Views of the little park/garden area in the middle of downtown Mannheim next to where the market was set up.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Christmas Market!
Arriving right before Christmas didn't leave me much time to get to too many Christmas markets, but I did manage to hit up one in Mannheim with some friends. I miss this place so much!
Friday, December 20, 2013
Germany here we come!
I've been looking forward to and dreading this day at the same time for a while now. I love Germany and I love being back in civilization and normally I would look for any excuse to visit. However, leaving behind Shelby and Colin five days before Christmas just sucks, no matter how you look at it. Germany is fun, but not nearly as fun and nice without your family there to experience it with you. For those that do not know pregnant women stationed at Lajes have a choice to either deliver on the island at the local Portuguese hospital, or to go to the nearest military hospital to storknest, which is Landstuhl, Germany.
The clinical/medical care on the island is for the most part adequate, I mean Portuguese women have their babies there every day and they live to tell the story. However it is a VERY different atmosphere than what we are used to with American care and there really is no focus at all on patient care. The doctor is in charge, they do what they need to without asking or telling you and you don't have much say in anything. An epidural is a possibility, but not a guarantee or even likely. Think 1950's America. Men do not have a place in the labor and delivery room and might be invited to pop in just as the baby is being shown to the mother. Then they are kicked back out and only allowed to come visit mother and baby during the very strict visiting hours of 3:30-4:30 and 6:30-7:00 each day. Laboring is done in a shared room and delivery is hopefully done in an individual delivery room. But I have a friend who watched a lady have a baby right across the room from her because their delivery room was occupied. Normal deliveries require a 3 day hospital stay and C-sections a 5 day stay. I asked what happens if you tell them to stick it, you are fine and going home, basically they refuse to issue or sign a birth certificate if you do. I listened to stories from people who have delivered there, some happy with their choice and some not, but in the end I really want Shelby to be able to be a part of the birth and they cannot guarantee me that on the island. I also don't particularly care to embark on a cultural experience when it comes to childbirth. Shelby has been absolutely adamant from day one that I HAD to go to Germany. He would hear nothing of me staying on the island because he did not like that there is no NICU and the hospital is really not equipped to handle any kind of complications. If anything were to go wrong with either me or the baby during the birth we'd all be getting a helicopter ride to a larger island nearby in hopes that they could care for us there at the slightly larger hospital. In the end he's right, you just never know what might go wrong and if I chose to stay on the island and something happened to the baby because they needed a NICU or care they couldn't get I'd never forgive myself. So Germany it is.
I was super sad the day I had to go, I've never been away from Colin that long so that was tough. I know deployed people are apart from their families all the time, but in some cases I think being told to deploy is easier than making a voluntary choice to leave your family behind. If my job told me you will go here and when I'd be ok with it, but I personally made the choice to leave knowing when I'd have to go and what I'd miss and that sucks. It sucks that I had to make the choice and make it tough on one kid in order to do what is best for my other child. As hard as it was to leave Colin I know at this age he honestly likes Shelby better anyway and is probably barely phased by my absence, at least for the first few days or so. I know Shelby will take excellent care of him and I'm not really worried about Colin at all. Cooper on the other hand, is my baby, and as crazy as it sounds I am more worried about my dog when I am gone than my skin kid! LOL Coop is so used to me being home all day with him, I walk him every morning rain or shine, he snuggles with me and is generally spoiled by me at all times. Shelby loves the dog but he doesn't spoil him or baby him the way I do and I've been so stressed about how he will do while I am gone and how Shelby will take care of him.
We all went to the airport and Shelby and Colin said goodbye. I cried a little but did pretty well. Colin didn't cry but he did seem a little sad in the car and when they got to school and it was lunchtime. Shelby went to school with him and he said he didn't talk much during lunch and on Fridays after they eat they get to do a silly dance in the cafeteria, he said Colin wasn't as into the dancing at first but he did finally get into and let it lift his mood a bit. Once they got to the classroom and it was time to decorate gingerbread cookies and go on a school wide search for the gingerbread man he was happy again.
We boarded the plane about 30 minutes later than scheduled and then once on the plane we sat for 30 minutes waiting to leave. Then the pilot came on and said they were missing some documents and it would be another 30 minutes before we could go. Lovely...an hour of sitting on the plane before we even get to take off for our 2.5 hour flight. Yuck! Once we finally did take off and after they served us the snack it was about halfway through the flight when a flight attendant came and asked me to come with her. I figured it had something to do with the controllers back at Lajes and I was right. She walked me to the front of the plane through first class and into the cockpit! The pilots greeted me and told me to sit down for a bit. They explained the flight was totally full and they had no first class seats available but that I could ride for the rest of the flight in the cockpit with them if I wanted to. Um, OF COURSE I WANT TO! LOL It was definitely awesome and cheered me up a bit. Lisbon from the air was beautiful and watching us land there from the cockpit totally changed my impression of the city. We had stayed overnight there once, near the airport, and it seemed kind of dirty and run down. There were several sights from the air though that looked very nice and worth visiting. Colin was very excited to hear about my riding up there, but I made sure not to point it out to him that his baby brother had already done something he had not! I got a few pictures, but nothing fabulous since I wasn't really supposed to be taking pictures up there, the pilots were kind enough to let me snap a few.
The clinical/medical care on the island is for the most part adequate, I mean Portuguese women have their babies there every day and they live to tell the story. However it is a VERY different atmosphere than what we are used to with American care and there really is no focus at all on patient care. The doctor is in charge, they do what they need to without asking or telling you and you don't have much say in anything. An epidural is a possibility, but not a guarantee or even likely. Think 1950's America. Men do not have a place in the labor and delivery room and might be invited to pop in just as the baby is being shown to the mother. Then they are kicked back out and only allowed to come visit mother and baby during the very strict visiting hours of 3:30-4:30 and 6:30-7:00 each day. Laboring is done in a shared room and delivery is hopefully done in an individual delivery room. But I have a friend who watched a lady have a baby right across the room from her because their delivery room was occupied. Normal deliveries require a 3 day hospital stay and C-sections a 5 day stay. I asked what happens if you tell them to stick it, you are fine and going home, basically they refuse to issue or sign a birth certificate if you do. I listened to stories from people who have delivered there, some happy with their choice and some not, but in the end I really want Shelby to be able to be a part of the birth and they cannot guarantee me that on the island. I also don't particularly care to embark on a cultural experience when it comes to childbirth. Shelby has been absolutely adamant from day one that I HAD to go to Germany. He would hear nothing of me staying on the island because he did not like that there is no NICU and the hospital is really not equipped to handle any kind of complications. If anything were to go wrong with either me or the baby during the birth we'd all be getting a helicopter ride to a larger island nearby in hopes that they could care for us there at the slightly larger hospital. In the end he's right, you just never know what might go wrong and if I chose to stay on the island and something happened to the baby because they needed a NICU or care they couldn't get I'd never forgive myself. So Germany it is.
I was super sad the day I had to go, I've never been away from Colin that long so that was tough. I know deployed people are apart from their families all the time, but in some cases I think being told to deploy is easier than making a voluntary choice to leave your family behind. If my job told me you will go here and when I'd be ok with it, but I personally made the choice to leave knowing when I'd have to go and what I'd miss and that sucks. It sucks that I had to make the choice and make it tough on one kid in order to do what is best for my other child. As hard as it was to leave Colin I know at this age he honestly likes Shelby better anyway and is probably barely phased by my absence, at least for the first few days or so. I know Shelby will take excellent care of him and I'm not really worried about Colin at all. Cooper on the other hand, is my baby, and as crazy as it sounds I am more worried about my dog when I am gone than my skin kid! LOL Coop is so used to me being home all day with him, I walk him every morning rain or shine, he snuggles with me and is generally spoiled by me at all times. Shelby loves the dog but he doesn't spoil him or baby him the way I do and I've been so stressed about how he will do while I am gone and how Shelby will take care of him.
We all went to the airport and Shelby and Colin said goodbye. I cried a little but did pretty well. Colin didn't cry but he did seem a little sad in the car and when they got to school and it was lunchtime. Shelby went to school with him and he said he didn't talk much during lunch and on Fridays after they eat they get to do a silly dance in the cafeteria, he said Colin wasn't as into the dancing at first but he did finally get into and let it lift his mood a bit. Once they got to the classroom and it was time to decorate gingerbread cookies and go on a school wide search for the gingerbread man he was happy again.
We boarded the plane about 30 minutes later than scheduled and then once on the plane we sat for 30 minutes waiting to leave. Then the pilot came on and said they were missing some documents and it would be another 30 minutes before we could go. Lovely...an hour of sitting on the plane before we even get to take off for our 2.5 hour flight. Yuck! Once we finally did take off and after they served us the snack it was about halfway through the flight when a flight attendant came and asked me to come with her. I figured it had something to do with the controllers back at Lajes and I was right. She walked me to the front of the plane through first class and into the cockpit! The pilots greeted me and told me to sit down for a bit. They explained the flight was totally full and they had no first class seats available but that I could ride for the rest of the flight in the cockpit with them if I wanted to. Um, OF COURSE I WANT TO! LOL It was definitely awesome and cheered me up a bit. Lisbon from the air was beautiful and watching us land there from the cockpit totally changed my impression of the city. We had stayed overnight there once, near the airport, and it seemed kind of dirty and run down. There were several sights from the air though that looked very nice and worth visiting. Colin was very excited to hear about my riding up there, but I made sure not to point it out to him that his baby brother had already done something he had not! I got a few pictures, but nothing fabulous since I wasn't really supposed to be taking pictures up there, the pilots were kind enough to let me snap a few.
That leg of the flight was definitely the highlight of my trip. I was first off the plane in Lisbon and got my Pizza Hut and Starbucks fix before boarding my next plane to Frankfurt. It was very late by the time my plane arrived and I collected my bags and signed for the rental car. I think I made it to the hotel near the airport around midnight. I'm so glad I decided to stay there instead of driving into Ramstein that night.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
Almost Ready for Baby!
Since I am pretty much out of time now I've been forced to work in the baby's room and get things organized and set up. I spent most of Sunday and Monday in the room getting things ready. It is about 80% done now and only a few final things are needed to be completely ready.
The dresser in the picture is borrowed from the base, we have one ordered that matches the furniture but it is still on the boat, which has been delayed twice now, and is not supposed to arrive until after I leave for Germany. So I decided to borrow one for organization purposes and that way we can put away clothes and blankets now, then whenever we get the purchased dresser and have time to put it together we can swap it out. The room is also very small and narrow, but really how big of a room does a baby need to sleep in anyway? We thought it was silly to waste the larger extra bedroom for the baby since he doesn't need the space to play in the room.
I may or may not leave the rocking chair in the room, not sure yet. I love the monkey decals!
The crib and bedding set. Colin got to pick out the theme for the baby's room and decided how it should be decorated. He did a great job, I love it!
The changing table area. I need a few more storage cubes to hide the mess on the shelves, then we are good to go. This wall also needs repainted to cover some patched holes from the shelving we had up on the walls before it became the nursery.
There isn't a closet in this room so I turned an old bookshelf into a small closet with some tension rods. Thanks Pinterest!
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Visiting Santa
We took Colin to see Santa today. He got a little shy once inside because of all the chaos and crowd, but he did what he needed to do. He sat with Santa and told him what he would like for Christmas (Cars airplanes, fighter jets and Lego Star Wars sets) and took a picture. The Grinch was also there but Colin still didn't want to meet him.
After Colin took his picture the manager told us to hang on and brought out some silly hats and suggested the whole family take a silly picture. I was not exactly prepared for a picture being that I was tired and still recovering from Christmas party pains, but the picture did turn out silly.
Afterwards Colin wanted to take the donkey carriage ride and ride the pony.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Christmas Party
We had our squadron Christmas party this weekend. I planned ahead and made sure I had a fancy tent dress to wear for the occasion, however I failed to consider shoes. I didn't give much thought to shoes until about 10 minutes prior to leaving the house and 20 minutes after Shelby's scheduled departure time. My first choice would have been a pair of awesome red heels that look something like this:
However even if it were possible to cram my swollen feet into those shoes, I'm pretty sure remaining upright for any length of time would be damn near impossible given my clumsy pregnant status. The heel is too high and I have a hard enough time walking in them in a non pregnant status. I'm not trying to visit the ER here ever again. After trying on every pair of potential flat choices in my closet nothing was right and I decided to go with the strappy black heels that are not as high as the red shoes. Painful but doable. Now it was time to pour into some pantyhose. In case you were wondering, there are two things pregnant women are never, ever, meant to wear. And they are pantyhose and high heels. I even bought the biggest size pantyhose I could get my hands on at the BX. No good, clearly the Hanes company has no clue what a 180 pound woman actually looks like.
But there I was, squeezed into the pantyhose and hoping they didn't cut off circulation to my lower half (wait, would that make the swelling go down?) or cause my water to break when Shelby decided to come upstairs and "notify" me that we should have left 20 minutes ago. Apparently he was unaware I was wielding a weapon and being tortured by pantyhose. He's lucky I didn't hurl a shoe at his head, and perhaps the only reason I didn't was because I would have had to bend over and pick it up, which is no easy task at this stage. Instead I looked at him like he had three heads and tried not to scream "DON'T JUST STAND THERE, HELP ME!!!" Can he not see that I am trying to blindly buckle the ankle strap on a pair of shoes that is so small it's virtually nonexistent because I cannot see (and can barely reach) my feet? Sheesh. By the time I wrestled on the pantyhose and the shoes I was unsure I even had the energy to attend the damn party. But I did. We had fun. They played some games which resulted in men looking like this:
However even if it were possible to cram my swollen feet into those shoes, I'm pretty sure remaining upright for any length of time would be damn near impossible given my clumsy pregnant status. The heel is too high and I have a hard enough time walking in them in a non pregnant status. I'm not trying to visit the ER here ever again. After trying on every pair of potential flat choices in my closet nothing was right and I decided to go with the strappy black heels that are not as high as the red shoes. Painful but doable. Now it was time to pour into some pantyhose. In case you were wondering, there are two things pregnant women are never, ever, meant to wear. And they are pantyhose and high heels. I even bought the biggest size pantyhose I could get my hands on at the BX. No good, clearly the Hanes company has no clue what a 180 pound woman actually looks like.
But there I was, squeezed into the pantyhose and hoping they didn't cut off circulation to my lower half (wait, would that make the swelling go down?) or cause my water to break when Shelby decided to come upstairs and "notify" me that we should have left 20 minutes ago. Apparently he was unaware I was wielding a weapon and being tortured by pantyhose. He's lucky I didn't hurl a shoe at his head, and perhaps the only reason I didn't was because I would have had to bend over and pick it up, which is no easy task at this stage. Instead I looked at him like he had three heads and tried not to scream "DON'T JUST STAND THERE, HELP ME!!!" Can he not see that I am trying to blindly buckle the ankle strap on a pair of shoes that is so small it's virtually nonexistent because I cannot see (and can barely reach) my feet? Sheesh. By the time I wrestled on the pantyhose and the shoes I was unsure I even had the energy to attend the damn party. But I did. We had fun. They played some games which resulted in men looking like this:
I got to see friends I probably won't see again before leaving for Germany this week.
We took silly pictures with my gigantic belly.
And at the end of (our) night I'm glad I remembered to get a picture of Shel and I together.
We certainly didn't close the party down and it took me two days to recover from the evil things the shoes and pantyhose did to my body. But we had fun!
Thursday, December 12, 2013
More Elf Mischief!
He spelled his name in Post Its on our TV.
Then he TP'd the tree!
Played some Candy Land with the guys.
Taped up Colin's door! I jokingly said as we were doing this I surely hope Colin doesn't have to pee in the night. I totally jinxed us! Colin hasn't had to get up in the middle of the night to go pee in WEEKS and don't you know about 1 AM he was calling for us because he had to pee. Damn you Murphy and your laws!
He zip lined across the living room with a candy cane.
And last but not least he decorated the Christmas tree with our underpants! Colin thought this was especially funny, as did our housekeeper who happened to be cleaning the day we did this. Note to self: next time elf antics involve unmentionables be sure it's on a day when we are not expecting hired help or visitors!
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Wednesday Fix
For Awana each week Colin has to complete a section in his handbook and memorize a Bible verse or two to recite to the leader. When a section of the book has been completed the kids earn patches and jewels to show their accomplishments. A few weeks ago Colin earned his hang glider patch and was very excited. Tonight he earned his Hang Glider pilot wings and his first red jewel to go on them. He was so proud of himself and couldn't wait to get home and show his Daddy.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Welcome back, Tinsel!
Our elf, Tinsel, made his return and has been having too much fun each night while we sleep. Colin loves seeing what he's gotten into each morning and the first thing he says before even getting out of bed in the morning is "I wonder what Tinsel is up to today!" Here are some of the things he's been doing so far...
He arrived with an advent calendar, a new book for Colin and of course a letter from Santa.
He arrived with an advent calendar, a new book for Colin and of course a letter from Santa.
The next night he did a little racing and even brought along a fan club to cheer him on!
Last night he posed with everyone while they were sleeping and then we caught him this morning with the pictures and my camera!
Tonight he's doing a little fishin'
Monday, December 2, 2013
Colin's Artwork
Colin's drawings have been getting much better and he is always bringing home pictures of things he has drawn at school. Here are a few he has brought home recently that made us laugh.
This one is Shelby at the hospital to get shots in his back.
A fighter jet.
This is Mommy and Daddy downstairs, Daddy is holding the baby (I have no idea why Daddy is holding the baby in a choke hold! LOL) and Colin is upstairs sleeping in his bed.
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