Loosing Weight Update

So I thought I'd update everyone on how things are going. I have now lost about 18 lbs. I have taken off all baby weight from both babies, and I am at the weight I was (1 lb less actually) when we got married 6 years ago. Now that isn't saying a lot, because I was no small cookie then. However, I have to take time to pat myself on the back for making it back this far. Now I have to get over my hump and get going again. I want to make my next goal to loose 10 more lbs. That is enough in sight that I won't get discouraged, but it is still a significant change. So, I'll keep everyone posted, and maybe some day I'll find some before and after pictures to post. I'm not ready for that yet :)

Gotta Love Free Stuff

I went to Best Buy this week, and I walked out with this beauty for free. That's right, I didn't pay even a penny to take this bad boy out of the store. When I saw it in the sale paper, I knew this was what I was going to get with our coupons.

We do that Best Buy rewards thing. So when you buy stuff, it adds up, and you get coupons for money off your purchase. My husband recently bought a new laptop while he was at school, so we got 25 bucks in coupons. Earlier in the week I got a $10 coupon for Reward Zone Appreciation. When looking at the sale ads, I came across this. It was on sale for $34. So in the store I went, and out I came.

It is so nice when you get free things. I love this bluetooth. It works awesome. I am totally happy with my "purchase."

One Step Closer

So we are now one step closer to our move. Last week I went on post and got our stuff sent off for our no-fee passports. I'm hoping it doesn't take too long to get them, but I'm glad all that info is there and being processed.

I have been thinking the last few weeks about how we are leaving the country soon, and how we will be leaving our lives behind here. I have never lived far from "home," and this will be the first time. Not only that, but put those on top of living outside the US.

Now please don't get me wrong. I am totally loving the idea of being over there. I am excited to get the chance to travel and live in a place that would be totally off limits if not for what is going on right now. How many people get the chance to move to another country without having to pay for the move? How many people end up with 3 years to travel around Europe?

I should just stop worrying about how things are going to change and just keep my eye on the positive things. I know the fact that my husband and I should be able to fly over together and do that all as a family helps. We will be embarking on this next step as a family, and we will finally get our "honeymoon" we never got. :)

Oh Man

I noticed I haven't blogged in awhile. I know most of it is due to the fact that I have been under the weather. It all started about 3 or 4 days ago. I would get really achy in the evening. I'd take a shower or bath, and I'd be okay. Yesterday it hit hard.

I started out the morning yesterday taking Genevieve to school. When I got home, I didn't feel really well so I took my temperature. At 8 am it was 99. Then by noon it was up to 103.5. It finally broke by evening, but in the middle of the night it was back up to 100.

I called Genevieve's school this morning and I asked if she could come in today even though it is not her normal school day. They called back and let me know it was fine and to bring her in. All day (until about an hour ago) my temp has been up at 100 to 102. My fever finally broke again, and I am now feeling a bit better. I am really sore, but I'm sure it is due to the fever. I just hope it stays away. Genevieve goes back to school again tomorrow, so I will have some down time still, but I still enjoy having her school days to do something fun for myself. Guess that isn't going to happen this week.

Trouble Makers...Generation 2

If you have been around in my life for awhile, you know that I have a very dear friend Lacy. We have been friends ever since I moved to Tribune, Kansas at the start of my 8th grade year. As the story goes, the school librarian introduced us at a pottery class for the local 4H. Later in the day Lacy saw me at the pool. She decided that she didn't have a lot of friends, and I was new and needed a friend. She then (as we jokingly say) stalked me at the pool, and we became best friends.

Now if you fast forward to present day (*cough* many years) you have these two crazy girls. They both had a good time with each other. It was so cute to watch them play and have fun. It's like they know they are to pick up and carry on the crazy adventures of Em and Lace. Only now it is their turn. I can't imagine what crazy things they will do in their lives.

Lacy and I really had a lot of fun thinking back about life over the past years. We were laughing because we both bought our dresses at the same place. We have a very bad habit of getting the exact same thing, and we don't even know it. There was one time she came into my house, and she saw a dress in my closet. She then got really mad at me because she thought that I had taken her dress without asking. We then wore said dress (without talking about what we were wearing) on the same day to the same event. There were also many times in high school when we'd show up with the same jacket on or same color shirt. It was very strange. We even have a picture of us at church one day. She went to another church and just ran by mine to ask a question. When she showed up, she was wearing a cream shirt and green pants, and I was wearing a green shirt and cream pants. We were just on the same crazy wave.

Anyway, it was a blast to see her. It was so nice watching the kids play together and have fun. We will all see each other again at our high school reunion in August. I can't wait for the girls to get together and play again. We just have so much to look forward to with the two of them. Lets hope they don't give us as much grief as we gave our parents. I'm sure they will though.

On Sale?

So I have always hated the idea of stores that do the card thing. You know you shop with our card, and you get money off on that item that week. I feel like they raise prices just so you can "save" on the product(s) of the week. I know when we were in Oklahoma I could shop at the little store without all that stuff, and it would be at least 20 dollars cheaper than the other store with the card.

Anyway, this weekend I had it with my alarm clock. Something was off, and you couldn't get the mins to change really easy. It took me about 10 mins to change the alarm to the time I needed. After that, I knew I just needed to buy a new one. I wanted something that was portable, and I wanted it to work on batteries. The power goes on and off too much for me to get one that plugs in. I also like that I can take it anywhere if I need to.

Well, I was out and I forgot to look while I was at Target for a little alarm clock. We ended up at the mall, and I found one at Goodies. I love that store. I usually find some good bargains there. Anyway, I hadn't found anything in the store to buy while we were looking around. As we were getting ready to leave, I came across an alarm clock. It was on a rack and said 5 dollars. Now this is usually more than I pay for a travel alarm clock, but it had the LED lights instead of the little one that light from the side. Upon looking at it further, I realized it had settings for time, date, alarm, timer, and temp. Each setting had a different LED color. I thought why not.

After I got it to the van, I pulled it out to look at it a bit further. I noticed on the bottom was a price tag for 40 bucks!! WHAT?! Okay, so I thought 5 dollars was pushing it on buying it, but 40? Who in their right mind would pay 40 bucks for a travel alarm clock? I sure as heck wouldn't. Maybe that is why there were so many there.

It's Just One of Those Days

A friend of mine in college use to listen to a song on really bad days. It had a few choice words in it, so I won't quote it all, but it had something to do with it being one of those days and not wanting to wake up. If you want to sum up my day...that would be it. I wish I didn't get out of bed, and the whole day didn't happen. Then again if I didn't get up, would that mean that tomorrow would really be today? If that is the case, I'm glad it is over, and I hope tomorrow isn't more of the same. Genevieve is headed to school, so I am hoping that being with her friends will help her some.

Today was a day of the kids having a cow (in 80s terms) all day. They were both in moods all day. Samuel was very fussy which is not normal. He didn't want to be put down, and he really didn't want to sleep. He did take a short nap with me holding him, but as soon and I went to move, the nap was over. Genevieve had thrown a royal temper tantrum the night before, and I think she was still just in that mood. She was still just in a mood. All day she'd push the limits, loose it, or just be a pest.

Now, please don't get me wrong. I love my kids. They are a blessing, and I am so thankful for them. It's on days like these though that I wish I could go back for just one total child free day. Just one day of sleeping until I wake up, watching my soap in peace, and not having to worry about anyone else but me. It seems like the last few days I have had little time for me and to calm myself after the long day. I know this is just how it is, but sometimes it's just hard. It's not always easy being a single mom. I'm just very thankful for the help I have right now.

Ahh the joys of being a parent. What was I thinking?! If my hubby were here he'd look at me, and in an annoying voice (trying to imitate me) would say, "I wanna baby." I'm keeping my fingers crossed, saying a prayer, and hoping the planets align just right so tomorrow will be better.

Just a Vent Tonight

So I have been busy on trying to get all our stuff ready for our move overseas. I have been trying to figure out some things, but really, I have just put some stuff off. As the summer has started, and is clicking along, I realize that I need to get on the ball with the rest of the stuff that needs to be done. Mainly I need to get our passports going.

When you go over with the military, you have to have a no-fee passport the government issues. It has a stamp in it that is required for you to be over there and live...at least that is what I think it is for. It has some stamp in it, and you need to have it.

Anyway, I have been needing to get regular passports too. The no-fee passport is only good between the US and the country you are stationed in (for us...Germany). Now I don't know what kind of person would want to live in Germany and not go outside the country. I sure as heck am going to travel as much as I can. I am going to travel to every country I can and every place I have ever wanted to go.

So I go to the post office and I get the applications for the passports. This was before I left to visit my hubby. While there they guy informed me that for the kids both parents have to be present and sign the form. This is not good since my husband is away. I let him know he was away from the state and would not be back for awhile. He let me know that there is a form to fill out, and have notarized, and signed. I just bring that in, and we are good to go. I took the forms with me, and he did that while we were there.

Fast forward to today. I call to post to see about getting my no-fee passport. The lady was less than helpful. As she answered the phone I let her know who I was, and that I needed to get my passports. I let her know my husband already had orders with us on them, and that he was in the middle of school in GA. She then sounded like she didn't want me to come in even more. She started saying how I needed to get a form filled out and all of that because my husband couldn't come in with me. She said that we should just wait until he comes home to get them. I then explained that we would not have them back in time to travel with him if we wait. She found excuse after excuse for me to wait. It was really annoying. I found out though that I have to have the same form filled out for the no-fee passport that I have to have for the regular one. I asked her if I could use that one, and she said no that they were totally different (they aren't...they are the exact same form).

After she got over the fact that I wasn't going to wait, she then asked me why I would want to get a regular passport. I let her know that while we were there we were looking to travel, and that I thought the no-fee would not allow us to do so. She then said she realized that, but she didn't know why we wanted the regular one. Are you serious?! You would go to Germany and never see another country?

Anyway, I was not impressed with this lady on the phone. I will get everything done. Luckily my husband wasn't too upset that he would have to print, fill out, notarize, and sign the same form over again. It's just annoying that I didn't think of that before. If I wouldn't have put it off or thought twice about it, maybe I could have had both done at the same time. I guess you live and learn.