Hais learning to read!

We are in week four of school. I just had to post a few things about how Hai is doing, partly for those we are reading and mostly for me to remember!

*She is reading 13 words!!!(a, I, go, my, in, it, is, the, and, can, see, for, jump)

*She is Star student next week!!

*She has had 5 yellows in four weeks (Explanation to those who do not know what I am talking about. They do the behavior system with colors. Ideally you want your kid to be on green all the time. Yellow means they had to be warned, orange is several warnings, and red means there is a serious issue). She has a talking problem! The teacher said that the cute little girls are always the chatters (awe- what can I say??)

*She loves nap time.

*She likes me to drop her off at the riders area so she can walk up the walkway to her classroom herself!

*She buys a chocolate milk everyday

*She absolutely LOVES doing her homework. Especially when she gets to find things.

*Her writing is actually really nice.

Play time with Tyler

Hai got to spend the weekend in Charlotte with her cousin Tyler. Aunt Andria went to a bachelorette party and Uncle Adam was on call Sunday. So Gigi, Papa and Hailee headed down there to watch Ty. For the most part, it looked like they had fun (other than the picture above)!!
I know when they got home tonight, Papa/Gigi & Hais all went to bed really early!!

sOrTa gEtTiNg FrEaKeD oUt

So, I am SOOOOO ready to have my family back together. I miss my husband and am looking forward to this big adventure. He is living in our new house and it is weird to know that since I have yet to see it!
As excited I am about being back together and starting this great journey, I am starting to get a little nervous. Each day, I have this feeling in my gut that makes me sort of sad. I am going to miss my family and friends here. It is the reality that I will not be able to just call (9 hr time difference) and go home as easy. But more so, we are leaving America! As much as that is part of my excitement (seeing a new culture), it is scary to know that we are leaving behind everything that I know and have grown up with.
It is also a little scary because we are taking Hailee to another country. This is a time in life when it is not safe everywhere in this world. We are choosing to take our child to another country and I am hoping that we are making an ok decision for all of us.
Sort of random post but my belly has just been a little uneasy lately. Our move is just over a week away and these are the thoughts running through my head...

100 Things About Me

I am stealing this from Stephanie! It looks like fun and I am hoping that I will be able to think of 100 things about me!
1. I have gone to 5 different colleges in 3 different states!
2. I always thought I wanted only 2 kids and now I am set on having 3
3. I had Hailee on Thanksgiving Day in 2002.
4. Lee and I were married less than 4 months after we met
5. I have no living Grandparents. I was only 21 when the last one died.
6. I got caught once cutting a corner on the way home and I pulled my car in someones driveway when the cop turned around to pull me over.
7. I CANNOT stand people with bad eating habits. Chew with your mouth shut and quit slamming the silverware against the plate!!!
8. When I was a teenager I had a weird shaving ritual. Once I was done shaving I would have to put on tall socks and pull them up to my knees.
9. I have to constantly put lotion on in order to fold clothes! Cannot stand to touch certain materials! I am weird, I know
10. I barely sleep.
11. I have an AMAZING relationship with my sister. She is my hero
12. I lettered in softball all four years of high school.
13. I carried a ceramic heart made for me in high school as a lucky charm for a long time
14. I was voted "Totally Tan" in the Senior vote
15. I dye my hair about 4 shades darker brown than it actually is
16. I thought my eyes were brown until about 3 years ago, when I found out they were green.
17. My sister and I have star tattoos on our feet that have a special meaning
18. I went to Prom all four years of high school
19. I dated the Principals son for over a year in high school
20. I have an addiction to scarves, lotion, flip flops and purses
21. I take everything personally. If you are in a bad mood and not in the mood to talk, I will think that I did something to make you mad
22. The scariest thing about moving to Germany... only 9 tv channels and only one is Prime Time!
23. I could live on Tomato Basil Soup!
24. I believe in ghosts.
25. I hate driving automatics, prefer a stickshift
26. I have a huge desire to wear red lipstick but not the guts to do it!
27. I call my mom and dad everyday
28. I love the show Kings of Queens
29. I have over 700 movies
30. I have awesome family- including my in laws
31. I still think my husband is sexy, eight years later!
32. I am a list maker! A list for everything!
33. I burnt for the first time ever in my life while 5 months pregnant in Hawaii
34. I desperately want to learn how to sew but get frustrated really easy when I try
35. I stress out about grades. I have had A’s in every single class I have taken in college.
36. I love cuddling with Hailee
37. I have never had braces but have really straight teeth
38. I had season passes growing up to Sierra Ski Resort
39. I love to run, even though I do not do it enough anymore
40. I love the number 14
41. I take great pictures but not as good as my sis in law Andria!
42. I want to be a girly girl but usually end up in jeans and a tee
43. I am excited to go to Germany but dreading the long flight
44. Mexican is my favorite food
45. I cannot do schoolwork if the room I am in is cluttered and messy.
46. I prefer to sleep with the TV on
47. I am looking forward to being able to sleep with the window open when we are in Germany (since we are on the 3rd floor)
48. I freak out if someone chases me (even playing around chasing!)
49. I adore when my husband plays with my hair.
50. If I want to fall asleep, I ask my husband to pick out a movie and we lay down. I always fall asleep to his movies!
51. My first job was as a coffee barista at Sweetie Pies
52. I love long necklaces.
53. I worked in the toddler room last year at Hailees daycare. I only lasted 1 month!!
54. I have subscriptions to 8 magazines!
55. I love the tv show Intervention
56. I prefer winter to summer
57. I wish I could get my bangs to do that side sweep look consistently!
58. I joined the Army when I was 20 and spent 4 years in
59. I do not know what my favorite color is!
60. I was sort of a bitch in high school and now regret it
61. I love California but will never move back
62. I love watching my husband play soccer
63. I carry big purses but barely anything in them
64. I like the feeling of tweezing my eyebrows
65. I am SUPER protective of my kiddo
66. I am SUPER protective of my sister
67. I have had laser hair removal
68. Not a huge beach fan, rather go to the mountains
69. Have lived in California, South Carolina, Texas, North Carolina(twice), Washington and Alabama
70. Will be living in Ansbach Germany for the next 3-4 years
71. Just got my first ever passport
72. Born and raised in California, did not go to Disneyland until I was 23! (Spent every summer playing softball)
73. Have a scar on the back of my left thigh from sliding into a base in practice on a horrible field
74. When I am tense, I clench my jaw and cannot relax it
75. I love sending cards to friends for no reason at all
76. I remember birthdays/anniversaries of everyone. But the last year I have been too overwhelmed to send anything!
77. I hate getting flowers cause it makes me sad when they die
78. My lettermans jacket was stolen from a party and my parents had to buy a second one! Thanks mom and dad!
79. I always dated dark haired tan guys. But I married a blonde!
80. My parents are still married after 34 years! My inlaws are still married too after 36years!
81. I want to play the guitar but do not want to cut my nails to be better at it!
82. I have 2 friends who are my BESTEST and no one compares.
83. I love heels
84. I am always early and hate when people are late
85. I always drive cause I back seat drive when Lee is at the wheel
86. I have never had a speeding ticket (knock on wood)
87. There are pictures all over my house
88. I am really particular about how chicken is cooked. If I even think there is any pink at all, then there is no way I will eat it.
89. I want to be Martha Stewart but I am NO Martha.
90. I have no idea how to use spices when cooking!
91. I love Starbucks Venti Black & Whites
92. I LOVED being pregnant
93. I could barely move after playing the Wii Sports game the first time
94. I love golfing but my boobs are too big to swing properly!
95. Cannot wait to get a boob reduction and then implants. I want the girls to be perky!
96. I love my husband’s laugh and the way he looks at me when we stand in the kitchen and cook together
97. I am a very emotional person
98. I love my BFF Ande and Holly
99. My sister is my bestest friend
100. I am always ready for an adventure


I tag the following: Katie, Holly, Andria, Heather and Jenn G

sLeEp IsSuEs

So for a few years I have had flare ups of sleep issues. I will go awhile sleeping fine and then have a span of usually a few weeks of sleep issues. I am in one of those cycles now. I will be tired all day long. Right now I am yawning as I type. Yet I am not going to sleep. I have been up until between 1-3am every night. A few years ago, I was prescribed sleeping pills. They are supposedly non addictive and good for using only when I need them.
Well I lost them sometime in the move, so I cannot use them obviously. Last night I took one of my mother in laws Ambiens. I took like the lowest possible doses. It was great. They always knock me right out and next thing I knew, it was 8:30 this morning. The problem is, even with 8 plus hours of sleep, I feel drugged all day. In fact, I slept again from 1030am until 130 in the afternoon. I really only got up cause Lee called. I was so tired, I actually contemplated asking him to call later so I could sleep more. **I almost told my hubby in Germany to call me back!!!**
So, it isnt worth it to take sleeping pills cause I am worthless the next day.I got barely any homework done today. And here it is, ten minutes til midnight and still awake. UGH! And regardless of how little sleep I get, I still have to be up at 630 am to get Hai ready for school.

I do know that I have one way of being able to sleep at night, exercising!! So I am heading to the gym in the A.M after we drop Hailee off at school. It will make things better plus it will also help pass time. We are waiting for Jay to arrive in Germany this Thursday to find out about their housing. So, I will know the end of this week when we will be travelling. We are looking at sometime around the 5-10 of October. Knowing that date will help with some of the anxiety I am no doubtedly feeling which is not helping my sleep.
Ok- enough for now!

We have somewhere to live!

Soooo... good news, we have a place to live! It in in Bleidorn Housing, about 10 minutes from where Lee will work. It is a third floor apartment on post. We have an amazing view from our living/dining rooms down onto downtown Ansbach. It is small, just over 920 sg ft. But it is completely refursbished. Our address will be 2 Schleisier St Ansbach Germany. Our mail will not go there, we will have a PO Box on base and as soon as I am positive that the current one we ahve is permanent, I will post that for everyone.
If you have never used Google Earth, try it! I just used it for the first time and you can see our specific building! It is crazy. I literally got to "see" a satelite picture of our house! Wow.
I also found out that there is an IKEA about 20 minutes away. We loved going to IKEA while we lived in Washington State, so that is exciting!
I also set up our Vonage Phone. It is set to my parents area code, (530). It will be active in like 2 weeks. You can all call with only it being long distance to California!! Cool right?

Starbucks at Home!

Sitting here in Starbucks on Main St in Placerville. Mind you when I left here over 10 years ago there were no Starbucks in town, just a few little mom and pop shops. My first job was at one named Sweetie Pies that is about 5 businesses up from this very Starbucks I am sitting in now.
My parents have no internet service and I have a homework assignment I need to complete by tomorrow night. I started it before I left and have just a little left to finish. So I have been sitting here copying and pasting information from the internet into files so that I can access them at home later today so that I can do it without having access to the internet at my parents.
I will have to post another post later today when I get a chance of Hai riding a scooter around at my parents. The best part is that the scooter was mine when I was a little older than Hai is now!
Well I am off to check on mom. She is getting her hair done down the street and when she is done we are running her car into get some service done. Then off to our Saturday morning WalMart run.
I am talking to a mail man right now about the upcoming Presidential election and we started discussing Palin. A woman in line leaned over and said that she is excited about Palin also. She siad it is nice to hear comeone under 30 who likes McCain. I told her a good portion of the military likes McCain cause of his background and what he stands for. We were laughing cause we adore Palin. Everyone is making a big deal over her daughter being pregnant. I think it is ridiculous since teen pregnancy is a huge problem here in the U.S. To me, her daughter being pregnant, is something else that makes her more appealing to me. It makes her seem more real cause she is dealing with problems that normal America is dealing with.
Well I am off for now cause this mailman is driving me crazy. He is getting into some heavy issues right here in downtown Placervilles Starbucks and the "hippie conservative democratic" crowd is raising eyebrows. Do not want to deal with any issues here!

In the words of most Northern Californias, Peace!

On his way~~~

So I drove Lee to the airport today and as I type, he is on his flight from Philadelphia to Frankfort Germany! He has about 5 hours left of his flight.

I had to drive him to Greensboro which is about an hour and a half from here. It was not a bad drive but on the way home I had an incident. I was two cars back from a big rig hauling huge inground pools. The freeway went from two lanes to one. The driver hit a ton of cones and one of the black rubber bases flew up and smacked into the front passenger side of my inlaws van I was driving. UGH! So I attached some of the pictures of the van damage. It was not too bad luckily and I was able to get the information off the side of the truck. So insurance and the company are paying for the repairs.

Some other awesome news... Hai and I are heading to Cali on Friday morning. We will be there from Friday at like 11am until early morning next Wednesday. I got an awesome deal and was also able to get a great deal on a rental car for the entire time we are there. I am excited to see my parents before we leave for Germany. Shan is still there too, so we get to see her. We also get to see Ande and the kiddos! Best yet, it is my daddys birthday on Monday, so we will be there for that. I would love to stay longer but with Hai in school it is tough.

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