In the South...

We're here.
And surrounded by love.

We spent nearly 18 hours on the same plane with no windows.
18 hours.

It was crazy. And a long day.
Everybody here freaked out. Nobody knew where we were.
And then we got home.
And I explained again how crazy Space A travel can be, and their nerves calmed.

I've been to Walmart.
I've had good crushed ice in a Coke from Zaxby's.
I ate dinner at my parent's kitchen table last night, complete with a green glass bottle coke.

I took my boys to their MeMe & Grumps.
I left Monkey in Germany. Austin has cried for both Monkey and his Momma.
I'm learning to let go a little, and my heart aches, and I'm bored.
I don't know what to do without my boys. I literally don't know what to do.

When planning this trip, I kept thinking about the reasons for it:
Spending much needed alone time with my husband.
Organizing our house and daily lives.
I clung to that.
And then yesterday when I kissed those babies bye, it sunk in.
I was leaving my boys for a month.
I cried.

We're all in the South though. And that makes me smile so big.
I've rearranged my plans to stay here a little longer than I wanted.
I will go spend some time at MeMe's with my boys in a few days.
Then I'll travel back to Germany.

We're in the South.
I am home.
I am warm and not trudging through snow and ice that's weeks old.
I miss my husband.
Travelling makes me tired and sore.
Especially travelling on the same plane for 18 hours.

We'll chat again soon, ok?
Until then, Sonic Cherry Limeades and Marshalls and Old Navy and the DMV are calling my name...

Heading home...

Sometime in the next day, or week, or so we'll board a plane and eventually end up somewhere in the states.
We'll be flying Space A... a neat little perk when you're closely associated with the military... You get to fly for next to nothing, but there's no guarantee of when or if you'll fly. You just have to show up for Roll Call and hope there's a seat for you!
Crazy.
I'm trying hard to be ok with the fact that I don't know anything. It's a situation that is completely out of my hands. I have no control.
All I know is that at some point we will be home... We will land on US soil, and make our way to the deep South. We'll stop at Sonic for slushes, and maybe have some good BBQ for dinner.
The plan, and boy, is it ever flexible, is for us to get to the states.  I'll probably stick around for a week or so and spend some time with my Momma, (or MomMom) and then I'll head back to Germany. The boys will spend a few weeks with David's mom, MeMe. After a few weeks, MeMe will take the boys to MomMom, and they'll spend a few weeks with her. I'll come back to the states and spend another week or so running errands and soaking up as much of the South as I can... including Target, and Old Navy, and WalMart. Then we'll start the trip back to our home here in Germany.
I'm already missing David and we haven't even left. But I know that the alone time he and I will have will be so worth the crazy adventure I'm about to take with these boys.
While I'm in Germany without children, I plan to organize the house, and label everything, and put reminders everywhere. I hope to make it to Ikea one weekend with David and check things off our evergrowing list.

I'm so full of emotions right now that I can't even think straight.
I hope we make it on a flight tomorrow.
I hope the boys are really, really good on the plane.
I hope to be full of patience if we don't make it on a flight.
And if we do, I hope I am patient with our boys for the 9 or so hours we'll be on the same plane.
I hope that once we get to the states, that I can meet up with my parents easily.
And I hope that I can get just the tiniest bit of sleep tonight....

I will update more when I know more.
For now, I'm going to finish packing and maybe make a bowl of ice cream!

Six links I want to share…

 

ABC Wall Art on U Create : So cute and look very easy!

Bakerella posted a Peach Crunch Cake that looks amazing.

Mission Accomplished at (In)Courage was a wonderful read that has me thinking.

Hello, Game Board Storage Art at infarrantly creative! I think I’m in love.

Erin at Closing Time wrote a beautiful post titled The Goodbye.

 Your Parental Permission Slip from Simple Mom is my kind of permission slip!

 

Have you found any good reads lately? Or what about a fabulous craft you found and can’t wait to try? 
Leave a comment; I’d love to hear about it!

More chocolate milk...

I burnt a milk carton today.
Simply placed it on our glass top stove while I was making mac and cheese for lunch. Nevermind the fact that I placed it on a hot eye.
It the room filled with a burnt plastic smell.

I opened all the windows and welcomed the fresh, cold air. 
There was sunshine today. And lots of it, I stood at the window and felt the warmth of the sun, and cold breeze flow through the house.

I thought the milk carton was ok- other than being a little black on the bottom- so I stuck it back on the shelf in the fridge.
David discovered tonight that it had leaked.

The inside of my fridge is clean now.
And I have 6 batches of muffins either baking or cooling.
We're having muffins for breakfast in the morning.
I'll also be freezing some to enjoy later this month.

I thought 6 batches of muffins would use all the milk.
I was wrong.
There's 4 sippie cups of milk in my fridge.
And I just made a really big glass of chocolate milk.
And there was still milk left in the leaking carton...
It's now in a small, but still too big, pitcher in my fridge.

I need more chocolate milk in my life.
The boys need more chocolate milk in theirs, too.

Plans...

I know You have plans for me, Lord.
I know those plans are to prosper me. I know they're not harm me.
I know there's a future and a hope in those plans, too.

Sometimes it's hard to trust in that, Lord.
Sometimes I forget that You hold the plans for my life.
Sometimes I think that I can pencil everything in to those neat little squares in my calendar, and it'll all work out.
Sometimes I've not a clue what I'm doing.

Sometimes I'm thankful that You're the Alpha and the Omega... Ok, well, all the times, I'm thankful for that.
All the time, I'm thankful that You're All Knowing and Almighty.

Be near, Lord. Be near me.
Show me the way.
I'll put the pencil down now.
My life is Yours to plan.

Amen.

For I know the plans you have for me, says the Lord, plans to prosper me and not to harm me; plans for a future and hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

[This post linked to Tuesday's Unwrapped at Chatting at the Sky.]

the littlest of friends.

No matter where the Army takes them-
They’ll always be connected.

The love these little ones have for one another is as strong as they are.

Time Out for Mommy...

This week for Mom Tried It's Try and Tell I'm daring you to spend a little time alone. Grab a coffee and savor the taste while it's still hot. Get lost in a conversation with a friend over the phone. Grab your Bible and spend some uninterrupted time reading. Go for a walk alone. I do not take time for myself often enough. I get so caught up in raising a family and keeping a house, that I forget how beautiful and refreshing a quiet afternoon can be. Make sure your littles are safe and supervised and take a time out for yourself- whether it's a just a moment, a few minutes, or a couple of hours. Just sit and be still and spend a few minutes with yourself.

This morning when I heard the boys awake around 0730, I didn't get out of bed. I nudged David awake, kissed his cheek, and rolled back over. I heard him in the kitchen making the boys breakfast and then I fell back asleep. Austin came in the room a few times, but his Daddy quietly ushered him back out.
It was a few minutes after 11 when I woke again.
I climbed out of bed, and planted myself on the couch, as two little boys giggled and played at my feet.
We had lunch together as a family, and as Cade napped, I got dressed. I gathered some magazines, a list of errands, and the car keys... Kissed my husband and Bubba, and walked out the front door. by. my. self.
I found myself at the coffee shop on post ordering a ridiculously expensive Vanilla Latte, that was ridiculously good. I sat in the empty room in a red chair and flipped through my magazine. Cover to cover, without little fingers ripping the pages from my hands. I even had time to dog ear pages I wanted to look at again. It was all I could do to make myself sit and not hurry to get my errands finished to get home.
I left from there and found myself walking around the thrift store... And yes, there are more frog plate sets. And yes, they're still overpriced; as was the shelf I was tempted to buy.
I bought a few shirts from the PX, without little ones begging to get out of the cart. I stopped to look at make up and I wandered aimlessly around, not worried about naptime or hungry little toddlers.
I made my way to the commissary and filled the cart. All the while, trying to focus without the boys asking for bananas, or cookies, or juice, or this or that. I checked without having to put magazines back on the rack and I made my way to the car with groceries without having to buckle car seats first.

I spent most of my day lost, un-focused, and aimlessly wandering. I missed my boys.
But it was wonderful to be lost in my own thoughts for a few hours.
We had a quick dinner (corn dogs, and french fries) and spent the evening playing with one of Ausitn's birthday presents- Elefun!  We had a blast gathering the butterflies, and being silly together.
I was able to focus on their laughter and truly relax into playing with them after my afternoon away.

It was a beautiful day.

2010 Blizzard Bloghop: Welcome!

 

Bless your heart, trudging through all that snowy mess to get here.  Well, come on in! I’m gonna fix me a glass of sweet tea; can I get you something?
Let’s chat for a minute, shall we?
How are you?
Oh, and how’s your Momma?
Hi. I’m Sidnie, by the way.
  
I’m an Army wife and a momma to two crazy boys. And our house is full of laundry, tons of toys, piles of shoes at the door, but mostly, full of lots and lots of love.
David and I have been married since 2006. Austin just turned 3 this week, and Cade is 15 months.
    
We live in Germany, far away from the South we grew up in. Sometimes we venture out with our two little ones in tow for grand European adventures; but most of the time I’m washing cloth diapers, and struggling to get little ones to  eat their vegetables. 
Green Enough for Me is where I come to count my blessings and explore my independence. I like to write about the crazy things our boys do, and I’m still learning that I can’t do it all on my own.
       
Oh, I hear the boys going crazy in the other room. Will you excuse me while I turn the vacuum on to find some quiet in my day? Stay awhile and make yourself at home. There’s lots more to read; I hope you’ll take a moment to tell me what you think.  It sure was nice to meet you; we'll talk soon, ok?

The view from here…

You Capture: Faces

We’ve had a rough few days this week. I’ve tried to keep it all in perspective; a foot of snow will give anyone cabin fever. And two toddlers locked in a tiny apartment all week would surely make anyone go crazy and long for a fancy drink with a tiny umbrella,a hammock, and a view of the beach and sand and palm trees… I’m longing for the sound of crashing waves and to feel the bright sun shining through my dark sunglasses. 
I’d had about all I could take yesterday. They’ve been on a sugar high for days from Austin’s birthday cake. Instead of trudging through the snow and slush outside, we’re trudging through a sea of toys and books that runs through the living room and hallway. I’d had all of the bouncing off the walls and brother tackling I could take…not to mention the screaming and tears and crying and fighting and not sharing and crashing of things that aren’t supposed to crash…
I turned on the bathtub, added some bubbles, some spoons and foam toys and let them have at it. I laid a beach towel in the floor next to the tub to absorb the splashes. I laid a blanket in the floor across the room, grabbed my laptop and camera, and plopped down in the floor to try and escape to somewhere else, while still be able to referee.
The sound of water from the faucet is far from crashing waves, but it was close enough…

There were still tears. There was screaming, and splashing, and soap in their eyes, and tears, and thrown toys, and fighting and yes, still tackling. But it was restricted to the generally safe and mostly fun boundaries of the bathtub and I felt like I had a few moments to myself to relax.
And I have to admit, the view from where I sat was completely entertaining, even if it wasn’t palm trees and ocean…
Not to mention, I quickly noticed that the bathroom floor needed to be swept; we’ll just call that sand…

Don't Make the Coffee Pot Mad...

Did you know that if a measuring cup slips out of your husband's hand while he's shaking water out of it, your coffee pot will get really mad and explode glass and cold coffee all over your kitchen?



No, you didn't know that?
Well, now you do.



This post linked to 5 Minutes for Mom, Wordless Wednesday.

Skor Cake

Are you joining me for Try and Tell Tuesday? Mom Tried It has a new, fun link up! Think of it as show and tell, but for Moms! I hope you enjoy this yummy cake, then head over to Mom Tried It to link up your own Try and Tell post and browse everybody else's!

Skor Cake is a recipe from my mother in law. Normally I make cakes decorated with buttercream for birthdays, but David has been home from Iraq for 7 months now and I've been meaning to make this cake. So tonight we celebrated Austin's birthday with Skor Cake... It's very rich, but so good. When I made this today, the boys were napping, but the next time I make it, I will be sure to let them help. I noticed that it was really easy, and quite messy and that little ones would be perfect helpers!
Here are the ingredients you'll need...

Make the devil's food cake mix as the box directs. As you add your ingredients add the box of chocolate pudding. (I add a box of pudding to all my box cake mixes. It's my secret ingredient, and takes away from the box cake mix taste!) Bake the cake in a 9x13 pan.
Add the chocolate toffee bars to a ziploc bag and crush with a hammer (or however you want to crush them. Make sure they're frozen, they crush easier).
Once the cake is baked, let it cool for awhile. Then with plastic chopsticks (or the back end of a wooden spoon, or whatever you have on hand) poke holes all over the top of the cake. Cover the top with the crushed toffee bars.

Then pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top and let it settle into the cake. Do the same with the caramel syrup and chocolate syrup, allowing it all to soak into the cake. (Don't ask how much of the syrups I use, I just drizzle generously over the top. Till its covered, smooth it over a little, and then add another drizzle just for good measure.)
(Imagine there's a picture of the chocolate syrup & Cool Whip up there.) Once the syrups have settled a little, generously cover the top with the whipped cream. Then let the cake rest in the fridge for a few hours.


Whether there's a birthday in your house or not, you have to add candles! What's a cake without candles anyway?? Hurry up and serve it before they help themselves...

Found the curtains...

I found the curtains last night... All but one panel. This morning, I happily attached the clips and stood in a chair to slide the clips into the tracks in our ceiling.
I opened our bedroom window to remove the sheet that's been hanging for the last three weeks. It was stuck. And I'm short.
In the old house, I would always just stand in the window when I needed to reach up high.

So I did...

Our windows tilt out at the top, or they open up like doors. I had the window completely open, and I stood on the windowsill to see what the sheet was stuck on.
And then I freaked out when my backside brushed up against the window screen...
We're four floors up. And all that stood between me and the snow on the ground was a darn window screen...

David can take the sheet down when he gets home...