Festivals galore!

Kevin, our two new friends, and I headed to Manderscheid over the weekend. We got to enjoy a Ren Fest at the Manderscheid Castle Ruins. We had lots of fun. It was the guys’ turn to drink, so Tori and I got to stay DD. She didn’t drink because I wasn’t drinking, since I was driving. It was pretty cool day. Found lots of stuff I wish I had the Euro to buy.

Parts of the Market were inside the castle, they also had little kid areas. Out on the main green was the center stage and the Jousting court. Lots of food stands and beer gardens. While exploring the castle, we even found a wine area, but since us girls weren’t drinking, we didn’t hang out there. Still Lots of fun!

Tori and I are thinking of working on outfits for next year. I think it will be lots of fun to go while dressed up! Think I will take the kids with also next year!! I know they will really enjoy it.

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Kevin had an appointment today. The man I married seems to insist on having some form of medical condition going at all times… I had hoped things would be smooth once we took care of the Grave’s Disease, but I guess that just isn’t in the fates for now. I think the deities of these times are enjoying the fun of putting me through tons of medical for better or worse.

Today’s trip was to Radiology for a CT Orbits scan. Next week it will be with Ophthalmology. Then who knows from there. Oh, and we still don’t have his thyroid meds under control, but until the old PCM PCSes out and the new one takes over, I highly doubt we will even start to get that under control.

Landstuhl was honestly not what I was expected. I think the post was built around the hospital. There wasn’t any real clear sign on where to go. I heard there was a PX, but we couldn’t find it. But there was a section that had the gas station and class six that you had to go through another check point, we didn’t explore that direction. The housing was nice looking, and I really hope I never have to use one of those Fisher houses, even though they looked very comfortable.

The hospital itself was really interesting. From the outside, it didn’t look all that complex, but if it wasn’t for the maps inside and helpful doctors, I highly doubt we would have found where to go. What does one say on an open public form about something militar? How to express the thoughts and feelings of being there, without giving away too much information.

Landstuhl was always the one military base/post, I hoped I would never set foot on, and this year alone, will take me to it’s gates twice, at the very least. Thankfully, for not one of the many reasons I could be there, and thankfully for nothing too serious. But until we get my husband’s eyes taken care of, I have a feeling Landstuhl will become familure.

In other news, Derric’s hyperness is starting to drive me crazy. I need something to focus his mind and energy, but so far, I have no clue what. What could I get him in that would allow him to express himself, but not demand too much on him? But his constent bouncing around the house today has given me quiet the migrain. I really think I am going to go curl up in a dark bedroom….

First we had the 4th of July.

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….since I updated…

I have been sick with allergies. My seasonal allergies have kicked into sever mode. Meaning I have not been able to breath since last Friday! But lets do some updates.

Easter Weekend was ok. Saturday we did a BBQ, and also got groceries. Not much really happened. Sunday, rolled the last child out of bed around noon, sent them on a walk with Freya to get all the kids out of the house while Kevin and I hid chocolate filled eggs. Of course non of the kids took their cells with them, so when I wanted them home, I couldn’t call them, and with them out walking, no real clue where they were. So I sat on the patio to wait for one to come home to ask if they were all allowed to come back. I said yup, and off Kauchana went to get the others. They actually weren’t that far away, so it wasn’t long before all the kids were home.

As soon as they walked into the living room, they saw their Easter baskets. Kevin had picked them up last month, and they had been hiding in the truck. Kevin got them all outside baskets, they had different kind of balls for the kids to play with. They loved them! (I want to get a bin to put in the hall closet that will hold skates and balls for the kids!) Then we gave them some ground rules and sent them around the house to find the hidden eggs. They really liked that part, of course Kauchana and Dokota found their amount really quick, but had fun helping Derric and Xavier find theirs. Then it was out onto the patio to dye eggs. I had bought two dozen for the kids to dye, thinking that would let them each dye 6, giving them some fun ideas. Kevin did take three eggs and hallow them out for the three oldest. That way they can keep those.

All of it was still a little advanced for Derric, but he had fun.

Monday it was back to school. I thought Derric would give me a rough time, but he didn’t really. The only thing that gave me a rough time was my allergies. Walking the kids to school took my breath away, and by the time I would get home, I was gasping for air. I kept myself in bed or in the bathroom steaming. I wasn’t getting any sleep at night because as soon as I would get comfortable, I was hacking really bad.I kept hoping it would get better, but when it kept getting worse, I finally made myself a dr. appt. All he said was I had sever allergies and gave me some meds. gee thanks…

The meds have been slowly working and with the help of tylenol PM, I have been getting sleep at night.

Friday, Derric woke up crying. Went down to check on him and he was burning hot. Took his temp and he was at 103.1 again! Took him upstairs and got him some motrin and tylenol. He finally went down in temp. Dokota made Derric a bed on the couch so I could keep an eye on him. I sat down at the end of the couch, to sit with him, but he curled up on my chest and fell fast asleep. With the help of Kevin, I was able to get out from under him. Kevin stayed up to watch over him while I got some sleep. And sleep I did get. But I woke up worse for ware. Everything I was normally hacking up during the night just sat there, so I was in a good amount of pain upon waking.

Derric was feeling better, and Kevin wanted to get me out of the house, so he took me to the Spring Bazzar on Spang. It was just like the Fall Bazzar, 90% of the same vendors, so it was a quick walk through. He did show me one new vendor. A Family Crest guy. That was really neat. We ordered one, it should be here in 4-8 months. Will go into more detail about that later.

Today, it looks like we are going to head to Manderscheid and see some castle ruins!

Sorry for the rather down post. I have told myself several times this past year that I wouldn’t let the loneliness of being so far from friends and family get me down. I think I kept that attitude up all the way up until I sat to write the One Year Post. Looking back over the year, I realized, it hasn’t been all that I like to think it was. It down right sucked in many ways and I feel ashamed that my first year in Germany should suck that bad. Though I keep trying to tell myself, it really is not our fault, I can’t help it.

There are many things I wanted to do, and instead, we haven’t done any. Talking with Kevin, we have come up with a way to maybe do more on our limited budget. Prices for things are outrages, and when you add in how many are in the family, the prices are too far out of our grasp. Like, I wanted to take the kids to Frankenstein’s Castle for Halloween…. Sounds fun right? All the way up until you look at the price tag. It was 45 Euro per adult and 35 Euro per child between the ages of 4 and 11. That means it would be three adult tickets and three child. That is 240 Euro just for the tickets to go, add in food, drinks, and possibly a cheap item from there, we are talking about 300 Euro, and with the exchange rate, that becomes $450 give or take $20. Just for a 4 hour trip…. But this year, this year I am going to plan everything I can through the travel agent, then head to the USO to see what they can offer (they tend to run a bit cheaper).

I have a bit better outlook now that I know the two people that hate my husband are soon to be out of the squadron (one headed over to QA, the other I believe is PCSing), so that clears up all the shit. A few others have stated he is getting the very short end of the stick and they don’t agree with it, so at least others have noticed. Another good thing, hubby is being recognized for a F.O.D. poster he made up. (F.O.D. = Foreign Object Damage) The most amusing thing about it, his supervisor (which is one that hates him) has to be there when the Vice Commander recognizes him… I can hear the teeth grinding even now lol.

Today Kevin and I headed to the gym. Got him his FitLinxx account set up and I walked him through how to use it. Tomorrow should run a little smoother and we wont spend as long there since he will be on his machines while I am on mine. It is nice having him there with me. Plan on going daily, except on Derric bowling days. I like to be there for those.

My mom texted me last night, costs her $0.25 to text me. She wanted me to call her, so I did. She just wanted to brag about getting the WiiFit and the DS’s My Weightloss Coach. Grrrrr. Knowing I wanted those lol. My mom and stepdad are talking about getting those for me for my birthday, we shall see… hate the idea of waiting so long, but oh well, not much I can do about it.

Well, I am jumping all over the place with this post, so I think I will just end it here.. I want to work on a new template for this blog, something a little more colorful, so I will be spending free time this week working on that. For now, I need to finish downloading stuff and also get clothes into the washer.

Hope everyone has a good Monday.