A Little Christmas Fact to Share...

Just a little piece of Christmas info I'd like to pass along to all those interested..."Magical Reindeer Dust" does not attract flying reindeer when spread all over Mommy and Daddy's carpet! However...when it is licked up by small children and Scottish Terriers the red and green "magical dust," that to the untrained eye looks like cookie decorating colored sugar, does leave pretty colored splotches that reindeer might be able to spot as they fly by. Good thing we're going to Gigi and Pa's for Christmas (and don't worry, we have another bag of Magical Reindeer Dust) because the carpet cleaner does a great job of removing those red and green streaks from the carpet! Just wanted to pass that along!! Happy Holidays!

Yep...we are being POUNDED!!!

Just a quick note to all those wondering...yes we are being absolutely pounded with snow!! The snow started around 10am and is still going strong!! I have shoveled the driveway three times today (we decided to pave the driveway instead of purchase a snowblower...sounded perfectly sane at the time...not so much right now!! LOL) and Jeff is out right now doing the final shovel before morning. We have been forcasted for 30 centimeters, but my guess is it will be quite a bit more. About 8 inches have fallen so far and the snow isn't due to stop until tomorrow afternoon. As it looks now, school will probably be canceled tomorrow...yeah...at least Maddy can stay up tonight to watch Shrek the Halls at 9pm...she's thrilled about that. I'll keep you all updated on the first snowfall of the season!! Stay Warm!!

Happy Holidays!!

Happy Holidays!! Just wanted to put a quick post up to show how adorable my little girlys looked at their first Christmas party of the season!!

Jeff's work had a party for the kids this afternoon. It was lovely. They had worked hard to make it a super fun afternoon for all the kiddos. There were crafts to make, cookies to decorate, a fishing game, a magician and of course Santa made an appearance!! Maddy loved Santa and Sarah HATED him!! She cried when he walked in the room and went into hysterics when Jeff tried to hand her over for a picture!! Oh well...in time she'll warm up...maybe!
We had a couple of friends over from Jeff's work for dinner on Saturday and went to see Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium on Friday...all in all it's been a busy weekend for the Pederson's!!
Hope all is well in your end of the world...enjoy the holidays...and take a second to share some of the Christmas Spirit this season!!

Shopped til I Dropped...Literally

When I arrived home from my shopping trip I told Jeffy that while we were in Bangor I went to check tire prices because I just didn't feel like shopping at the mall. He promptly asked where his wife was!! As hard as it may be for anyone who knows me to believe....I was totally shopped out!! What a great feeling that is after sooooo long with sooooo little shopping!! Needless to say I had a great weekend!!

The girls and I left here at 10am on Friday morning. We were in the Portland shopping mall by 5pm and we shopped there until supper and after supper we closed the Christmas tree shop at 11pm. By the way for those who have never been in a Christmas tree shop...it was really great!! They carry polish pottery year round!!!! Plus they have tons of great deals, it's a whole lot like Big Lots! Anyhow...we checked into our hotel and were asleep around 1am. We were up and out the door by 9am the next morning. We shopped the outlets in Kittery until dinner time, ate, and then headed to Target and the Christmas Tree Shop again...until closing. Sunday morning we were on the road by 9am and in the Bangor mall at lunchtime. We ended our shopping extravaganza at Wal-mart and the grocery in Houlton before heading across the border back to Oromocto!! Talk about a shopaholics dream weekend!!! We all got great deals and truly enjoyed a little time away from the kids! I do have to say that even though it was nice to get away...it was even nicer to get home! I missed the girls like crazy by the second day and of course Jeffy too!! I went hog wild buying markdown Disney store costumes and Children's place costumes!! How can you turn down Disney costumes for $3.99??? That's one of my purchases in the pictures! Is that the cutest Tinkerbell around or what???

Well I am now off to try and catch up on my sleep!! I'm way too old for 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night!! LOL Hope everyone in the States enjoys Black Friday shopping...as much as I may feel shopped out right now...if I could I'd be right there in the mix bright and early Friday!! You know I love a bargain!!

Go Cats!!

Well I have done it...I have successfully raised 2 little Kentucky Wildcat fans...which is a feat considering they have only lived in Oklahoma and New Brunswick! I guess they got their "blue blood" genes from my side of the family! LOL I only have to do a series of claps and both my kids respond with Go Cats! In fact Sarah is now copying Maddy when I clap they both say Go go go go go go go go GO CATS! I guess that baby Wildcat DVD from Pa really does it's job!! So like all good KY fans my girls would happily wear their Wildcat sweatsuits everyday if I would allow it! Not that I say no too often!! Mommy's a Cats fan from way back!!

Well not a lot going on here in Oromocto! It's getting colder...and oh yes...WE HAVE PAVEMENT!!! Who knew getting the streets paved could possibly make me so very happy!! And I seriously almost kissed the guy who came to pave the driveway!! I cleaned all the floors, washed all our shoes and swept out the garage...all on our first day with pavement! It's amazing how much dirt a gravel road/driveway can accumulate, not just on the floor, but everywhere in the house! Oh happy day!! And to think all it took was 20 calls to the city, 10 calls to the contractor, 2 calls to the pavement company, 1 call to our member of Parliament and 1 call to the mayor!

This week is a short one for Maddy...Monday and Tuesday off...then Mommy is off to the states with Geraldine and company for a shopping trip in Kittery! Hanna Andersson here I come!! I'm due some serious retail therapy!! I'll try and post more pics before we leave!! Have a great week!!

Halloween Fun

Well Halloween has come and gone here in Oromocto...I'm sad the ghosts have to come down...but we all know that means that very very shortly the Christmas decorations come out!!! If that doesn't bring my spirits up...nothing will!!

The kids had a great Halloween week!! The Saturday before Halloween the Oromocto Mall had a paint your own pumpkin afternoon. Maddy adored that!! She painted and painted and painted until we had to leave her pumpkin at the mall to pick up later due to the abundance of paint!! There was no way that thing was going into the van! From there we headed from to Kent Hardware where they were having a little Halloween party for the kids as well. At Kent there was a coloring contest, pumpkin carving and "Gross Out" stations. This time the kids wore their costumes and decided on Pooh and the Honey Pot. (As most of you are aware I have a little obsession with costumes and the kids have about 40 to choose from!! Gotta love those yard sales!!) Our Halloween weekend was finished up with a party at Maddy's friend's house to carve yet another pumpkin!! The girls had fun and I picked out all the seeds from 6 pumpkins to roast as a treat for Maddy's Halloween party at school.

Monday prior to Halloween brought us the first snow of the year! It was a complete shocker...Sarah's bright and early wake up call that morning at 6:00am started our morning. I went to open the porch door to let Fergus out and saw a good two inches of snow on the deck. AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! Big Suprise...I'm not a lover of winter, so to open my door to two inches of snow in OCTOBER nearly put me over the edge!! Thankfully it all melted by noon and the temp. was back up into the 50's. Good thing the kids had gone crazy playing at the bus stop in the morning! Here's to hoping we don't see snow again for at least a couple of months!! Wishful thinking I know...

Halloween day was exciting for all of us! I got to attend a Halloween party at Maddy's school. Mr. Roy is awesome and I can see why Maddy loves school as much as she does!! I am still utterly amazed at the amount of French Maddy has learned...kids are so sharp!! Then of course we had the big afternoon of counting down the minutes until Trick or Treating. Maddy decided to go as Eeyore and Sarah was a giraffe. Daddy took them around the block while Mommy dressed as Pooh handed out candy! For a neighborhood that isn't completed we sure got a ton of kids!! I gave out 78 McDonald's coupons and 55 bags of chips...and honestly there were only a very few kids that got both. I can only imagine next year when the roads are paved and all the houses are completed and occupied!! It'll be a madhouse!!

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!! I look forward to seeing everyone else's pictures!!

We are alive and well!!

I know that I have been very slack in updating my blog!! Sorry to those of you who check it regularly!! My camera is on the blink and I couldn't seem to get any pictures to download...and really what is a blog without pictures?!?!





I did finally get a couple downloaded, they aren't super, but hey...it's something right???





We are all doing fine! Maddy is absolutely loving school. In her eyes, Mr. Roy hung the Moon here in Canada!! She is learning more that I could have ever imagined in her French program. She may not always know what she's saying, but she sure can talk the talk!!










Sarah is growing growing growing! She still refuses to walk, but that's fine by me!! She says quite a few words, her favorites being Hi! Bye Bye, Thank you and the sign language sign for no! Thanks Shasta for suggesting I go that route...I have enabled my child to sass me before she can actually speak!! LOL











Jeff is getting into the groove at work. I don't think it's as exciting as he had hoped, but you know pushing paper just comes along with the job title! He was gone to Kingston last week for a conference. This kids missed him, but Maddy was really excited to get to sleep with me for a few days!!



The leaves are turning and the weather is lovely. You couldn't ask for a more mild fall. They say it's suppose to be a rough winter...not surprising really...the Pederson's are back!!


Hope all is well in your world and I will be working hard on correcting my camera issues so posts will be much more frequent!!

Old MacDonald had a farm...

The weather may be warm today, but it sure felt like it was officially fall when we went to The Country Pumpkin this afternoon!! It's an adorable little farmers market that has tons of produce, some baked goods, a small ice cream parlor and best of all...a petting zoo!!! Life just couldn't be any better for Maddy!! Actually, Sarah seemed to enjoy the animals too...and she loved climbing around on the HUGE pile of pumpkins out front!!

Another Prayer Request...

Yikes...I seem to have some crazy bad news to pass along an awful lot these days huh? Michelle called me this morning with some terrible news. Holly and Keith Powell lived one house over from us in Fort Sill and their house burned down last night. They are a wonderful family with lots of kids...seven to be exact...ranging in age from less than a year to 17. They lived one house over from us on Upton Road in a lovely huge seven bedroom home with balconies that surrounded the whole house on both floors. Thankfully all the kids and family are safe, but apparently everything was lost in the fire. Michelle said a group of soldiers in the barracks across the street were out drinking late last night. They saw the fire on the porch of the Powells house and starting beating on all the houses doors warning everyone to get out. If you've ever been to OK, you are aware the wind never blows gently across the plains...it blows so hard it can literally knock small children over. Well the wind was blowing and the fear was that the fire would spread domino like down the street. Turned out the wind was blowing front to back and the only thing that was effected by secondary fire was the Powell's backyard. The houses next door to the fire had all the windows blown out...that happened to be Shasta's house...but that isn't bad considering the alternative. So anyhow...I just wanted to send a quick message to ask for some prayers if you are inclined! The Powells have a very strong faith and I guess as they were standing there in their jammies and literally nothing else Holly said she and Keith started with nothing and they could always start over with nothing...they would be fine. She is an amazing woman!! Amazing or not...I know she can use all the help she can get!! I'll keep you updated as Michelle keeps me updated!! Once again...sure does make you stop and be grateful for everything you've been blessed with huh?

My Girlys!!

Well...once again, not too much to say...but I had to add these pictures of my girlys!! They are too adorable not to post!!

The first is Maddy in her Hanna Andersson adorable little outfit that Mommy won on Ebay...okay, technically I didn't "win" it, as I paid plenty, but seeing her in it is worth every cent!! I could eat her up!! Especially with the matching Converse Chuck high tops!!

Second is Sarah Beara with her piggy tails. Her hair is getting to that in between stage where it really need some work. So today I got out the rubber bands and did it ever do the trick!! Is she a cutie patootie or what?!? And notice how she's chunking out!! I love it that she finally has those cute little pudgy cheeks!! It's about time she got some baby fat going!!


The final picture is Maddy posing with her pony tails and Sarah looking at her like, "Are you nuts????" I love it!!


Again, not a lot to post other than pictures, but I can speak for Gigi and Pa when I say the pictures are really the best part of the postings anyway!! LOL

Have a great weekend!! Everyone keep your fingers crossed for us...Daddy is connecting the water/ice thingy on the front of the fridge. That involves cutting a hole in the wall and connecting the water hose on the fridge to the bathroom water pipe...hummmmm...I'll let you know how that works!! LOL


And PS Michelle...I finally found a little place in Fredericton that sells Kathy's. They are starting at $90!! Yikes!!!!!! The man who runs the kiosk...yep, it's not even an actual store, it's a kiosk...and I had a 10 minute conversation on the lack of style here in New Brunswick!! Jeff said he had no idea how I could talk to some man about purses for that long...oh how he underestimates me!! And I LOVE the new patchwork Kathy with black, white and rose colors....TOOOOO CUTE!!!! I can't wait to hit TJ Maxx at Christmas!!! Just thought you'd appreciate that story!!

A little Sarah Beara to brighten your day!!

Just thought I'd add a couple of pictures that are sure to make you smile!! How can you not?!?!?!

If only we could all have so much fun "walking" around a coffee table!!

Smile and enjoy the rest of your day!! XXOOO Sarah Beara

Fear not, we are still alive and well....

Yep, I am fully aware of just how long it's been since I blogged!! LOL I just haven't seem to have the initiative to sit down and do it. I wish I could tell you I was far too busy, but that wouldn't be true...unless mindless surfing the net about Big Brother 8 counts as busy!! I am trying to settle into the swing of things and I'm anxiously awaiting visits from Gigi and Pa and Tracy! It's nice to have something exciting to look forward too!!



Maddy has started school and she loves it!! I couldn't be more thrilled!! It is a complete turn around from last year. She gets up in the morning with no complaints, eats her breakfast and can't wait to get to the bus stop. I was worried sick about starting her in French immersion...needlessly. Children never cease to amaze me. She is like a little sponge soaking up everything Mr. Roy says. She came home yesterday and told me in french that she was a girl with blond hair and blue eyes and she loves horses. All that was said with no apparent shyness to speak in a completely unfamiliar language and with wonderful pronunciation!! Wow!! I am keeping my fingers crossed that she continues on this path!! The picture is her first day of school with her new best friend Allie. She sits with Allie on the bus. They take turns sitting by the window...because that's what best friends do!

The second set of pictures is Sarah sitting in the bottom of the computer desk while I mindlessly surf Big Brother 8!! LOL It's her favorite spot to hang out. I even put a basket of toys next to the desk trying to distract...no way!! She just likes to sit there and play with cord for my mouse. I'll be surfing away and all of a sudden my mouse will fly out of my hand and I'll hear Sarah's little giggle under the desk. That's my girl!!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!!

More Pictures of the Girls

Well...it seems moving to Canada has limited the things I have to blog about!! LOL I just don't seem to do much to write about anymore...but that's okay...that just means I'll simply add more pictures to fill the space, and I imagine most of you enjoy the pictures far more than my ranting!! LOL

Seriously...not a lot has gone on here in New Brunswick! As we have completed the inside of our house we have now begun trying to spruce up the outside! We have had one contractor in to give us an estimate on the front step and I'm expecting another one any minute. Honestly it's going to be far more expensive than we had first thought. The swindlers...I mean people...that we bought the house from left the front step going from the front door into the middle of the yard. That's it. Steps to nowhere. Because it's a split level home there is a hill going up from the driveway to the steps. That means bringing in an excavator digging through the hill laying gravel and then pouring cement steps and a sidewalk. Not the stepping stones we thought we could get away with before we moved in! Sadly the Pederson's are not home repair savvy, so those things that didn't seem so big are turning into a lot more than expected...of course isn't that always the way with a home? Secondly we have to work on our lawn. The #&@(# homeowners prior to us (they are flippers) did a less that poor job on the lawn. As we have found out from our neighbors, they laid the sod themselves, and they laid it directly over the workers dirt...no topsoil. They also did this in late October, the day before the first snowfall. I can only imagine they must have gotten a heck of a deal on the sod at that time of year!! And as they were laying it they must have realized they were going to be short so as they put the strips down they left about an inch to two inch gap between the pieces. Needless to say this doesn't make for a really pretty lawn. For those of you who may wonder why all of this remained undetected prior to our purchase, remember that Jeff came for his house hunting trip in early April. There was snow on the ground...and because of that he and realtor entered the house through the garage. As flippers these people are well aware that the house would be sold to a military person round about April and selling a house that is "landscaped" is far more appealing than a home with a dirt lawn. I will say they were smart...not super honest, but smart. So this weekend Jeff and I "fatgrassed" our lawn. Thanks to my lovely friend Holly Sutherland who took pity on the state of lawn and emailed the Fat Grass recipe to me!! She said it worked well for her, so are keeping our fingers crossed!! Maddy sure had fun playing in the huge mound of 12 cubic feet of peat moss mixed with 10 cubic feet of vermiculite!! Oh yes and to that gigantic mound we added lots and lots and lots of water...talk about a little girls dream...a giant mound of mud! She and her friend Abby had a great time playing in it while Jeff and I raked it all over the lawn! I wish I would have had the camera out then! And of course bad Mommy didn't put sunscreen on Sarah Beara so she got her first sunburn ever!! Yep...all summer in OK and not a pink nose, one afternoon in Canada and she's burned to a crisp!! Okay, just her nose, but still...I felt awful! (she did look adorable though)

So that about covers out exciting weekend! Family night Friday and more Saddle club movies! Oh by the way Gigi and Pa...Maddy is already planning the family night while you are here. Apparently we are making Pizzas and instead of popcorn we are having Doritos because Pa likes them more. She also spent an extra 5 minutes checking out the candy aisle at the dollar store picking out what she thinks you'll like as well. In case you're wondering, she settled on coffee crisps for both of you...because you loooove coffee. She look forward to "family night" every week...I sure do hope she feels that way for next 12 years!! Have a great evening and put in a wish for our fat grass if you have time!!

Our Home...

Well, I thought I'd add a few pictures of our new house...now that we are all moved in! I have put one of the living room, kitchen, dining room, our room, the girls room, the downstairs living room and finally my favorite room, Gigi and Pa's room. (as Maddy calls it...our spare bedroom) The picture just doesn't do that one justice!! It's so lovely. It's nice and warm and not busy what so ever! That's the only problem I have with this new "open floor plan" that is so popular in new homes...everything seems so busy. If you actually live in the home there is so much going on in one area. It's super when you are looking at the perfectly staged show home...but if you are planning on actually using your rooms as they are intended, you end up with so much going on. I suppose it doesn't help that my pottery patterns are busy and I have quite a bit of it...LOL Okay so maybe the fault lies in the amount of crap the Pederson' own!
All in all we are proud to say the inside of our house is done!! Yeah!!! Now we are starting on the outside. We had a contractor come to give us an estimate on adding a sidewalk up to our front step. We hadn't planned on spending quite as much on it as I have a feeling it will cost, but is simply has to be done. Right now it isn't something we can use...and most importantly it isn't safe. We also plan to spend the weekend pouring top soil into the cracks in the sod and planting seed. That should really help the lawn and then after all that...if we aren't completely broke we want to plant a tree or two! Oh the joys of home ownership!! LOL
Well I'm off for now...we need to head into Fredericton to pick up the PT Cruiser, we had to have the tint taken off the windows, it was too dark and it wouldn't pass the provincial inspection...then we have to get some sticker it's missing...after that and a few hundred bucks we should have one car fully registered in Canada. Then comes the van...AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! Oh yes, for all whom I have expressed concern to about the van's winter driving capabilities....we have the answers. (One of Jeff's buddies told us that the reason no one around here drives the Quest is because it is terrible in the snow...needless to say I was freaked right out!!) We stopped in the Nissan dealership to talk about the running light issue and we asked him about the van. He said the reason they don't sell the Quest too often is simply because it's too expensive. He said that it is great for winter driving, but it costs a lot and that puts people off. Apparently they are quite a bit more pricey here than in the states. That is a huge relief to me!!! I was really worried, being that it snows so bloody much here! LOL Again, I'm off...hope you like the house pics!!!

Finally starting to feel at home...

Well it was bound to happen...my mood has improved! Not dramatically mind you, but I do feel relatively human again! We were walking out of the mall this evening and I told Jeff I can actually see myself living here. That sounds like a ridiculous statement, but last week this time, I honestly couldn't look at the families walking around and picture us ever being that comfortable. It simply didn't seem possible...but we are getting there!

We had our first "family night" tonight. Fridays we try to make pizzas and watch a family movie together. Maddy looks forward to it all week. Tonight was our first family night in Canada. We rented "Saddle Club" a movie about some preteen horse crazy girls. Right up Maddy's alley!! And let me tell you, I'd rather watch a teen movie with real people over cartoons any day!!! And as a special treat this evening, while the pizza dough was mixing in the bread machine we walked up to the park by our house and Maddy got to play on the Splash Pad. It's really a neat little spray park that just opened yesterday! It reminds me a lot of the splash park in Lawton, but this one doesn't have a life guard, which means the hours are a lot longer! It's open from 8am to 8pm. It's really cool, there's a pole with a sensor on one side...if you hold you hand over the sensor for 2 seconds the water starts. It goes off after 15 minutes...that way if there aren't any kids, there's no water. It's on the same property as a large playground. If we take the walking trail behind our house we can be there in five minutes...it's close, but still far enough away and through a relatively thick forested area, so when the soccer field is added next year we won't get the craziness that brings with it!! We really lucked out on the location of our house...I'd love to say we planned this wonderfully, but luck played a pretty big roll!!

So after an evening on the splash pad, then making our pizzas, and watching a horse/preteen movie I think Maddy is feeling pretty good!! Not to mention that all of this excitement followed her very first program at the Military Family Resource Center! She got to make lunch and then have a teddy bear picnic!! Wow!! Could life be any better??? LOL Yes, as Maddy informed us walking home from the park, it could if our house was in OK. I guess it just takes time...that's what I keep telling myself too!!

Just adding a few pictures!!

Who's little girl is this?? She's already figured out how to use the phone!! That's my girl!! Oh yes, and that's her newest "I'm a little shit" smile!!

The second is her last bath in OK. That's our sink on Upton!!

And finally...Here's Maddy's favorite "hiding" spot in her Bunk bed. She loves to drag (or lure her in with at bottle) Sarah in there to "hide" together...because you know Mommy's not ever gonna find them in there!!

Happy Anniversary!!

Just a quick note to wish Michelle and Jeff, Shasta and Jeff, and Dan and Monica a Happy Anniversary!! Okay, I know it's not too happy for Mon because Dan is in Afghanistan...but the celebration in Sept. will be all the sweeter!! I Shasta stayed awake to enjoy her anniversary yesterday evening with Jeff!! LOL and we will definitely miss celebrating with the VanCleaves this year!!
Seven years for Jeffy and I...where has the time gone??? It seems like just yesterday we were headed off to Las Vegas. Man...so much has changed, but it feels like it all happened in the blink of an eye!!
Better run...Jeff took the day off and we are celebrating by going to pay taxes on our vehicles, get our drivers licences and maybe, if we're lucky, get a few pictures hung and the office cleaned out!! Almost exactly like we celebrated seven years ago!! LOL Have a great one!!

Oh Canada...

Well we have arrived! We are in New Brunswick, in our house, we have our furniture and Jeff is back to work! It's been a very hard couple of weeks...but we are all, slowly but surely, adjusting to life back in New Brunswick!
We closed on the house our first Tuesday in New Brunswick...two weeks ago this Tuesday. Our furniture wasn't due to arrive until Friday so we were stuck at the Days Inn. It was a nice hotel, Central Air; indoor pool; cable tv and internet, so looking back now I'm really not certain why I was in such a hurry to get moved in!! LOL Friday morning the movers made it to our door. It was blistering hot!! About 95 degrees. They only sent two men...one who had been on the job two weeks and one who had started that morning. Needless to say things didn't run smoothly. There were boxes all over, most in rooms where they shouldn't be, and the furniture was just shoved in the middle of the room in the midst of the thousands of boxes. We diligently worked all weekend and actually made some progress. Our living room/dining room/kitchen area looked great! That's when the second big blow came...the unpackers. A crew of two came bright and early Monday morning to unpack us...sounds like a great help...it's really not. They unpacked the boxes and laid everything in the middle of the floor. They also unpacked the boxes exactly where they were. We have little girls clothing in the office, high school year books in the kitchen, and important papers in the garage. When they left I thought I might honestly crack. It was hot hot hot...Jeff was starting back to work...the house was an absolute disaster...and the icing on the cake was the fact that we had no cable, no phone and no Internet. Nightmare!!!
I spent the rest of the week trying to make some kind of dent in the crapola laying everywhere and console my two very miserable children...oh yes and try desperately not to fall into a depression. It was probably one of the most stressful times in my life. But we made it through!! Late Thursday evening I had cable/phone and internet...it almost made the fact that Jeff was at a Mess dinner whooping it up with the boys tolerable...almost! LOL
This weekend we took a drive to Houlton Maine. I wanted to get a PO box there...so anyone from the states who wants to mail us anything please feel free to mail it to the PO Box...the cost difference is incredible!! We'll be checking that once a month or so. That also gives us an opportunity to do some grocery shopping across the border. Groceries are the one thing Canada doesn't charge customs on, so we went crazy shopping in Maine!! With the dollar value almost par it really pays us to do that. We loaded up on milk, butter, cheese, eggs, chicken ect. It will really save us in the long run!! Not to mention Maddy absolutely loves this homemade chicken noodle soup I made in OK all the time...one of the few healthy things she enjoys...and I just couldn't justify making it with a $13.65 whole chicken!! Wal-mart's $3.50 chickens will taste much better, at least to me!! LOL
The house is looking better, not great yet, but better. My good friend Janis dropped by Friday night and I literally burst into tears. Seeing a friendly face was amazing...and really all I needed to feel human again!! I talked to my Mom for three hours (we have unlimited calling to the states) and my sister for almost two hours (thanks, Papa John's!) and I actually began to feel like I can make it here!
Tomorrow we are headed over the Military Family Resource Center to see if there are any programs/classes offered for kids Maddy's age. She's had a rough go of it and I want to see if I can't find something to help pass the time until school starts in September. Looks like it might cool off this week too!! We will be just fine!! Really!

Flat Daddies

Hey everyone!! We are well into New England now! It has rained almost the entire time...Yuck! But we have thankfully made it safely to Albany New York!!

This will be really short...I just had to write about the Flat Daddy! We were lucky enough to cross paths with Ann Mostellar and family yesterday. They were in Cooperstown New York for her nephew's little league finals...home of the baseball hall of fame...thrilling for Jeff and I who aren't big baseball fans...but we are Mostellar fans!! LOL Ann and the kids are doing well! They are really missing John who will have his R&R arriving on Duhn Duhn Duhn Duuuuuhn September 11th ...who planed that one???? And home for good sometime in February. We were sitting outside her fancy schmancy camper when Ann pulled out this giant cardboard cutout of John. It was hilarious!! James (who's almost 4) ran up and kissed all over it....almost broke my heart!! Anyhow...Ann explained that that was a "flat Daddy." Apparently there is a non profit organization that makes these flat Daddies for deployed soldiers families. It's made of a waterproof paper and it's bigger than life size. I loved it!! What a great idea!! I checked out the website, but only really quickly. I didn't see anything stating it's only for the US, I imagine commonwealth will be included. I wanted to make sure I got this info out to everyone so you too can have your flat Daddy! We even got our picture taken with "John" apparently he's going to be well photographed...don't want him to miss out on the anything while he's gone!! LOL

http://www.flatdaddies.com/

Just figured I better get that on here sooner than later or I'll for sure forget!! Gotta run...retail therapy at Hanna Andersson to do!!