I Heart Faces - Thankfulness!

Monday Mortals will be in the form of the I ♥ Faces post this week.

The task is to write who/what you are thankful for in a story of photos. My mortal this week fits BIG TIME!! For my hubby George....

As a young boy,

I'm sure he was really "helpful" around the house....just like he is now! He is my handyman/hero and I am thankful he knows how to make a bookshelf out of a bubblegum wrapper :o) Thank You to my very own MacGyver...


As a teenager,

he lit up every room he walked into. His smile was genuine and inviting. I am thankful for his real-ness and for always inviting me in his direction...and THANK YOU for that butt in those jeans :o)


As a Drill Sergeant,

he was strong and taught people how to be disciplined. I am thankful for his strong mind, protective grasp on our Family, and for teaching our children about discipline.


As a Softball Player,

he is playful, competitive, driven and passionate. I am thankful for his spunky attitude, his compassion towards what he loves, his youthful spirit, the drive he has passed onto our kids, and for always being a team player.


As a Father,

he is loving, present, a gentleman, a role model, and a teacher. I am thankful for his ability to teach the kids right from wrong, his sense to be a strong role model, his ways of showing our daughter what a gentleman is, and that he fights the good fight with me in raising all three.


As my husband...

Thank You, handsome man, for being my true love. The one who adores me, the one who saves me, the one who protects me, the one who provides for me, the one who laughs with me, the one who puts up with me, the one who never gives up on me, the father of my children, the one who is engaged in them no matter how long the day gets, the one who is my true best friend. I don't say it enough...how lucky I am to be by his side. We conquer everything together...


To see other people's stories of Thankfulness...pop into:

Foodie Friday

I'm sharing with you this Foodie Friday, my Easy Peasy Taco Hot Pockets! I threw these together the other day (I started late so I was not feeling a massive mealtime throwdown). Anyway, It starts with the meat...ground beef of course and taco seasoning.

After that is cooked and mixed together, I unrolled some store bought pizza dough and rolled it out. Once you roll it, you cut it into 8 sections...

Yummy goodness isn't usually happening in my house without cheese. Sprinkle the cheese (I use colby/monterey jack) and whatever else you want to add. I could have really went to town here, but since I cook for the only humans on Earth with ultra-sensitive palettes, I keep it simple (and crowd pleasing). I would have added blk olives, extra onions, maybe even some corn to mine).

Once you have added the meat atop the cheesy mountain, you must fold one side over and crimp the edges with a fork (or a play-doh cutter). Sorry these are messy looking, I told you I was in a hurry....geez!

After you cook them at 350 for about 15-20 minutes (or until the crust is the perfect golden color), pull 'em out and get out your sour cream & salsa (that's what I did) while it cools. Perfect for kids and yummy enough to please the hubby.

I have made ham and cheese, turkey and broccoli, and next I think I am going to try this with spinach and chicken. YUM!!

Channeling my inner Rachel Ray,

Praying...

To be a Military Family, you always have anxiety about WHEN your Soldier is going to deploy, IF he is gonna come back, WHY do so many have to go repetitively, and WHERE will this leave our Family in the end? We see stories of PTSD and Reintegration, but does that entail opening fire on one of your own?

The tragic events that occurred on Ft Hood, rips my heart out. Not just because that could have been my someone in my Family or a friend's Family, but because it makes us fear our own "brother". I remember when George was deployed to Bosnia, he told me that there was this fellow Soldier that he was leery to be around because he seemed angry about being there AND he was carrying an M-16 all day long. The two don't mix. These are the people you are supposed to be fighting back to back with. Not someone you are supposed to be dodging bullets from.

This man (the psychotic murderer...I refuse to state his name because he is not worthy), turned on his brothers. He turned on his Country. Snap judgment, temporary insanity, or depression will not suffice in his defense. These Soldiers are trained heavily in how to deal with wartime. They are offered some of the best emotional support in the world, via Chaplains, Suicide prevention programs, Stress & Anger Management classes/programs, the list goes on! And all of these are free and some even required for our Soldiers. And to boot, he was a psychiatrist?! There is no excuse for unleashing your emotional breakdown onto the ones who would have stood beside you and would have taken their life for you. What a disgrace and what a tragedy!

I applaud and am thankful for the ones that essentially took him down and saved who knows how many lives.

I pray for all the people at Fort Hood. We know all too well that the military is a small world and a Family in itself...we say it all the time. I send out my prayers and offer my support to my Military Family. May the healing bring some understanding in the future and may the Ft Hood Family rally together to begin that healing. Oh, and may that effer realize what he's done and feel guilt while getting the book thrown at him...TWICE!


Standing up for my "Family",

Wednesday without Words

Monday Mortals

This week I am highlighting my niece and nephew on the other side of the Family. We are planning our trip to finally meet them next month. I am soooo excited to hug them, squeeze them, and ultimately make them feel awkward that this strange lady is all up in their grill! LOL! I especially can't wait for Joaquin and Teage to meet. A little scared, but excited all the same. Baby Camille is not such a baby anymore, but she is still the littlest of the Isla Squad. I am dying to get into her hair and put pretty things in it...I miss having a baby girl. Since I haven't met them, I haven't had the pleasure of shooting some mugs of them...so these photos are courtesy of their parents. Oh, we are excited to see you too by the way :o) I mean, aren't they just adorable??!!

Joaquin

Camille

See you in 46 days ninos....

♥LOVE♥

Spooky Days!

What a FUN week we had... (* click to enlarge photos *)

As Family Fun Activities Coordinator in the Fam Bam, I stacked the week with many expeditions, some haunted and some not. First things first, last weekend we went to the October Carnival downtown. I was completely ecstatic to go since it has been over 10 years since I visited my old stomping grounds....err, fairgrounds, the South Florida Fair. I didn't realize how much I missed the food, exhibits, overpriced object throwing games, and rides until we stepped foot onto the Messeplatz Fairgrounds here. I guess they must have German scouts that scour the US looking for great rides to use because all the oldies and goodies were there. I'm talking the Himalaya, the Round-Up, the crickety old roller coaster, the house of mirrors, and of course THIS....

It was known as the Pirate Ship in my day and it is evil!!! I would rather have my tonsils removed than plant my behind on this thing! This is also the case when it comes to any tower of terror, elevator drop, or bungee jump contraption. Saige & JD ran up to the pirate ride with no hesitation. I wasn't sure if they realized the life or death risk they were embarking on...but who am I to pass my judgments onto others? Everyone needs to experience life's little thrills, right? Oh, and I didn't realize there were naked, hookah women all over the backdrop until today when loading up my photos on the desktop.


I'm assuming nobody noticed...because the kids were shell-shocked!! I could hear Saige screaming from the sky. And JD had this "That was fun, but I don't want to EVER do that again" look on his face.

Mom's ARE a wealth of information you know...and have a pretty good idea on how to keep their kids alive.

Here's my cameo...getting off, I mean running off, the rickety roller coaster that I promise was made in the 1920's. And yes, that is George holding Teage (he insisted he was not too little to endure this...They would have NEVER let him on this ride in the states) but you know in Europe, they could care less. Your kid can smoke & drink at age 16 here...go figure!!


Teage wanted to get on every mini-car ride he could catch in his sights. He kept trying to find the big rigs saying, "Where's O-timus Prime?"...cutie!




There was also the pony/horse rides, and T was all about it. I always felt so bad for the horses and their life of circular hell at these venues. I just hope they get to graze on big, green pastures during their off-time and enjoy whatever it is that big, green pastures have to offer :o) Either way, you gotta love a horseback ride....


While the similarities were evident at the good old fair, there were some differences.

Like how about you play a little ball throwing game to win your very own German beer stein?!


Sooo much better than winning a big stuffed animal that ends up in the basement because you have too much crap!! We didn't win one by the way...

Or Jim Bob Becker, the talking moosehead, chillin' atop a drink stand...


Perhaps you would expect to see pumpkins run amok, since it is Fall. BUT, is this what comes to mind?

...ok, maybe it is ;o) That gourd is smoking, for real! And what about those eyes?? Hmmmm...

Good Times at the Kaiserslautern Fall Carnival!!

Next up, we spent a weeknight taking the kids to the Ramstein Community Center for the "Family Friendly" Haunted House.


That's my kind of Haunted House! I don't "do" Haunted scare-me places ever since I peed my pants heavily at the awkward age of 11...Location: Haunted Woods in Tennessee. There's more to that story...some of you know it and if you don't, well ask me sometime.

So it was super small, and very not spooky, well....except for that guy that grabbed my ankles while I was trying to get JD to go through this tube.


I thought they weren't supossed to touch you in haunted houses....FREAK!

T & J had fun and even Saige got in on the action afterward...more like caught in the action.


There was a craft table set up across from the haunted room...and the kids each chose one to do. Teage decided to cut out a pumpkin. I had to show this. He's completely unaware of his little concentration quirk...but WOW, I'm totally impressed by his scissor skills!


JD just spent the whole time admiring his spider ring and drawing the Haunted Mansion.


Finally, the big day came. I swear, Teage was asking me up to 20 times a day if it was Trick or Treat time yet. He was super-excited to really use his Batman costume properly. He has been putting it on everyday to mentally prepare for his role. However, on Thursday I realized I couldn't locate the dang thing. With our painting and organizing of the house still going on, I was worried we'd never find where he stashed it. Luckily, it was stuffed under his tykes table in a ball. Anyway, JD was none other than...the Joker! Of course they both wanted to be each others nemesis. In this case the enemy towers over the hero, but what a great duo...


Don't ask me about the make-up...I figured the Joker is really not a make-up artist either so I just smeared it, I was channeling the Heath Ledger version. Plus, I was in the back of our truck and it was dark (don't worry, we weren't crackheads on the side of the road...we were downtown that afternoon and so we just packed our Halloween essentials with us to go on base). Saige didn't "dress-up". Unless you call wearing Stitch ear barrettes in your hair and Stitch T-Shirt dressing up (and yes, she wore that last year, too...even though I bought her cutie masks for this year, grown kids are so weird sometimes). She still looked cute of course!

What a great night...even if it was 40 degrees!! Check out the rest of the pics from T or T night! (JD really takes his character seriously...just sayin')




Once I told them I was happy with the amount of candy they retrieved for me, we piled in the truck to defrost and go to dinner. Teage was passed out before we even made it to the parking lot. Back to the food. I have been craving Thai food like a psychotic woman since being here (talk about irony). I brought my frozen camera inside to snap a picture (like I have been meaning to) of my usual green curry chicken dish and once again, I couldn't contain myself and gobbled up the whole bowl before shooting it. Blasts!! I did manage to catch the kids' fortunes from their cookies...do they secretly know my kids at the fortune cookie factory or WHAT?!

Saige's:



JD's:


This is what I saw when we pulled into the driveway and looked back...Saige was awake and didn't hesitate to inform me how mean it was for me to take a picture of JD like that. She knows anything snapped by momma has potential to go up on the World Wide Web I guess. LOL! How cute that she stands up for him though.

Terrific week!!!!

Last note...I went to the Red Ribbon Run this past weekend for a newsletter article I am writing and there were an astounding amount of people out there. I just want to give a shout-out to DARE, MADD, SADD, and Nancy Reagan for helping us Just Say No!! I pass on the message to stay safe...and call a cab if you ever have one too many glasses of Spooky Sangria!!


Now it's late and this blog has officially consumed practically all of my Sunday. So, as my kids put it...