Tyler's new backpack :)

I finally had my sewing machine repaired :)
The first little project I did was a little backpack for TyTy.
He loves backpacks but until now he had to carry around Leeann's and they are usually pink or purple :S.
Anyway, we went to Joann's and Tyler picked out the cars fabric.

It's a really easy project, it took me about an hour and I was talking to hubby and watching TV while I did it, without distraction I guess it'll take no longer than 20-30 min.
Tyler really likes it and uses it to take his little toy tools everywhere, we also use it for church or playdates to put a change of clothes or snacks in it.
Excuse the bad quality of the photos, I took them with my phone since my camera disappeared mysteriously (I have an idea who made it disappear)...

Here's the link for the tutorial I got the idea and instructions from:

http://mamaurchin.com/pats-tuts-and-how-tos/how-to-sew-a-string-backpack/

Valentine's Day :)

Wow, it's been over a week since I last posted something! I've just been extremely busy, mostly in a good way. The weekend was great! We had a CCV neighborhood BBQ at the park Saturday afternoon, then we had our night out Saturday too. It was great, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for the first time. The food was just delicious, and the cheesecake...yum! It's not cheap though, we paid about 70 $ in the end, it's for special occasions only :)
Then Sunday, Valentines Day, was beautiful too. Our church had the official grand opening party (we just moved into a new building) with a BBQ and bouncy castle, it was fun! We had A LOT of hot dogs this weekend, I think I'm done with those for a while.
Our church had childcare for Valentines Day from 4 to 8, so Jan and I went out again. I have to tell our children's pastor what a great idea that was, I think it was the first time since we have kids that we actually got to go out on Valentine's Day. We went to Ground Control first and had coffee and appetizers which were great, real Italian, like the food I remember eating as a kid when I was on vacation in south Italy, not easy to get that kind of food here! After Ground Control we went to the West Gate Area and I had a waaaay to expensive Martini that wasn't good at all. Anyway, Jan and I had a lot of time to talk and I think we both enjoyed it a lot.
Talking about Jan, he just got home so I have to go. Both kids are napping btw, I can't believe it!

Dirty Jobs

I can't tell you how wonderful it is just to sit on the couch and watch Dirty Jobs with hubby. It's not even half as funny without Jan. If you haven't watched it yet, you should. Mike Rowe is just hilarious and I didn't even know there were so many dirty jobs out there. Today Mike is working on an ostrich farm.
Slowly we're getting back into a routine here, last week was just complete chaos. Jan went back to work on Wednesday and for some reason in the 3 weeks he has been back, I already forgot what to do with the kids and myself all day. So I kind of let the house go and myself. Now everything is getting back in control. I can't stand a messy house. At least not any more, before Leeann was born I didn't care, I don't know what changed but I just can't stand it anymore and I'm glad I can't.

We're trying to figure out right now when we'll finally be able to go back to Germany for a few weeks. We'll have to see if/when Jan will deploy and when he'll be able to get leave long enough. My cousin is getting married this summer, so it would be great if we could make it to the wedding. I have a huge extended family and I'm pretty sure all of them will be invited. In the summer Jan hasn't been to Germany for 3 years, I haven't been there for 2 years.
I can't wait to see my mom again for the first time after her diagnosis. Another reason why I can't wait to go home and see everyone again: I realized how fragile life is, how fast it can all change. People keep telling you this but you don't realize it until something happens to you or your family. I'm thankful that this something was something curable these days. And for some reason I believe that my mom will fully recover.
I'm just happy, content and grateful right now to have Jan back by my side :)

pets

For years now we've been thinking about a pet. We always wanted a dog because Jan and I both were never allowed to have a dog when we were kids. When I was little, the apartment we lived in didn't allow pets, at least not dogs and cats and my dad didn't want to have pets at all. I HATED it, I was lucky enough to get a bird and later a turtle but I always missed having a pet to touch and play with. I remember I daydreamed for hours about having a dog.
But we're not sure about getting one now since we are moving a lot and that's probably not gonna change for another 15 years or so.
Leeann just started asking for a Bearded Dragon because her friend Hailey has one. Bearded Dragons are pretty high maintenance though and we are traveling a lot (to visit family in Tennessee, Idaho and Germany) and it's gonna be next to impossible to take the dragon and I'm not sure if we could just ask someone to take care of such a complicated little lizard...Asking someone to take care of a dog would probably be less complicated and demanding (especially if that person has a dog too, and A LOT of people do).
So, we have no idea what to do, for now it seems like a good idea to not get a pet at all. We just wanna make sure whatever little animal we chose will have a good life with us.
I think we're gonna wait a little while but at some point we will go ahead and adopt a puppy. I know that my husband feels the same way, we're just gonna wait another few years or so, we'll be fine :)