would just tell me to go to the ER, like they do for every situation).. so Google it was.... come to find out (well I kinda already knew) that kiddos swallowing foreign objects is quite normal... I just never thought it would happen to us...

So taking the advice from my online army... I skipped the ER... instead for the last 3 days I have been making sure she eats and drinks as normal.. slipping extra apple juice, prunes, corn (poop enducing food) and the occasional fiber one bar her way, to help the nickel make it's way through... nothing is stuck as she is still pooping... just hasn't pooped the nickel yet... her color is fine, she's not breathing funky, she's her normal happy self.... if you ask her is her belly hurts she says no... well then she thinks about it and says "bandage please" ... we'll give it a few more days and if nothing appears I'll take her to the Doctor.

Just to clarify - the reasons I didn't rush my monkey to the ER are numerous... the biggest being I didn't want to freak her out... I didn't want her to get strapped down for an X-Ray, poked and prodded, maybe havng to force her to drink something nasty to get it moving... the things that would make for a VERY unpleasant time for a 2 year old... I'll figure we'll let nature do it's thing.. and then if nothing transpires.. we'll take the ER route..
I'll save you the updates every time she poops..!!

Apple Strudel a la Apple

Pinterest is my new guilty pleasure, I seem to spend countless hours on there, pinning random crap to my boards!  All of it cute and delish looking, but most of it I'll never attempt to make, see or taste, it's a wonderful waste!

Today however, after adding yet another pin to my mmmmmmm FOOD board, I decided to make something that caught my eye a few days ago (I'm not going to share the pin on here, because you should all go sign up for pinterest and then you can follow my boards and see my original pin!) but the inspiration for said pin comes from HERE YES folks, apple pie in an apple - GENIUS! Plus saves you some major calories for the gobbs of thick custard you are going to pour on top!

What I created today can only be described in one word... magnificent! It wasn't quite apple pie, as I only had puff pastry on hand, as one does, and didn't feel like making my own pie dough... so I made APPLE STRUDEL a la APPLE! YUM!

Here's how you can creat this fab dish yourself! (my photos aren't as good as the original source, but you get it..)

Preheat your oven (190C) and gather utensils/bowls/ingredients etc

Cut tops off apples and scoop out the middles, slicing scooped apple into a bowl (discard core) peel and dice top of apple (the bit you cut off at the start) - add a dash of lemon juice to stop apples from turning brown.
Place hollowed apples into baking dish.
For each apple you will need

• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp Flour
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Mix together and then mix with diced apples -

then scoop apple mixture back into apples and mound slightly

Now you need to add the pastry tops, we used store bought puff pastry, you can either buy your pastry or make your own, it doesn't really matter... roll out pastry and cut, we used a flower and heart cutter, but use whatever floats your boat! Next you need to make little vent holes in the top, to let the steam escape

and then put your shapes onto your apples, don't try and mould them as the heat of

the oven will do that for you

Brush tops with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar, place into preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until tops are brown and apples are tender (I had to place foil on top of mine after about 15 minutes to stop the pastry from burning)

et Voila - Apple Strudel a la Apple

Served wth custard - YUMMY!

Sophia Chats With Daddy

Sophia has been doing remarkably well with this deployment, she's pretty hardy and will never be called a Daddy's Girl, but she for sure misses him.  We go through the almost daily ritual of

S: "Sophia's Sad"

M: "Why?"

S: "Lost my Daddy"

M: " Oh you didn't lose your Daddy, he's at work, he'll be home at Christmas"

S: "Sophia happy now"

She's definitely one for a routine, and that's what the little interchange has become.  We talk about Daddy a lot, and I chat with him most days on Yahoo and then a couple of times a week we skype, today was one such day....

Sophia has been pretty bummed about our trips to the post office recently, she always seems to be sending packages, but after the vast amounts of mail she got on her birthday, she hasn't received anything since.. so I asked Josh to remedy this situation and send her something in the mail.  She's forever sending him cards and lots of artwork for his room, she's got to the point now where she'll make something and say "Sophia's NOT Daddy's" LOL I guess she wants to keep her work (I told Josh he had better bring back every scrap of paper she has mailed him!) Today Daddy came through on his promise and there was a nice little puffy envelope waiting for Sophia at the collection window... She was so excited I let her open it then and there.... tearing through the paper she gasps as she spots her teddy bear from Daddy.... Minnie Mouse (her favourite companion) is quickly forgotten and tossed on the floor and she takes the bear in her clutches and runs off! I shout after her "you'll have to tell Daddy thank-you" to this she replies "Thank-you Daddy" - laughter ensues from the people standing in the collection line....

We get home and Skype Josh... Sophia tells him all about her bear, thanks him over and over and then tells me to "move out the way Mummy" - I put the laptop on a cushion so she can see and shuffle down to the other end of the couch.. obviously not far enough away for Sophia as she tells me again to move out the way and points out the living room door... off I go.. hiding around the corner so I can still sneak looks at them and listen...

what happened next is probably one of the sweetest things I have ever witnessed between my husband and child, they simply chatted.. Sophia read him Each Peach Pear Plum, complete with scary witch cackle and the sound of Robin Hood's horn, she pointed to all the people asking and then telling Daddy who they were... she moved on to her snowman book, lifting the flaps for Daddy to see... they talked about her teddy bears, Mickey Mouse, the clothes she was wearing, her hair, mundane run of the mill stuff, but it was so sweet to see the light and happiness in both of their faces.. Sophia hasn't been so great with web camming Josh, just a few snippets here and there until she notices something shiny in the background and take off to investigate... but I am sure today MORE than made up for it...

Sunday Rant!

First I need to apologise for not writing as much as I said I would but I've got  that age old excuse that I've been busy.... busy with ummmm well what's that thing called, the thing that gets in the way of all the awesomeness and great adventures... oh yeah I've been busy with LIFE... living my life with my mini me at my side....

-- my mini me, my constant companion, the sunshine in my life and the subject of today's rant.. SOPHIA (insert scary slasher music here...)

As much as I love Sophia, this deployment is getting old, and the new phase of her not sleeping even older.... we have moved on from the "no cry sleep solution for newborns and babies" to the "no cry sleep solution for toddlers and preschoolers" which should be re-titled "the no cry sleep solution for anyone over the age of two who likes to keep their parents on their toes" - as we know, children are constantly evolving and changing, exploring and growing, so what may have worked for months on end no longer applies, you have to stay one step ahead, changing it up and starting all over... it's exhausting.  But the lack of sleep even more so.

It's all my fault (something the book tells you not to say (out loud)EVER) My mother warned me not to have an August baby, my whole life was one BIG warning.  My sister was an August baby, and she was a complete pain in the arse (and when I say "was" I mean "is" and when I say "pain in the arse" I mean "complete fucking nightmare") August babies are stubborn and contrite, needy and narcissistic, if you say it's black, they will swear up and down that it's white... Sophia is an August baby.

So getting back on topic, SLEEP or lack thereof is my rant for today, Sophia has got in this terrible habit of sleeping really well until I go to bed, I don't know if she senses it, or it's suddenly quiet in the house, but about 30 minutes after I'm in bed.. Sophia is in my bed too (yes we're still doing that terrible thing of mid-night co-sleeping - stop judging me and get off my blog).. and she sleeps soundly next to me until about 3am, and then the fun begins, she wakes up, she's thirsty, she wants the dog, she wants her doll, she wants her clothes off, she wants them back on, she can't keep still, she can't get settled.. on and on and on. The biggest thing is that she physically can't keep still, she can't sit still during the day and evidently this is mirrored at night.. she's kicking and wiggling, squirming and flailing.. usually in my direction.. she can't keep to her side (well Josh's side) of the bed.. she has to be right up on me..

"The Book" suggests introducing a "lovey" I laugh in the face of a lovey.. we've had a blanket with a tag, success for a few days, we've had a taggie (about a million little tags sewn around a fleece) not successful at all.. we've had a baby doll, occasional success, but by far Sophia's favourite "lovey" is ME - more to the point my face... Sophia spends hours each day and night caressing my face.... awwww how sweet some of you might say.. to that I say NO... it is not sweet.. it is horrible.. she likes more than anything to "fiddle" with my lips, brushing them with her fingers, pinching them (this hurts), picking them (this hurts too) you may think I'm being mean or being a baby about it.. but it's insane... and until you've had multiple hours of someone constantly having their hands on your mouth... you don't know squat.  (August babies strike again - my sister LOVED to stroke my Mums hair when she was tired/going to sleep) So my lips get sore and chapped and still she continues, what can you do.. slap her little hand away, take it away over and over.. because she laughs, she gets even more persistent.. almost hurting me on purpose... so "Book" NOW what do you suggest!?!!??!?!?

This whole loving on my face is relatively new... she didn't do this as a baby.. she didn't touch or fiddle.. she just slept.. and she slept fine with me.. I want to go back to those days... but we have to go forward.. there is no choice.. so join me on this turbulent journey as I work through "the book" getting her to sleep through the night in her bed, then getting her to stop loving on my face and eventually getting her to go to sleep by herself... it's not an easy fix, it won't happen over night.. but slow progress is what I expect.. after all you don't see many college students heading off, not potty trained, drinking milk out of a bottle and sleeping in their parents bed.. we'll get this licked (hopefully before college!)

p.s. I need to also appologize for the terrible spelling in this piece.. I hit spell check and it highlighted every.single.word. WTF? FML!

I Never Finish Anything

BUT that's going to change.. if you know me well, you know I am full of good intentions and even better ideas... however those ideas generally never come into fruition.. I make the plan, I get the required components together and A LOT of the time it never gets out of the design/imagination stage.. let alone finished... so around my house I have various projects all in the stages of infancy... I'm pretty sure it drives my DH absolutely mad, not to mention it wastes a lot of money!
Let me give you some examples...

1. Sophia's baby feet wall hanging (feet stamped, canvas designed... not put together, which would take about 30 minutes!)
2. Coloured buckets (thought I would do my own take on Sophia's Easter bucket.. but for another use.. if it comes out well I could attempt to sell them "gasp" (I have the bucket, the sandpaper, the spray paint, the design.... all the components just sitting there)
3. I have eleventybillion scrapbook style greetings cards ready to be made.. you know when I had the plan to make all my Birthday/Christmas/New baby cards.. and made like ONE (I have a whole cupboard full of scrapbooking stuff (various designs/holidays etc) to aid me in this task)
4. My lawn furniture needs weather-proofing.. I have the stuff to do it.. even got to the point of cleaning and prepping it... AND then didn't do it... oh well it'll be going into winter storage out of the elements soon...!
5. My Easter decorations are still prominently displayed in the entryway... and we are less than 100 days from Christmas..
6. Oh and not to forget the fact that we moved into our house over nine months ago and I still have boxes to unpack (we're not just talking 1 or 2 either.. oops!)

these are just ones from the top of my head, going around house in detail I am sure I could find a lot more half finished "projects"

Well no more I tell you..... recently I have been getting better... this isn't something that I can cure overnight... but so far I'm doing OK... I finished weeding my garden (not that you can ever REALLY finish weeding), after rescuing my bedding plants from the life sapping clutches of the green tendrils, wiping my brow and declaring a "job well done" I walked back around to the front and saw something hideous sprouting from the earth.... argh

I so far have 2 Christmas cakes baked and fruit for the next soaking in a nice brandy bath, you may think that this a huge unfinished disaster waiting to happen but NO I will not only bake the last few cakes.. .. I will marzipan and ice ALL of them beautifully.. before Christmas...maybe... DEFINITELY!

I am sure I am missing something glaringly obvious that I have recently completed.. if I happen to remember what it is, I will come back and update...

I need to work out what the root to this problem is.... I think it's more than just plain laziness.. I have ideas of grandeur.. a BIG picture of how I want my house to look and I think I am scared to come up short.. scared that even if I put my time and effort into it.. it just won't look as perfect as I want it to... so what do I do.. I live in a completely unperfect state through fear.... GAY!

So those visiting my house in the coming weeks, be prepared to see my house littered with half finished projects as I attempt to finally finish (well at least start) all the things I have dreamt of for so long...

Your Cheating Heart...

Inspired by my blog post earlier this week, several recent conversations with DH, my SIL (who was worried about her DH joining the Air Guard as she thought the military is full of drugs, cheaters and general debauchery - don't worry I set her straight.. I told her she was forgetting the general day to day crap too) and I have another new post to wow you with... definitely!

I think cheating is always somewhere in the back of a girls head when their beloved deploys for any period of time (I mean not the girl cheating obviously, their SPOUSE cheating)... for me it's usually waaaaaaaaaaay in the deep dark depths of my subconscious... apart from this deployment.. and I only have one reason why that may be... it has nothing to do with Josh.. and I can't fathom for any length of time that he actually might do the dirty on me.. for he knows that not only will he feel my wrath, but the wrath of the entire "family"... plus he's a super good guy and 10 naked girls could be throwing themselves at him (his daydream of choice, I'm sure) and he'd still make the right decision (to NOT cheat.. just for clarification!) OK anyways...
It has to do with a completely selfish reason, the same selfish reason (other than the obvious) as to why I wouldn't want him to deploy to anywhere nasty and get himself killed... BECAUSE - I don't want to be a single parent... there I said it.. I put it out in the universe and am letting it freeeeeeee...

I REALLY think that, that is all it comes down to... If DH cheated (and we all know he wouldn't.. I get it.. Thank you) I know I would never be able to forgive him, so of course it would all end in a terrible divorce and I'd end up as a single parent... it's just not for me... my hat absolutely goes off to all the Mums and Dads out there who are doing it for themselves... you seriously deserve a medal, better yet a gin and tonic each night.. but I look at my beautiful Sophia.. and think to myself "if I had to do, what I have done for the last 3 months, everyday by myself,  until you're 18-  I might just commit myself now and save you the trouble later" SERIOUSLY

Being Mummy and Daddy for any period of time is super tough.. we all know that.. and that my friends is why it crazes me to my soul that in the forefront of my mind for the last x number of days is a truly nasty image of my DH with another girl...

I didn't write this blog for you all to send me "don't worry Josh will never cheat" posts, or pity me and my messed up mind... it's just something that has been lingering and I thought I'd put it out there for the masses and the greater good!

Amen, Baby Jesus, a-tish-shoo and please pass the scotch...

I Have a German Lover?

Yes I know there is a question mark at the end of the title..all will become clear, maybe...

This afternoon was spent pulling weeds in the garden.  While we were away my lovely landlords took it upon themselves to cut my grass, however they weren't gracious enough to pull the weeds from the flower beds and it looked like the triffids were taking over... for fear that my poor child would be eaten, I armed myself with a bucket, trowel, scraper, cushion to comfort my rear (I'm a luxury gardener) and set to work... At about 4pm my neighbours started flocking home, not sure why they all finish at 4pm vs 5pm, and soon enough, as I am perched precariously on the wall between my garden and my neighbours driveway, along comes my neighbour... and this is where it gets a little "interesting"

Neighbour - "I see you have been doing your husbands work"

Me - "In more ways than one..." snicker... OMG did I just say that out loud to my German neighbour.... I immediately start to feel my face flush....

Neighbour - laughing with knowing smile "well looks nice, you are doing good job, if you need help I send my son over"

Me - glad we are talking about the garden.... "that's very kind of you, hopefully I will be done soon, but if he'd like to help he can come over"

Neighbour - "OK, Tschuss"

..... and back to pulling weeds I go...... an hour or so passes, no sign of the neighbour and I need to make dinner... it's going to take me the next few days to finish up the rest of the weeding so if I see him while I'm out there I'll rope him into helping me....

FAST FORWARD to 8:45pm....

Sophia has been asleep for about .2 seconds when the doorbell rings.. you have got to be kidding me... if she wakes up I will kill the person on the other side of the door!
I open it up and who is standing there..... my neighbours son... now you may have read this far and are thinking that the son is probably a young kid looking to make some extra pocket money.. well you are wrong... as it's so expensive to live out here in Germany, many people live with their parents well into their 20s.. while they attend university... my neighbours son is one of them... anyway.. open door...

The Son - "Hallo"

Me - "Hallo"

The Son - " I am here to do the work of your husband" and he F-ing WINKS....OMG
(I'm sure he is trying not to laugh)

Me - "ummmm ahhhh well it's getting late and dark out, maybe another day would be better"

The Son - "YES, I will come back and ask again tomorrow evening, maybe you need me then"

Me - "ummmmmmm the baby is asleep, the evening is not so good"

The Son - " Thank you, see you tomorrow night" and he walks away...

so we weren't talking about the garden after all....tomorrow night I have a hot date with the son of my neighbour... he's coming to do my "husbands work"... should be interesting....he he

REALLY Think I Should Write Something....

anything, you're going to get bored, but it will waste 5 minutes of your time reading this!

When I started this new blog I promised myself I wouldn't slack off and let weeks go by without writing, and here I am, I've been back home in Germany for a whole week already I haven't blogged one.single.word argh!

This week has felt like a month, I'm still technically on vacation time since my sister and nephew are visiting (vacation time i.e. still eating like shit and not doing anything productive!) we've been super busy, other than today, lazy Sunday spent eating pastries and napping, but I am trying to squeeze as much into their vacation time as I can - sight-seeing/shopping/swimming/eating yadda yadda... but it also leaves me in a predicament... when my Mum and nephew visited at Easter, we did much of the same stuff, Miramar pool, Farmers Market, Brunch etc etc.. so NEXT time they come visit I really have to give it my A game and come up with a new routine for their visit... which sucks but at the same time, means I get to go and see (test out) new fun places to take visiting relatives.... so stay-at-home-Mum... is REALLY find-cool-things-to-do-in-the-area-when-people-visit..... oh the joys! Luckily for all of us, Germany is HUGE and has so much history and culture I could show people around for years and not get bored and find new/interesting things each time... yippeeeeeee

The fam-damily departs Tuesday, which will bring my 6 week summer holiday to a close... it also means we are nearly half way done with the deployment, it's all downhill from here.. in every which way!

Sophia's Party

Everyone has gone home and the house is so quiet.... Sophia is snuggled in bed with her new BFF Goofy (Thanks Megan & Max) - she had an AMAZING Day! Time for a sip of wine.... well you know.. a bottle.

Bouncy castle arrived at noon and for 8 hours straight Sophia bounced... and bounced... and bounced only stopping to scoff a quick tea and blow bubbles with her very favourite "Ray Daddy" - move over Josh.. you've got some strong competition! LOL

The cake looked amazing, don't want to even think how many hours I spent slaving over it.. but it looks wonderful and from what I have been told tastes divine! YAY!
The Vanilla Bakery catered the rest of her party... less stress for me, I would recommend them to anyone.. never seen such beautiful and tasty food.. Mum now also has a freezer stocked that will last her to our next visit at Christmas (I have a tendency to be a "feeder" so ALWAYS over-order... oops!)

But for now I'd like to thank everyone who came and made Sophia's day so special xx
Glug glug zzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZ

A Young Life Lost

It's been 3 days and my heart is still breaking, it's all that I think about.  I can't even begin to imagine how my dear friends Sara and Turbo (Darrain) are feeling. Their beautiful daughter Amantha was taken from them Monday night in a tragically fatal car accident, she was 18.  Amantha was to start college this autumn and had the whole world at her fingertips.  Not only was she beautiful, she was extremely talented, smart, funny and kind.  The kind of girl who would give up her Saturday plans to watch the neighbours kids.

Amantha this post is for you.. I know you will always watch down on your friends and family, your love will surround them.
The tears may stop, but the love will not......
xx

aaaahhhhhhhhh

I just realized today that my blog is partially named "Deployment Days" and as yet I haven't really written about our current deployment, so I figured a lazy Sunday is the perfect day to do so....

This deployment is pretty much 28% done, and I say "pretty much" because technically I don't know when Josh will be back, so as a good wife always should... I err on the side of caution and add a few extra days to the countdown just in case... so we could be sitting here at 30%... but who knows!

28% has gone by in the blink of an eye.  I think it's because I have had stuff to do and plans to see through... the first few weeks were gearing up to leave for England.. then since I've been here in Blighty, I've been busy with shopping & organizing our trip for my cousins wedding, get back from that and then into Sophia's birthday party planning... this week will be spent finishing bits up and making her cake.. then next week will be our last week here to go do stuff and then the trip home....

The REAL deployment will start in September, once we're settled back in our home, my sister and nephew have departed and it's just Sophia & I, one loooooong day after another....! Thank goodness I am part of MOMS club (Awesome group of Women) and they have activities each week to keep everyone entertained, kiddos and Mummies alike, it also means I get to chat to real grown up people every few days.. which is an added bonus... after a few days of just chit chatting with Sophia & Odie, I often feel my sanity drifting away...

So far it really hasn't been much to write about... I send a few care packages, make sure the bills & rent get paid, cut the grass once in a while.. and go about my life as I usually would.. I just know thought that I am going to hate it when the first snow hits and I have to shovel the damn driveway and sidewalk every.freakin.day...... 2 is too young to have Sophia out there doing it.... right!??!!

Before I sign off, I should probably mention Josh in this post... since I am sure he is part of this deployment somewhere..... my poor DH stuck in 120+ heat and 20-90% humidity each day..... sleeping on the top bunk in a room with 2 other guys, surviving on a diet of grilled cheese, cereal and twizzlers... getting sunburned to hell when he attempts to spend his day off at the pool... having to hear about his wife having a good ol' time with her family and friends, and about how awesome his daughter is and how much she's learning and growing each and every day.. but not actually being able to see if for himself.... Selfish me...I thought I would have the raw deal when he left, but not in a million years would I want to trade places... he's a good kid and doesn't bitch too much... but I think that's because he knows if he did I would pretend like Skype had a bad connection and would drop the call....

Blogging about......blogging?

So I usually blog to update my family and BFFs on my wonderful life and Sophia's daily antics.. BUT since I have seen the majority of my family in the last couple of weeks and they have witnessed Sophia's AWESOME-NESS first hand I find myself thinking.... should I really blog that???? My Answer.... YES!

My child is just out-right funny, I had to answer the "Ages and Stages" 2 year questionnaire for her upcoming well baby appointment and just found myself laughing and laughing... they didn't "ask" me to give examples with each question answered but I thought.. what the heck!  She ticks all the boxes (and quite frankly has been doing these things for a while.... if she wasn't I would be REALLY worried.... but I'm sure there are kids out there approaching 2 that don't talk, or jump or kick a ball.. role play and use a fork, so they are obligated to ask these silly questions)  My favourite ones are definitely related to role playing and imagination:

• While playing with a doll/stuffed toy does your child pretend to "mother" it, change it's diaper, try to feed it etc... (this particularly made me laugh, since just that morning Sophia was playing with her baby in Nana's room and decided to unpack Nana's new bra and use it to pretend to change baby's diaper, when she realised it was too big for a diaper she swiftly removed baby from the table, threw her on the bed and covered her with the bra/blanket and tell her it was nuh-nights time) I think we can check that box
• Does your child use random objects and pretend they are other things i.e. a block as a phone? (this morning as we were packing up the hotel room, Sophia was on the bed playing in the covers... she lumped them all together and was building a "snowman" she the proceeded to grab a sheet and climb down from the bed ready to throw the snowball at me.... when I told her it was time to go, and that she couldn't take the "snowball" with her.... she threw it down and nonchalantly shimmied out the room like the last 10 minutes were what every child does when waiting around!  This was after she had been dragging around the room telephone all morning taking her "puppy" for a walk! CHECK BOX!

I lose track of all the stuff she does, I feel like a need to carry a notepad around with me all day so I can write this stuff down so as not to forget!

We Only Bloody Made it!

I would like to start this post by giving myself a pat on the back, "job well done", Hip Hip Hooray and a "You go girl!" We bloody made it to Nana's house!  After 11 hours, 500 Miles driving, 1 chunnel ride and 1 stop to re-fuel we arrived.. sleep deprived but HAPPY!
I am going to admit that I was absolutely bricking it the whole way to England (the driving in England didn't phase me at all) - I was so scared the whole way to the Chunnel, but it was good thing as the adrenaline kept me awake!
Now I wasn't scared of the actual driving, it was the "What ifs" that had me spooked..
What if Sophia screams the whole way
What if my GPS breaks
What if the truck breaks down
What if I get stopped by the "fake" Belgian police
What if I get to the Chunnel and for some reason they won't let me take the dog...
What if, What if, WHAT IF!

Well luckily none of that stuff happened, we drove some beautiful back roads in Germany (Sophia fell asleep after 30 minutes on the road!) then a straight shot through Belgium to France and Calais.. nothing broke, Sophia slept, the dog got his passport stamped.. the train didn't break down in the tunnel and we MADE IT!

I would very much like to thank the girls who kept me company along the way... Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morrisset, Gwen Steffani and the Dixie Chicks.. couldn't have done it without you!

Sunday Rant

I do solemnly declare that I shall only RANT on a Sunday - this may mean that I save up a weeks worth of ranting and let it all out each Sunday, you have been forewarned - be prepared.  This does not mean that you can expect happy happy, shiny shiny posts throughout the week, there may be some moaning or bitching.. but Sundays are reserved for RANTING!

Let me pre-face today's rant by saying "I GET IT" I get that you are out of your comfort zone and you miss the convenience of home and the 24hour society that is the USA. You miss your friends and family, your local hang outs and life as you know it... I get it.. I am overseas, away from the family and friends, and yes I may moan and get homesick, but I approach my life abroad with an open mind and open heart...

I am going to use RAF Lakenheath and the country of England as my example, not only is this my home country, but it is the place the spawned today's rant, after I read a blood boiling post on www.lakenheathunderground.com written by an arrogant and ignorant American!

I hate it when an unfortunately large amount of Americans (not all of you...!) stationed overseas say to host country locals surrounding the bases "you wouldn't have a job if it weren't for us" or "the locals just rip Americans off." Now they may not say it to peoples faces, instead they like to hide behind message boards and anonymous forums, or joke about it amongst their friends.  But the point is they STILL say it, and people like me read or hear about it.  (Please note these are the same people who say they are afraid to shop off base, or don't like to drive too far, and live on base.. so how exactly is it that locals wouldn't have jobs if you weren't there?)

YES it is true that American bases in England generate a lot of jobs, but let me clarify, if Americans weren't at these bases, the English military would be..  just like they are at Honnington, Coltishal and other surrounding RAF bases.  With the Brits drawing down in many countries and pulling back their personnel who are stationed in countries like Germany, I'm sure they would LOVE to have a installation to put them.  The people who work for the MoD on RAFL would work for the MoD regardless, not just because the Americans are there..

I worked on the "the economy" before I worked for the MoD and then again after, the people I worked for after (living in Suffolk)  were no way affiliated with the base, their jobs were no way part of the American sector.. they didn't "know" any Americans other than my husband and had NEVER been on base.. yet they lived 5 minutes away from a base housing area.. they really couldn't give a flying F about the Americans in the local area..

Not all English people make it their sole goal in life to "rip Americans off" - people complain that it is so expensive to shop off base.... and that the 4th of July vendors on base should have lowered their costs because Americans get paid in $ therefore should be able to pay in $... let me tell you this... fairgrounds are expensive wherever you go.. go to a fair when there is one in Mildenhall or Thetford and you will see the exact same prices to ride the rides and eat the food.. they do not put their prices up because they come on base... However when there is a bazaar.. YES the prices are inflated.... but this isn't just in England .. it happens at the Bazaars here in Germany... and the vendors do it (just like AAFES do.. but don't get me started on AAFES!) because they KNOW Americans will pay for it.. instead of driving a hour away and shopping there for 1/2 the price... it's called convenience and that's what you are paying for!
You are paid COLA to offset the cost of living overseas ... it is not to cover everything it is there to help.. hence those wonderful COLA surveys they send out for you to plug in all your off base expenses..
Even the English think things are expensive.. but I can guarantee if you shopped at Sainsburys, Tesco or Asda you will see prices are comparable if not cheaper than the commissary, stuff is fresher, local and often better quality... but people don't because they are unsure what brands are "good" - just ask! You won't see the average Brit eating out every week.. or even once a pay day.. the younger society maybe, but that is because they don't own a house or a car and have the disposable income to do so. Those with a mortgage, children and a car rarely enjoy the luxury that is a restaurant meal...!

If you budget your money and live within your means, instead of living a champagne life on a beer budget, you might find it a little easier to cope..

The only place I think that would suffer if the Americans pulled out is Lajes Field, Portugal.  BUT they would recover in no time, because some other country would take over the base.  And I only say they might suffer because unlike England, the Portuguese who officially work on base are allowed to shop at the BX and shoppette, and bring a lot of family members on to shop, and items from the commissary and BX can be found downtown for purchase.. and a lot of local nationals are working as cleaners/Nanny's/gardeners in base housing. Plus with the amount of money spent by Americans renting houses and at restaurants, bars and strip clubs on the island the economy would take a nose dive if "they" left.. but then on the other side, on a island that small, there are STILL families that have NOTHING to do with the base and live their life as they always have and always will.. I loved to see the dairy farmers with their cows and the pony and traps riding down the road.. absolutely oblivious to the Air Base's presence.

NOW - Drive an hour away from your assigned installation, go eat the GREAT local cuisine (ask the people of the town, they often know the best places), go immerse yourself in the culture and the history, go see or do something entertaining, go for a long walk around the area and TALK, talk to someone, anyone who lives there AND then tell me that they hate you, that they were rude, that they tried to rip you off and that their job would be gone and the economy will crash if you (the US) leave England!

Up & Running

I figured while I'm not feeling 100% (& S is entertained with her eleventy-millionth episode of MM) I'd start work on a new blog.. I know how much you have all missed the snapshot into my daily life with S! FB is great, but I can't really go into huge detail.. hence the BLOG!  Stay tuned for a mass update coming your way soon!