A Night with Noah

I was needing some lovin' this week, so I thought I would have my lil' buddy over to come play. It gave me someone for the evening and his mommy and daddy got to go out on a date!! Double bonus!!

We had a great night together. Jon and Angie dropped Noah off around 6:00 and we started supper right away. While I was getting things ready, Noah was playing with all of Jay's magnets on the fridge. His United States map didn't quite look like the US anymore. We had a romantic meal of fish sticks and french fries on the living room floor, with a towel underneath us! It was joyful!! After our bellies were full, we played kick the bottle with a collection of bottles that I haven't taken to the recycling center yet. Who needs real toys when you can find fun things around the house!! It was probably noisey for the landlord under us, but ohs wells! We had fun!! Noah found my teddy bear, but then realized the chair it was sitting in was much more fun. He decided he would try to fit. It took him awhile to figure out how to get himself into it, but he finally squeezed. After that, he was in the chair for quite awhile!!

We then played an exciting game of hide and seek. Noah would hide and I would find him! His lil' giggles gave him away every time, and maybe his feet too!! Here is Noah hiding under the blanket!

By 9:00, we were in our pj's and rocking in my chair. Noah was pretty tired. I think we wore each other out. I decided to go lay him in bed and see what he would do. I layed there with him and we both fell asleep, but I think I was faster!! His mommy and daddy came to pick him up a little while later!!

Thanks for sharing your son with me Angie and Jon!! He is truely a precious gift!! I hope that some day I can raise my son to be just like Noah!!

No More Basketball!

We had our last game last night to end our season of basketball! I have worked hard with these lil' guys and girls to teach them the game. At our first practice, no one knew how to shoot or dribble. I wasn't sure if we would ever be able to play in a game. They have worked hard and have made a TON of progress. I am really proud of them! Even though it was a great experience for me, I am glad to be done! Being done with basketball doesn't mean I'll have more free time. Instead, that means it's time for SOFTBALL SEASON to begin!!! I can't wait for it! Softball season means that spring has to come soon, and sun tans, and long Saturdays on the field!!! I can't wait!!

My team is in the red! We were the Rockets!

Pajama Party

Last night we had our monthly CAV coffee. The theme for this month was a pajama party!! It was perfect as getting into my pj's by 6:30 never happens!!!! We had pizza, popcorn, cake, and ice cream!! I was starving by then as I hadn't eaten all day. Judy made sure I was the first in line! (These ladies take good care of me!) We did lots of socializing and played a game!! The game was that we had to write down an interesting fact about ourselves that no one else knew. Once they were all compiled, we had to guess who each fact belonged to. My fact... that I was the Tama County Pork Princess. They thought that was pretty funny! It's a good thing I have good self-esteem!! Maybe it's something I shouldn't be so proud of!! I think I get a kick out of it more than anything!! But it was well earned! Those interview questions were hard!!

It was a very fun and relaxing evening!! By the time I got home, I was all ready for bed!! Which means my kids' math tests didn't get corrected. They will just have to wait for Monday. One last day of school for the week and then another week down!! Each day gets me closer to June... which means I'm closer to August... which means I'm closer to seeing Jay!

Carnivale

Last weekend I took a trip to Venice, Italy. I left Saturday morning with my friend Elizabeth. We flew Ryanair down there and then stayed at a friend's house. On Sunday morning, we took the train into town and spent the day walking the city. It is such a romantic city, with tiny roads all over the place. We had a beautiful day full of sunshine.

We made our way down to St. Mark's Square. This is where the main festivities took place. People were EVERYWHERE!! The place was packed, many people in costumes. I had so much fun walking the streets looking at all the amazing costumes. People put so much time and energy into making these costumes, so many details and such intricate designs. We spent several hours finding our way around the town.

In the afternoon, we stopped to get our faces painted. Mine was completed with a very bright and fun design! She added a lot of sparkles on top of it. It was a fun thing to do!

That evening we took the train back to Aviano (an Air force Base). We went out to eat at an Italian restaurant and then went home and relaxed. We were all quite tired after a full day of walking. Lying in bed felt so good that night!

On Monday, we slept in and took it easy all morning. Pam showed us around the base and then we went back to her apartment. In the afternoon we made our way back to the airport. Once landing in Hahn, it was a three hour drive home. I took the first two hours and Elizabeth finished off the trip. Why I mention this…. We took Jay’s car to the airport. His car is a stick and it was the first time I have taken it off post. I drove two hours on the autobahn for my first time driving!! To top that off, it was snowing and we had only one windshield wiper. I definitely had a good grip on the steering wheel. I was quite nervous!! But, I survived… and so did Elizabeth. I killed it in only two places. I still haven’t mastered going from a complete stop to 1st gear. From 1st on up, I can do just fine though! Once we get rid of this snow, I hope to practice some more! I am supposed to be selling this car, but I’m having more fun learning on it!!

To see a lot more pictures, head over to my picasa site!

Off to Venice!

I'm heading out, to spend the weekend in Venice for carnivale!! Once I get home, I'll put up lots of pictures! I'm so excited to go be on the water and see all the beautiful costumes!! It's going to be great!!

Sunshine!

This past Sunday, we were blessed with a day of sunshine! Most of you won't understand how exciting this is! In Germany, once it hits November, you don't expect to see Mr. Sun until at least March, if you're lucky! Well, just like the groundhog, I guess the sun needed to come out and see if it was time to warm up the world! After the past two days of below freezing temps and more snow, I'm guessing that Mr. Sun decided to wait for the warmer weather! I'm sure ready for it!!


I had to take down the styrofoam we have in our windows so I could let in the sun!! I basked in it for the few hours it came through the window! I love when the sun lights up our house! It just makes me happy!!

My friend, Elizabeth, was in the states for two weeks at a conference. I told her when she returns, she needs to bring the sun with her. Well, she just so happened to return on Sunday. When I picked her up, I thanked her for bringing the sun with her. But then when I talked to her yesterday, I said it would have been nice if she brought more than one day of sun!! Sooner or later it will come... and stay! Let's just hope it's soon!!


Below is a picture of the closest thing that Jay and I have to a child. This tree is in our living room, producing some great oxygen!! We bought it when we moved in because we needed some plants! We went for the big guy, instead of lots of little plants. A few weeks before Jay left, it started to turn quite brown. It could be because I am not a pro-waterer!! I tend to forget that important detail. That has been Jay's job while he was here. He told me he would be quite surprised if I kept this tree alive the entire year he was gone. Well.... I'm doing my best. We are almost three months in and it's still alive!! But, I had to give him a major hair cut. I pulled off lots of brown, dried up leaves. It looks healthier now, but has a big gap in the middle. I think a lot of the problem is that the top of the tree is cold from the window and the bottom part is warm from the heater. It doesn't know what to think!! This is another reason I can't wait for warmer weather. I can open the blinds, turn the heater off, and the tree can thrive again!! I will keep it alive!! I'm determined!!

Valentine's Party

Last night, I had a Valentine's party with our B Troop ladies! We had lots of great food to eat! I made a lasagna, had fresh fruit, and whipped up a new dessert. Other ladies brought the rest of the food. It all tasted wonderful!!! The rest of the evening we sat around the table and chatted. It was a nice, relaxing night! A few of the ladies left their kids with babysitters for the night and really enjoyed the time off!

I won't be with these ladies much longer! I'll be switching to a new group when Jay switches to his new job. It's going to be just as hard for me to leave these ladies as it is for Jay to leave his guys! At least I'll still be able to see them and do things with them. Unfortunately Jay will be in a completely different area. That's not all a bad thing though. At least he'll have running water and warm showers!

While all the ladies were busy chatting away, the kids decided to play a game instead. They weren't too excited about adult conversations!

This was our lil' valentine at the party! She was so sweet, dressed in all hearts!

I won't be around next weekend for Valentine's Day, so I had the party this weekend. I leave next Saturday to head to Venice until Monday! I am so excited to go! Carnivale is going on and it will be fun to see all of the costumes. I thought about dressing up and even have my costume all ready to go. But just today, I talked with Elizabeth and we changed our minds. We were both going to dress up, but there will be several other people with us. It won't be as fun if not everyone is joining in. I'll have tons of pictures to show you after we get back!!

Preparing

Tomorrow is conference day at school! I wish I could say that I am ready for them and can relax for the rest of the evening. Unfortunately... I haven't even started preparing!! Yikes!! At the moment, I think I'm just going to wing it! None of these conferences are going to be easy. Because this is the second round of conferences, we meet with only half of the parents. I will be meeting with some difficult parents about some difficult students. My last one is going to be the hardest (that's why I put her last)! I have the principal, counselor, and psychologist coming to help me out. In November, we met with this mother for an hour and a half. I hope it isn't like that again, but I'm actually prepared for it to be worse! My kids cleaned up the room a little bit at the end of the day. I have a few more things I need to straighten up, but that can wait until the morning. All I'm going to do tonight is write a few notes about each student that I have a conference for. Shouldn't be hard, just need to do it. The rest.... I'll fly by the seat of my pants!! Works for me!

I guess that means I better get to work! Wish me luck!!