;D If I add some icing to my muffin top, does that make it a cupcake? ;D





Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year!


Wow, that's a lot of cookies! I just finished baking some cookies to snack on during our wait for the New Year to arrive. Mmmmmm, can't wait to eat them. I remember making them one time at my friend Jenn's house when I was a teenager, and they were sooooo delicious. They are called Neiman Marcus cookies, and the recipe makes a TON! One batch made 120 cookies! Had to share, cuz I've been wanting to make these forever and ever. :D



Here are some pics of our holiday happenings:

At the Trier Weihnachtscircus
(Christmas Circus in Trier)

Saying "Hi" to Baby Sister






A Woody Doll for Christmas!



Santa brought Alex a train. Just what he'd asked for!



Our tree and presents after Santa had come.







At the Fire Department B-Shift Christmas party.




We made a gingerbread house!


Eye protection is necessary when preparing the icing.



The snow on our street a couple of weeks ago. Our house is on the left.


Looking out at part of our village.



Mommy made him pose.


Helping Daddy shovel snow.


There's a baby in there!


Sunday, December 12, 2010

Out with a Bang!

So here is a quick catch up with the Tacbas Family. For the most part, life has been fairly calm and quiet around here. In October we had some good friends, Emma and Daniel, come for a visit. Lots of fun. We saw some local sights with them, and also took a trip to Amsterdam. We really appreciated them coming all the way over here to visit us. Thanks guys! Love you!

As I think everyone already knows, we have a suprise little bambino on the way. SHE is due to arrive on May 3rd. I am 22 weeks along now, almost to the halfway point, and baby is doing well. Here at Spangdahlem, we do not have Obstetricians on base, so all pregnant ladies must choose a nearby German hospital, or Krankenhaus, to go to. So far it has been a good experience. We get an ultrasound every time we go in, which is very cool. This baby seems to be very calm so far. In each ultrasound she just kind of hangs out, doesn't move around much. Does this mean something? Calm before the storm maybe??? I dunno. I just have a strong feeling that this little one is going to be Super Busy! Alex is so laid back, and so easy, I just feel like there won't be two easy babies in a row. Guess we'll find out in time, huh?



Here are the ultrasound pics from my last appointment on the 20th of December.








21 Weeks




We had a quiet Thanksgiving with just a few friends - Scott and the 3 kiddos, and 2 guys from the FD, Taylor and Ryan- came over for turkey and all the delicious sides. Now it is nearly Christmas, so next up is finding a tree and decorating! The end of the year is near, and we've had a pretty good one. Family is healthy, friends are doing well, Germany is, well, Germany. We are still missing the states, but are making it over here. Sometimes I feel like I'm just barely making it!

I don't know what is going on, but over the last, oh, maybe 2 months, we have had a curse over all electronics in the Tacbas household. And that seems to have extended to appliances as well. It all started with the iphones, which were lost in Amsterdam. I won't say by whom. (Not me!!) Anyway, then my laptop broke. (Ok, I'll fess up. That one was me.) Jr's laptop had been on it's last leg for a while. It was over 5 years old, and would randomly close out of programs and the inernet, and shut down completely whenever it just felt like it. Needless to say, we both have new (cheap) phones and new laptops. Oh dear! Then, just a couple of days ago Jr received a speeding ticket in the mail. Not an electronic device or an appliance, but just annoying, so I'm throwing it in. Today is the day that the appliances decided to join the fun. While trying to vacuum, with our one-year-old vacuum that has had issues for weeks, I smell smoke, see sparks and hear popping noises. Yep. Vacuum is done. The digital camera is not doing so hot either. We'll see how much further that one will make it, but judging by our recent luck, we will be looking for a new camera very soon. Phew. So that is how we are going out with a BANG! (And a little smoke and spark!) Hope that everyone out there has had a wonderful year, and that you are all enjoying the holidays!


Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Bastard Fly!

So this Bastard Fly was driving me crazy last night. I was lying in bed trying to relax and fall asleep, and he starts buzzing around the room like a noisy little airplane. So I get up and get my electric fly swatter (thanks Amy :D), but apparently he knows that I'm after him because now he is silent, and nowhere to be found. After a couple of minutes of searching for him I shut off the light and lay back down, keeping my fly swatter handy. Just a few moments later I hear him buzzing around again. And he's getting closer. The gosh darn thing smacks me in the face and lands on my pillow! I jump up, turn on the light and he's still there on my pillow! Ewwwwwww!! Get off! I literally have to pick the pillow up and shake him off, 'cuz I'm not going to zap him on the pillow!
I grab my electric swatter, and now I am determined. This fly will not live, and I will sleep. Hailey and Susie are looking at me like I am a complete crazy women. No way am I taking my eyes off of this obnoxious creature. It takes several tries, lots of flailing and jumping and swatting the ceiling and air before Finally! I ZAP him. And............he lands on my pillow! Whaaaatttt???? Seriously? So here I am, lying in my quiet, peaceful bedroom. Minus one pillowcase and ready to relax and fall asleep.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Alex in Irrel

Here is a link to some pics of Alex that a friend of ours from the Fire Dept. took. We went out to a place by a river in Irrel, Germany. I think that some of them came out pretty good. Thanks Kiel!

http://s900.photobucket.com/albums/ac206/Kielbc/Alex/

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

I am proud to be an American.....

....and I miss you America.


Dear Germany,
It's been nice meeting you, but I am ready to go home. Thanks for the perspective, and for the new found appreciation for what I love about my country. I have new and greater respect for people who pick up and move their families to a foreign country to start a new life. I, however, prefer to go back to my lovely America. She may not be perfect, but She is just right for me.

Yours truly,
Erin

Monday, May 10, 2010

Yummy Ice Cream

This was Alex's first time eating an ice cream cone all by himself. He tends to be more interested in the cone than the ice cream, so that's where he started. He bit the bottome of the cone first, and as you can see, once the ice cream was almost gone, the cone was gone too.








At the Park: Sandwich, Swing, Slide & Stairs....

....what more could a kid want???
















Some Random Cute Pics

Sleepy at the store.

Alex certainly knows how to enjoy a cupcake!



Cool firefighter jammies.









Easter

Ooops, posted these ones backwards. But here is egg coloring and Easter basket-ing.
















Venice #3

It seems like every quick snapshot that we took throughout Venice could have been printed into a post card. Here are just a few of my favorites, and 1 family pic.


















Venice #2

Columns of San Marco and San Teodoro

Rialto Bridge

Feeding birds in the Royal Gardens


Gondola Parking



The Campanile. You can go up inside this tower and see amazing views of the city.




Venice #1

St. Mark's Basilica in Piazza San Marco, under construction.
A beautiful gondola.

Making ugly faces.


A man making a mask in his shop.





One of the narrow "roads" in Venice.