Happy Halloween!

Halloween is wrapping up for us. It was a great day. It was sunny and slightly warm. Thomas had a fun-filled day at preschool complete with a pumpkin hunt and lots of candy to bring home, in fact, his pumpkin bag was already full by the time we got home. Toby was good-natured all day long and wore his costume from noon-7:30PM and managed to not spit up on his costume at all. James was working late tonight (same old story, new country)so I bundled the kids up and went with some of the other American kids (and parents) trick-or-treating. I was surprised at how many Germans participate. We walked around the neighborhood for about an hour, until we could no longer feel our fingers and came home. Thomas came home with another half-filled bag of candy. We also got quite a few trick-or-treaters except they say, "Suss oder sauer" (sweet or sour).

Until later,

Emily

Halloween is in the Air!

We carved our pumpkins last night after I realized that I didn't in fact, know "right where the pumpkin carving kits were". We also have not found our sharp knives so we had to resort to using two of the knives in our "welcome kit" which I might add are two of the dullest knives ever, if they were any duller, we would have had more success using a butter knife...no--a plastic knife!

Until later,

Emily

Conversing with Thomas

Thomas: "Mom, can you help me find my blue eraser? I can't find it anywhere."

(After I had warned him not to let Toby get any of them because he could choke and die)

Emily: "Well, where did you look?"

Thomas: "Well...I looked in the living room, the toy box, the table, my room... I even looked at Toby and he wasn't dying, so that means he doesn't have it--it's not anywhere!"

(in case you're wondering, I found it on my bed!)

And this is a day of my life....

Until later,

Emily

Daylight Savings Time

This Sunday morning, we switched over to Daylight Savings Time. I don't like how quickly it gets dark at night, but I do quite like the feeling of sleeping in! I usually feel this "sleeping in" for about a week.

James and I had to speak in church yesterday. It's kind of a "right of passage" when you move into a new ward (congregation). Our ward is so small that I guess we'll get the "opportunity" about every 10-12 months. We spent the entire day on Saturday preparing. I think we both did well and I'm glad it's over.

We are still trying to figure out how to work our radiant heating. It was set on "automatic" which ended up being entirely too hot. It was 77 degrees constantly with our windows open and fans going while people outside are wearing hats and coats! We do have the instruction manual attached to the side, but it is all in German. I've managed to get it off manual and turn it down to about 71 but the problem is that while our downstairs is now comfortable, our upstairs is about 10 degrees cooler. Some of my friends have controls for each individual room, but it doesn't appear that we do. I think we're going to have to buy space heaters for each room and call it good.

I came down with a strain of the flu last night. The aches and pains kind of flu. I got the flu nasal mist vaccine last week, and they warned me that I might come down with a mild flu. I ache all over, have a mild sore throat and am SOOO tired. I could crawl up in bed and sleep all day if only I didn't have two little ones to worry about. Actually, I could probably put Thomas in front of the TV all day if I had to, but Toby is another story all together! Needless to say, we still all in our pajamas this morning!

We are gearing up for Halloween. Toby's costume arrived on Friday. He's going to be a lion, I ordered his costume from Old Navy. He is absolutely adorable and of course, I'll post pictures later on in the week. I planned on ordering Thomas a costume off the internet also, but Thomas couldn't find anything that he liked except the "Thomas" costume that he wore last year. We agreed that he could wear it again this year. That was easy enough! I was crossing my fingers Friday night as we were unboxing Toby's costume that Thomas wouldn't all of the sudden want a new costume, because of course, it would be too late, but he was fine! We are going to carve our pumpkins on Tuesday night. We're going to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood on Wednesday. I guess our town has had an"American" influence for so long that there are plenty of homes that give out candy.

Until later,

Emily

Random Thought Thursday...

Three cats are better than one?

I have been a bit suspicious of our "new" wandering outdoor cat, Gypsy. At first, I thought she had a round head and a mostly black face and didn't seem too scared of us. Other days, she would bolt as soon as she heard us come downstairs and I swore she was sporting a white face. After some careful observation, I can confirm that there are two black and white neighborhood cats and they've both found our little feeding dish. So, the black faced kitty will remain Gypsy and the white faced kitty is Jasmine. Tailer will remain Tailer (as always).

Until later,

Emily

Birthday Pictures

I thought I did so great tonight in that I remembered to get out the camera and take a couple of pictures, one with Thomas and the cake and one of a close-up of the cake. Then I realized that his cake has his real name on it. So, I cropped away at both pictures and this is what we have left, but I think you still get the idea!

Well, blog-friends, this birthday boy's mom is totally and completely wiped out. The house is a disaster but it will all wait until tomorrow!

Until later,

Emily

Thomas Turned Five Today!

At 1:23 this morning Thomas turned five! I can't believe our firstborn is already this old! And, I can't believe James and I have been parents for five years, it seems like we are so "new" to parenthood still. Anyways, I don't know why, but I feel like "5" is an important birthday...

I found a loose picture in one of our boxes Monday night, perfectly enough it was of James holding only hours-old Thomas. Thomas was tightly swaddled in what we refer to as the "baby burrito" and James was holding the newspaper that was printed that day, which was titled, "Thank God It's Over". Great title to refer to when any pregnancy is over, I think. But, you see, this title and picture will always hold two meanings for us because Thomas was born the very same day and in the very same county that the "DC Sniper Shooters" were finally caught. I will never forget this. And I will always be thankful that nothing happened to me during those last days of my pregnancy, because they later admitted that a pregnant woman was one of their next planned victims.

Well, fast forward five years later--Thomas ran into our bedroom this morning at 6:30. James was showering so I was able to hold him off until about 7:10. We got him a Kettcar which is like a go-cart that you peddle. Both grandparents gave him "Cars" race tracks. I got the privilege of setting up the "Radiator Springs Mountain Challenge" track this morning for about two hours. It has far too many pieces and I can only blame myself because I am the one that physically purchased the track! He got some new brown loafers and a deluxe set of wonder colors art supplies. I suspect that there will be some sweatpants arriving from Old Navy today as well.

We are leaving for preschool in just minutes where he will have a small celebration during snack time. After I drop him off, and before I go back to help with the celebration, I have to run to the bakery to pick up his birthday cake for tonight. I ordered him a Lightening McQueen cake and he has no idea. Although, he does seem a bit worried today that I haven't baked his cake yet. He's going to be surprised and he loves "bakery" cake just as much as I do (and my mom does!) so he's going to love it. We're having another family over tonight for cake and ice cream at 7:00.

I will try to post pictures later on. I used the camcorder this morning, but I can't post any of that because we use our real names on that.

Until later,

Emily

Our Mini Delivery

We picked up our Mini Cooper this morning! Isn't it S-WEET?

Until later,

Emily

Toby's 9-month Well-Baby Visit

Toby had his 9-month well-baby visit today. Going in, I would have guessed that he weighed 20 pounds, but I would have been off--he weighed in at 22 pounds and was 29 inches long! That means he gained over five pounds in three months and grew 5 inches! He is in the 75% for both weight and height. If you're interested, if you look at his adjusted age (how old he should be if he weren't born prematurely) he would be in the 95% for his height and 90% for his weight! Either way, he's a big boy! Everything else went well also--only one shot and that one was optional, the flu shot. He'll get a whole slew of shots at 12 months but, it turned out that 9 months was an easy one.

Until later,

Emily

The Way My Four Year Old Thinks....

Thomas: "Mom, I can understand what Mrs. Miller (his preschool teacher) says but she speaks English."

Me: "That's because you also speak English, Thomas."

Thomas: "No, I don't speak English, but I can still understand what she is talking about."

Me: "Thomas, the words you speak with are called English, you speak English sweetie!"

Thomas: "NO, I DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH!" (arms folded, giving me a dirty look)

Me: "Well, then what do you think you speak?"

Thomas: "I speak 'Maryland-talk.'"

(and I try one more time...)

Me: "Thomas, this Maryland-talk is actually called English."

Thomas: "Mom, let's not talk about it anymore."

Until later,

Emily

Snapshot Sunday

Question: Will I like Krispie Kreme doughnuts as much as my big brother?

Answer: Only time will tell!

We found some Krispie Kreme hats today while unpacking one of the "kitchen" boxes. Thomas put it on Toby's head and he looked so cute wearing it, I had to take a picture!

Speaking of Toby, he cut his third tooth this past week. I know it might seem like I blog about his teeth a lot, but they really do effect my life. I have been up with him every night since Tuesday. And, I can now safely mention that James has been gone since last Sunday morning, traveling to Poland and then on to Russia, but he returned home last night (thanks to my wonderful Aunt Barbie for suggesting that I wasn't being too safe about blogging that James was gone--now those in "blogworld" will hear of James' travels only after his return). Not that me getting up with Toby at night would involve James anyway...he doesn't get up with the kids unless things get really, really, really bad. But, not getting a good nights' sleep for most of the time that he was away added to the long, hard week.

Unfortunately, I don't suspect that the sleeping or Toby's fussiness will improve much because tomorrow is check-up day which will most certainly involve numerous shots in his chunky thighs. I'll blog tomorrow and let you know how that goes and how much our tiny preemie weighs now!

Until later

Emily

Random Thought Thursday...

I have had several inquiries about my driving experiences in Germany. First,
because I think it is a general thing to wonder about when an American moves to Germany with it's wonderful autobahns and secondly, because I have had a bit of a phobia to driving in new places at times.

Question #1: Do I drive on the autobahn? Before I answer this, I want to clarify something here, there is no such thing as one autobahn. There are different autobahns. The word autobahn is like our word for freeway. And, I drive on the A3 and the A66 regularly, in my weekly driving. I was driving on the A5 this past weekend.

Question #2: How fast do I usually go? I average between 80 and 90 mph on the autobahns, even when the speed limits are "unlimited". I have been up to 100 mph, but since I always have my kids, I don't really feel very safe going that fast for much more than to pass a car and get back over in one of the slower lanes. We are definitely glad that last April, when we bought our Kia Rondo, that we went with the V6 engine rather than the 4-cylinder option. Our car has plenty of get up and go and we still haven't pushed it as fast as it can go (James has driven it at 110 with still more behind the pedal).

Speaking of accelerated speeds, I quickly became accustomed to 80-90 mph and now, when I have to get in the far right lane, to exit off of the autobahn and end up behind the trucks (who are supposed to only travel in the far right lane) I feel like I am barely c-r-a-w-l-i-n-g, only to look down and realize that I'm still going 65 mph!

In general, driving in Germany hasn't been all that bad. I don't like driving on the narrow roads that you will sometimes find in some of the towns and parking can be tricky, especially because there is a lot of parallel parking and I've never been all that great at parallel parking!

James bought us a GPS (our British-accent-lady-voiced GPS) almost immediately, so I have that, for the most part, with me always. I particularly love the "Take Me Home" button, where, when all else fails, you simply press that button and it will take you home no matter how far off the beaten path you are! We kind of refer to the GPS as a real person and yell and call "her" names when she doesn't give us quick enough directions! But, it comforts me that as long as I remember to throw the GPS in my bag, I can never truly be lost!(except when it's like the other day when the reception wasn't strong enough and I had to go by my instincts--luckily, I still made it!).

Until later,

Emily

Goal Accomplished!

I like to set goals. Some goals I write down, some goals I tell people about and other goals are in the back of my mind waiting to be accomplished. Today, I accomplished a goal! After living in Germany for two months and then some, I found the post office! James picks up our mail on the base at his work. This is called a CMR. We can only pick up our mail and any packages that might come to our CMR box. There are drop boxes all over all of the American bases that we can drop letters (and bills) in but we hadn't found the APO where we could send out packages. Until today.

I knew there was one on the Airfield base, where Thomas attends preschool. I have driven around many times, figuring I would have to stumble across it. Never did. I referred to a little map that I had, but it was obviously outdated or wrong from the start because the post office definitely wasn't where the map said it was. This afternoon, after driving around a bit, I stopped and asked a soldier for guidance. He told me it was right next to the fitness center and "you can't miss it", which, of course, I did. However, after another 10 minutes of driving around in circles, I finally came across it! It was, indeed, next to the fitness center and it is also pink in color like I had been told in the past. I was also relieved to find that it is one of the buildings that is handicapped accessible which means I can put Toby in the stroller and not have to deal with lifting the stroller up some steps.

I know most "ordinary" goals, for me and my kind, are to lose 5-10 pounds, get a room or a closet (or a house!) organized, clean out the fridge, get caught up with scrapbooking (OK, so not me but maybe my kind since I have not scrapbooked in over seven years and do not plan on ever catching up!) or get the checkbook balanced so my goal may seem a little odd. All the same, it still feels good to finally reach it!

Until later,

Emily

Toby the Crawler

Toby is now crawling--a full two and a half months before his big brother, mind you. And, if he were born full-term, it could have been four months ahead of what I considered an all right baby schedule. I was in no hurry, let me tell you that! He still kind of drags his right leg a little but if he sees somewhere that he wants to be (or something that he wants to get) he makes it there in a straight line and it doesn't take him too long either. We need to get baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs. Luckily, I have a door that I can close my living room and dining room off with and I also have pressurized gates that I can use in doorways. We brought our old gates from MD with us, but I don't know if they will work. Our railing is metal so I'm not quite sure how we can attach a baby gate...I wish my friend EJS was here, she did all the baby gate homework for me with Thomas and I didn't have to do anything except have James stop at Buy Buy Baby in Rockville one night, coming home from work!

Now that Toby is crawling, he is also into everything! Thomas has been more than a little distraught lately because of this, but I laugh it off. Today, Toby climbed up to our entertainment center and helped himself to some of the tractors and trucks stored in the bottom shelf. It's so cute to see a 9-month old baby pushing a tractor--and he was pushing it back and forth like he really knew what he should do with it too!

Until later,

Emily

A Stitch is Not Always a Stitch...

On Friday, I arrived home, just as my neighbor across the street was getting ready to leave. She has two boys as well, hers being almost 5 and almost 3. I noticed that she was more dressed up than normal and I complimented her and how nice she looked. She then explained to me that she had taken the youngest boy to the doctor because "He has a few stitches" (she speaks great English but every once in a while it doesn't flow quite right). Of course, I was immediately concerned and asked if he was OK. She went on to say that she was worried because he had these "stitches" on his body and face and she had heard that there was someone in the neighborhood that has recently had the chicken pox so she took him in just to be sure. So she kept talking about the stitches and I was still kind of confused, wondering what stitches and the chicken pox had to do with one another, until she motioned that something was zooming in and hitting his face. Then it occurred to me; she was talking about bug bites! I then said, "Oh, he has bug bites?" then she says, "Yes, yes!" and had me come look at Artus. Toby also has a few bug bites on his body (but his are bright maraschino cherry red), two on his face and one on his hand, so I mentioned that to her. She said I could save my money for a trip to the doctor now. Thanks, Simone!

Until later,

Emily

A Bob, A Birthday, and A Beautiful Day

This past 3-day weekend can be summarized as such:

A Bob (Saturday): You can call me Victoria Beckham, if you want to, I don't mind! (mimicking Flower from "Bambi"). I got my first German haircut Saturday morning. I now have a stacked, A-line bob. I've had this sort of cut many, many times over the past 10 years, if a head of hair can like a cut, mine likes the stacked, A-line bob. Besides, I needed some help since it is still recovering from having a baby! Anyways as the hairstylist and I were trying to communicate with each other about what I wanted, she said, "like Victoria Beckham?". I felt like that was a great visual so I said, "Yes, only longer!" She did a great job and I spent the rest of the day with a little extra bounce in my step as I imagined everyone I passed might mistake me for a celebrity! (I know, I know, I need help!)

A Birthday (Sunday): I turned 33 on Sunday. It was a nice, relaxing day which started out with me getting up with the kids at 7:30 AM until 8:00 AM when I nudged James out of his blissful slumber and declared, "Um, I think I get a sleep-in today!" He rolled out of bed, took the kids downstairs and kept them quiet. I slept until 11 AM and it felt wonderful! We spent the afternoon unpacking some more and then enjoyed Cajun soup with German baguettes and birthday cake. Later on that evening, we listened to General Conference live from Salt Lake City. We also got to Skype our families, which is always fun!

A Beautiful Day (Monday): On Monday, James had the day off of work. Although we certainly could have spent the day unpacking we decided it was time to do something fun! We've been told it will turn cold very soon so we should use these last warm fall days wisely! We went on a scenic drive along the Rhine River. We saw so many old castles, we lost count. Finally, we stopped in St. Goar, bought some pretzels (by the way, James & I have found German food less than desirable but we do love their bread!), grabbed lunch and then drove up to the St. Goar castle. It was really cool and the whole family had a great time. The view was also spectacular! (I am including some pictures underneath this post).

Until later,

Emily

St. Goar Pictures

Snapshot Sunday

This snapshot was taken this afternoon.

Until later,

Emily

P.S.

Here is a close-up of Toby's mouth (check out those two teeth), he's working on two more right now and has been m-i-s-e-r-a-b-l-e the past two days.

Two Cats Are Better Than One...

As Toby is settling down for his morning nap, I thought I'd sit down and post. He is turning out to be more and more like Thomas in that Thomas was just about nine months old when he settled into two structured naps rather than cat-napping all day long. Consequently, James and I are hoping that he will not adopt his brother's attitude towards eating in three more months (it's the last thing on Thomas' mind).

Oh, about the two cats: we have a new cat, her name is Gypsy the German cat. Which I think is the "purr-fect" name! (I think I'm comical today). She is black and white and very pretty. To be honest, Gypsy is not really our cat. But only one of the neighborhood roaming cats. We have seen her many times in our back yard snooping around. I thought it might be interesting to set out some food for her and see what happened. Well, it turns out she rather appreciates the free meal (just so you know, I'm not surprised) and now feels comfortable enough to curl up on our patio, give herself a bath, and take a nap. It adds interest to mine and Thomas' morning and also gives Tailer (our real cat) something to fret about and puff up and pretend that she's tough. Which, sadly, adds even more interest to our morning!

Until later,

Emily

Random Thought Thursday...

I have been a fan of Gap jeans for almost a decade. My devotion started out with the Boyfriend jean. I spent 2 or 3 years living in those in various washes. Then, to my horror, they were discontinued. But, I painfully moved onto the Flare jean, which I actually loved even more than the Boyfriend. I have had so many Flare jeans I couldn't even begin to count. I tried the Long and Lean but the rise was too low and I never felt very confident in them. A couple years ago, it even looked like they were going to discontinue the Flare, but I guess they changed their minds. And for this, I am very glad.

This summer, I felt the urgency to go out and buy a couple pair of jeans. This was before I found out that gap.com will ship to APO boxes, but that's beyond the point. I bought a pair of Flares in a great wash and then I tried a new cut. I really don't know how "new" this cut is because last year, I had to buy my jeans at Motherhood Maternity and Old Navy (because while I will drop the money for regular jeans at Gap, I refuse to pay the price for maternity jeans). But, I came across a great fit called the Essential and it was new to me! It has a higher rise than the Flare and not quite as tight in the leg as the Flare but still really stylish and v-e-r-y comfortable. Kind of like the Sassy Mom mom jean (don't worry, this has wide legs--not tapered).

Until later,

Emily

P.S. Happy Birthday to my one-and-only brother, Kurt! I hope it's a great one!

Happy Holiday!

Today is an official German holiday. It seems strange to be living in a country where they are celebrating a day that really doesn't mean anything to me. It is relatively early in the day and it is raining (big surprise) so I haven't seen much "celebrating" but I have noticed that all my neighbor's cars are still here. However, last night, I noticed that the park located next to our house was hopping. Like on a Sunday. Then, late last night there were plenty of screaming teenagers living it up and having a great time at the park. I had to laugh last week while attending the "Welcome to Germany" workshop when we were told the legal age for drinking here is 16 but the legal smoking age is 18. Seriously. I suspect there might be a 11 PM curfew though because the screaming and laughing ended promptly at that time.

I searched the web , and cut-n-pasted, a short explanation of the holiday for all of you. Whoever thought that I would attempt a history lesson (this is usually James' territory). Of course, my explanation is much shorter and simpler than his would be, I am sure.

Day of German Unity (Tag der Deutschen Einheit) - October 3 This official German holiday commemorates Germany's reunification in 1990, when East and West Germany once again became one country known as die Bundesrepublik Deutschland (the Federal Republic of Germany). The date reflects the signing of the reunification treaty rather than the actual date of the 1989 opening of the Berlin Wall(November 9). Unfortunately, November 9th is also the date of another event in German history, Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass, when Jewish synagogues and shops were attacked and store windows of Jewish-owned stores were smashed in 1938. So now October 3 is Germany's national holiday.

But, today is basically a normal day for us in the Snow household. Thomas has preschool this afternoon (but not on Friday or next Monday because Friday is a DOD "training day" which is conveniently next to the weekend and Columbus Day) and I will be shopping at the PX and commissary with Toby while Thomas is at school.

Until later,

Emily

Taking a Break...

I'm taking a break from unpacking. We received our HHE shipment on Friday. We were ready by 8 AM, thinking that they would surely arrive sometime between 8-10 AM. Well, 10:30 AM arrived, and James got on the phone to find out what was going on, they then told him it would be about noon. So we were a little irritated about wasting the whole morning (and wishing that James could have gone into work for at least half a day since they only give him 16 hours off to take care of unpacking) but we waited, until 3 PM! Now, as I mentioned last week, our shipment is HUGE. We knew we were in for a long night. It took four guys 6 1/2 hours to unload our shipment and assemble the furniture. Technically, they were supposed to stay and unpack the boxes but there was no way that was happening.

After the moving crew left, we discovered that they hooked our bed frame onto Thomas' headboard and footboard. However, that couldn't be remedied easily because we couldn't find our tool box! We slept on mattresses that night, which was much better than the hardwood floors that we slept on the night before (and I could devote quite a few postings to the fact that I ABSOLUTELY HATE the hardwood floors and tile in my house--more than I EVER imagined--but I won't). We already knew our bed couldn't be put together because we were missing parts. The crew back in MD kindly put all the "parts" in one box so it would be easy to assemble our furniture again but, you guessed it--that box is missing. We have looked and looked and it is nowhere! I have a strong suspicion that it's with our long-term storage now in Virginia. So, we have gone on a couple of shopping trips to find new parts, and luckily everything is together now.

Now we have boxes and boxes to go through. I know people who say they actually like moving. I do not belong to this club! Unpacking our things is a nightmare to me! It's going to take a long while before we can go through everything. German homes do not have closets. We are glad to have a fairly large basement and will probably be buying lots of storage shelving to go down there.

And, my natural instinct to just start throwing away things doesn't work either! Recycle! Recycle! Recycle! I often wonder if we will recycle when we return to the states--after living here, we will certainly be proficient! And for any of you that might be wondering what we're going to do with the 200 boxes in our house--the moving company will come out ONE TIME and get them so for now, our back yard is filled with broken down boxes and many others that are filled with packing paper. I hope my neighbors remain patient.

Until later,

Emily