Dorks.

SO, for Halloween...Chad and I were DORKS. It was fun and rather entertaining. Oh, and CHEAP. I'm a huge fan of anything affordable....so the $4 it cost for suspenders was a great deal. We were going to make cheap costumes for the kids this year too, but when we were at goodwill searching for something else, we came across a rack of halloween costumes for kids. I found one that fit Piper that I was going to buy full price anyway, and here it was only $2. I was thrilled. :) Then I found a peanut costume...same rack only $4. What a great deal!?!?! For something that is only worn 1 day out of the year, 6 bucks isn't bad for kids costumes. Passerbyers loved their costumes..and although they all didn't match...they were perfect.

After Halloween came and went, it was coming closer for us to say good bye. Chad headed back to Springfield, MO for a temp fill in before they move him officially to Kansas City in March. It's been rough, but we have been doing well. We talk every day and thanks to Facetime, Kieran and Piper get to see Chad every day, several times a day.

We will be following to either Springfield or Kansas City soon, depending on a few things. We aren't fully sure when we will make it, but we are excited to be reunited again. Miss our family together!!

Now, if only our house here would sell........keep us in your prayers.

Introducing....Piper Rose

This is Mama's little cutie pie. I am in absolute heaven with this little girl. She's so precious. :) She is four months old and growing so fast. She is much more needy than her older brother Kieran, but I was expecting that since she was nicknamed Princess at birth. :)

She's already rooting for the right team. Rock Chalk Pretty Piper!! She's so adorable. 

Kieran had his first real experience playing in the grass. Needless to say, he loved it. He spent at least 20 minutes rolling around and crawling in it. So fun to watch :)

Studs. Two men and two babies. 

Kieran loves his Nana sooo much!!!!! This is the day we drove out to the Red Rock area just South of our home so we could see the pretty mountains. He liked them... :)

Chad leaves in only a few short weeks. We aren't looking forward to being separated for a while, but we are excited for the future to come. Our house is still on the market (siiiiiigh!!) and we are just crossing our fingers a buyer will come a long wanting to take it off of our hands. We loved the house while we were there....as short of a time it was.....wish we could take it with us back to Kansas City (along with my parents..) :)

Before Chad leaves, we are hoping to do a few more things. Bellagio Buffet. Beatles Love. Jimmy Buffett. and anything else Chad wants to do. 

Keep us in your prayers. 

We hope to sell our house and we hope I too can find a compatible job for my speciality (Public Relations/Social Media).

--Ciara, Chad, Kieran and Piper

Milestones that make a lifetime

After searching for months..we came across a great opportunity. We are able to have a home built and customized just the way we want it. We are very excited at this opportunity. Just a few of the options we chose were granite counter tops, specific flooring (tiles and carpet), and appliances. We had a lot of fun at the studio where we got to choose everything and we are very excited to see everything start to go up.

We know that even buying a house is a major life event -- and its crazy to think that we are HERE now, at this location with the opportunity to buy.

Chad and I were just thinking, five years ago, never did we imagine ourselves here, now. Who knew we would've had the chance to live overseas, who knew we would've added to our family making a family of 4. WHO KNEW?!! It's amazing and beautiful how the Lord works in your lives, isn't it?

We laughed a little when we asked ourselves, "Who knows where we'll be in another 5 or 10 years?!" Who knows. We'll be where the Lord takes us. ;-)

Chad has been very busy with work...as he always is. Some might call him a workaholic. His hard work and dedication to taking care of our family doesn't go unnoticed. I feel so blessed to be his wife.. <3 LOVE!

Yesterday, I did an experiment...made homemade butter, bread and ice cream. It was actually pretty awesome. It feels cool to know that everything you eat is all created by YOU...I am definitely on to something. Next things: jam, soap and face wash.

I am so stoked.

We are also in the process of making beer. Right now, it's in the process of fermentation. We currently have a jug full of hops, yeast, and peanut butter. That's right, you heard it..we are making a peanut butter porter. Delicious. In about a week, we will be able to bottle the brewskie and three weeks from there...we will be ready to enjoy some homemade beer. Psh, we will...what I meant is Chad and my parents will be able to try it.

I got my hair done recently...not really what I wanted. If you want to read about that..you can hit up my personal blog: http://jesuisciara.blogspot.com/

Enjoy.

Gotta love this crazy world...

We're alive and well....not to mention, all in the one place.

After being separated for an entire month, Chad, Kieran and I were finally reunited on January 7th!!! WOO HOO.

Not only was I reunited with my immediate family, but I've also been reunited with my parents and brother as well.

It's crazy how much can change in the matter of a few long plane rides :).

After arriving at Las Vegas Airport late in the evening -- I was ready to crash. I'd been flying since early in the morning and I was ready to be grounded. Kieran was completely exhausted too..you could tell he was in 'awe' to see his mommy after so long, but so ready to be in bed, asleep.

My first few days, like always coming from Germany, were a complete CULTURE SHOCK. It's always hard getting used to all of the commercialism. It's slowly but surely making its way back into my every day life.

Updates on everyone?

Kieran is doing great. He was sick the 1st week I got back..with just a minor cold that cleared up pretty quickly. His lower front tooth has just poked through the gums and he is sitting up like a bandit. For an almost-9-month old, he is making leaps and bounds. Although not crawling yet, he is so ready to walk. Hahah.. he loves to stand with assistance and would much rather stand and attempt to walk than to just sit. He is also very clingy, so we are working on that. ;-) There is also a chance he might not even crawl..and just go strait into walking. He can officially say "Da da, Ma ma, Na na, and Pa pa," and boy does he. HE LOVES talking..loud and proud. haha

Chad is doing great too. He is working as a General Manager at a Famous Dave's here and keeps very busy. He usually works 5 random days a week, all ranging from early early mornings to late evenings. Although the hours aren't my favorite thing, I LOVE that Chad loves his job again. That's the most important thing ever. He seems to really enjoy it.

For now, it looks like Nevada is where we'll be hanging our hat ...... at least for a while.

Myself? Being a stay-at-home mom isn't quite what I expected. I LOVE spending all of this time with Kieran..but I never really anticipated how much time, energy, etc. it takes to be a mom, full time. I thought I would have all the time in the world to work on housework and my hobby-businesses (diaper cakes, wreaths, photography...the list goes on..) however, with this little nugget, it almost feels like I have hardly enough to to take care of the essentials.

THANK GOD my parents are here to help. They are letting us stay with them for the moment, until we figure out where we'd like to live and get approved for our VA home loan. Mom helps out a lot in baby sitting and that alone is a heaven sent gift...LOL..

This is me signing out..I'll be back soon, hopefully?

OH, the announcement already made on Facebook... IT"S A GIRL!! We're having a GIRL, 6 JUN 2012.

C is for cookie.

The cookie monster has returned.

Let me explain.

Friday, I decided to take a challenge and make Toll House cookies from scratch. Turns out, I suck.

First off, I figured out to never try and substitute margarine for butter. It doesn't work quite like you'd think it would. I thought I was being a smooth operator by adding extra chocolate chips. Yum, right?

Not right.

I added the entire 'giant' bag of chocolate chips causing the first batch to be more chocolate than cookie. It sounds good, but it wasn't. It cooked weird too.

So, batch #2 -- I thought, hey, I need more dough. I added flour and an egg. I could possibly be slightly mental. This batch was super cakey, dough-y, not sweet -- and just too much like cake to be cookies.

3rd times the charm right? Not Right. DANG IT.

I added more sugar, margarine, and brown sugar. Humuna.

These cookies were the right taste almost, but not the right texture.

So, It needed more moisture -- I would typically add brown sugar? Guess so. It still didnt work.

Finally, after ruining 4 batches of cookies, I went ahead and decided the only thing that could fix anything would be peanut butter and oats. It didn't work. Needless to say, I was depressed after spending a few hours in the kitchen and making not ONE perfect batch of cookies. So, this Monday, my goal was to come up with the perfect batch of Toll House cookies. Boy did I bake it up. I made sure I had REAL butter and I followed the recipe to the 'T,' instead of just guessing what a Tsp measures or a cup measures.

THE COOKIES were perfect. No joke. They still are perfect. But, with perfection comes sin, and these cookies are strait up SIN. Oh my gosh. Tonight, Tuesday, I ate quite possibly 10 cookies. HOLY CRAP.

Whats sad is the last 3-4 weeks, Chad and I have been eating pretty healthy. Not really any breaks during the week until the weekend. Mostly fish, rice, veggies, fruit --lots of water...We both just feel completely gross. Overweight and tired. Now, it's actually funny because everytime we eat really terribly, our stomachs feel like crap for hours until it passes.

Nutso how that happens.

So, needless to say -- I will be taking the cookies to work to get rid of them tomorrow.

:-)

Ick.

We really would like to lose weight, but it just seems so hard.

What else, what else?

Kidney Stones.

I have to have surgery (non-evasive) and a stent put in. Ouch!

I have a stone in each side and it seems like I've been talking about it for a week already. At any rate I am so so ready to be done with it. I also had my hip/tailbone looked at. I should figure out what the problem is with it and why it keeps popping out of place when I lay flat or flip out my right leg.

We are moving in less than a month and we are SO excited. I fresh new start...and a house that will actually be good for Kieran.

(We'll talk more about that later!!)

Our family misses yours. ;-)

LOVE.

Chad, Ciara, & Kieran.

Somebodies gotta fill you in. ;-)

See. freaking. Fest.

So, last year -- we attended Seefest and had a wonderful time, so this year -- naturally, we'd have a wonderful time again, right?

Eh.

haha.

We spend a good 15 minutes loading up the stroller and making sure Kieran was dressed to his full capacity. (that means warmies with a had, gloves, blankey..).

We made the trek through our town, insisting that walking would be easier than driving. Truth is, it was, until we had to walk back up. hahahaha.

When we got there, we found a seating area under umbrellas and that wasn't in the direct sound blaring from the amps. Shortly after arriving, we were able to meet up with some friends. Once meeting up, we ordered this amazing invention called a 'Sangria bucket'. I think you can put two and two together and figure out what that one is. bwahaha. It was great. Probably a gallon and a half of Sangria, topped with fruity oranges and lemons. Delicious if you ask me. Plus, they made it even more crazy by giving you 6-10 long straws.

Chad, him in his full manliness, insisted on going just for the beer -- but, I'm gonna have to say, he missed out. ;-) We ended up not staying too late because, as a parent, there comes a time when you have to draw a line and although Kieran was sleeping peacefully, all bundled up in his stroller, it was getting late-ish (11?) and we figured it would be smart to start heading back up through the town.

We got home, woke Kieran up to feed him one last time before bed, and put him down. WAIT FOR IT, wait for it -- HE SLEPT THROUGH the entire night.

I've gotta let you in on a little secret, ehem -- I have such a good baby.

hahaha.

Chad and I were able to make it up and about the next day, Saturday, when we decided to go pickup our new glasses down town. We went to Kaiserslautern, and as we were leaving decided to stop and get some cocktail shrimp. Those screwy Germans...they left out the cocktail sauce, and gave us sweet and sour anyways. Truth is, it was pretty good, and I'd probably eat it again.

We then made it over to the commissary on Vogelweh (the construction at Ramstein is getting a little TOO crazy for me at this point.) so I could pick up some butter. REAL butter.

There is a whole story behind that -- but lets just say I have 7 dozen cookies sitting upstairs, each batch is different, and all are gross. DONT COOK with margarine. I feel like I should've known that? pshh.. oops?

Anyways, we went to Seefest again tonight, but it started raining, it was a bit louder than it was on Friday -- so we chose to leave with the little nugget. A friend from basic military training met us at our house and we watched 'Thirteen Ghosts' and 'Mean Girls', all while sharing a great bottle of wine. I had a wonderful time - -and it was really great to be in contact with other human beings.

Chad and I are continuously looking for jobs to make it possible for me to get out and us come back home (to the USA at least). It seems so hard, but we are keeping our eyes open, applying for anything and everything.

Oh, and quick mention-- I created my charity, and Chad is doing the paperwork to make it legal with the IRS. Sweet huh? Once it's completely finished, I will have a fully running and operating program that allows ANYONE to donate arts of some sort (crafts, paintings, talents..) or money and that will go towards a selected charity. Pretty wonderful. Right now, its called 'Imagine It.' but, I think I am going to change it to the 'Paint the Sky foundation.'

Whoooo knows.

Anyways, we love you all.

LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Chad,

Ciara,

Kieran,

&

Lucy.

"It's like riding a bike..."

This weekend is proving to be wonderful -- one day at a time.

Friday wasn't so eventful, but we can blame that on being tired from waking up so early.

We both woke up early to get the day started. Chad headed to work at about 0630 and I couldn't go back to sleep and decided not to since I had to make an appearance at my office around noon for a late 'birthday' celebration.

Getting ready in the early a.m. was so much easier to do while Kieran was still asleep. Once that little bugger is awake, it is nonstop with feedings and nourishment. HAH. So, I was able to get up -- brush my teeth, wash my face AND actually apply make up before he woke up. Such a relief to actually finish before the storm begins. LOL...

--

Saturday was the '4th of July Freedom Festival' or 'Rockin' 2nd as Chad would call it.

We went with one thing on our minds. Well, okay, two things. We were on a mission to demolish a hot dog and a few beers. Simply because you cannot attend a 4th of July fest and not give into the crappy chili dogs and Corona.

Well, we did -- and left feeling sick. After eating healthy for the past week, the crap we consumed started to make our stomachs feel like poooo.

We stayed for a few hours, but then when Kieran started to get fussy after being SUCH a good baby, we headed home.

The next day, we did some thinking and decided a few things.

#1) It's clear that our bodies felt like crap because we ate a funnel cake, 2 hot dogs and chili dogs and then each had 2 beers -- and there is a reason why.. WE NEED TO KEEP UP WITH EATING HEALTHY. We've listened to our bodies and have finally learned what to watch out for. We did so well during the week, and although the junk food was great momentarily, it was not worth it after the stomach aches.

#2) We are going to condense our stuff and get rid of the stuff that we don't want any more and we are going to start working for the things that we've been wanting for a while (like a nice bedroom set..and some more furniture). So, selling our older stuff and saving up for some good stuff. I'lll have to post some things that we are looking forward to investing in.

And we are also getting rid of the useless clutter. Nobody likes clutter..especially us. Every once in a while, Chad and I get frustrated with just 'crap' and we start to throw out things that no longer mean anything. Luckily, we have the resource of ramsteinyardsales.com to sell what we've got to the people coming in and out of the area.

Tomorrow is our day off (MONDAY) and the day before I have to go back to work for the first time. I am not excited AT ALL. :( I am sad to leave Kieran for the day, but I know it will be good for both of us for me to get some space and for him to spend the day with a German speaking person. That means we'll have to speak LOTS and LOTS of English when he gets home in the evenings so that way he isn't ONLY fluent in German. That would be scary.

We will either be going to the lake with our friends tomorrow, and if not that we'll be going ona picnic of our own.

We love you all. Keep coming back for more..

(P.S. We are still brainstorming to find out what our plan is for the future..!! Aghh! SO exciting)

Love.

Chad.

Ciara.

&

Kieran.

(Lucy too!)