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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Semi-Wordless Wed

So...this is what happens when KiKi dumps an almost full bottle of soap into the bath...




Tuesday, December 29, 2009

RTT- Overview of the year

Since it is the end of the year, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at what has happened in the world of the Bungalow in the last year. For other random head to Keely's place by clicking the purple button (it doesn't hurt...much).

randomtuesday

I just looked at my first post of this year and it was an open letter to perspective military wives. It was good for me to go back and read it. Sometimes even I need a reminder.

KiKi will still take a pickle over sweets.

We still have absolutely crazy weather here in England. I think I have this opinion because the weather websites here are not nearly as detailed as in the states. I miss seeing weather maps in motion. It also can rain slush here. That is just weird.

I still miss oyster roasts.

I have now seen London more than once. I have seen Cambridge a number of times. I plan on seeing as much of the UK as I can before I leave. Where to next?

I have been to 3 castles this year!

I am STILL hating the laundry situation in this house.

I still can't relate to people who dread taking their kids to the grocery store. It really isn't that hard.

Remember when my cat broke my toilet?

I still laugh at pubs with funny names.

LaLa is still weird.

I still laugh at the fact my mom farted at Windsor Castle.

Mr.PunkRock (LaLa's teacher) is still completely awesome. I love it that he tells them "come on, you horrible lot!"

Crack is still whack.

We moved. I still love the new house. Although my prediction of not being able to hear the kids if they were in their rooms was COMPLETELY wrong.

hurmm I guess that is it for now. I guess we'll just have to see what the next year brings!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Preparations

He will be gone soon. "Down Range" as they call it. So we in addition to making every moment this Christmas count, we have been preparing. Buying odds and ends: sleeping bags, toiletries, new running shoes. Asking parents for care packages that contain items we couldn't find like reading lights and electric blankets (apparently it is really cold in Afghanistan). Then packing all these things into two standard issue green duffle bags. Checking and double checking (and then The Man triple checking and quadruple checking cause well, that is what he does). Making lists of things for me to remember, and then him putting them on my iCal (he even put "feed cat and dog" on there everyday until he gets back). We took care of bills to be paid, figured out the budget, found his will (just in case), and got all the recycling organized so I can take it to the dump.

Then soon, he will go. Until then, we are enjoying every single moment together as a family.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Ah Crap

We knew this day was coming...

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

For LaLa on Her Birthday

Dear Sweet Girl,

In honor of your sixth birthday I am putting together a list of my favorite LaLa-isms...

"Dad you are the snow attacker and we are the snow offenders!!!"

"Why do you keep saying no?"

To my friend S- "I keep whining until my mom gives me what I want." (At least she is honest)

"Santa can't have a belly full of jelly! He'd DIE!"

"Do you want to play noughts and crosses?" ME- "Tic tac toe?" Her-"Noughts and crosses" (She is becoming British)

"Mr. F says 'come on your horrible lot!' and then we say 'we're not horrible!!'"

"DAD! THAT'S DARF VADER!!"

"You can't get me! I have ONE THOUSAND hearts!!!" (maybe she watches too many video games?)

In the movie Astroboy "He had a gum machine in his butt!!!" (which means he had a machine gun in his butt...I think the movie would have been cool either way)

"Mom, I am brilliant at maths!!!"

You aren't just brilliant at Maths, LaLa. You are just brilliant. I love you.

XOXOXOX, Mom




Friday, December 18, 2009

GAH! Make It STOP!

"Mom, if I eat too many of these chicken nuggets I will get really FAT!" LaLa announced to me at dinner tonight.

It took a minute for me to digest this statement in my head. My "nearly six" year old daughter thinks she will get fat if she eats her dinner. My daughter, who is so slight, so thin, thinks she will get fat. My daughter who is ONLY "nearly six" thinks about body issues. MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MY BRAIN HURTS!!!!!

"Honey, if you eat what you are supposed to eat you will be healthy," is the only thing I can come up with at the time. "You don't have to worry about being fat," I say reassuringly.

"Yeah, I don't want to be fat!"

My heart dies a bit inside. Yes, I don't want her to ever be fat either, but she shouldn't worry about this stuff, not when she is "nearly six". I have struggled with my weight since adolescence. I know how cruel kids can be. However, I have taken care not to ever bring my issues up in front of my daughter. I don't call myself fat in front of her, not even jokingly. In fact, I just don't use the "F" word ever. Fat just isn't in my vocabulary.

"Please don't worry about this. You just eat whatever you like, you're not fat. In fact, you are quite thin, but you don't want to be too skinny. Just please, don't worry about these things,"

"Yeah, I don't want to be too skinny or too fat. I want to be just right! When will I be just right? When I am older??"

"Baby, you are already perfect just the way you are."

She is my perfect "nearly six" year old.


Dear So and So...Winter Nightmare

Dear Readers,

Buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Godspeed, Kat
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Dear Mother Nature,

I love snow or rather, I love the way snow looks from the inside of my nice warm house. Melt soon.

Thanks in advance, Kat
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Dear Power Company,

Please refer to the letter to mother nature when I said I like to look at the snow from my nice WARM house. I guess that wasn't to be, eh? Yeah when the power cut happened at 9:30pm, I didn't panic. Surely it would come back on soon. I mean, there was only an inch of snow on the ground. Surely you wouldn't let us freeze all night. I was wrong. 14 hours later and two false alarms and I finally had my power back. BTW, my kids blame you for not being able to go play outside until we got our heat back.

Still Bitter and a Bit Frozen, Kat
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Dear Self,

Get to work! You have cupcakes to bake for LaLa's birthday party (if anyone shows up now due to the snow) tomorrow. Oh and you have a house to pick up as well. GAH! I said get off the computer and work you silly cow!!

Yes Ma'am, Kat
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Dear Readers (once again),

If you participated in Dear So and So... please leave you link with Mr. Linky so I can stop by your place and read all your letters...weather permitting.

Love, Kat

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Kat's Ridiculously Easy Cooking- Faux Lasagna

It tastes like lasagna with half the time and none of that fusing about with layering noodles. If you are a vegetarian you could totally leave out the hamburger and I bet it would be lovely to substitute in some sauteed zucchini (oooh I might do that myself...yummm). So, here ya go, another one of Kat's Ridiculously easy recipes.

8oz Rotini Twist Pasta (or whatever is on hand..mine was rotini and mac)
1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce (I do Prego Traditional)
1 lb hamburger
3 cups Mozzarella Cheese
(sometimes I add Pepperoni too)
Seasonings- I use black pepper, Mrs Dash tomato basil, and oregano

Brown hamburger meat w/ seasonings; drain. While browning meat cook pasta.
Jar of sauce in the pan with the hamburger meat (add more seasoning if desired). SImmer together for a bit.
Drain pasta. Combine pasta and sauce mixture in a 9X13 baking dish. Add 1 cup of cheese. If you are gonna add pepperoni now would be the time as well. Mix up.
Cover with other 2 cups of cheese. Bake 350 (180 C) until nice and bubbley.

Seriously, this is majorly yummy. Kid tested and approved as well. No seriously, if LaLa will eat it, then any kid will.


Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The News

There is no way to break this news gracefully. Some of you may remember my post from this summer called "The Fear". Well, the fear is becoming a reality. The Man is being deployed to Afghanistan soon. I have known for months that it was coming. Actually I have known for almost a year. It is one of those things I ignored. It was easier to live with my head in the sand. Now, the deployment is staring me straight in the face and I have to pay attention.

We will have Christmas as a family and then all bets are off. Don't worry about me and the girls, we'll be fine. Just please keep my husband in your prayers. He will be on an AF base, but still, it is like the wild wild west over there.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

RTT- Antics at the Bungalow

So, it's Tuesday. Again...it's like they just keep coming or something. Anyhow, onto the random thoughts. Don't forget to tip your waitress.

randomtuesday

Click on that button up there to go to Keely's place for more random.

Yesterday, KiKi nicked a £2 coin off my nightstand. Now, like most American children (and adults), KiKi assumes that change is worthless. However, once you do the conversion, KiKi nicked roughly $3.20 off my nightstand in one fail swoop. How do you feel about your change now?

Also, last night, KiKi decided she would try to outsmart me. I told her it was time for bed, and she was extremely agreeable to the proposition. For those of you who do not know what my children are like, this is not normal. As she was exiting the room I saw the Nintendo DS she had hidden behind her back.

I woke up this morning at 8:10. LaLa's bus comes at 8:25. We made it. Barely.

According to LaLa "Rockstars love mints!" She says this when she has on her faux leather jacket. It is a ploy to get more mints.

I have news for all of you, but this isn't the forum for it. Will write about it later.

Oh and I am completely addicted to Mumford and Sons. They are a group out of London and are extremely talented. Check em out!




Plus they left the best voicemail on Radio 1 DJ, Greg James' phone ever.

Until tomorrow, adieu.






Monday, December 14, 2009

Martha Stewart I am Not...

So it may come as a huge surprise to all of you guys, but I am NOT crafty. I think I failed Stay At Home Mom 101 when it came to this. We have not once made a macaroni necklace or beaded...well anything. The closest I come to crafty is setting out paints, markers and paper and saying "Go wild, girls!" And frankly since the hair incident, scissors are completely off limits. For some reason however I thought "Hey, lets do a gingerbread house this year!" Of course this thought came when I saw the kits at the commissary and realized I had all the ingredients to make the icing at the house already (I am thrifty like that).

Flash forward three weeks to Saturday. After putting it off as possible I finally succumbed to the siren song of the craft project. Well, more like LaLa nagged me until I had lost the will to live and gave in (she is gonna be a great wife one day). Realizing the kit only came with gumdrops, I threw LaLa into the car and ran up to the base for some other sweets to adhere to the house. We may have went a bit overboard...we had gumdrops, orange slices (the candy ones), pepermints, gummy bears, gummy worms and Mike and Ikes. Our house was going to be faaaaaaab-u-lous! At this point I was feeling confident in my gingerbread house abilities. I mean, I had made one in first grade...how hard could it be?

Besides the fact that the roof wanted to slide off and I got icing EVERYWHERE....


....not bad.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Dear So and So...I Could Really Go For a Red Bull

Dear Landlady's Partner,

I am soooo gonna bake you a sour cream pound cake. You got my septic tank ACTUALLY fixed this time. Mind you, you had to dig up part of my garden to do it, but at least I can live my life without the fear of poo again.

Indebted, Kat
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Dear Bacon,

I wish I knew how to quit you.

Mmmmm, Kat
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Dear Primary School,

I understand that there is a "fire code" and only so many parents are allowed to go to each school performance, so I was kinda bummed that I had to get one ticket to the 2 o'clock show instead of 2 tickets to the 6 o'clock show since you ran out. BTW, when you send home notices to the parents, you guys should make sure they actually go into their nice yellow (had to purchase cause you said so)book bag instead of getting shoved to the BOTTOM of the backpack.
*grumble* Kat

PS- My hubster is still mad he didn't get to see LaLa's play. I told him he didn't miss much but I don't think that made him feel any better about it.
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Dear People (no one in general),

I seriously took my life into my own hands when taking KiKi to school this morning. The fog here is really thick out in the country side. Pea soup thick.

Photographic Proof:
(fairly clear day)


(today)

Now, I am guessing (based on former high school/college marching band experience) that I could see roughly 20 yards (sorry to all the Canadians who don't use Imperial measurements, but I am American and the metric system makes about as much sense to me as why men find the movie "Baseketball" funny). The road outside my house is a 50 mph road and dumbasses don't use headlights sometimes in the mornings. Needless to say I said a little prayer before I pulled out of my driveway this morning. Thankfully nobody was coming, lets see if we can reproduce that little miracle in about an hour when I have to leave again to pick KiKi up from school. The things mothers do for their children's education....

OMG I could have died, Kat
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Dear Readers,

If you have any letters please use Mr. Linky so I can come visit your site and read them! I do love a good rant. To all those who didn't write letters, come on, dooooo it. You know you want to!!

Have a nice relaxing weekend ya'll!

Love, Kat


Tuesday, December 8, 2009

RTT- S'not

Have you ever seen a kid sneeze and unintentionally snot rocket themselves? The look of surprise is classic. Oh yeah, Happy Tuesday!

randomtuesday

We all have colds here. The Man was the Ebola monkey for this round of colds. He came home with a tiny man cold last week and that crap propagated in this house like penicillin in a petri dish.

Today I am off to Cambridge to find the "it" toy of the season. Moxie GIrlz. Apparently they are the bastard child of Bratz, only less slutty, more wholesome. I find it hilarious that they promote being unique in their advertising but every little girl in the western world is going to get one for Christmas. I base this estimate on the fact that every time I tried to put one in my Amazon.com basket last night it got snatched out before I had a chance to check out. It was like being robbed in the middle of the Wal-Mart toy section. I was violated people!

Another thing, what is up with these Zhu-Zhu/ Go Go (UK) hamsters? Toy hamsters with their own cages, that run around in circles...yeah it seems cheaper to me to buy the real thing. One of those little hamsters is going for 30 some odd dollars on Amazon. I can get a real hamster for six bucks. Hamsters are evil anyway. I decided that when I worked at a pet store and had to feed the little monsters. Put your hand into a cage of the little Siberian Hamsters....like a pack of wolves I tell you!

I won a contest over at The Lady Who Lunches! I got some fantastic smelling Loose Leaf Chai Tea from the Lahloo tea company. It smells sooo good. I can't stress enough how good it smells. Oh and it kills me to call it Chai Tea because in Russian the word Chai is Tea. So it is really superfluous to say tea.

Did I just use the word superfluous? I knew those vocab lessons in high school would pay off one day!

Alright I am going to go battle the crowds at the Cambridge Toys R Us. Pray for me.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Dear So and So...Really Crappy Situation

Dear Letting Agents,
Thanks for not letting us know we have a septic tank when we moved into the property. You know, it is really awesome when your toilets don't want to flush. I just love plunging crappy toilets to get them to clear out.
Still Hating You, Kat
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Dear Septic Tank Guy,
Thanks for coming and doing well, nothing really. Yes, you got the sludge out of the bottom of the tank, but you never actually got rid of the problem that was messing up my toilets. Then you had the nerve to slap me with a £85 bill for 5 minutes of work.
You SUCK! Kat
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Dear Partner of my Land Lady,
Thanks for coming over at 7pm last night and using your tools to snake out the pipes in my back yard. You not only fixed the problem in about 15 minutes, but you were really nice about it. You are completely awesome and I am now flushing my toilets without fear of turds.
I Totally Owe You A Beer, Kat
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Dear English Weather,
I am aware that it is heading towards winter. I expect cold and I know England is known for prolific rain, but I really need a break. I am tired of being soggy all the time. Hey, I know! How about drop the temperature a couple more degrees so we could at least get snow out of the deal and maybe school would be cancelled a day and I could get some really cute pictures of the girls playing in the snow. Sound like a deal?
Soaked to the Bone, Kat
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Dear Readers,
Thank you so much for coming by each week to read the Dear So and So letters. I really appreciate it. If you have your own letters, please link up with Mr, Linky so we can spread the So and So love.
You Guys are Completely the Most Awesome of Awesome Readers, Kat
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Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Ta-daaa!!

Have you ever just wanted to do backflips and scream at the top of the lungs about how lucky you are?? Yeah, me neither; but today, today is special. MY MACBOOK ISN'T DEAD!!! Hallelujah!! I got it reassembled, did a little prayer, hit the on button and got the tell tale Mac "duuuuun" sound, and then promptly almost peed myself with excitement. The keys are a bit sticky, but other than that, seems to not have any problems. The charger works, mouse pad works, I can get to all my files. It is a Christmastime miracle.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

RTT- Yeah I Screwed Up

Random, brought to you by Keely. Click the button and stuff! (once again after you read this post...or zombies will get you) (zombies may or may not actually get you, don't quote me on it).

randomtuesday

OK so Friday night, I totally screwed up my computer. I am waiting for it to dry out (yeah guess who spilled their drink into the keyboard of a Macbook *raises hand*) and then I am going to put it back together tomorrow and PRAY that it starts back up.

So how am I typing this? Oh my husband just got a nifty netbook from my parents and his parents for his Christmas present. He got to open it early, thank goodness. So at least now I can pay my bills online still...oh and blog.

We got our Christmas Tree on Saturday morning. It is beautimous. I would show you, but that would require uploading photos...and yeah I haven't even got that far on this new computer yet. In fact we just took it out of the box literally an hour ago.

Ok, I have errands to run in my rent a car (yeah that is a whole nother post), so I will bid you auffwidersain.

(You can click the purple button now)