The Day After Thanksgiving

Black Friday.  Ugh.  I used to be a fan, but in recent years, not so much.  I just can't stand the crowds and the lines.  Germans don't observe Black Friday--at least I didn't hear of any stores being open super early that day for it.  The only place to go here for Black Friday is the PX, so I expected it to be chaotic.  Having grown up in a military family, it was pretty much tradition to go to the midnight madness Black Friday sale, or to wake up at 0400 in the morning and go to the PX in time for it to open at 0600 or so. 

Last Friday, I rolled out of bed around 0730 and took my time getting over to the PX.  After all, the crowds would have died down by then. 

Whatever.

What kind of PX opens at 0900 on Black Friday?

Ours does. 

I had to wait in line for almost an hour and a half.  Even then, the place wasn't as crowded as I'm used to for Black Friday, so it wasn't half bad.  And I got the Nikon D5100 Digital SLR camera that I went there for--on sale.  Merry Christmas to me!

Malu wasn't too happy that I came home with the gift he was supposed to buy for me.  I'm not even asking him to buy me anything else...he can just call it good for the year.  I've been tossing back and forth between the idea of wrapping the camera up and opening it on Christmas or just learning to use the darn thing ASAP.  He's still miffed.  Hey, if he's that bothered, I won't object to him finding me something else :)

I did manage to find some other things too--mostly gifts for Sina and local friends and Christmas decorations.  But the best part of Black Friday was spending a good part of our day outside.  It was a gorgeous day and we took Sina out to the playground.

She just loves the swings!  And swinging with daddy...even better.  We also get a good workout carrying her to the top of the slide repeatedly too.  I did a little climbing :)

That night, I put up a Hello Kitty brand mini Christmas tree in Sina's room, which I know my sister, Rosalynn, would love.  Never, in a zillion years, did I ever think I'd buy a pink Christmas tree.

It even came with mini Hello Kitty ornaments.  Anything for our little girl, I suppose.  All it needs is a strand of lights, which I plan on getting really soon.

I can't remember what we did the rest of Black Friday, but I'm sure it involved a lot of napping in the late afternoon.  We're quite the family of nappers.

Speaking of Christmas trees, we don't have our big one up yet.  I wish we had one of those tree farms nearby so that we could choose and cut our own down.  Still, we haven't made our way over to the OBI (the German version of Home Depot) to buy one.  If we don't get one by this weekend, I might consider not putting one up at all.  Okay, whatever.  We know that won't happen.

Anyhow, it's getting late and we need to get to bed!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Thanksgiving 2011

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post this.  We've been recovering from four Thanksgiving meals.  Yup, that's what I said.  Four.  All of last week was just one big feast.  I not only spent a lot of time eating, but a lot of time cooking and baking.  It was exhausting.

Meal one was on Tuesday.  I had a huge potluck at work and Malu came along.

Meal two was on Wednesday.  Malu had a huge potluck at work and I went along (the perks of being married to a service member in the same command).

Meal three was the "real" meal--Thanksgiving Day.  We, along with two other families/friends, were invited to the Wells Family home for an evening of food and fellowship.  We split meal responsibilities from amongst the families.  I didn't realize how much I volunteered to cook/bake until we loaded everything into the car.  We could have fed all the guests on just that!  What a wonderful time!

I'm so happy that we were able to get a family shot.  The Wells' live in one of those typical tiered German houses.  I say "typical" because all of our friends who live on the economy here live in the same style of house where there are about 3-4 floors/tiers, each with 2-3 rooms.  For example, one floor is a basement; another is the entryway, livingroom and guest bathroom; another is the kitchen and diningroom; another has 1 or 2 bedrooms; and the final floor is the master bedroom and a full bathroom.  They're actually quite spacious and I like the layout.  What sucks is having to climb all of those stairs...and having to watch your toddler the entire time.  The thought of Sina or any toddler falling down those stairs just freaks me out to no end.

In any case, what I was meaning to say was that it was hard to get Sina to sit still for anything (including this family picture) because she was so fixated on climbing up and down all those stairs.  It was quite entertaining for her, but exhausting for Malu and I me.  Anyway, starting from the top right of the collage--one of the desserts I made; Zinda in her kitchen; the ham I made along with some other side dishes; Malu and JP Wells jammin' on the guitars; LTC Miller and Baby Cora (who goes to school with Sina); Rebecca (Cora's Mom), Cora and Tracey Miller; and Sina playing with Zinda's potato supply.

I made some really good stuff that day. Here are the recipes and everything was fabulous (and I'm not just saying that because I made them!):

Nilla Praline Cheesecake (shown)

Baked Ham w/Sweet Bourbon-Mustard Glaze (shown)

Lickety-Split Alfredo Style Mac n' Cheese

Candy Apple Pie

Macadamia Nut Pie

Crockpot Green Bean Casserole

Curried Chicken Appetizer Bites

In addition to all of this, I brought corn, a salad, and a fruit tray with homemade fruit dip!

After that, there was no way I could even look at another meal, let alone eat another turkey. 

But meal four came on Saturday...at Malu's boss' house.  Turkey and all the trimmings.  Sina never complained.  As a matter of fact, she couldn't stop saying "Mmmmm!"  I have a feeling Thanksgiving will be her favorite holiday.

Everything really was quite delicious, and how can you refuse an entire meal?  You just can't.  We ate without reservation.

All was well until I got some kind of stomach bug that night and ended up throwing up everything I ate on Saturday.  We're not really sure what happened, but we know we can't blame it on any of the four meals because no one else got sick.  We can only deduce that it was the chicken sandwich I'd eaten at lunch at the PX food court on Saturday (as if we didn't have enough leftovers at the house that day; guess that serves me right). 

All in all, it was a wonderful Thanksgiving, despite being away from our family and loved ones back home.  Honestly though, we have enough people here that we call family and we're so very thankful to have them in our lives too!

Thanks to the Wells Family for opening up your hearts and your home to us and to the other families we had the pleasure of fellowshipping with throughout the entire week!

It's Always Better When We're Together

We can't be more grateful for the fact that we live in this beautiful country, that  we have been living together for over a year now (no deployment!) and that we even get to work together--in the same building (I'm on the first floor, he's on the second)!  This means that we get to do a lot together...take Sina to school, have lunches (when time allows) together, pick Sina up from school and then do our grocery shopping together afterwards.  We even give Sina baths, read her bedtime stories, and put her to bed together. 

Together.

This will be our second Thanksgiving together in a row, which means that we're on a roll.  The year before last, I was in Kuwait and Malu was mobilizing for another deployment.  The year before that, I was in Colorado with family and Malu was deployed.

Today, I am so thankful for my husband, Vaimalu.

He's a fantastic father, provides for and protects our family, and is truly my best friend.  I am thankful for him everyday but this evening, as I watched him serenade Vaiosina as she took her bath, I couldn't help but think that there is so much love in our home and we couldn't be more blessed.

I also realize that this particular setting may be unconventional to some.  I mean, who serenades babies while they are in the bath tub, right?  He does and does it so well.  Apparently, Sina thinks so too.  She just sits there and bobs her head and sways her body to the music.

What lucky girls we are!

I'm savoring every moment we have the opportunity to share.  With another deployment looming on the horizon, we have to make every moment count!

Thanks Malu for all that you are and all that you do.  I love you!

One more day in the work week...yeah!

Hats, Baking and a Copy Cat

Even though drill weekends are rough without Malu, Sina and I get lots of mommy-daughter time.  Although it can get quite hectic at times (i.e. the crying, the running around, and the constant cleaning up of messes and dirty diapers), I can't help but keep falling in love with my little girl.  She just does the cutest things sometimes, I can't help but get all sappy.

We had some unusually warm and sunny weather (for November) yesterday. It was probably in the mid-50s.  Sina was itching to go outside.  On the way out, I told Sina to put on her hat on.  She grabbed this...

She loves this fireman's hat that she got during a fireman's visit to her school a while back.  Well, I can't say she didn't listen!  We played at the park for an hour.  I'm sure the entire neighborhood could hear her excited shrieks as she went down the slide repeatedly.

After her three-hour naps (she's still quite the napper!) we went shopping at the PX, which has somewhat become a part of our weekend routine when Malu is out of town.  We tried on Santa hats, but I'm afraid my little elf was out of sorts.  She was still waking up, I suppose.

When we got home, we set out to bake some cupcakes for the staff at Sina's school (since we found out we're not allowed to bring homemade baked goods to the kiddos--for obvious reasons).  I got the idea of making Pilgrim Hat Cupcakes from the Taste and Tell Blog.  They were so fun and so easy to make!

Sina was dying to give mommy a hand.

Okay, maybe not.  Like the vacuum (and other loud appliances), she's afraid of the mixer and squirmed as soon as I put her next to it (hence my hand on her arm, holding her in place).  She was actually dying to...

...taste the batter!  "Mmmmmmmm....," she kept saying.

She was in bed before I could get all of the cupcakes frosted and "hatted".  Although my icing skills need work, they didn't turn out so bad, eh?

Finally, my bloggy friend, Steph, recently blogged about how her beautiful little girl, Lily is now at the age where she'll imitate what she hears.  I just happened to catch a moment where Sina did the same thing, because she's at that point in her toddler-hood as well; which makes sense because she and Lily are only two weeks apart.

Sometime last week, Sina heard us say "Uh oh!" when she dropped her bottle.  She repeated it, saying "ooh ooh" with her adorable mouth and full lips forming a small "o".  Then we said "Uh oh, spaghetti-o's!"  She responded with her version, "Uh oh, dee dee dee dee!"  I like her version much better :)

Here's hoping that you got a good laugh!

In an effort to say what I'm thankful for each day of this Thanksgiving week--today, I'm thankful for the joy that our daughter brings me each and every day.  I  am thankful for the priceless moments that we continually share.  I thank God for bringing you into our lives. 

Vaiosina, I love you!

Happy Monday!

A Very Happy Thanksgiving

Wow, what a weekend!  I was so sad to see it end. It's not that I had to get back to work or anything, it was just nice to have some family in the area to entertain.  We were so happy to have Malu's (my hubby's) siblings here, not only to celebrate Thanksgiving, but to meet Baby V for the first time.  As expected, they were completely enamored by their little niece, and she by them.  It was just so much fun.  So let me break the weekend down for everyone.

~Wednesday~

Baby V met her Uncle Felix for the very first time.



Felix is Malu's younger brother (born right after him) and he came all the way from North Carolina to visit.  He's in the Marines and stationed at Camp Lejeune.  We took him to the new PX and pretty much just hung out for the entire day.

~Thursday~

I got up at the butt-crack of dawn to start cooking all the dishes for our Thanksgiving meal, including my very first turkey!  While doing this, we tuned in to the Macy's parade and waited for Malu's other siblings to arrive from California.  They had departed the evening before and they didn't arrive until about 9:30 Thursday morning.  We had a huge breakfast waiting too!

So...

Sina finally got to meet with her Uncle Vaea (he's younger than Felix).  He attends college in Pasadena and also plays football for that school.  He brought two of his teammates (who happen to be his friends/classmates from back home--in American Samoa).

She also got to meet her beautiful Auntie Silulu (who is the eldest of Malu's siblings). 

I'm not sure if I mentioned this to you guys before, but Silulu (we call her Lulu) is an aspiring actress who is currently attending a college in Long Beach, California.  She also went to the Olympics in Beijing two summers ago and competed for American Samoa in judo.  I love having her around.  She has such a bubbly personality (much like Malu) and her laughter is so contagious. 

Anyway, I'd slaved away all morning in the kitchen and made meatballs, cheese dip for appetizers, two different kinds of sweet potato casseroles, a macadamia nut pie for dessert.  And my turkey...

...came out great!  In this picture, I'm in the process of moving the turkey to a platter, but it came nice and golden brown and so moist!  I actually brined the turkey in a recipe that I got off of another blog.  Apparently the recipe is from Emeril and I'm definitely going to use it every Thanksgiving from here on out.

Our friends, the Hermosillo's (Melissa and Ismael, shown below), hosted Thanksgiving for our family and a few of our other friends that afternoon.

To say that we had tons of food was an understatement.  Every space on the table and on her kitchen counters was covered in food.  I'm not even joking.

And I didn't even get pictures of all the food.  It was INSANE.  Um...did I mention that we had 3 turkeys?  And we had such a great time.  We were able to work off some of what we ate by playing Just Dance 2 on the Wii.  I'm not going to incriminate anyone by posting those photos.  Just know that they are hilarious!

~Friday~

The boys had stayed out late Thursday night so we actually spent most of Friday morning relaxing at home.  I didn't feel like facing the Black Friday crowds either.  We'll be moving soon, so much of our Christmas shopping will have to take place while we're on leave in Colorado and Utah.  But later that night, we took the crew for an authentic Mexican meal at a restaurant nearby.  I mean, what's a visit to El Paso without having Mexican food? 

~Saturday~

This was the first time that Malu and his brothers and sister had been in the same place and at the same time in years.  So I thought it would be perfect to capture this on film.  I scheduled some family photos to be shot by a good friend of mine.  So that's what occupied our Saturday morning.  I'll have to post those pictures when I get them, so stay tuned!

For months, Malu had been itching to take a huge group of people to go paintballing.  The fact that he got to take his siblings and some friends of ours totally made his day (or maybe his entire year).  The paintballing place is literally two miles from where we live.  You guys should have seen how ecstatic Malu was that day.  It was priceless.

Here are a few photos from that day:

Here's the before paintballing picture...

One of my baby and I

and the after paintballing photo

Great times!  I think Malu is still coming down from the high he felt that day.

Later that night, we enjoyed a dinner at a new Vietnamese restaurant in town.  Delicious!  Lulu left a few hours after that.  She had to go back to CA early enough to allow her to rest before returning to work on Monday. We miss her so much already!

~Sunday~

The boys left and Malu and I spent the rest of the day thinking about how grateful we were to have had that time with our family and friends.  We also took some time to give thanks to God for so many things...

for dying on the cross to absolve our sin

for each other

for our little baby girl

for the love of family and friends

for jobs that we love

for our home

for nice things

for a free Country to live in

(and the Soldiers that defend it)

(nutella)

and soooo much more.

I hope all of you had a very Happy Thanksgiving as well.  This week, I am finishing up the last of my clearing/outprocessing.  Next week, our household goods are getting packed up...and then we're up and out of this place! 

Have a great week!