It's New Years Eve!

What are your plans? We were invited to a friends house to eat, drink, and be merry. We always have a good time at their parties, at least I do. It's the only time I get to hang out with the girls without feeling guilty. Yep, I still feel guilty when I leave D and K to go out and have a good time. At least at these parties, they are there enjoying themselves with me.

Our friends have a huge pub in the basement, so we all drink and have a great time and the kiddos get to run around and burn some energy. D doesn't drink, so I always have a DD. Yay for me! :) But these are his co-workers, so they talk and hang out. Actually, I'm not too sure what they do exactly. Us girls are usually upstairs in the Wintergarden, drinking our wine and laughing it up.

It's times like this that I will miss when we leave Germany. Oh, and the wine is so yummy too! Italian wine is so sweet and bubbly. I'm shipping a case or two back to the states when we leave.

Well, I'm off to finish some work...I'm making up for lost time while my internet was down.

In my next post, I will try to include pics of my new business room. D made a ribbon rack for me, and I have two shelving units to hold all of my fabrics and supplies.

No Love

My last post was all about getting a dog, D and I were so excited to take K to the pound to see if we could find a puppy. Well, the pound on base is now closed and we were told to go off base, to a place called Tierheim.

They were closed by the time we made it there yesterday, so we returned today, ready to check out some puppies! We were told by the Vet Clinic on base that the Germans do things a little different here. Basically, you can't just show up at the pound and pay a small license fee and go home with a new dog! It's a loong process. By long, I mean until the dog dies. When you take a dog from the pound, the workers actually come to check the dog periodically to make sure it's healthy, happy, and fed. You absolutely cannot sell the dog or give the dog away. Crazy huh?

I totally understand the whole reasoning behind it. They want to make sure the dog is being taken care of, but I don't want to have some stranger coming to my house whenever they feel like it to check on MY dog.

So after hearing the process, we are told we can't even adopt a dog because we are...get this, Americans! Come on! I felt so discriminated against when she told me this. She was like "Well, we don't want to dogs leaving the country."

Needless to say, I was pretty bummed. And so was D. Of course, K didn't know what was going on, she was just happy to see the dogs. Who by the way are in kennels outside 24/7 when it is 15 degrees outside! There water bowls were frozen solid! Kind of contradicting to me, but whatever.

So, we will just wait until we get to the states and buy a puppy there. Personally, I want a Teacup Yorkie.



Isn't she adorable?

Puppy Love

So D and I have been thinking about getting another dog for some time now. We used to have Shih-Tzu named Gizmo when we first moved here to Germany. She was such an adorable dog, but a few months into my pregnancy, I started getting really sick from her 'dog' smell. We would bathe her everyday and she was an inside dog, but the smell was not sitting right with me. A co-worker of D's agreed to dog-sit for us for a few months. We got her back when I was 5 months pregnant and only getting sick 4-5 times a day. My 'morning sickness' didn't let up until the day after I had K.

Anyway, after we got her back, she was so territorial of D and absolutely hated me. So we decided to sell her. We sold her to a really great family with 2 dogs already, so I knew she would be happy there.

Since we have moved into a much bigger place with a ginormous yard, we have toyed with the idea of getting another dog. Especially since I don't plan on getting pregnant again until we are settled in at our new base. A friend of ours recently got a puppy and so did my sister. So, the thought of a dog joining our family has been on our minds a lot lately. K loves dogs, she just gets a little afraid of them licking her face. But I figure that once she gets used to the dog and the dog is used to her, everything should be fine. Another down side to getting a dog is that we are relocating in less than a year. I would hate to make a dog travel for a long period of time. Especially since we have our hopes set on moving back to Guam.

D called just a few hours ago to tell me that there is a Yorkie for sale in the paper. The Yorkie is 2 years old and already house trained, up to date on all of her shots, etc. It sound perfect. So we are trying to get a hold of the owners now. If this falls through, we have decided to try the pound. I'm just a bit iffy because most dogs from the pound have been beaten and abused. And while I would LOVE to rescue them, I have K to think about. I refuse to put her in harms way.

So I guess this is an on-going topic, we shall see what the future has in store for us.

M.I.A

Hello everyone! It has been awhile since I've posted. Well, let me bring you up to date. We set up an internet account at our new home back in early November...well things work a bit slow out here. So we FINALLY got our internet! Aside from that, Ki'Nani was terribly sick with the stomach virus, which was made worse by dehydration. We went into the ER two times in a week for her to get an IV. It was horrible. I had to leave the room because she was in so much pain. They were trying to get her IV in, and it took over an hour and a half to get the needle in her arm. She did so good though, she cried, but she didn't kick around one bit.

Now she is better, and she enjoyed opening her presents yesterday. Here is a pic of her opening her Princess Pony that grandma sent. Her expression is just priceless!




I hope that everyone had a great holiday!

Daddy Dolls

I was recently told about these Daddy Dolls just a few weeks ago. It would have been perfect for K since she cried herself to sleep for weeks. And woke up numerous times throughout the night crying out for Daddy. Basically, you can upload a photo of your deployed spouse (Mommy or Daddy) onto a doll. You can choose a double sided doll, or one sided. You can put a little message on the doll from your loved one to your child. By far, the best feature is the voice recorder. This way hearing your loved ones voice is just a squeeze away. To find out how you can get your own "Daddy Doll" check out their website, http://www.hugahero.com/index.php.

These dolls are not only for Deployed Spouses, you can even get one for grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins...anyone!

K Turns One!

One year already?!? I've been an emotional wreck all week! I just can't believe that my daughter is a toddler...no longer my little infant. Always on the go, little miss attitude, caring and sweet...TODDLER!

I couldn't help but take a good look at her today and notice how much she has grown...all of the things that she has learned. She is so much like a sponge, soaking up everthing around her. Always the observer; sitting back, analyzing everyones move...taking in her surroundings, (she gets that from Daddy). Then like a bolt of lightening...joining in on the action, making sure that she is in the center of attention...entertaining all around her, (just like Mommy).

Now, I must get a little serious for a bit. When I was 18, I worked at a Fitness Center. One morning, things were business as usual, when two guys ran up to the desk, yelling that a guy was down in the basketball court...not breathing.
Without thinking, I yelled at my co-worker to call 911 and ordered my mom to come with me to the court (she and I worked together).
When I got to the court, I noticed a group of about 20 guys huddled around one guy off to the side of the court. Immediately, I ran in and performed CPR. I was able to get him to breathe on his own, although it was labored. After 10 minutes...yes 10 minutes paramedics arrived and took over.
Unfortunately, he passed away while being transported to the hospital. I still do not know his name.
I will never forget that day, I still hear the humming of the air conditioner radiating on the gymnasium walls. I can still feel how cold and damp his skin was...and when I close my eyes, I can still remember his face.
These are things that I will never forget...it has taken me awhile to cope with the experience. Even though I didn't know him, he has played a major part in my life. After this happened, I immediately went into self destruction. Numb to any pain, daily panic attacks, nightmares. I blamed myself for his death...if only I had gotten there sooner, if only I had performed CPR better...if only.
His girlfriend was 5 months pregnant with a boy. I blamed myself for that boy not having a father. I blamed myself for the pain that his family has to go through.

The reason that I bring this up is because 5 years to the day, he passed away. At 9:55am, PST, September 7, 2003...I looked up and saw two men running towards me to call 911. I don't know why I glanced at the clock at that moment...but I did. At 9:55am,PST, September 7, 2007...David and I welcomed our daughter into the world. After an emergency c-section, because the cord was around her neck and she had no oxygen. Coincidence? Some may think so. But I like to think that I have an Angel in heaven, watching out for us.

30% off of ALL Hair Accessories, TuTu's, and Nap Time Mats!

I like to put my items on sale every so often. I know that having a child can get pretty pricey. Even without all of the nice 'extras' like hair accessories and dress up clothes. I think that all girls should be able to play dress up and wear nice bows and feel like the princesses that they are. While I do carry items for boys, let's face it, they don't get the same thrill from wearing cute new clothes like girls do! I hope to have a boy in the future, and I'm sure my business will expand to introduce more boy things. But for now, I am having a TON of fun with all the pink froo froo things that come along with having a little princess in the house.

So, if you are all about everything and anything girly, then head on over to MarieLynn Boutique! You are sure to find one, two, three, even FOUR things that you will fall madly in love with. Take advantage of the 30% off sale on all hair accessories, tutu's, and naptime mats...and leave me a line or two in my guestbook! I love to hear from everyone!

My First Blog

Well, here I am.

Let me start off by introducing myself, my name is Cales. I always have a TON to say. It isn't always politically correct. I tend to rub people the wrong way, but I almost always say what others can not. I am a spontanteous-carefree-loving person. I hate boundaries, I feel that it is my mission in life to break through them. I work best when I'm under pressure. I like to surround myself with easy going, positive people.

I feel that life is meant to be lived, to the FULL extent. I try to make the most of each day. My source of inspiration-joy-harmony and my ultimate reason for living, can all be found in the beautiful face of my baby girl, Ki'Nani.

That pretty much sums me up, love me or hate. I am who I am, I offer no apologies.