Project 365, Week 8

Day 50, February 19

I hosted a Pampered Chef party last week, and my hostess gift was this mug and plate.  It caught my attention on this day because a good friend was just diagnosed with breast cancer.  

Day 51, February 20

We spent the afternoon at the ice rink with some friends, and this is how Cooper spent most of the time- being pushed around.  He did venture out and skate with the help of this little learning tool, but not till the end of the day.  

 Day 52, February 21

FASCHINGDIENSTAG!

(Fasching Tuesday)

This is a HUGE holiday here.  On this day, the elementary had a parade, and I was there as the official PTA photographer.  

Have I mentioned I love being here?

 Day 53, February 22

Pete and I agree that we are in trouble with this little girl and her looks. 

 Day 54, February 23

We had some friends over after school, so we pulled out the ever-entertaining little-pills-that-grow-into-sponge-animals.  

 Day 55, February 24

Root beer floats we on the menu for dessert tonight.

 Day 56, February 25

The sun came out today.  It warmed up so much, in fact, that Cooper asked if we could get the pool out.

Um..... no.

Project 365, Week 6 and 7

Day 36, February 5

Optimus was feeling a little powerful today.  He tried to cast a big shadow, but he didn't scare us.

 Day 37, February 6

I eat a lot of Clementines.

A. LOT.

Last winter I ate somewhere around 12 a day, and I never got sick.  This winter I haven't been eating as many, and I have been sick for three months.  

Coincidence? 

 Day 38, February 7

I made Chicken Pot Pie tonight.  I haven't made this in a while.  It looks so much prettier like this in my Polish pottery.

 Day 39, February 8

Over the weekend, Pete went to Austria to snowboard.  The temperatures were pretty cold; most of the time it was -10 F. That little white flaky spot on his skin isn't leprocy.  It's frostbite. 

 Day 40, February 9

Today we had a big PTA live auction.  These are some of the items we auctioned off.  We made a pretty good lump of money, too.

 Day 41, February 10

We spent the evening with some friends, and stayed pretty late.  Cooper was fading fast, so he laid himself down on the couch and crashed.  He is so cute when he's sleeping.

Day 42, February 11

A few days ago I woke up with a pretty nasty pain in my hip from a sprinting workout the day before.  I self-diagnosed it as an over-worked tensor fasciae latae, then pulled out the book to double check (I was right).  The book was still out on this day, so Pete pulled out his pre-med and dental school anatomy book and he and I spent the morning studying muscles.  We're that nerdy.

Day 43, February 12

I was cutting up this pepper for fajitas and found these mini peppers growing inside.  After I pulled it all out, I realized the other side had a tail.  Strange.

 Day 44, February 13

Any guesses?

 Day 45, February 14

Valentine's Day.

Annie's full name is Annika Love, and she gets very excited for this day that is all about her middle name.

 Day 46, February 15

Homework time.

Deep in thought.

 Day 47, February 16

My parents sent the kids some glow sticks in their Valentine's gifts.  My kids could be happy playing with these every single day.

Day 48, February 17

Today was Cooper's Fasching party at school.  This is similar to our Halloween holiday, without the trick-or-treating.  The kids get to dress up and dance around and eat junk food.  Cooper went as a puppy dog this year, and wore his costume all day.  

Even to the store. 

Day 49, February 18

Noah mastered his head stand this morning.  

Just ignore the mismatched jammies, the ribs poking out (I swear we feed him), and the fact that he is closer to the T.V. than I am comfortable with.

Project 365, Week 5

Day 29, January 29

I live for Ice cream.  Pete lives for Oreos.  We combine the two more often than we should.

 Day 30, January 30

This is Pete's car.  He called me on the way home; he decided to come home early one day because he was feeling awful, however his car had other plans. It died.  I mean totally died.  We did everything we could to get it going, but after the failed attempts, we called a tow truck.  The mechanic has his theories, but is telling us that it could be about a 1700 euro fix (that's about $2500 US dollars).  We're thrilled.

 Day 31, January 31

One of the harder parts of being in them military is losing a soldier.  No matter how you knew them, or IF you knew them, the loss is the same.  

There are more pictures if you want to scroll down.

*Side note*

As I was editing these pictures, my kids asked me about them.  I took some time to tell them how sometimes soldiers don't make it home to their families, and that we pay our respects to them with a memorial.  I talked again about how important our soldiers are and that we should keep them all in our prayers.  It was a fantastic teaching moment for my kids and I.

Please, take a moment to teach your children the importance of those who defend our country and protect others.  This isn't limited to the military.  I have a huge place in my heart for Firefighters, as well as Police officers.

Day 32, February 1

Noah really wanted this toy for Christmas, but didn't get it.  So I grabbed one at the store and told him that it was his once he earned it.  He has been working for weeks, saving up his money.  Tonight was victorious for him.

 Day 33, February 2

I didn't want to get off my floor, so you get a picture of just that: my floor.

 Day 34, February 3

The sign of a good day at the gym: A blister that formed and popped all in the same workout. I took this picture too early, however.  By the end of the night it was all red and icky-looking.

 Day 35, February 4

The kids and I spent the day cleaning and organizing.  I finally trashed some magazines (but not trashy magazines- just clarifying), and here's what I kept.  We'll see how long these stay like this.

Honoring The Fallen

I have mentioned before that I love being part of a military community.  But there are many hard things that come along with it.  Attending memorials for those who have fallen might be at the top of that list.  

I am honored to be able to attend these memorials, but I can honestly say that I hope I don't have to attend many more.  Even one more would be too many.

I love being there, watching so many soldiers salute the fallen one last time; watching community members pay their last respects; observing how solemn and respectful an auditorium full of soldiers can be; watching fellow soldiers remove a patch from their uniforms and lay it to rest with the helmet and gun of the fallen.

The moment that brings me to tears is the roll call.

Imagine this: 

SGT calls one soldiers name, he calls back.

SGT calls another soldiers name, he calls back.

SGT calls the name of the fallen. No response.

SGT calls full name of the fallen. No response.

One last time, SGT calls name of the fallen.  No response.

A door opens.  Guns are shot in salute. A soldier plays the trumpet.

I can't even type about it without tearing up.