Random Thought Thursday...

I know some of my blog readers already know this...but some of you don't...

In case you've been wondering, we finally got a renter in our home. He moved in on October 16. He's a single guy, the only one on the contract. However, we quickly found out (it's good to have neighbors) that his mom and girlfriend will be there too. I don't really care, just as long as the rent is paid and they don't destroy the house, but I find it a bit shady that he didn't disclose the information (technically everyone 18 and over is supposed to have a credit check).

Anyways, it will feel good to not make our mortgage payment for a while (he's only signed until June when he can either re-sign or we'll put it back up on the rental market again) and bounce back from the financial drain that moving here has been on our bank account.

Until later,

Emily

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

Random Thought Thursday...

When we arrived in Germany, and to be more specific, when we arrived at our home, I was dismayed to see all the weeds in the front of the house. You see, it is German law that landlords are to turn their homes and yards over in immaculate condition and then we, as renters, are to turn them back in the same condition. But, unfortunately, I have an old, grumpy German landlord who thinks he is above some of the laws--so the weeds were left up to me. I thought, no problem, I needed some weedkiller, there were many weeds with sharp, prickly thorns and I wasn't about to start pulling. Turns out, that was a problem, weed killers here aren't very popular and they certainly aren't very strong. I asked two of my neighbors what I could do (they are German) and both of them kind of gave me the same answer. "Oh, yes, the weeds have been very bad this year and they are hard to kill."

So, what does any girl with a problem that she can't solve on her own do? I called my mom, of course! Mom worked on a package to be sent out to me from the States but in the meantime, found a "homemade" weed killer recipe. It works! And, it works fast! The other great thing about using this kind of weed killer, is that I can have Thomas "help" using a spray bottle of his own and know that he's going to be OK. Of course, he knows he can't put his fingers near his eyes while doing this job, but other than that, it is safe.

So here is the recipe:

Homemade Weed Killer

1 gallon white vinegar
1 cup table salt
1 Tablespoon dishsoap

Directions: remove two cups vinegar from the gallon, add salt and soap, mix gently. Add back in removed two cups of vinegar.

Until later,

Emily

4:04 AM

4:04 AM. The exact minute that my good nights sleep ended. Thomas came into our room and I thought, "oh, no James' illness has spread". But, not yet. Thomas has a bad head cold and was complaining of not being able to breathe out of his nose. Before rolling over, James was so very helpful in suggesting that I give Thomas some medicine(do ya think?!). It took about 30 minutes for the medicine to kick in but by that time Thomas was awake. It took about two hours for him to go back to sleep. He went from our bed, to his bed, to the rug in our room many times before sleep finally kicked in.

Our HHE delivery has been rescheduled for Friday. Our shipment "is too large" to be delivered today. If I have to be reminded one more time that we shipped out too much stuff I think I am going to scream. I know, I know, OK? But, all in all, I think a Friday delivery is going to work out fine. The army furniture will be picked up on Thursday so our house will be nearly empty on Friday when our things from the States are delivered. Which means, we're going to have our own "sleepover adventure" Thursday night when James, Thomas and I get to sleep on the floor (Toby has been sleeping in a pack-n-play, which is ours, so it's not going anywhere).

Until later,

Emily

Happy Fall!

Fall is officially here! Although, it has felt like Fall to me almost from the first day that we arrived in Germany. It is beautiful here with all the trees and the foliage. I take Thomas to preschool on the autobahn but each day as we come home, I choose to take the "scenic route" and look at the leaves (it's only five minutes longer).

James is back from his trip to Russia. He will travel again on October 14 and will be gone for a week. He has been very sick all weekend long. He has to stay close to a bathroom, if you get what I mean. For all our sakes, we hope it is from something he ate while traveling. I will be cleaning bathrooms and disinfecting like crazy today in effort to keep the rest of the family healthy, in case it is a virus.

On a positive note, I had the wonderful Hans and Helga over last Thursday to hang curtains in the house. They were here for 4 1/2 hours and hung all that I had. I was short a few curtain rods, (I thought there were multiples in a box, but there weren't and the next day, they came in the mail!) but the place seems better now that we have some curtains.

We also got the spectacular news that our HHE (our goods that came by ship) have arrived!! I found out this morning that it will be delivered tomorrow (Tuesday). James will be given Tuesday and Thursday off to unpack and organize all of our belongings... but I think it will take at least a month to get organized. We brought out too much stuff, we just know it. And, it always seems to take forever to get things hung up on the walls. And, unfortunately, we will have our stuff and the army stuff here in our little house for a few days which should prove to be tons of fun!

Yesterday, was the Primary program in our ward. Primary is the children's organization in our church. Last year, Thomas wouldn't even sit up in the front and sing the songs, not to mention do his little part. We were very proud this year, when he happily went up front and fully participated. When it came to the individual parts--he even went first!! Way to go Thomas!

This Wednesday, James and I will be taking a "Welcome to Germany" course along with the two other "new couples" at James' work. It is an eight-hour class. Day-care has been arranged on-site that we have to pay for, but at least we didn't have to come up with our own arrangements. Then, that night I have a meeting at our church house, as I have been asked to be a Relief Society teacher, which means I will lead the topic of discussion once a month, on Sunday, to the other women who aren't serving either the young children or the teenagers in our church.

So, as you can tell, we are going to be very busy this week!

Until later,

Emily

Random Thought Thursday...

A Hairy Situation:

Eight months after giving birth to Toby, I am happy to announce that my hair has stopped falling out in near clumps each day. Some of you may know that I was starting to get worried in May-June when this didn't seem to be slowing down and my pathetic pony tail was getting tinier by the week. I had some blood tests done in June and was hoping that something would show up--but no, it was just the body adjusting! So, now, I have about a ba-jillion (it's my blog--I can make up words if I want to!) 1/2 inch to 2 inch strands shooting out from my head. My hair's still pretty lifeless but it will get better over time.

Until later,

Emily

Not Quite the Day I had Planned...

James is in Russia this week, gone on his first assignment for DTRA since moving here. He will be back late Thursday night. To break up the monotony of the days, and because Thomas doesn't have preschool on Tuesdays, I had planned to get out the door hopefully by 10 AM to do some shopping at the local IKEA and perhaps check out the Toys-R-Us next door. The whole family shopped at IKEA a couple of weekends ago, but since James was with us and we had other things to do, we didn't get to stay nearly long enough! I had told Thomas of the plan and he was excited because, for some strange reason, he loved our IKEA experience. He was all for shopping, eating lunch there and shopping some more. We drive by there every day on our way to the preschool and he always asks to go there.

Alas, the shopping "on the economy" was not meant to be today. Either Toby is coming down with another cold, or his teeth are bothering him or more teeth are coming--or a combination of all--but he was not happy at all this morning! There was no way I was taking the screaming baby out if I could help it. To top it off, it rained all day long.

I ended up just cleaning the house when Toby was having a good moment or when he was asleep. His mood got better after 4 PM and then I was really able to get a lot done. Thomas was a good sport about not going out today. I was also able to cut his hair. He's had three haircuts since we moved here! I cut it a little shorter today in hopes that I won't have to do it again for at least a month.

Until later,

Emily

P.S. Thomas' face is not dirty. His lips are chapped.

A First...

So, this morning, at about 10:45 there was a ring at my door. I opened the door to a dark-haired woman dressed in robes, every other tooth capped in gold, big gold hoop earrings and she was holding a plastic sack. She started speaking to me in a foreign language, but that's not uncommon these days. She handed me a card that was in German. I had no idea who she was, what she wanted or what she was selling. Luckily, my friend, Ute, who works for the relocation service that works for us (Koenig Relocation Services)had dropped by to give me a replacement to the broken knob on my oven. Ute stepped right in, started yelling at her and started shutting the door. The woman started pleading, "Please, oh please" and Ute kept shutting the door. Initially I thought Ute was being rather rude, but I let her do her thing because I was clueless.

Once the door was closed, Ute informed me that I had just had my first encounter with a Romanian beggar! She was pleading for money! She asked for 10 euro then 5 euro then change. And Ute said more than likely she (the beggar)had parked her Mercedes around the corner! Ute told me it is completely illegal and we could call the police and that if the woman were to hang out in the neighborhood for long, Ute was sure the police would be called by someone. She told me that she never answers the door when she sees someone like this. Sometimes they can get violent even though this woman did not. Lesson learned.

Until later,

Emily

Saturday Shopping

For the most part, we have spent every Saturday since we arrived here, shopping. Mainly, we have done regular shopping--grocery shopping and gathering things for our empty house. But, since I now have wheels (and dare to use them) my goal has been to get us out of that rut! I am happy to tell you all that we didn't do any regular shopping at all yesterday! And yet, we still spent a good portion of the day....shopping. But, it's OK because this was fun! We went to a big bazaar at the Ramstein Airforce Base. We got to see all kinds of foreign goods. We came home with quite a few bags and lots of ideas about "next year" and "the next time we go to one of these things". The weather was wonderful--in the 70's and sunny. Thomas had a great time, we bought him a toy dog that is hooked to a pole that has flappy feet and he walked the darn thing the rest of the day. The only downside was that strollers weren't allowed. So, we had to carry Toby all day long. He is a 20-pound lug (I'm guessing)! Fortunately, we knew this ahead of time, so I brought my Hotslings baby carrier. They allowed strollers on Thursday and Friday so I told James to make a mental note that next year we will go on one of those days because there is no way we're not putting Toby (as a 20-monther)in a stroller--that would be a total nightmare!

Until later,

Emily

A Few Pictures...

Here are a few pics taken on August 18th. This was when it was still somewhat warm. This is in a different region of Eppstein, about 10 minutes away from our home. We spent the afternoon walking around the town, touring the castle and having lunch.

Until later,

Emily

The Air Freight is Here!

It's here...it's in our house! It came on Monday. It's been like Christmas here. Literally, it had left our presence so long ago that we had forgotten what exactly we had packed. Mainly, it was clothes and jackets which were much, much needed. Our linens. Toby's exersaucer was in it. It's been so nice to have something else for him to "do". Luckily, I've had the Johny Jumper for a while, but if any of you noticed in the pictures, even that has had to be tweaked. Our doorways in this house are much shorter than our home in Maryland. I had to knot up the johny jumper for it to work. I packed my drying rack, my laundry baskets and my hampers--hooray I think it's hard not having those things. I didn't pack bathroom rugs which I wish I had. Some of our kitchen things came and I packed cookbooks. I never thought I'd actually say I missed cooking but after eating frozen food and box-kits for over a month, I'm ready to cook a meal or two!

Onto a different subject, I had a rough night last night with Toby. He has a head cold. :( Prematurity set aside, he has been a really easy baby and I have had so few sleepless nights--so when I do have a sleepless night, it hits me hard. Also, I feel like I'm getting the same cold, so getting no sleep isn't going to help. I think it will be an early Diet Coke morning!

Until later,

Emily

Toby's 8-month birthday

Happy 8-month Birthday Toby!

Poor, Poor Toby!

Toby woke up this morning with a second tooth. So now, he has the two bottom teeth in the front. Poor baby!

Until later,

Emily

Milestone Moment...

Today I discovered that Toby got his first tooth!

Until later,

Emily

Toby and the Magic Carpet

Here is Toby on one of the four Turkish rugs that we purchased on Monday. Our house has all tile floors/hardwood floors so we have a lot to cover. As I've mentioned before, Toby is just about ready to crawl. He has been so happy since we got these rugs. This one and it's twin pretty much cover our living room. And yet, he still manages to find the few areas that don't have rug covering and that's when I hear the cry. . . I must "rescue" him 100 times a day.

Until later,

Emily

First Day of Preschool

After all the worrying, Thomas was able to start preschool yesterday--just as planned. Yesterday morning was hectic, with his health assessment appointment which resulted in him having to begin a Hepatitis A shot series (I felt REALLY bad because I promised him that he wouldn't have to have any shots), then we went over and had the preschool orientation, which was helpful but a little long. By the time we finished up with that, we had 45 minutes until the start of preschool. I loaded the kids up in the car and drove to the food court for a quick bite to eat. And when I say quick, I mean quick. I should also mention that the food court isn't handicap accessible so I have to pick of the stroller with Toby in it (it's not too fun but I am getting strong) We had 12 minutes to scarf down lunch so that I could again, load up the kids, park and unload them yet again.

I walked Thomas into the classroom and he was a little nervous. One of the teachers asked him if he would be her helper today and that seemed to do the trick. I stuck around for another couple of minutes, but I don't think he even noticed me leaving. When I returned three hours later, he had a smile on his face and I knew everything had gone well.

When we got in the car and I had a chance to talk to Thomas, he reported that he liked his new preschool and was excited to go back tomorrow. Too bad I only signed him up for three days a week, he can't go back until Friday! Perhaps I'll consider signing him up for five days a week in the spring(it is an option).

I am also happy to report that I believe we have solved most of our voicemail problems. The relocation service that we work closely with called the phone company and they, in turn called me so that I could request that our voicemail service be switched to English. Now it sounds like Morgan Freeman is answering our phone!* We also have the number to check our voicemail so--to our parents (you are the only ones that have called us so far)but also to anyone else, if you call us, and we don't answer, you can leave a message and we will receive it!

Until later,

Emily

*Since originally posting this, I have been able to change the automated message and leave my own message.

The Feeling of Frustration is Slowly Taking Over My Body!

Thomas was supposed to start preschool tomorrow afternoon. I got him on "the list" over two weeks ago. I thought it was a little strange that I never heard anything from the preschool last week about the first day of school, especially when the head person had mentioned that she was going to have an open house sort of thing. Today, I thought I'd make a phone call myself to find out what was going on.

Well, they did have the open house last week and apparently, we missed it. And we missed it because we didn't know anything about it! He's now not on the list and we have to start over with the whole process! I am supposed to call tomorrow morning at 6 AM and talk to Miss Ginny about making an appointment. If there are any openings, he may start tomorrow but not before we meet with them first.

Now, I bet you all think I'm frustrated at the preschool. But, no, I'm actually not. They tried to call, they might have even left a message, which I may or may not receive today, tomorrow or sometime this month!

We still do not have our fancy-shmancy phones from the phone company and our voicemail is set up in German. We have discovered that some people are leaving messages and then, to their frustration, we don't call back. Or, like with the preschool, I am sure they assumed that we were no longer interested and that we didn't even bother to call them and let them know. But,
we don't know how to access our voicemail, not to mention switch the language to English. I'm going to try to contact someone at our relocation service (German) to help us with the phones. Enough is enough!

Adding to my frustration is trying to get in touch with James while he is at work. He doesn't have voicemail at all at his work and a lot of times, when he is away from his desk, it will ring a few times at his desk and then be re-routed to one of his coworkers that works on the same team. His co-workers seem very nice, but when I am trying to get in touch with James, I don't want to make small talk with his workmate and then leave a message for James to call home! What is worse is when everyone is away from their desk! I don't like the feeling of "what if this were an emergency? I have been calling every 10 minutes for the past 30 minutes and I can't get a hold of anyone!"

Gee. . . this is great therapy!

Until later,

Emily

Second Car Update

It looks like we will be renting a car for quite a while, more like seven weeks. Because, apparently, that's how long it takes for a custom-ordered Mini Cooper to be delivered!

Pentagon Sales offers a pretty good deal on BMW's and Mini's. Our Mini Cooper will be Pepper White (cream) with black bonnet stripes and a black top with many extras that we wanted but without some things that we felt we could live without too. I guess that's what custom-ordered means, right? It will have American specs and part of the deal is that Pentagon Sales will ship it to the states when we move back.

Until later,

Emily

Similarities. . .

Yesterday we attended church. We attended the military ward again. This is most likely the ward that we will attend regularly. It is very small. It takes about 30 minutes to drive there. As we sat down during Sacrament Meeting, I took a look at the congregation. I think it's so funny that you can find people that remind you of people that you already know. For instance, when we moved to Frederick, I immediately thought Guyanna S. reminded me of my Aunt Barbie, except Guyanna is blonde. When I was introduced to Leah L., I immediately associated her with my childhood friend, Heather L.

There is a woman in the military ward that could be Maren V.'s sister. But she also reminds me a little bit of Lynette S. There is a blonde family that could rival the Lund family, there are even three kids in that family! Something about the Bishop reminded me of Bishop Duke, I think it was his voice. Another girl reminded me a lot of my cousin Monica. And, I've made a friend, Amy, who reminds me of my two cousin-in-law's, Taleesha and Tiffany put together.

Until later,

Emily

Our auto arrived!

James has been using a company car, he was told he could have it for 10 business days. Today is the last day--he has to turn it in or could be at risk to lose 30 days pay. We still haven't been able to buy a car and when we went to rent a car, we found out that they are all rented out due to the holiday weekend. We were in a bind. But, no, we were in luck, I got a phone call yesterday morning telling me that our Kia Rondo had arrived! So far, this is about the only thing that has gone smoothly for us. It wasn't guaranteed until September 12 although we had hoped it would come maybe at the end of next week. This was totally unexpected.

James spent most of the morning rushing around, getting insurance then getting it licensed and filling out and finding all the paperwork necessary to claim it. He had to go back to work and work so we weren't able to pick it up until this morning. It was like Christmas morning when we got through all the paper processing and we walked into the garage where it was parked.

So, after getting the carseats in the car (Thomas insisted on going in our car--he was also excited to be reunited with it), gassing up and going through a car wash, I was almost immediately driving on the autobahn. It wasn't all that bad. And, we made it home in one piece!

The other great piece of news that we received yesterday is that our airfreight also came in! It's at the airport now and James has to deal with customs and arrange for delivery so we probably won't have it until next week. We're not quite sure how airfreight takes as long as a car that came by ship but I don't think we'll ever have that answer. That's OK. I'm just glad to know where it is and know that we will have it soon. The rest of our things should arrive in October. Hmm, we'll see!

Until later,

Emily

German drivers beware. . .

I took my German driver's test today and. . . passed! But, as I told my friend that also took it today, today we had to think in a way to pass a test and once we got our licenses, we could actually learn how to drive here! Now, if only I had a car. . . one thing at a time, right?

Until later,

Emily

One thing. . .

One thing I like about my neighborhood--as you approach my street there is a sign that indicates that pedestrians and kids playing in the street actually have the right-of-way. Talk about "kid-friendly"!

One thing I dislike about my neighborhood--at night when everyone returns home from their day, there are far too many cars and far too few places to park. We don't have a driveway so we rely entirely on street parking. Our side of the house has been vacant for 3-4 months, so naturally the spaces by our home have kind of been taken over by the neighbors. Right now, most of them assume that we are a one-car family. The battle will be "on" when the Kia Rondo arrives in a week or two!

Until later,

Emily

Bad day, Good day. . .

Yesterday, after sending James out the door, I managed to get showered and dressed, get the boys fed and dressed and I was ready to do something with my day by 8:30. Please understand that this is VERY GOOD for me!

So, I thought it was time to tackle the answering machine. We still do not have the fancy phones that are supposed to come from the phone company which we have already paid for. . . so we bought a phone last week and a basic answering machine last weekend. The wiring is a bit different and I spent about an hour and a half trying to get it to work, only to give up. I think I need some sort of an adaptor. Then, I went on to mow the lawn. We have an electric mower, which James' work gave us. However, the extension cord would not work. After buying a new extension cord, I thought we were good to go. No. No. No! We could plug in the mower into the new extension cord, but there was still no power. I could not figure it out to save my life and once again had to give up. Two hours later, I had accomplished nothing. No answering service, and I still had a very overgrown backyard.

The day improved when I received a phone call from Hans and Helga. They are the cutest German couple that work with our relocation company and help fix up our rental properties. I had a list of odds and ends that needed to be worked on. They also brought my little rugs for my stairs going to the bedrooms. What a difference they make! I also had them replace the blinds in the two upstairs bathrooms. The landlord actually put it in the lease that he didn't want the old, dingy, dirty, bent ones provided, removed. I figured if we replaced them with the same style it shouldn't matter. I didn't ask, I just did it!

Probably some time next week, Hans and Helga will return and spend the day at my home hanging curtains. I put the order into JCPenney and I hope that everything will work out. Helga is going to have to shorten some of the curtains that I bought but she didn't seem to think it was a big deal.

While Hans and Helga were finishing up, I ended up with the neighbor boy in my backyard--he knew exactly how to start up my lawn mower and showed me how (it was a no brainer after he showed my once) but then he insisted on mowing it for me.

Until later,

Emily

Sickness has hit our household. . . .

Sunday morning, James complained of not feeling so well. I thought it was a lame excuse to wiggle out of going to church. So, I kind of rolled my eyes at him and went to study the driver's license exam. He hacked and whined and I was sort of irritated. I did start feeling bad when he started to throw up and complain of being cold in what I would consider a too warm of a house.

He threw up some more and then I sent him to stay in Thomas' room. I figured it would be better to sort of quarantine him there and keep Thomas in our room. Toby's already there--so why not have a party? (sidenote: I had moved Toby into his own room in Frederick for one week, but then when we got here, he ended up back in our room again, once the curtains are hung, he'll go into his own room). Thomas thought it was cool sleeping in the same room as Toby and Mom.

Yesterday, James did not come into our room to shower at the expected time. I thought, for sure, that he was going to call in sick. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he was going to try to go to work. He went in, about an hour later, than normal and made it through the day. He came home, had dinner and was in bed before 9:30. He said he's feeling better this morning but still not 100%. I am washing sheets today and hoping for the best.

Until later,

Emily

One big mistake. . .

Although we have only been here for two weeks, we are already finding ourselves saying "If we ever do this sort of thing again, we're going to do this and that differently" one of the top regrets we have is selling our second car. We were told that it is easy to find a car, and that you can get a good deal. We have not found that to be the case at all. Sure, we can find lots of BMW's for 50$--however, that's not what we're looking for. The equivalent to our Hyundai Elantra is going for twice what we sold ours for with double or triple the miles! We think back to our paid off 2004 with very low miles and really wish that we would have paid for the second car to be shipped.

Until later,

Emily

Getting Ahead of the Laundry. . .

I know that many of my friends have a hard time staying on top of their laundry. I also have this problem. Until recently. I have stumbled upon the solution! The reason we have a hard time keeping up with the laundry is simply because we have way too many clothes!

We came here two weeks ago tomorrow, with only the few clothes packed in our bags. We all had about a weeks worth of outfits. Now let me just say that there has been a 20-35 degree difference in the temperature from MD to Germany so my small selection became even smaller once I stepped off the plane. Away went two pair of shorts, now I have four pair of capris and a pair of jeans to choose from. All my tops still work out, but I wish I had some long-sleeved items. Luckily, I packed jackets for me and the kids, Thomas has a pair of jeans and Toby has two pair of pull-on cotton pants. James wasn't so prepared. He has all shorts and short-sleeves in his casual selection. At least he has an adequate work wardrobe here.

You all might be wondering why we don't just go out and by some warmer clothes? It is because we are thinking that any day now our air freight will appear. Yes, this is the very same air freight that we were lead to believe would be delivered within days of us getting here or maybe even before we arrived. It's not here. We have no idea where it is. You bet we are frustrated.

So, back to my original thought, it is pretty darn easy to keep up on laundry when you don't have much to choose from! I do a couple small loads each day and it's no problem!

Until later,

Emily

Getting Started. . .

A couple of months ago, I decided that I would need to start blogging soon. I have a few friends that have blogs that I have followed for nearly a year now, and I have quite enjoyed keeping up with them through their blogs. I started a blog similar to this in June, only I never actually posted and my memory failed me with the title, email address, and password. Jana was able to help me with the blog address, but the rest never came to me and when I tried to "hack" into it, it was a nightmare. Everything was in German, even though our computer is set to be in English. Anyways, I have started over today (and I think I have everything set to English). Not much is lost, except the time I spent trying to access my old blog.

Well, getting started. . . for safety's sake, I will be using "alias names" in this blog. No, we are not using these names while we are in Germany. We use our real names here. We are named after Thomas the Train characters. I am Emily or I am also referred to as the Highlight Addict in the blog world already. My husband is James, our oldest is Thomas and our baby is Toby.

In June, when I announced to James that I would be starting a blog, he got very upset. Apparently, at his company, they frown upon blogs. Never being one to be told what to do, especially when it is combined with the word, "NO", I responded that I do not work for his company and therefore would move forward with my plans to blog. However, I will not be posting much about his new job, old job or anything in between and would appreciate it very much if any of your replies also don't inquire or hint at anything about his occupation past/present. It will keep the peace in the family. Things that you might hear about his job will be things like, "James is working late tonight" or "James is out-of-town", not too exciting, I know.

So, this blog will mainly be about my daily life and the daily life of my family. You will probably get bored very quickly when you realize that my life in Germany is just about as mudane as my life in the states! I will include pictures, once I figure out this blog system and how to use our new laptop computer.

I read somewhere recently that it takes nearly 100 blog posts before you gain your "voice". So, please bear with me in this. . . mainly, I hope to keep all those that want to, up to date with us especially now that we are so far away and 6-9 times zones apart! Thank goodness for the internet!

I can't promise that I will post daily, but I hope to post multiple times a week or at the very least, weekly.

Until later,

Emily