half a year down and almost all my goals

A review from my previous post from new years

http://dasslerfamily.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010-is-going-to-be-amazing-with.html

1. Germany was Amazing

2. Love our new home

3. not exactly a 4 runner but an even better new to me Durango which is indeed amazing in every way especially my seat heaters

4.oh how I love that it only takes 6 step to bring groceries in

5. a dishwasher, I can't explain in words how much my dishwasher has improved my life and still can't believe I hand washed for 8 long years

6. I still need to make a sign that says NO KIDS ALOUD and probably replace the door with one of those half door type things so they can see me they just can't come in or maybe a 3/4 door so they cant climb over it either. but oh how my family has enjoyed all the amazing things I can make now in half the time since I can leave them out and come back to it after little one's bed times

7. sadly my seeds blew away and we didn't have enough time from settling in to prepare the garden this year but next year for sure

8.learning how to make new things every week from scratch, so far the kids favorite is home made yogurt now I just need to perfect my granola techniques to pair them together and my next adventure will be home made bread from freshly ground organic wheat as soon as I can get my hands on a wheat grinder

9.Haven't made much improvement on the hot body department still working on that one probably will be well into next year too.

10.still working on Aslynn learning how to use the potty hopefully this summer will be the perfect time for her to decide how awesome it is

11.our conversations usually go something like "why did you just hit your brother?"

"because" while shrugging her shoulders and looking so sweet and Innocent

or "I don't want to" to pretty much anything I ask her to do

12.now that we have the piano I just need to learn how to play

13.I've given up on my children sitting still and quietly some kids do and some kids don't so far mine don't

14.love love love telling the kids to go play outback

15.fireplaces looks great still looking forward to actually using them it will be amazing to hang Christmas stocking by the actual fire this year

16.happily combing hair and tying bows

17.to my surprise Billy has been to church with us every single Sunday except one that he had to work, and actually enjoys it

18.Family time was great while we had but now that Billy is back in school we don't get to enjoy it very often (only two more years of single parenting)

19.still working on the homemaking goal although I have improved quit a bit on the housekeeping front my home is now clean the majority of the time

20. Now I'm all clean that I have a normal size bathtub

so the next 6months to do list is to work on having a hot body, learn to play the piano, do the dishes every day, preparing the garden for next spring, and helping Ashlynn find her love of wearing underwear and not peeing in them

Spring has brought us a very nice surprise

We have a hummingbird's nest

it picked a terrible spot for it's nest right in our front walkway

but we can see it so well with it being right in front of us

one of the eggs hatched today it is so amazing how small it is I've never seen a humming bird's nest or baby hummingbirds. I can't believe one of natures most beautiful things is right out our front door.

something I've always wanted

We finally got a piano something I've always wanted and am so excited to learn how to play and for the kids to learn they both have always loved pianos too always going straight for them when they see them (church can be sometimes dangerous). It's so beautiful, an antique and right in my very own family room. It obviously needs some love but it's the perfect addition to the space like this wall was made for this piano.

high heels and hand bags

She just loves them

teeth

Holden finally lost his first tooth I have no idea why it took so long but it's out. I was all prepared for the fun ways he and his dad were going to think of to get this loose tooth out, perhaps a string tied to a remote controlled car but nope no such fun was had by anyone is our home he just came home from school with a cute little blue box they keep for just this reason apparently he bit into his pear and out it came just like that no big deal or anything. He quickly decided to change his mind and start to believe in the tooth fairy so she would come and bring him money apparently a whole dollar can make a six year old believe in anything.
A few days later he lost another tooth I guess all four of his front teeth were loose at the same time and he will loose them all together, by the end of next week I suspect he will be a window face just like I was, poor kid. At least he doesn't cry when we call him window face like I had done when I was a kid.

Germany smells like sausage

We saved our pennies for a long time so all four of us could go to Germany and it was awesome. I hope the kids remember at least something since they were so young but I'm glad I got to experience this vacation with them. It was great to meet Billy's aunts and uncles and even his older brother that he hadn't ever met before, and especially nice to have a personal tour guide and translator (Billy's Mom). We got to see quite a bit of sites and meet quite a bit of family it seemed like someone new came over, with candy and cakes, almost everyday. Billy's Aunt Karen was so nice to have us stay in her home and even went and bought a crib for Ashlynn to sleep in (even though she hasn't slept in a crib for 6 months she was a good girl and slept in it this time). His family is so nice and incredibly generous it was such an amazing trip. The weather was crazy it snowed almost everyday, not so easy to push the stroller in. So here are some of the good pictures we took.
and you pay to use the public restrooms or if you don't know you are suppose to pay the bathroom attendant you just run in and back out until your husbands asks you if you paid and then laughs and calls you a rule breaker when you answer of no

two years flies by fast

That's right my sweet little baby turned two

she says she's still my baby but just the fact that she can say "I'm your baby" means she's in fact a little girl. She is a lot of fun and surprises me everyday with all the knew words and phrases she learns. She seems to have a good sense of humor playing tricks on us however she tells us to stop if we are acting silly I can't believe she is already embarrassed by her parents. She already is so girly but that shouldn't be a surprise to me since she does spend the majority of her time hanging out with me, she loves to play dolls, and pretend to clean, she rubs Holden's back when he gets upset she's like a mini me although I don't like to clean nearly as much as she does. She shocked me when we asked her what she would like for her birthday and she said a purse and went right over to them and picked one out she loves purses anytime she sees a bag she puts it on her arms and claims it for her own, I thought she would be much older when she discovered her love of shoes and handbags I was not prepared for this, but I get a smile on my face when I see her wearing my shoes instead of her own, I just have to laugh when I'm running around the house Sunday mornings asking her where my shoes are.

she had a great birthday party she loved all her gifts and she knew exactly what to do when we lit the candles and she even blew them out all by herself I couldn't believe it, she just keeps surprising me with what she can do.