Look what Elizabeth can do!

Lookie, Lookie! She's sitting (supported of course). Ella's tired of laying on her back like a bitty baby! She wants to sit up now and see the world!

Here she is watching Sesame Street - she loves those silly muppets!

She's having a grand ol'time! I think she wants to get the camera and slime it, though.

I'm still here!!

Yep, that's me! I know it's not a common site to see pictures of me. hehe! You know how much I hate having my picture taken. I wanted to show off my new hair though. It's hard to see but it's very blonde on top... more so than I expected it to be. I was just surprised how blonde it turned out, I like it though. I'm so happy to find somewhere to go get my hair done, and done well. She speaks English (a biggie!) and for 64 euros (with VAT form, so you dont have to pay the high taxes) you get your hair cut, colored, head and hand massage, and the chair massages you while you get your hair washed/massaged AND they do your eyebrows and makeup all included (I didnt get my makeup done though). Super cheap for what you get!! You get first class treatment, with coffee and relaxing music playing. It was really nice. I also had a very gracious friend come with me and sit with Ella while I got all this done. Elizabeth was so well behaved, she did a great job! Next week I'm going with my friend while she gets her hair done to be her cheering squad... haha!

I'm sorry I havent been so good with keeping the blog up lately. We've been pretty busy. The weather being so nice hasnt helped. It doesnt help that our laptop is on the fritz so it takes me forever to get anything done on it. But here's a quick update what's been going on:

Elizabeth is growing like a weed - as expected. She turned 4 months on Monday. Yesterday I gave her some Baby rice cereal to see how she'd take to it and she LOVED IT!!! Gobbled it all up!

Sean and Ryan are both doing wonderful. The weather has been so nice, they've been playing outside a lot with their sidewalk chalk and squirt guns.

I received most of our books for homeschooling next year. The boys were so excited to see them! Sean actually said, "it's like a dream come true." It really makes me feel good to know they're excited about this new change.

Dennis and I have been working on getting a few things organized in the house. This weekend we're going to try and do a bit of furniture shopping. Ryan NEEDS a bed, poor boy! And we could use a bookshelf or some sort of storage thing up here in the living room.

Well that's about it. I hope you all are having beautiful weather, where ever you may be around the world. :)

Ella's new toys

A sweet, dear friend, Loreen, sent Elizabeth some new toys. I just have to show them off to you all! Thank you so much Loreen!!! :)



Ella loves her new "taggie" blanket. If you dont know what a "taggie" is, it's a small blanket, just the right size for a lovie. All around the outside of the blanket there are little ribbon loop tags for the babies to bite on or rub their fingers on. Loreen made this one for Elizabeth, isn't it beautiful!

It's princess-y satin on one side and this super soft fabric on the other with imprinted roses (it's hard to see the roses in the pictures). It's beautiful and super soft! Ella loves it!!

We end up playing Peek-a-boo a lot with her because she keeps getting the blanket stuck over her face. HAHA! Dont worry, I watch her when she has the blanket, she's in no danger ;)

Ms Loreen also sent her this cute little cow rattle. She LOVES IT!!! It krinkles and it jingles and it's just the right size for her little hands! You should have seen her eyes light up when I lifted it's head and she saw the mirror (she loves mirrors)!!

Our weekend!

We had a great weekend! The boys and Dennis had Friday off so we met a some friends at the Stuttgart zoo. With all of us together we had 11 children in all! It was like a school trip! LOL We all brought a packed lunch and had a picnic together in the gardens between seeing the animals. The kids had a fabulous time!! Of course, in the hussle and bussle of getting everything together to go, lunches, baby stuff, blankets, stroller, I completely forgot my camera.... commence the stone throwing! I know! I'm terrible at this!!

The zoo is giant!! You wouldnt think so since it's smack dab in the center of the city but it's unbelievably big. They have a ton of animals!! The children were more interested in climbing on all the monkey gyms and running around chasing each other though. LOL OH! and speaking of monkey gyms, my favorite part, they had a gorilla nursery there. They had baby gorillas and there were cribs and play pens in there. They were so so cute!! I love baby gorillas!! There was a lady with them feeding them and cleaning up after them like a little daycare. So cute!!

We spent the entire day there. We got there at 1030ish and didnt leave until after 4pm. When we got home, Dennis and I just CRASHED (Elizabeth too)! The boys were still raring to go, so we just told them to play quietly in their room and let mom and dad go to sleep. I dont think they stayed up much longer though. haha!

The weather has been just gorgeous, today is no exception. Dennis is out grilling and the boys are bouncing around outside. Tomorrow we're going to walk over to a friend's house and go for a hike. Let the children all run around and play together!

I'm so happy winter is over!

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY ...

Outside my window...

It's a beautiful spring day outside. There's a few clouds but it's nice enough to go out without a jacket (or maybe a light one). A good day to air out the house!

I am thinking...

of some things that I need to get done around the house. My poor plants are in need of watering.

I am thankful for...

such a beautiful day outside. Lately it's been rain, rain, rain it's nice to have some sun.

From the learning rooms...

The boys have a short week this week, Spring break begins this Friday. So I hope that means an easy week for them. Sean is in need of practice with his multiplication facts so we made some flashcards or he plays a math game on the computer. Oh and I found a great "find" at the thrift store today. It's a giant set of workbooks made by Hooked on Phonics. They read a 1 to 2 page story and answer questions after for comprehension. It's really great for only 4 bucks, there are over 100 workbooks. I plan to use that for homeschool next year.

From the kitchen...

I do not have a CLUE for tonight! Dennis is stopping by the commissary to pick up something. We were supposed to go to the commissary this weekend but never made it, I'm low on food lol

I am wearing...

jeans and a blue fleece shirt

I am creating...

I'm knitting a little summer dress for Elizabeth. I hope to have it done so she can wear it this summer (slow knitter alert)

I am going...

nowhere now but earlier today I went into base with Dennis. He had to take the dog into the vet so I ran to the PX. I got a couple of cute spring dresses for Elizabeth. Then we stopped at the thrift store on our way home.

I am reading...

I just got a new book, The Homeschooling Handbook. Kind of a guide on starting out with homeschooling

I am hoping...

Sean wont have a whole lot of homework tonight, they'll probably be late coming home. Dennis is out there picking them up, Sean has to get a shot, then they're getting haircuts and stopping at the commissary.

I am hearing...

the news on the tv.

A few plans for the rest of the week:

Not too much going on this week. Copper had his vet appointment today and finally got those nails clipped. Elizabeth has her doctor's appointment tomorrow along with the dreaded shots. The boys start spring break at the end of this week. Looking forward to the long break. I just need to figure out what to do with them during this long week off. Hopefully the weather is nice and we can take the train into town and go to the zoo.

Here is picture thought I am sharing.

Elizabeth Rose is ready for spring!

Go here to read other Women's daybooks or make your own
http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Counting the days

Seriously, today is one of those days I just cant wait until we begin to homeschool. Sean was NOT in the mood to go to school today. What kid is right, but you could see the stress on his face. He was up last night with night terrors again. Came downstairs sleepwalking and crying. Then this morning, we tried to keep things positive but, like I said, you could just see the anxiety. I havent gotten a phone call from school (yet) so I'm assuming he is ok.

What do I do? What could be so stressful in Elementary school that my poor boy has so much anxiety and night terrors? I've asked him if he has friends to play with and he does. I've asked about bullies, and other than the normal "bad" kids he doesnt mention anything about anyone bullying him. Is it the school work? He does fine, though he needs some confidence that he CAN do it! I just dont know. This is just a day that makes me look forward to homeschooling. 8 year olds should not have the weight of the world on their shoulders.

The MRI results: the doctors said that they dont see anything unusual in his MRI. They are going to take a closer look and send the results to the clinic but they're pretty positive that everything is good. Thank God! The other tests were all good too. Dennis found out that the bacteria test they did the other week was an acid reflux test so acid reflux is ruled out as well. Pretty much, the doctors said, it must just be stress. Stress! It just breaks my heart to think that he is so stressed out that he's getting physically ill.

Update on Sean

Bah! I thought I updated this hours ago. I must have forgotten to post it. Forgive me, I'm just dragging today. I got little sleep and Elizabeth has been demanding attention the past day or two, more so than usual.

Sean stayed the night, like I said. He has to stay the night again tonight too. They finally got the MRI pictures they needed but they had to put him fully under, that's why he has to stay tonight for observation. I havent gotten to speak much to Dennis about everything. Our phones were low on minutes (pay-as-you-go type cell phones). He went out and got us more minutes while Sean was recovering but he still cant talk too much on the cell while in the hospital. So basically I dont know much more than that, and I'll try to update when I can.... haha hopefully I'll remember to hit the PUBLISH button this time.

OH! And today is also special because it is our 9th wedding anniversary today. HAHA! Nice way we get to spend it, 'eh. That's ok, maybe this weekend we can celebrate as a family at a nice German restaurant. We decided no gifts or big deal this year anyway because of everything going on (child in hospital, sicknesses, cars dying, etc).

Well I should get dinner started.... who knows what I'm going to fix, probably something easy :)