Are you in the "Girls' Club"? I hope so!! ;)

Ok, I am totally plagiarizing myself today but it's fine because I can, 

uh, do that to myself.

Ahem.

I remembered that I had written this quite some time ago and I think it is more than relevant now because of all the amazing women I have met recently. I am blessed by you new gals in my life - thank you for thinking I'm kinda cool! 

I think YOU are freaking awesome! xoxoxoxoxoxo

This post is dedicated to my dear girlfriends! Each of you hold a very special place in my heart; it doesn't matter if I see you everyday at the bus stop or I haven't talked to you face-to-face in 15 years! I love that all of you have quirky traits and distinct personalities! You ROCK! You are AWESOME, AMAZING, STRONG, BAD-A** women and I owe you my sanity!!!


I am beyond blessed because my friends are divinely unique! I have different relationships with all of them, but I have noticed that I am very drawn to these certain types of people:


The Nurturer: this lady is always there to listen! Her ears must be bored out of their minds lately with all my blather, but she is the one that will be there when my eyes are filled with tears and I am blubbering about the latest drama in my life. She knows that if we are going to a sappy movie, I will likely forget tissues and she brings some for me! She understands that I tend to be dramatic, quick to judge, and over the top and she loves me anyway!


The No-Nonsence Gal: this friend is brutally honest and tells it like it is. If you (I) need practicality or a dose of reality, she is your (my) girl! Sometime she will give us melodramatic chicks a good, swift, kick in the pants when we (me) need it! She is a "talk me off the ledge" sister and I love that she has her wits about her all the time!


The Eternal Optimist: gotta love this pal because she sees the good in every single situation!! She is the one that cheers me up even in the darkest of moods! A conversation with her will go something like this: Me: "So guess what? I just found out that I have to spend the rest of my life ice-fishing in Antarctica!" Her: "UGH! What a bummer! But think of all the cute boots and coats you'll get to wear and the yummy fresh fish you'll get to eat!". This is my go-to-girl if I need a pep talk!!!


The Drama Queen: this chick is always a little off center, but tons of fun!!! She knows what is going on at all times and is not afraid to let her opinion known! She is A LOT of everything; color, noise, laughter, craziness, flare and opinions! She is bold and brave and tests my limits on everything from music to fashion to foods!


The "Good" Mom: this friend is the eternal "Kool-Aid Mom" - kids flock to her house because she is FUN!  She really, super-duper, loves her children (and mine)! She is an example of patience and kindness, empathy and sympathy and she inspires me to be better for my children! This one will bring you soup when you're sick and has band-aids and sunscreen in her purse "just in case". She is the one to call to get information on the latest school happenings and when to register for basketball!! 


The "Bad" Mom: this chick is super popular with the kiddos as well, but it's because she allows candy before dinner and video games in bed! She lets the monkeys stay up until 9pm on a school night just because the weather is beautiful! And she allows "iffy" movies and pillow fights and red juice in the car! I love her because she reminds me to let stuff slide!


Some of you are just one of these and some of you are bits of each, and it works so well! I value each of you more than you can know. I adore the fact that I could show up at your door at 4
am and you'd actually let me in! It just doesn't get richer than you gals! I am so, so, so lucky to have you in my life! 

Playing Catch-Up

Have you ever noticed that life with kids seems to be going at the speed of light and slow motion all at the same time?

I feel like we rush, rush, rush every day.

School, work, practice, dinner, games, homework....

But the monotony of the daily grind is so s...l...o...w.

But then, something will happen will happen that makes me realize that this is just a moment in time.

My life seems to be flying by.

This week, my sweet girl lost her 1st tooth.

A milestone in a long line of milestones.

But oh my gosh, when did she get to be old enough to loose a tooth?

I've been down the tooth fairy path quite a few times with the boys by now, but it seems so long ago that they were losing first teeth.

I have forbidden the loss of more teeth for Lu and decided that my baby girl will never loose any teeth.

Somehow this will keep them little forever, right?

*sigh*

Remembering.

9/11/2001

 I was at my youngest sons' 6 month well baby check up in Landstuhl Medical Center, Germany. I was delighted that my sweet baby was growing and developing. He was chubby and blonde, with big blue eyes and a big toothless smile! It was early in the morning and even though I don't recall the exact time that the appointment started, I will never forget how it ended. I was walking in the hallway and a nurse ran by screaming, "they bombed the twin towers, oh my god, they bombed them with all those people inside." I was immediately confused - what heck was she talking about? I followed the group of people that had gathered into the waiting room and watched in horror as the news reel repeated the footage of the first plane crashing into the North Tower. We were in shock, not one person uttered a single word for a few seconds and then we were asking each other what had happened. We were all convinced that it had to have been an accident - it was, at that point, inconceivable, that the crash had been an act of terrorism. On my way home, a friend called me crying. She explained that a second plane had crashed into the South Tower and that it had been confirmed that it was an act of terrorism. She said I needed to get home because they were locking down the base and that our husbands were on 24 hour guard duty starting that night. I had been an Army wife (and former military member) for awhile and I had no idea what she was talking about - I didn't know what she meant by "locking down the base" and our husbands were with the veterinary services - they didn't pull guard duty at all. As I passed through the gate, the guards were armed, something I had rarely seen. Even then I didn't comprehend the situation. I knew it was really bad, really scary but I just didn't understand the scope of what was happening. I shuffled my little boys up to our apartment and turned on the TV. Every single channel was showing the footage of the planes crashing, people running hysterically down the street, with huge billows of smoke in the background and cars lined up on the highway with their drivers standing outside watching in utter disbelief. I tried to call my Mom but could get through because the lines were jammed - I think every single person that knew someone in New York that day was trying to get through. My husband came home and explained that he had to get ready for his duty. He began digging out gear that he had never opened when it had been issued to him. We never thought he would need it. I remember him taking out his flak vest and thinking, "my gosh, you're a vet tech, why do you need that"? I remember thinking that this was just crazy, how could they ask him to go out there. But I knew why. When you are military, you are a soldier first. He was doing the job he had sworn to do -"... to support the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic....". I didn't want him to go, but I understood the gravity of that oath as I watched him walk out our door. We barely knew what our nation was facing then...

9/11/2011

As I write about the events above, I am amazed that I can recall the smallest of details from ten years ago. I didn't list them all, but I remember the outfit my son was wearing. I remember that I started the day in a rush, a busy Mom with a small baby and a toddler, perpetually late for everything. I remember what I made my husband for lunch that day. I remember worrying about my friends that lived in or near the city. I remember the horror of being so far away from my homeland and feeling exposed and unsafe and  fearful at living abroad. I also remember feeling a little bit relieved that I was so far away. I remember the men and women that were not used to being asked to pull weapons from the armory and that had little training in combat that picked up their rifles and went out to patrol the fences against anything that may have threatened us there in Germany. They were scared, but they went because they were told to go.

Today, ten years later, my husband is still in the Army and we are still very far away from home, but so much has changed. That sweet 6 month old baby is now a ten year old boy. He has never known a world without the 9/11 terrorist acts. A friend has a birthday today and while celebrating him, we think of what happened in New York that day. Even seeing the characters "9/11" evokes a response - images that have been burned into my memory. I have not turned on the TV to watch the footage today, I don't know if I will. I don't think I need to - I can remember the images that will surely be shown.

We will never forget.

Recap of my last few weeks...

I am silly on this blog a lot and that's

GOOD because in real life,

I'm silly a lot, too.

People that read these posts will begin to know me and connect with me, I hope.

But I also write here because I need a way to remember.

I am so bad about glossing over events in my memory.

I remember certain moments or a feeling or something really random like a shirt someone was wearing, but not the entire memory.

Are you like that, too?

Anyway, enough of the philosophical.... 

Here are a few of the big things:

Football and cheer leading season started! I LOVE it!!

The kids are doing so well and I try not to cry at each game!

I have LOTS of pride in my kids and that makes me cry.

A lot. Ahem....

She tries so hard not to go to sleep....

School started!

These is the Lockwood Gang.

They ROCK my socks!!

I even got a pic of the boy with the cast.

He was annoyed, but gracious!

The hubs went to Japan and brought me back some

interesting gifts.....

Green tea Kit Kat

Wasabi Kit Kat  = YUCK

Strawberry = YUMMY!

Japanese Green Tea

Cool chopsticks! I love the holder!



Work is still going well - I have some amazing co-workers.
They are continually teaching me new things!
Love it!

AND...*most importantly*
I haven't done anything to my hair.
Yay for self-control.
Ok, so that's kind of lame for most people,
but for me, yeah, it's cool.

AND...my bitty baby girl is singing songs!!
Her favorite is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and she
sings it ALL the time.
She is growing so fast and speaking so much.
She is a miracle!

So that's it for now. I'm working on some new "themed" posts to follow the "Awesome" posts
so STAY TUNED!!

Happy Labor Day!

I am a BAD blogger(ess)

Do you like how I said "ess" - I am very feminine.

Bloggeress.

Yep...

like princess

duchess

empress...

you get the idea.

Plus, I like to pretend to be royalty.

Yeah, whatever.

Anyway, what was my point?

OH!! That IS my point,

this blog has no point.

It's so random and usually about a

whole lotta nothin'.

And lately I've even been bad about writing about nothing.

I digress...

There are a bunch of interesting things happening and photos I could share, but I'm sooooo busy

whining about how busy I am that I don't share any of it.

I will. I promise. 

Soon.

Lots of interesting stuff.

And less whining.

Pinky swear!!! :)