Plodding Along

I don't know why, but lately I've been tired and just plain worn out. (And before anyone can ask, no, I am NOT pregnant!) I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but as I was able to get an appointment for my yearly check-up (which was this morning), my doctor went ahead and put in an order for me at the lab, so hopefully in about 5 days, I'll know if my issues are medical or not.

It actually really sucks that I've been bogged down by this exhaustion, considering all the things I have going on and have to look forward to!

I was able to give Misha her Elphaba sweater, and I was right when I knew it would be perfect for her! Doesn't she wear it well?!

I went school supply shopping with the boys, and got everything (except fat pencils, since none of the BX's over here carry them...you would think that if it's a required item for school, they would make it available!) and I already have it all labeled, packed up and ready for the first day of school! I love school shopping and I am sooooooooooo excited for the school year to start up! C starts Kindergarten this fall, and I'll have the house to myself all day during the weekdays! I can't wait!

On top of that to look forward to, I will be making a trip back to the States in the fall!!! My BFF, Torie, is getting married, and I'm her matron of honor. :D I can't wait!!! I get to see my friends and family (I'll be taking a detour after the Big Day down to see the in-laws while I'm in the country)!!! I'm excited to visit them and to travel without the boys and have some kid-free time! I'm so excited about it that I have been having dreams nearly every night about being there.

In other crafting news, now that I'm done with the Elphaba sweater (which feels kind of weird, to be honest...I keep going to reach for it to knit on it! LOL), I'm moved on to a super secret project that I can't wait to reveal (also this fall)! I guess I'd better get to it, as my deadline is ticking closer, and I need to get it done on time!

The rest of the (Exhausting) Weekend of Awesome!

After my dashing away twice in one month, The Instigator was ready for some kid-free quiet time. (And he wonders why I feel the need for kid-free time...pshhh! Two weekends it nothing compared to what I've dealt with while he was deployed!) So, even though I was pretty tired from walking all over Brussels the day before, I got up at a decent hour and put the boys in the car and headed down to Misha's house! We went to the Dinosaur Park down there, and the boys had a BLAST!

There was a water park within the Dino park, and everything! I bought season passes there, and I have a feeling it will be very much worth every penny! Unfortunately, I forgot sunscreen. (I know, I deserve the "World's Worst Mother" award for that...) The boys got a little tanned, but I burned.

We stayed the night with Misha, and the following day (Memorial Day), we had a cookout with the grill that Misha and her husband bought the day before. Kristin and her family came as well. We bought the meat on the German economy, and YUM!!! Was it ever good! That was seriously the best grilled chicken I have ever eaten! And while we were waiting for the food to cook, us mommies and daddies sat outside while the kids played. My boys had a blast in the paddling pool! (Just further evidence that The Instigator and myself need to invest in one at our own house for the summer months...)

Thankfully, while we were at the BX the previous day, Misha reminded me that we needed sunscreen, so we were safer outside on Monday than we were on Sunday, though it still hurt to have the sun shining on my burn from the previous day.

With all the walking in Brussels and the driving and watching the boys and fresh air and sun in one weekend...well, suffice it to say that when Tuesday rolled around, I would have much rather slept in instead of having to wake A for school! But it was all completely and totally worth it! (And I'm sure that Misha and Kristin would agree...especially as I showed up to their area bearing Belgian chocolate! LOL LOL LOL)

I'm so grateful to have the amazing friends that I do so close by while we're so far away from our native shores. Words cannot express how much they mean to me. :)

Thank Heaven for Little Boys...

As I have previously mentioned, a lot of my friends (and friends of friends) have been having a lot of babies lately. Between that (and the fact that the boys have been a lot more fun now that they're 4 and 5 years old), the husband has really been heavily "hinting" at wanting to try for having a little girl. I'm not yet sure how I feel about that. I like being the only female in my house. lol We'll see, though...

Lately, the boys have been having those priceless moments...the ones you wish you could record the second they do something humorous so you can watch and re-watch it, giggling and laughing uncontrollably. Today, for instance, when C and I went to the bus stop to wait for A, C was so intrigued by every little thing around him; the flowers, the sunshine, the leaves on the ground...and today he started finding lizards! (Ah, little boy-dom!) He was trying to follow it and keep up with the little bugger (which is not an easy feat, considering how fast those little guys are!), and I was just enjoying watching him run back and forth on one side of the fence while he watched the lizard on the other side, trying to evade the imminent danger of the pre-schooler that would not leave him be. Then, for whatever reason, the lizard darted straight at C for a moment, which totally took the poor boy off guard, causing him to jump sideways and shriek! It was hilarious! I wish I had taken the camera to the bus stop! I don't even know how he managed to land on his feet, since 95% of the time he shows to have gotten my coordination. But land on his feet (and not his bum!), he did!

A, since having started school, has slowly been transforming and growing in new areas that astound me. he is very quickly grasping the concept of time, in the sense of days of the week and months of the year and where the holidays fall. Right now (given the time of the year, obviously), A is all about Halloween. I ordered their costumes off of the Internet the other day...they both want to be pirate captains! So any time they hear "Halloween" and /or "pirate," they begin this elaborate role play of being pirates! A gets very excited (and carried away!) , and while being a pirate captain, knocked over a puzzle box, spilling 100 pieces all over the floor. I asked him to please pick them up, and without missing a beat, he grabs the box, gets down on the floor, and says "Arrrrrrrr!!!! Me treasure!!!!", frantically scooping the pieces back into the "treasure chest."

I am thankful for my boys and the joy that they bring me, regardless of (and perhaps it is brought out more because of) the long, hard road I've traveled to get to where we are with them. I look forward to all the precious moments ahead....



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Now playing: Rihanna - Only Girl (In the World)
via FoxyTunes

Grab your partner, do-si-do....

I wanted to do something special for my mother-in-law. She was an amazing source of support while my husband was spending his year in Korea, and I wanted to make her a little something to show her my appreciation for that. I settled on Happy Yellow House's Do-Si-Do Lapghan pattern to use, but, of course, with colors that stood out to me as "her." In hindsight, I think I should have used a soft white (or off-white/aran) instead of the country blue. I think that would have made the colors flowed better and not looked too…overdone? But I know she'll like it, just the same. :) And as it’s rare that I do a pattern as written, anyhow (lol), in this one, I tweaked it to where there are 5 solid blocks and 4 multi-colored ones instead of the other way around. I'm pleased with the overall effect of the 4 "pinwheels" instead of 5. I think that has a lot to do with my elementary school days, oddly enough....

When I was in 2nd grade, I was so excited...in P.E., we got to learn how to square dance! I'd looked forward to that my whole 1st grade year! lol And when you square dance, of course there's 4 people per group. Unfortunately, I don't really now remember the steps in square dancing, but I remember that "do-si-do" was my favorite. (Hmmm...maybe that had something to do subconsciously with why I picked the pattern....I wonder...) And I remember that it was the part when you and the person across from you skipped to the center, hooked elbows, swung around and skipped back into place, and then the other pair copied. Or maybe it was with the person next to you...I don't remember that detail, now. LOL But that's my excuse behind having only 4 multi-colored squares instead of 5. Four makes more sense to me. There were 4 people in each group (or "square") that danced together. So why have 5 "spinning" blocks? I'm not saying there's anything wrong with how the pattern's written. In fact, when I started out, I had every intention of following that pattern, to a T. It just rarely ever ends up being that way. LOL I made a block of the purples swapping places and decided that I liked the dark purple as the "pinwheel" better, so I wanted to even out 2 of the dark pinwheels with the light. And that meant, unless I was going to undo the blocks I'd already finished (which I most certainly was not!), I'd have to alter the pattern and change it to 4 pinwheel blocks instead of 5! :) Since I got that order of yarn in the mail, I can finish it now, and then send it on it's way to my MIL.....